This past week Art Therapy Alliance has begun a project showcasing the different spaces that art therapists create both with clients and personally.  I have been sending in pictures of the different spaces I create with clients and in doing so was reminded of the space that I create with clients and others that cannot be seen with the human eye.  A space in which there is the feeling and sense of safety, of being contained not constrained.   It is the space which I create with clients and others I share space with, which can sometimes be hard to describe.

Working as an art therapist these past 18 years I have learned to create a holding space where clients feel heard, respected, understood and accepted.  Sometimes, I forget that this needs to be created for the client and does not just happen.  I create this space so automatically, or rather intuitively, that it is hard for me to describe this process to my art therapy students who I supervise.

But today I am going to attempt to describe some of what I do because I feel we all create a space for those we interact with whether intentionally, or not.

I believe in following the lead of my clients, respecting where they are at and where they wish to go.  This approach is based on the belief that we all have the answers inside.  My role generally is to guide my clients based on what I am able to “see”  and reflect this back to them.

The space I create with my clients is one that nurtures this self knowledge hidden within each of them.  I never assume that I know ahead what to expect, though my experiences with them help inform me in the moment. I try to approach my clients each week as I would a blank canvas, standing back, observing, tuning in and going with what unfolds, supporting it, nurturing it, and inviting creative expression and interaction.

The energy that I bring to sessions or workshops that I have with clients is a very important part of the space we create.  Being present, being calm, non-judgemental, yet believing in them, all helps to  create a holding environment in which clients feel safe to express themselves no matter how emotionally messy it may be.

While the process of creating a space to just BE may still seem somewhat intangible, one thing I know is that it is not the space itself which ultimately provides the outlet for expression, it is the connection to self that clients are able to have, whether fleeting or constant, when what they create is witnessed and nurtured.

One of the spaces I work with clients is in an old nurses office in an inner city school.  It’s not the cheeriest of rooms, its shape and furniture is less than ideal, one can easily hear the teachers talking (or yelling) at the students in the hall as they pass.  But somehow we make it work, and some fabulous transformations occur in that room.

Recently I have been struggling with setting up workshops because I have been concerned about the space being just right.  After contemplating the spaces I create in and those which my clients create in with me, I was reminded that we create our own space, regardless of the outside structure.  I am not limited by the confines of a building, I am only limited in so far as I allow myself to be in my expectations.

What have you noticed about the space you create to be with self and others?

If you were to look into a mirror, what would your expression reflect?

What does your body language say?

How does your tone of voice sound?

What do your words or questions imply?