A therapist’s lessons from drawing

The lessons I learn from drawing make me a better therapist, and lead me to the same experience of people…time and time again.

In learning to draw from life, you constantly zoom in and out. You have to relate the environment to the subject. Squint, step back and repeat.  You need to relate the large to small in order for the work to make sense. Constantly.

In therapy, the canvas envelops cultural rules and values. The environment illustrates family and community history. The person takes shape when you relate their personal stories and beliefs to the context of culture and family. You can’t make sense of anything if you aren’t constantly zooming in and out.

When drawing, you have to eliminate your biases and tendencies to simplify and flatten what you see. Humble yourself to nature and check your measurements. Constantly.

In therapy, I remember that I know nothing and have ideas about everything. I use strategies to alert me to my own thoughts, feelings and body reactions. I check every idea with the client and humble myself to their wisdom.

In art, the process is the real magic. There is a mindset that allows for great art. The product is the documentation of that process.

Our culture is selling people a fixed, healed version of themselves. Ongoing healing can occur when there is an ongoing healthy relationship with themselves. The organic process of healing is slow, but it’s truth. Healing is a way of being, not a product for go on a shelf or on an instagram post.

What I have learned…

People are beautiful and magical when we take the time to truly see them. And when they experience being seen in this way, they can see their beauty and magic, too. Sometimes…you can hear a gasp or sigh when they finally see behind the veil of the fiction and lies that have framed them.