Individual

“Music, because of its specific and far-reaching metaphorical powers, can name the unnamable and communicate the unknowable.”  — Leonard Bernstein

Expressive arts therapy is the use of visual, music, drama, or other artistic expression for developing one’s inner voice.

Imagine watching brush strokes or pencil lines interact and influence one another, feeling clay being formed with your fingers. Or imagine seeing a vision of the future materialize on a page that we only recognize after it’s already in front of us.

Learning how to express our emotions moves the energy, pushes the boundaries of how we’ve defined ourselves, and gives us the options of experiencing freedom in being who we were always meant to be.

“We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.”  “I am Me. In all the world there is no one else exactly like me.” — Virginia Satir

Experiential therapy is the business of creating the experiences we are missing from our lives to become whole again.  Created by Virginia Satir and Carl Whitaker, this is a holistic therapy method for individuals and families looking for significant change.

Most of our lives we define ourselves based on the emotional events we’ve experienced.  Experiential therapy allows us to examine those events and to create new ones.  When we do this, we take back the steering wheel of our life, navigating the difficulties – and reaching the destinations we choose instead of those that are chosen for us.

EMDR is a therapeutic process developed by Francine Shapiro (author of leaving our past in our past). EMDR has shown that through “bi-lateral stimulation” our brains are better able to process stressful or traumatic information. Many of the psychotherapists at Sound Healing Arts are specifically trained in EMDR as one of the tools used to move our brains from feeling stuck and restricted, to free and open and ready for living our lives.

Therapeutic music students will learn how to perform on their chosen instrument(s), learn more about music theory as it relates to emotional awareness, and/or learn how to compose music that speaks to the uniqueness of who they are right now. Students will also have the opportunity to interact with other students in small 3 or 4 person ensembles or larger local orchestras and bands. Witness how our brains and challenges inform and propel us to bigger and better connections as we learn how to manage, adapt, and overcome those challenges with the help of our supportive staff, other participants, and the music itself.