There were many feelings going around after the election results came in, almost all negative: anger, sadness, and fear. Common art took place on Wednesday morning, so it was especially fresh in everyone’s minds. As I mentioned in my last blog post, we had started working on a “gratitude tree” – a tree drawn on poster board that the whole community helped color in, and started writing things for which they feel grateful on cut-out leaves and sticking them on the tree.
Musings from the Margins
Stories
Something I have noticed the last couple weeks of my internship with Emmanuel is all the stories that people tell. All three of the populations with whom I am working, despite the wide age range and different backgrounds, have many stories to tell. I have been surprised by how willing many of the program participants are to tell their stories. In common art, I have found several people making art about events that have happened in their past, and being very willing to share despite the sometimes intense nature of these stories. It felt meaningful to me that they were given this artistic outlet to tell their stories. I want to explore this further, and see if there are projects I can come up with that could enhance their experience of telling their stories through art.
Greetings from Our Art Therapy Intern
Hello to the Emmanuel Church community! My name is Kate Solow and I am this year’s intern from Lesley University. I am in my second year working towards my masters in art therapy and mental health counseling. I got my BFA in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and hope to use those skills both as an art therapist and as a children’s book illustrator. I am excited to be this year’s intern and am grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from the different populations served by the church.
Processing Emotional Discomfort
As I come into the end of my internship with Emmanuel Church, I am reflecting on what I can take away from this experience. What am I taking with me from this internship beyond the indelible impact of resilient, artistic, and caring individuals? Undoubtedly, the ways I have been impacted by others and the wonderful memories I have made with people in this internship will be something I carry with me for the rest of my life. In addition, I have been reflecting on what growth and new skills this internship has given me. I believe that one of the most important skills I have gained from this internship – something that I can take with me into future career opportunities and life in general – is the ability to sit with my own discomfort. This is not to suggest that I should sit idle if I feel like my personal safety or the safety of others is at risk, but I am suggesting that it is okay and maybe even essential to therapeutic presence to be able to sit with and process the emotional discomfort that can arise in difficult situations. Continue reading
Hope Lost and Found
Wood is the Chinese element for spring: representing the creative urge to achieve. Interestingly the Chinese further explain that this urge to achieve can turn to frustration, even anger. Similar to Western philosophy wood represents growth and expansion, the capacity to look forward, personal growth and expansion. Continue reading
Goodbyes
In my group-therapy class, we just started to talk about dealing with the ending phase of a group, when the individuals that comprise a particular group inevitably shift or disperse. The groups that I am part of through Emmanuel will continue on without me when I leave this internship, but that doesn’t mean that the groups will remain the same; in fact, they will have changed because my co-intern and I will be gone. Continue reading
Tactfulness vs Empathy
In my conversations with people this week, an issue keeps coming up again and again: what is the best way to balance tactfulness and empathy? At first, this may sound like a strange question. Tactfulness and empathy may be like comparing apples and oranges to some and then considered essentially intertwined by others. However, in all of my conversations, individuals expressed concern that their desire to be tactful would somehow be at the expense of empathy. Continue reading
Self-Expression under Challenging Circumstances
Self-expression, as a vital quality of life can be empowering, reflective and an interesting intellectual exercise. What I have come to realize over these past few months is the perseverance of self-expression even under challenging circumstances.
The Common Art program participants come in each week with decorative headbands, patchwork that they have chosen and applied to their jackets, t-shirts with poignant declarations, and tattoos (the ultimate in permanent self-expression). Continue reading
Opportunity of Choice
Last week prior to lunch at the Common Art program, I wondered what they would be serving for lunch that day. If it was something I liked, I would join the others; if not, I would grab something later to eat. I realized, for the first time in the months that I have interned with Emmanuel Church, that to have the option to choose what I eat that day is a privilege that many of our members do not have. Furthermore, there are a number of choices most take for granted that our members may not have access to. It struck me that the lack of choice could is insidiously destructive as personal choices define who we are or aspire to be. Continue reading
Balancing Compassion for Self and Others
There is a woman at Common Art who doesn’t like me. Well I’m actually not sure if she doesn’t like me or if I remind her of someone she dislikes, but either way, I’m now the target of her provocative remarks. This doesn’t necessarily offend me because I honestly don’t take it personally, but it does intimidate me. I am intimidated by the idea of offending someone so deeply that they show disdain for me. I have started to withdraw into myself while in her presence because I felt like I am insulting her by merely existing. When I began notice that I was withdrawing, I knew something had to change; I cannot properly serve a community if I am retreating internally. I do not want to disengage from the Common Art community, so I decided to nip this problem in the bud by going to my supervisors for advice. Continue reading