Modes of Healing

Sometimes bits and pieces of your past experience and knowledge come together in a moment like a jigzaw. Many years before I obtained my Master in Counselling, I pursued an education known as "Holistic Counselling" offered by a College in Australia, as a part time student. Amongst others, the syllabus included Claywork & Artistic Therapy, Colour & Artistic Communication as well as Visualisation, Sound, Gesture and Movement Therapy. Although I found the Artistic Communication, Sandtray and Claywork useful, I was quite sceptical about the visualisation, sound and gesture bit of the course. I remembered thinking it a bit weird to ask your client to step into the pain, be with it or exaggerate it, step out, draw it and ask yourself what kind of sound or image can help to wash away the pain. With that image in mind (usually an archetype image) the client is then asked to make the gesture and sound to dissipate the wounded part. A bit of a mumbo jumbo I thought.

My current dealings with children and observing how they express so well with media like art and play therapy check my sceptism on the therapeutic aspects of visualisation and movements. I remembered a session with a child of ten who needed moral support to survive living with a divorcee mum who has several short relationships with her partners. He was wriggling on a sofa instead of sitting up straight. I asked him who he was to which he replied he was an earthworm. He wanted to bury himself inside the earth and to hell with what was going on above him.

I have of late been listening to the web broadcast on discussions of the book "A New Earth" and I got a tip about supporting children who are living in the crossfire of their parents' negative emotions. The main thing was to help them "awaken the witnessing faculty" ie. to be aware that they are not part of this war. How well this connects with what I observed in the child and his gestures as an earthworm to validate his feelings.

Another tip from the book is to accept your emotions instead of trying to push them away. For example, if you have guilty feelings about your role as a parent (which I discussed in my previous blog), you should just accept that feeling as part and parcel of parenting. So instead of telling yourself you hate the guilty feeling which makes you even more sad, angry and what nots, you tell yourself this is a common feeling amongst parents and it comes with parenting; and who ever says parenting should be a one joyous journey huh? Accepting the "suchness" of things helps you to be more compassionate toward yourself.

But coming back to my original discussion about the gesture and visualisation bit. A few days ago I was having some sort of anxiety episode and feeling most uncomfortable. Instead of hating it, I told myself to try and accept it. "OK it is here to stay," I told myself. Then the old teachings from my Holistic Counselling course rattled in me and I thought why not try it on myself; and this was how it went:

Which part of my body hurts and how does it feel? Answer-My heart, it is tight and I am like a bit breathless.

What does it look like, the pain, describe it? Answer-It is like a small cut in the heart, a bit of blood is tricklings out whilst a small knife is softly prying the wound.

Stay with it for a few moments.

What can help heal the wound (visualisation)? I thought a while. Answer- I think a large leaf with medical herb (like the one used by the Egytian nomads on the burnt body of the English Patient) can ease the pain.

I apply that medical leaf over my little wound. I kept that image for a long time. I felt its healing effect which slowed down my breathing. Hmm... you know what, I fell asleep afterwards.


( I am rather pleased with this trial. I shall continue working on it. Perhaps the issue wasn't that big, hence doesnt take a lot to overcome. Perhaps it was after lunch too. Still, doesn't it resonate with play therapy when children imagine the desired outcome in their play? )