It’s been a minute, since I’ve written an article here. In the past few months, several people have even commented, “I haven’t seen a post from you in a while. What have you been up to?” And it’s true. In the early days of starting this practice, I posted to socials and wrote articles for the HeartSpace Wellness blog a lot more frequently, mainly in an effort to introduce myself and my practice to new readers like you. The effect being that it wasn’t long before my calendar filled and my days became full, full spending time with some lovely individual clients and supervising some inspiring art therapy graduates.
I’ve also been fortunate to have some wonderful and unexpected work opportunities arise as well, including writing a book chapter for a colleague and friend hopefully soon to be published in the next year, consulting with an organization on creative and meditative practices for healthcare workers, and creating some of my own resources for clients that include recordings of meditations and prompts for journaling and art making. (More info on this to come soon.)
And thus bringing to light the paradox of engaging in these creative endeavors to generate work, and then once work increases, not having as much time to devote to these spaces. Inevitably, with this increasing amount work came the need to spend more time doing the things that restore my energies, things like doing my own artwork, meditating, moving my body, getting outside, writing, connecting with friends, and time simply doing nothing, just being with myself and with my family. I needed these things to balance the time I was spending in my work. I needed these things to balance myself, to provide the spaces and avenues to celebrate the highs of the season and to grieve the losses when they came and when they came again.
With this in mind, I can say that my days have been full in every sense of the word. Yes, there have been busy schedules, but also a feeling of fullness that comes from doing work that I love at a pace that I love, particularly a self-set pace that allows me the time and energy for more than just work. That allows me the space for a full life.
So after a long hiatus from this space, allow me to reintroduce myself…
I’m Catherine Harris, Lead Art Therapist and Founder of HeartSpace Wellness Studio. Working as an art therapist for the past 17 years, I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with people in very unique and creative ways. In my current practice, I work with adults who feel things deeply and, as a result, may often be overwhelmed by their own profound ability to feel, especially in times of big transition and change.
In my current practice, I work with adults who feel things deeply and, as a result, may often be overwhelmed by their own profound ability to feel, especially in times of big transition and change.
After working in the hospital setting for the bulk of my professional career, some of the big transitions that I specialize in are receiving a medical diagnosis and coping with the full picture of physical and emotional symptoms that come with that diagnosis. I also work with the experience of grief in all of its forms. So often we think of grief in terms of witnessing the death of a loved one. Yet grief can arise in all stages of life, the transition from school and home to the working world, a big move across country or shift in careers, the end of a relationship, or the loss of health or fertility. All of these experiences can have the same intense effects as the death of a loved one, yet many of them are often dismissed. They can leave us feeling shattered, lost, and alone. And unfortunately, our modern-day way of life does not provide us with the rituals or guides we need to properly care for ourselves, find relief, and effectively grieve these losses when they occur.
In an art therapy session, together we practice different ways to be with these profound emotions, and ultimately learn that this ability to feel is actually a superpower.
In an art therapy session, together we practice different ways to be with these profound emotions through art making, meditation, and yoga, and ultimately learn that this ability to feel is actually a superpower, as it allows us to connect quickly and deeply to the good things in life too. It allows us to connect with these practices that are so beneficial for our minds and bodies. It allows us to connect with ourselves and discover what we truly need and value and thus how we want to live and be in this “one wild and precious life.”*
How do I know this? Because over and over again, I have experienced the incredible depth of benefit and support that comes from participating in these practices myself. They have seen me through times of immense grief from the unexpected death of my father. They have offered relief through periods of multiple surgeries and chronic pain. They have offered hope after experiencing community trauma. Creativity. Meditation. Yoga. They have held me through these experiences, until I could find the strength once again to hold myself. I've witnessed how these practices have done the same for many others, and they can do the same for you.
Interested to learn more? I'm here, ready and waiting to practice with you and help you discover these inner strengths for yourself.
*From the poem "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver
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