Dec
15
Tools for Creativity
ByTools for Creativity
In therapy sessions, planning gets in the way of creativity; at least in my experience, that's true. Creativity comes from feeling our way into the client's experience. It comes from trusting the process between us. It comes from being open without a plan. Every time we do these things, we're preparing the ground for creativity.
Staying in contact with what is emerging moment to moment is a basic in Gestalt therapy. Sometimes I notice spontaneous images as I am sitting with a client. I understand this to be part of our co-creation. and I try not to second-guess myself. I just describe what I see and what it feels like to me. Usually, it resonates and is greeted with interest. If it doesn't, that's OK too.
The next thing I try to do is to stay in touch with what's concrete under abstract statements. So, for instance, I'll ask for a specific example. Staying connected to my client's integrity and identifying with the most radical parts of his or her personality helps. I can suggest something new to try rather than talk about the possibility of something new. Here's an example that will illustrate (I hope):
A 40ish woman, never married, complains about not feeling valued by her father. I ask her what he could do that she would feel valued. She responds by telling how he tries to hug her which she doesn't like. An image spontaneously comes to me – a porcupine and her father trying to hug her between the quills. I share this with her. She likes it, and we talk about whether it fits her experience of herself. She describes how much she doesn't like to ask for anything. We try an experiment – she asks me for something, I ask her for something. We talk about her experience doing this.
