{ 7.14.11 }
Self-care is something that is deeply important to me, and I continue a practice I started in graduate school, which is to keep an art journal specifically for my self-care as a therapist. You can read more about that here.
Showing posts with label self-care journal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-care journal. Show all posts
7.14.2011
Art Journal Vol V :: Fly
Self-care is something that is deeply important to me, and I continue a practice I started in graduate school, which is to keep an art journal specifically for my self-care as a therapist. You can read more about that here.
9.12.2010
Art Journaling Showcase
The opening went well, despite a few technical difficulties. But there was great people, great food, great art, great conversation, a great film, and great artmaking... Let's just say it was great!
8.22.2010
Completed Self-Care Journal
I completed this journal a while back, and have been admiring other's slideshows, so I thought that I would try my hand at it!
5.12.2010
Self Care Journal: Finished
I finished my journal. It has been a while in the making of this one, but every page has something on it now, and it is busting at the seams! It is a bittersweet moment as this journal has chronicled my entire internship and now work at my current position. However, I am looking forward to working in my newly bound one tomorrow!
All of the completed journals in the display case!
I have been struggling with migraines recently... these pages reflect that, and how it affects me at work.
All of the completed journals in the display case!
I have been struggling with migraines recently... these pages reflect that, and how it affects me at work.
May 11
May 12
5.08.2010
Self Care Journal: At a Tipping Point
May 6
Last week was a very tough week at work. By the end of the week, this is how I felt [thank goodness for weekends!]
5.04.2010
Self Care Journal
It is funny how some days go. Today was thesis defense day at SIUE, and just last semester I was presenting my research on art journaling for self-care. To go back further, when I started graduate school for art therapy, I knew that my sensitivity (which some had saw as a weakness and now I see as a strength) would make me vulnerable to "taking my work home," or what I now know is called compassion fatigue. And so, when I started my first practicum, I started my first journal. From there, I have gone on to have multiple journals, not only for my self-care and self-nurturing, but also to help build a stronger relationship with my partner. It has been a journey that I endear, am so happy I have taken.
Today was an exemplary example of how art journaling can help me destress from a difficult day. I created one page at work, but did not have anything particular that needed to be purged... But the day went on and by the end of the day, it was one of THOSE days! So when I came home I created a second page. It started out being about a particular incident at work, but became a more general revelation. I need support, just as much as my clients need support from me.
May 4
Today was an exemplary example of how art journaling can help me destress from a difficult day. I created one page at work, but did not have anything particular that needed to be purged... But the day went on and by the end of the day, it was one of THOSE days! So when I came home I created a second page. It started out being about a particular incident at work, but became a more general revelation. I need support, just as much as my clients need support from me.
May 4
5.02.2010
Self Care Journal
I only have a few pages left in this journal. I love how full it is—full of art, full of emotion! I have been contemplating whether I need to continue to have a separate journal for "therapist self care" or if I have gotten to the point in my journey that although I will continue to journal about my work, it can be housed in the same journal as the content about my life. I think that I may have found some synthesis and that my art therapist identity and my artist identity are not so disengaged as they once were!
April 28
April 29
April 28
April 29
4.27.2010
4.22.2010
4.15.2010
Self Care Journal, and revelation
April 13
April 15
Birds are a recurring theme in my journal, but I wasn't expecting this. I have worked through the journal on the front of the pages, and am now working backwards through the book on the back of the pages. The adjacent page to the above pages is the page below, done exactly a year ago 4-14-2009... (so the pages 4-14-2009, 4-13-2010 and 4-15-2010 all contain the image of a bird).
I have now been at my site for over a year (first as an intern and now as a full-time therapist). Throughout this time, the bird has appeared throughout my journal at least a half a dozen times. A quick search of the internet states that "Birds have long been a symbol of the soul. They represent the soul, flying free of the earth-bound body and seeking the heavens. The birds represent a passage between the physical world and spiritual worlds. Birds in flight can also represent freedom. A bird with a broken wing can represent the loss of freedom or a painful handicap." Most recently I used the image of a black bird which is " for some people, considered a good omen, [while] others believe that the Blackbird brings the lessons learned in meditation."
Thinking about these symbolisms, I am now thinking about what could be the meaning of these pages on a deeper more symbolic and even unconscious level. In some of the pages I imagined myself as the bird, while in others the bird has symbolized a particular client. I don't have the answers right now, but it has definitely made me ask myself some new questions. Trust the art!
April 15
Birds are a recurring theme in my journal, but I wasn't expecting this. I have worked through the journal on the front of the pages, and am now working backwards through the book on the back of the pages. The adjacent page to the above pages is the page below, done exactly a year ago 4-14-2009... (so the pages 4-14-2009, 4-13-2010 and 4-15-2010 all contain the image of a bird).
I have now been at my site for over a year (first as an intern and now as a full-time therapist). Throughout this time, the bird has appeared throughout my journal at least a half a dozen times. A quick search of the internet states that "Birds have long been a symbol of the soul. They represent the soul, flying free of the earth-bound body and seeking the heavens. The birds represent a passage between the physical world and spiritual worlds. Birds in flight can also represent freedom. A bird with a broken wing can represent the loss of freedom or a painful handicap." Most recently I used the image of a black bird which is " for some people, considered a good omen, [while] others believe that the Blackbird brings the lessons learned in meditation." Thinking about these symbolisms, I am now thinking about what could be the meaning of these pages on a deeper more symbolic and even unconscious level. In some of the pages I imagined myself as the bird, while in others the bird has symbolized a particular client. I don't have the answers right now, but it has definitely made me ask myself some new questions. Trust the art!
4.07.2010
3.30.2010
3.25.2010
3.23.2010
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