Many people declare "I'm not creative or artisitic" and shy away from it. The same way some people declare they are not very organised, cannot problem solve or plan well. However, science shows us that we all have both a creative and logical side to our brains and we not born with a bias towards one or the other. Depending on individual personality in relation to how we are brought up one side may be nurtured more than the other.
The internal self has been influenced and constructed by many factors since pre-birth.
Our work is to become aware of and understand these influences. My making sense of how we have come to be who and where we are today, particularly if it feels problematic, we then start to access our 'self' in the middle of it all to help us decide what of it feels right for us or not, and how we want to live the rest of our lives.
Too emotive (right brained)
Without the use of the left brain our emotional side can become overwehelming, thus lead to anixety. It can feel choatic, a web of emotions, a ball of wool etc. that feels impossible to decipher. It is only until we use the left side to help us 'make sense' of these feelings that we can start allocating them to their assigned cause.
Too rigid (Left brained) Many clients come to me because they have become 'rigid' in their beliefs about themselves....
"Bad things always happen to me"
"I am worthless, not good enough"
"I can't see how things can get any better"
....feeling unable to change how they view things
By focusing only on the 'thinking' part of the brain it is easy to get stuck there and believe nothing can change. By changing just our thoughts alone won't change how we feel unless we are also connected to this part of our brain.
Working creatively allows us to connect to the right side of the brain to access emotional expression, intuition, instinct etc. This enables us to unlock the rigidity, to see the possibility of alternative ways of being and viewing the world which can then override the rigid beliefs.
You don't need to be an artist to be creative.
Using creativity in therapy offers a medium and language that people can relate to and express themselves in an abstract form without the pressure of finding the right words. This can be done through
Use of metaphor
Use of imagery
Telling or writing stories
Relating back to particular music or movies that resonate.
Creating art
Movement and shape within sand
You don't need to be a child to be creative and play.
Sometimes our work is to access the inner child that existed pre-rigid constructs, so we can play around with and explore our internal worlds.
Through creative means a person can explore their internal state safely as a fantasy. In doing so they can then re-tell or re-draw their internal world so the 'self' starts to make more sense in relation to their external world, particularly if they have no control in changing their external environment
You don't need to be an emotive person to access your creativity.
Creativity can help to facilitate acces to and create a cathartic release of emotional response and expression.