The "MAGIC" of Model Magic

It is always a challenge, well at least for me, when a teen comes into session with their head hung low, unwilling to participate in therapy, and wanting the session to end yesterday! I don't know what I would do if I didn't have training as an art therapist. Recently, a young boy ambivalently came into the playroom remarking that he didn't want to be there and didn't want to do "anything." I validated his feelings and at one point, asked him where in his body he feels the intense feelings he was having. He reported, "his stomach." I quickly told him that many times we have physical symptoms when the feelings have not been expressed. I let him mull on a few of the things I said and then handed him a large piece of model magic. Model Magic is a clay-like substance that comes in different colors and hardens if you leave it out in the air. It is soft to touch when first opened and stays soft if kept in a plastic bag. Young and old love it's texture and its tactile experience. Colors can be mixed to make interesting combinations of colors or you can color pieces with magic markers also creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of color combinations. I suggested my client hold the clay in his hands to see how it felt. He continued to hang his head, but also proceeded to play with the clay by squeezing and twisted it eventually lifting his head up. I showed him how the clay can be made into a ball and that it can bounce. At one point the boy made a ball out of the clay and began to toss it in the air and against the wall. As I worked with another piece of clay, I also formed a ball and asked him if he knew how to juggle. Be then made two balls out of the same piece of clay and began to juggle with two and eventually with three balls of clay. I acknowledged what a good juggler his is and this might be something he can do when he is feeling anxious. I know this teen plays basketball, so at one point we both shot baskets into the waste basket using the balls we had made. My client appeared to relax and engage in the process with me. 5 minutes before the end of the session, my client announced he wanted to leave and I walked with him to the waiting area to wait for his parents. If children and teens are not taught how to manage anxiety, they become adults that are not in control of their overwhelming worry. Knowing tools to manage anxiety is as important as knowing how to take care of a headache or toothache.

I made sure that he understood that juggling and or tossing balls was something he could do when he felt anxious. It is important for children and teens to have tools they can turn to when feelings come up that they have difficulty managing. I call it their emotional toolbox. I suggested he come up with some other tools he can used when he feels overwhelmed by anxiety and worry.

New Year...new beliefs

Welcome 2011....goodbye 2010. Every January New Year's rolls around, many are busy writing their New Year's resolutions, which they hope will make some kind of a change in their lives. I do not adhere to resolutions, because I don't believe they stick and usually no one is sitting on our shoulders keeping an eye on us. So, it is easy to let exercise, dieting, writing, spending habits fall by the wayside. I usually begin a new journal to start the New Year off and begin writing about what I'd like to let go of in the new year and what I'd like to bring in. Not necessarily material things, but what new energy, belief systems, thoughts, and/or accomplishments would I like to happen in the new year. So, instead of one of my resolutions being exercise daily, I might write, I'd like to take on a new belief system about exercise, which I like to call "moving" instead of the E word. So, I don't set myself up for failure or disappointment about not moving, I give myself permission to see moving from a different perspective. I have a choice of activities that allow my body to move instead of one, that is "go to the gym." I might workout at home with weights, put a CD on and dance, walk my dogs; you get the picture. Give yourself more than one option to move.

A belief I'm working on in 2011 is the idea that I do not need others approval to feel important. I can trust and believe it without the actions of others as my radar. I will also, not beat myself up if I do slip into old patterns, but I will acknowledge the thoughts and feelings. So, what is a new belief you would like to bring into 2011? Maybe it is about not feeling entitled to have certain feelings. What feeling do you believe you need to give yourself permission to have? Anger? Sadness? Joy? Pick one to work on. I recommend journaling daily about feelings and the thoughts you have about them. Practice allowing yourself to have them, write about them and be curious about them. Be kind and gentle with them and with yourself. Don't run from them. Draw an image of them in your journal and get to know the feeling.

You might want to work with a friend, therapist or someone you trust in case feelings surface that feel overwhelming or you are not familiar with.

Be well,
Victoria

Artsy-Fartsy Play Time for Adults

Are you tired of kids having all the fun and having to sit back and watch? Join us Sunday, November 14th, from 2-5pm for some artsy fun. What began as a mandala workshop, which it still is, is also a time and place to let your hair down, get the crayons, colored pencils and collage materials out, and have a blast. A place where your imagination can soar and you can relax into the process of art-making.
Creativity provides a vehicle for your soul to speak, your left brain time to rest and your right brain space to dance. Whether you consider yourself artistic or not, this is a place for you to have fun, explore and not be concerned with "shoulds" or "musts." It is a place to play.
Using various art materials, step into the cirlce of creativity and see what happends. For those who do not have a creative outlet, this might be just what your heart desires.

For more information, please contact me at 310-922-3957.