The Background Story

From a young age, I enjoyed creating. I suddenly stopped after I overheard someone close to me make a derogatory comment about one of my drawings that up until then, I felt pretty proud of. I was about 11. That's all it took for my sensitive young self to start doubting her abilities and have her confidence shaken. Only much later did I realize my story is far from unique and in fact, many people have had similar experiences (raise your hand if a negative remark made about your art diminished your joy of creating, or if being compared to others fueled the belief of not being "good enough"?). During my teenage years, I felt the pull to return to art-making but was shy about showing my art or sharing my passion. By then, I had developed my own strong inner critic. When it came time to decide what direction to take after high school, a part of me really wanted to pursue fine arts while another was interested in psychology and helping others. The "safer" route won and I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, which helped deepen my understanding of human behavior (and of myself!). But what now? With hard work and good timing, I was fortunate in obtaining a scholarship to pursue a Master in Social Work, which expanded my worldview and desire to be of service to others. For many years, I provided mental health counselling & support to individuals, groups and families in different settings, from hospitals to community health centers, school district and university. Although this felt rewarding in many ways, I noticed its impact on me. It became hard to "leave work at work" and I returned to creating more regularly in my spare time as a way to take care of myself and cope with some of the stress I was experiencing. Whenever I engaged with art-making, I felt a sense of freedom and lightness that was becoming harder to achieve in the workplace.  I was on to something. My curiosity and love of learning helped me discover something called "art therapy", which involved the creative process and psychotherapy to facilitate inner exploration and self-expression through art-making. My passion for intuitive creativity + helping others combined into one! This led me to complete an advanced diploma in Art Therapy and incorporate this dynamic approach in the therapeutic process, especially when thoughts, emotions or concerns appeared too difficult for some to articulate through traditional "talk therapy". In my thirties, a perfect storm developed in my professional life and I was faced with burnout. This challenging time of my life became a period of introspection and rest, a space where I felt called to do an honest check-in with myself & my core values. Life has a way of getting our attention when there is a misalignment or we've lost touch with what matters most.  I've learned to be gentler with myself and have continued to use painting, drawing, collage and photography as a way to connect with what moves me and inspires me. Nature has often been my muse and a sanctuary, a generous place I can explore and be in awe of; it's also been a wonderful teacher rich in metaphors and a relationship that I deeply value. Further training in nature-based expressive arts therapy highlighted and reinforced for me the importance of our connection to the natural world and its profound healing power. I have found that accompanying others in their journey to wellness works best when we focus on the whole being instead of symptoms. Integrating nature & creativity in this process offers a potent way of tapping into our authentic selves, igniting that spark and giving us the clarity needed to move forward.