GOLEM Expressive Arts

09/20/2025

So often, people come to therapy with me and say: “I’m not creative. I’m not artsy.”

I hear that a lot — and I understand. But to me, creativity isn’t about painting or sculpting. It’s about how we meet life: how we adapt, connect, and make meaning when words alone aren’t enough.

In therapy, creativity can be simple and quiet — noticing a feeling, trying something new, or giving voice to a part of yourself that’s been silent for years.

✨ Creativity already lives in you. Sometimes it just needs a safe place to come forward.

09/05/2025

08/27/2025

August is a threshold.
A time of half-finished tasks and fading sunlight.
A time of new planners and endless to-do lists.
A time of both needing more rest and lingering restlessness….

If you’re feeling stretched, stuck, scattered, or simply unsure, you’re not alone.

Here’s a creative practice I often offer clients (and use myself!) during those liminal times of transition:

Draw two vertical lines on your page, creating three sections:
• Left = where you’re coming from
• Right = where you’re heading
• Center = where you are now — the “in-between”

Staring with the left side, fill it with shapes, colors, textures, scribbles, moving freely and slowly. Then complete the right side. After that- turn your back to your artwork for a minute of so, and as you come back to it- fill in the center- where are you now.

And when you’re done, pause. Observe. Listen. Let the artwork speak to you. Try answering:

What do I notice?
what surprises me?
What was unexpected?
What feels heavy?
What feels light?
What needs to change?

Optional: write a short letter from your art to you. Start with:
“Here’s what I want you to know…”
You might be surprised what it says.

—

Share what you discover! 👇🏼

08/01/2025

It’s been a full month — of life, of work, of reflection.
A full month of art.

Not just the kind you frame or glaze or hang.
But the kind that lives in breath, in presence, in noticing.
The kind of creativity that isn’t loud — but steady.
The kind that doesn’t always look like art — but feels like truth.

This is what I keep returning to:
Art isn’t the goal. It’s the doorway.
To resilience. To remembering. To something deeper than words.

Sometimes it’s clay.
Sometimes it’s sitting in silence with a client.
Sometimes it’s just catching the moment before it passes.

Thank you for being here with me this July.
I’ll keep creating. Keep holding space.
And I hope — in your own way — you will too.

07/17/2025

I used to think that being playful meant being light, funny, not taking things too seriously.
But one day in supervision, after I laughed through a vulnerable moment, my supervisor gently said:
“Don’t laugh it off, Anna. You’re a serious person.”

That moment stayed with me.
Later, I even took a clowning course — expecting laughter and silliness — only to find it was one of the most serious things I’ve ever done.
Clowning teaches you to stay present, to stay with discomfort, to show up fully.

Now I know: play isn’t the opposite of serious.
It’s how I stay present. It’s how I move through hard things.
And I take my playtime seriously.

Tell me —
🌀 How do you stay connected to play, even when things feel hard?

07/11/2025

Hello folks — just popping in to share this one from my heart.

It’s been a week.
I had some long, deep therapy days with clients (with many of you♥️), and while it’s an honour to hold space, I’ll be honest — I’m exhausted.
And today I’m diving into a three-day intensive (part of my Level 1 training — we’re halfway through!).

So this is my check-in.
If you’re tired: thank you for showing up anyway.
If you’re in a good place: I’m celebrating that with you. thank you for showing up anyway.

Drop a comment and let me know how you’re doing.👇🏼

07/08/2025

Art Therapy vs. Expressive Arts Therapy: What’s the Difference — and Why I Offer Both

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between Art Therapy and Expressive Arts Therapy — and why I also offer talk-based counselling — here’s how I explain it.

Art Therapy often focuses on using visual art to explore, express, and process what’s happening internally. It can be insight-driven, structured, and supportive, using the art as a mirror or a doorway.

Expressive Arts Therapy (ExAT), on the other hand, uses a multi-modal, phenomenological approach. We move between art, writing, sound, or movement — following what wants to emerge in the moment. It’s process-based, low-skill, high-sensitivity work. Often, we end with a crystallization — a short poem or image that captures the experience.

Both are powerful, but they meet different needs.

Some of my clients never touch art at all — we work through counselling, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and mindfulness. Others begin with clay, movement, or a scribble on paper — and find their deepest insights there.

Here’s a glimpse:
Two men come in struggling with burnout and anxiety.
* One explores his stress through visual journaling, guided imagery, and clay. He eventually writes a short poem that captures a long-held fear he didn’t have words for — and finds release.
* The other prefers to explore through talk. We use IFS to unblend from the inner critic, map his internal system, and build a sense of grounded Self-leadership.

Both paths are valid.
Both lead to clarity, connection, and growth.

If you’re curious about which approach could support you — I’d love to connect.

07/01/2025

I will explore the theme of Art Therapy in July, and I look forward to welcoming you on this messy but amazing journey! 💙

06/27/2025

Resilience isn’t a trait.
It’s a practice.

This month, we explored what it means to move through life with resilience — not by pushing through, but by deepening our roots.

For me, it looked like learning to hold discomfort with gentleness, finding strength in slowness, and trusting that even when life gets messy, I can still stay connected to myself and others.

Sometimes resilience looks like doing the hard thing.
Sometimes, it looks like resting.
Sometimes, it looks like laughing at your awkward haircut phase.

Whatever it looked like for you this month — I hope you’re taking a moment to notice the strength you carry.

🌱 I’d love to hear — what did your resilience look like this month?

06/21/2025

Have you ever said, “That wasn’t really me”?
In IFS, that moment is often a sign that a “part” took over — a protector, a critic, a scared voice. It means you were blended.

Unblending doesn’t mean shutting the part down.
It means noticing it with warmth, asking it to step back, and gently coming home to your Self — the part of you that knows how to lead with care.

💭 Which parts take over for you the most?
💌 You’re welcome to share or just notice gently within.

06/11/2025

Welcome to June — a month for exploring resilience.
Not just bouncing back… but growing roots.

Bouncing back can sometimes feel like we’re expected to spring into action, to “get over it,” to return to how things were.
But resilience isn’t about snapping back.
It’s about growing deeper.

It’s about putting down roots in the middle of uncertainty — finding stability not because the storm has passed, but because we’ve anchored ourselves more fully.
Rooted resilience means we carry strength with us, not because we avoided pain, but because we stayed present through it.

One teacher who shaped my understanding of this was Jon Kabat-Zinn.
He speaks about “embracing the full catastrophe” — the beauty and the mess of being human.
It’s a phrase that has stayed with me.
Because resilience is not about perfection. It’s about wholeness.

I’ve also learned about resilience through the words of my clients, friends, and family.
Through moments that surprised me with their honesty and depth.
You know those sentences that land quietly… and stay with you?

💬 I’d love to know:
Who or what taught you something about resilience?
Was there a phrase, a moment, a conversation that changed how you think about strength?

Drop a comment or send me a message — I’d love to hear your words, if you feel like sharing.

05/30/2025

Hi, my dear Instagrammers!!! As May comes to a close, I wanted to pause and reflect with you.

This month on Instagram, we’ve been exploring the quiet, often invisible signs of healing — the subtle shifts that happen in therapy and in life.

I know we’ve only scratched the surface.
But even naming what healing can look like — the softened shoulders, the clearer boundaries, the deep breaths — is a meaningful step.

I’m deeply grateful for those of you who engaged with me this month — through messages, comments, quiet reading, and reflection. Thank you for being part of this space.

Inspired by the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, I’ve been reflecting on what healing really means:

It’s not just about how you feel today.
It’s about what you’re shifting.
Interrupting patterns of silence, shame, or fear.
Softening where your ancestors had to harden.
Allowing tears where they had to stay stoic.

When you heal, you don’t do it alone.
You carry the strength, survival, and love of those before you —
and the possibility of something new for those after you.

You are the turning point.
And I’m so honored to witness your journey.

💬 What patterns are you shifting in your own story?
Let me know below or send me a DM — I’d love to hear.