Artist Resiliency Therapy

Therapy for creatives in Pasadena, CA and surrounding areas.

 

“Praise the song and praise the singer.”—Joy Harjo

 

Therapy for artists supports you during the act of creation and beyond.

 On the first day of my clinical psychology master’s program the professors talked about developing self-care practices to prevent burnout. We need to be having the same conversations with actors, writers, directors, comedians, musicians, visual artists—anyone making art and attempting to thrive in creative fields. It is time for a greater focus on well-being in the arts and in the entertainment industry.

 Why don’t we talk more about burnout and self-care for artists? She’s a “struggling artist”. He’s one of those “tortured artists”. They are a “crazy actor”. Sound familiar? These labels spring from a centuries old notion that great art comes from great suffering, that artists must be in pain to do great work. Yes, many great artists have struggled with substance use, mental health, broken relationships…etc., but I doubt those things were the true source of their greatness.

Martha Graham, in a conversation with Agnes de Mille, spoke of artists needing to keep “the channel open”. To me, keeping the channel open refers to an intentional vulnerability, attunement, and sensitivity to personal experience, the experiences of others, and the environment. This is the wellspring of great art (and a life well-lived); at the same time, maintaining an open channel while navigating daily life, the entertainment industry and all it entails, leaves you exposed; it can take a toll on your emotional and physical well-being.

 

Vulnerability and sensitivity can be your superpower. And your kryptonite.

Common themes in therapy with creatives:

  • Whether onstage, in front of the camera, the blank page, or pitching an office-full of development executives, the right amount anxiety is energizing and motivating, too much of it blocks flow and creativity.

  • You work is often intensely personal. How can you draw upon all aspects of your life and history without living from old wounds or repeatedly activating a traumatic stress response?

  • How do you keep the creative channels open in an unforgiving industry?

  • Artists must learn to show up fully in their work and their relationships. Therapy can help clarify what is most important to you and help you maintain balance when you’re being pulled in many different directions.

  • How do you define it? What are your unconscious beliefs around success as an artist, around earning money from your craft? You’re on a hit show, your book sells big…what now? Therapy for artists can help explore and manage the tangle of emotions that surround success.

  • How do you define it? Is there such a thing in artistic endeavors? Actors, writers, musicians—whatever your medium—within the creative act lies the potential for joyful connection as well as disappointment and loss.

  • Therapy for actors provides support, both practical and emotional, around the process of getting work. Musicians, writers, and painters too…All creatives inevitably face some form of auditioning in order to share their art with the world.

A sustainable life in the arts requires support and the intention to care for your well-being on a daily basis. Adapting what we know about neurobiology, mindfulness, trauma resiliency, psychodynamic therapy, and somatic psychology, therapy for artists—or artist resiliency therapy—allows you to explore core material with guidance and support, setting you on a path to healing growth in your life and relationships. At the same time, therapy nourishes your inner creator, providing a depth of exploration that enriches and supports your daily work as an artist.