If you’re a “talk therapist” like me, you’re used to knowing a client mainly through their story: what they talk about. This typically includes a developmental history, significant life events, and key relationships, all within the context of symptoms from which the client wants relief. But this isn’t the only way to proceed.

I trained in Somatic Experiencing, an approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine to address trauma. Somatic Experiencing sets aside the story to work instead on felt sensation in the body. By setting aside the narrative, clients are able to work their way through trauma by feeling their way through it - noticing sensations that arise, developing the capacity to contain them, and allowing them to resolve.

While Somatic Experiencing is primarily associated with trauma treatment, I use SE skills to work with clients addressing anxiety and other states of “over-activation,” including irritability, anger, and chronic pain. You...

Lynda Barry’s wonderful book, What It Is, is part cartoon memoir, part practical guide to creative writing, part philosophical treatise on the intersection of images and words, part meditation on terrors of childhood. No other book reminds me so poignantly of childhood yearnings: the deep questioning that accompanies a child’s desire to understand one’s place in the scheme of things, the dubious realm of adulthood, and the struggle to maintain self-esteem in an ever-shaming world.

Barry’s recipe for creative writing uses visualization as an entry point. She steps you through a sequence that includes choosing a word and visualizing the image it elicits, then entering the image and orienting yourself to it. Her exercises take you deeper and deeper into the imaginative possibilities of the scene you find yourself in, freeing you up in the process.

If you’re working through procrastination, doubt, and shame about your own creative capacities, Barry's your...

If you're reading this, welcome to my very first blog post! I'm thrilled that you came to my website with enough curiosity to dig a little deeper. You may well be my very first reader.

I wonder whether to share what I'm about to say, for fear of seeming too candid, maybe "unprofessional." But I realize I want to let you know that The More Creative Therapist is a brand new adventure for me. I don't have course and coaching material already packaged that I've decided to sell online. It's all brand new. A work in progress. And so far, what a journey! I'm learning new digital production tools, diving into social media, and culling from decades of experience to harvest lessons learned that I think will benefit you.

Part of me hesitates to let this be known. After all, chances are we don't know each other. Maybe you found your way to this site through Facebook or a Google search. Maybe you joined my (also brand new) email list, and you want to know more. Perhaps your curiosity is...