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Something coming out of nothingness is what the creative process is all about,” says Vivien Marcow Speiser, an expressive therapist and director, National, International And Collaborative Programmes at the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, Lesley University. Speiser uses creative processes to heal and comfort those suffering from a trauma or living with a handicap. Music, art, dances and drama help an individual to express himself, to find a sense of calm and more importantly, his place in society. In expressive therapy, the therapist and the client explore the realm of imagination through an art form and reach a stage which helps the client find comfort. Working With Art Forms “In randomness and chaos, there is an impulse towards order,” says Speiser and that’s when an artistic endeavour becomes a therapy. It lets an individual organise his thoughts and becomes an experience that grounds him in reality. Speiser says, “Even in the worst kind of chaos, there is an impulse towards order. The creativity and the turmoil that it comes out of are basically two sides of the same coin.” Speiser’s approach, as an expressive therapist, is to work with all art forms. “If you are working with somebody who is not comfortable with music, you can work with art or dance or drama. You can engage people in an art form that induces them to use their imagination, so that they can perform to their optimum potential. Everyone is endowed with different qualities,” elaborates Speiser. When a person is able to express his inner conflict through art, in a safe way, he is able to ‘channelise’ his feelings. Expression in visual arts gives a sense of balance, form and symmetry. It’s the same as an artist’s first brush strokes on canvas. From void comes a beautiful painting. Comfort In Rituals Sometimes, our daily rituals play the role of a healer and help us find that space of calm and security. They offer a reassuring familiarity. In mundane practices, whether meditative or devotional, there is a sense of wellbeing. “When a child is born in any culture, there is some sort of ceremony that welcomes him. Through that ceremony, he finds his place in this world. Rituals try to orient a person to their place in the world; in the interpersonal realm of the family; in the socio-cultural realm and the political-institutional realm of society,” explains Speiser. Most important of them all is the spiritual realm. Like any other art form, rituals too have a certain form. “There is an opening session with some activity in it and there is a closing ceremony. There is a great deal of comfort in the ritual activity. It’s like, ‘I know my place in the world’,” she says. A ritual is the cornerstone of an artistic form. “With rituals you enter into a different faith. You are having a busy day. How do you find your balance in the middle of chaos? Everybody has a ritual to find balance; it can be meditation or a devotional practice. In a world that is chaotic, you find your faith and security through creativity of a ritual,” she adds. Expression through art enhances awareness. A connection forms between the therapist and the client. Awkwardness develops into a sense of safety and security. From that zone of safety, imagination blossoms into a creative process; a holding happens in two ways: holding of a therapeutic relationship and holding of an art form that helps a person find peace. Authentic Movement The form that Speiser likes to work with is called Authentic Movement. It is an improvisational movement practice that allows participants to express themselves through an association with the body. It was started by Mary Starks Whitehouse in the ’50s. In this form, there is a mover and a witness. There can be more than one mover and many witnesses. The mover moves with eyes closed, while the witness watches. “This is a very powerful form; a holding begins to happen as it progresses. To the viewer, it gives a sense that ‘you are in your place and I’m in my place’,” says Speiser. This allows the expression of all human capacity. The mover and the witness connect at a spiritual level. The witness is engaged with the mover’s delicate dance movements, wanting to join the mover and experience the process. “We go beyond one another; we go into the realm of the collective consciousness. It’s the same as any form of improvisation in arts; you don’t know where you are going. Everytime, I close my eyes and I have a witness, I enter into a form. Even if I have some idea about what I’m doing, I never know where I would land, maybe in heaven or in hell,” says the expressive therapist and dancer. That’s what the creative process is all about. You never know how it’s going to be in the end even if you have visualised it.
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