Somatic Expressive Arts Psychotherapy
Individuals and Couples in German and English
“Imagination is the door through which disease as well as healing enters.” Sri Yukteswar
Specializing in Communication, Spirituality, Sexuality, Creativity,
Identity, Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Anger/Stress Management, Attachment Issues,
Grief, Divorce and Separation, and other major transitions. LGBTQI-S2 Community.
What kind of stories do you tell yourself?
Are they serving you?
What kind of stories do you want to create?
Express yourself as you are in the moment through words, silence, movement, images, dreams, music, poetry and storytelling.
Explore with curiosity and openness what is happening in the moment and what is present in your body, mind and spirit.
Experience your feelings and sensations in the body, your dreams, beliefs and thoughts to access your intuition and guidance.
Allow curiosity, the not-knowing, and your experience to come forth with a compassionate witness guiding you.
Experiencing your feelings and sensations in the body, looking at your beliefs and thoughts support the access to
your intuition, inner guidance, healing and transformation.
What are your thoughts?
What do you feel?
What are your needs?
Expand the knowledge of yourself while embracing what you know. Get unstuck from stuck places and repetitive patterns that don't serve you any longer. Expansion means to have more choices, flexibility, and a wider view of oneself and the world.
Self-acceptance is at the bottom of our freedom and at the heart of living in peace with oneself and others.
The process of Express-Explore-Expand, an inquiry into your soul, is guided by the following questions:
What wants to be understood? What wants to be released? What wants to emerge?
Openness and Curiosity to counter Shame and Guilt
Openness and curiosity invite us to be present with ourselves. Shame and guilt are often in the way of our healing and have been acquired by being misunderstood, not seen and hurt. It takes time and patience to become present with the feelings that have been buried underneath the hurt. The presence of another who listens and reflects helps in the process of self-discovery and acceptance. Silence and being with the breath, listening to the sensations in our bodies, exploring our dreams, sharing our stories and having them reflected back by a non-judgmental, deeply listening witness, help us to find a deeper understanding of ourselves and enter true transformation.
Compassion
Developing compassion for ourselves takes courage. It is often hard to get in touch with our feelings, needs and desires and set appropriate boundaries when we were not heard, seen and our needs weren’t met when we were young. Allowing compassion for ourselves can open the doors for clearer communication and more satisfying relationships. It is the building block to let the inner healer do its work. Compassion is at the foundation of psychotherapy and expressive arts therapy. The therapist is there to understand your inner world and support you in finding the right balance in the context of how you live your life. Anxiety, depression, fear, anger, sadness and unresolved grief are all gateways to understanding ourselves more deeply.
Authenticity and Creativity
Being authentic means to be present with ourselves in any given moment. Creativity offers us choices to respond to our inner impulses and the outer environment. By being engaged in the process of writing, drawing, painting, poetry, storytelling, movement/dance, sandtray, drama and music besides talking, we can access the unspeakable, explore the paradoxes of our being, expand our consciousness and also find containment of our suffering.
Creative expression has the power to move us beyond concepts of right and wrong, thus transforming stuck energy and crystallizing the essence we are. Talking and sharing your story and process freely and having it reflected back are important elements in the integration of all processes.
The invitation to engage in creative exploration which focuses on the process and not the product support the transformation of stuck energy and not needing to contain it inside oneself. Creative expression is the language of the soul and inherent in all of us. Yet many people feel they can't sing, draw, or dance while as children it was a natural language to them. Through external comments, judgments and evaluation while growing up, this gateway to their soul was shut down, blocking expression in different areas of their lives.
Expressive arts reopens the gateway to the soul thus freeing us from an external locus of control to an internal process of being, inviting us to have our authentic voices be the guiding force of living our lives. In dreams this naturally occurs because our judging mind, our ego with internalized beliefs of should's and must's, is at sleep and allows our soul to express itself freely.
Individuals and Couples in German and English
“Imagination is the door through which disease as well as healing enters.” Sri Yukteswar
Specializing in Communication, Spirituality, Sexuality, Creativity,
Identity, Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Anger/Stress Management, Attachment Issues,
Grief, Divorce and Separation, and other major transitions. LGBTQI-S2 Community.
What kind of stories do you tell yourself?
Are they serving you?
What kind of stories do you want to create?
Express yourself as you are in the moment through words, silence, movement, images, dreams, music, poetry and storytelling.
Explore with curiosity and openness what is happening in the moment and what is present in your body, mind and spirit.
Experience your feelings and sensations in the body, your dreams, beliefs and thoughts to access your intuition and guidance.
Allow curiosity, the not-knowing, and your experience to come forth with a compassionate witness guiding you.
Experiencing your feelings and sensations in the body, looking at your beliefs and thoughts support the access to
your intuition, inner guidance, healing and transformation.
What are your thoughts?
What do you feel?
What are your needs?
Expand the knowledge of yourself while embracing what you know. Get unstuck from stuck places and repetitive patterns that don't serve you any longer. Expansion means to have more choices, flexibility, and a wider view of oneself and the world.
Self-acceptance is at the bottom of our freedom and at the heart of living in peace with oneself and others.
The process of Express-Explore-Expand, an inquiry into your soul, is guided by the following questions:
What wants to be understood? What wants to be released? What wants to emerge?
Openness and Curiosity to counter Shame and Guilt
Openness and curiosity invite us to be present with ourselves. Shame and guilt are often in the way of our healing and have been acquired by being misunderstood, not seen and hurt. It takes time and patience to become present with the feelings that have been buried underneath the hurt. The presence of another who listens and reflects helps in the process of self-discovery and acceptance. Silence and being with the breath, listening to the sensations in our bodies, exploring our dreams, sharing our stories and having them reflected back by a non-judgmental, deeply listening witness, help us to find a deeper understanding of ourselves and enter true transformation.
Compassion
Developing compassion for ourselves takes courage. It is often hard to get in touch with our feelings, needs and desires and set appropriate boundaries when we were not heard, seen and our needs weren’t met when we were young. Allowing compassion for ourselves can open the doors for clearer communication and more satisfying relationships. It is the building block to let the inner healer do its work. Compassion is at the foundation of psychotherapy and expressive arts therapy. The therapist is there to understand your inner world and support you in finding the right balance in the context of how you live your life. Anxiety, depression, fear, anger, sadness and unresolved grief are all gateways to understanding ourselves more deeply.
Authenticity and Creativity
Being authentic means to be present with ourselves in any given moment. Creativity offers us choices to respond to our inner impulses and the outer environment. By being engaged in the process of writing, drawing, painting, poetry, storytelling, movement/dance, sandtray, drama and music besides talking, we can access the unspeakable, explore the paradoxes of our being, expand our consciousness and also find containment of our suffering.
Creative expression has the power to move us beyond concepts of right and wrong, thus transforming stuck energy and crystallizing the essence we are. Talking and sharing your story and process freely and having it reflected back are important elements in the integration of all processes.
The invitation to engage in creative exploration which focuses on the process and not the product support the transformation of stuck energy and not needing to contain it inside oneself. Creative expression is the language of the soul and inherent in all of us. Yet many people feel they can't sing, draw, or dance while as children it was a natural language to them. Through external comments, judgments and evaluation while growing up, this gateway to their soul was shut down, blocking expression in different areas of their lives.
Expressive arts reopens the gateway to the soul thus freeing us from an external locus of control to an internal process of being, inviting us to have our authentic voices be the guiding force of living our lives. In dreams this naturally occurs because our judging mind, our ego with internalized beliefs of should's and must's, is at sleep and allows our soul to express itself freely.
"The rhythm of our soul cannot be taken from us no matter how upside down it is or might appear. "
Nicki Koethner
Contact: Nicki Koethner, MA, MFT: 510-779-2842
MFC 46109