From Filmmaking to Art Therapy
The first time I picked up a video camera I was ten years old, directing a film called Step-by-Step Mummification for a class project. These were the days before youtube and I had an enormous over-the-shoulder VHS camera. In an effort to explain mummification, my friend and I wrapped my brother in toilet paper and I removed his "internal organs" that I had sculpted out of clay.
I didn't know it yet, but that was the first day of my journey towards becoming an Art Therapist.
My friends and I would get together to create hilarious, embarrassing, and completely cathartic cinematic expressions, working through the intense strangeness that was adolescence. We made videos making fun of our parents, impersonating celebrities, and just being totally zany kids.
We tried out different personas on screen and different roles in the production process. Looking back, these videos are a beautiful snapshot into the formative years of our individual identities, even if they make us cringe a bit to re-watch as adults.
I didn't know it yet, but that was the first day of my journey towards becoming an Art Therapist.
My friends and I would get together to create hilarious, embarrassing, and completely cathartic cinematic expressions, working through the intense strangeness that was adolescence. We made videos making fun of our parents, impersonating celebrities, and just being totally zany kids.
We tried out different personas on screen and different roles in the production process. Looking back, these videos are a beautiful snapshot into the formative years of our individual identities, even if they make us cringe a bit to re-watch as adults.
The Power of Storytelling
The beginnings of my identity began with a passion for images and a hunger for storytelling. I loved being behind the camera, setting up aesthetically beautiful shots, and using imagery to say something unique. I worked very hard to get into film school and began to create images with others. I wanted to be a documentary cinematographer, traveling the world telling visual stories.
Film school helped me develop these artistic skills, but more importantly, I discovered my real passion was in helping others tell their stories.
I ended up working on an independent documentary film after graduation that allowed me to work with Holocaust survivors -- people who had experienced some of the worst trauma imaginable. I learned the value of personal storytelling, and the healing potential of creative imagery. This is the foundation of Art Therapy.
Film school helped me develop these artistic skills, but more importantly, I discovered my real passion was in helping others tell their stories.
I ended up working on an independent documentary film after graduation that allowed me to work with Holocaust survivors -- people who had experienced some of the worst trauma imaginable. I learned the value of personal storytelling, and the healing potential of creative imagery. This is the foundation of Art Therapy.
Creating images in relationship
Filmmaking, my first love, ultimately led me to what I consider my life's calling, Art Therapy. Documentary filmmaking and Art Therapy have in common the idea of collaborative visual communication. I went to graduate school for Art Therapy to learn to use this powerful creative medicine to help others communicate their deep personal images and transform their lives.
In a nutshell, Art Therapy supports self- and interpersonal awareness, trauma processing, and identity formation through client art-making and personal storytelling in session with an Art Therapist. No art experience necessary.
I have worked with elders at end-of-life, grieving families, anxiety across the lifespan, adults with childhood trauma histories, distant couples, teens developing self-esteem, and children with attachment challenges. Just like the strange and expressive films of my childhood, I work with others to express themselves visually and verbally, working through emotional challenges, and strengthening personal identity.
Call or Email me to schedule a free consultation to see if we would be a good fit!
In a nutshell, Art Therapy supports self- and interpersonal awareness, trauma processing, and identity formation through client art-making and personal storytelling in session with an Art Therapist. No art experience necessary.
I have worked with elders at end-of-life, grieving families, anxiety across the lifespan, adults with childhood trauma histories, distant couples, teens developing self-esteem, and children with attachment challenges. Just like the strange and expressive films of my childhood, I work with others to express themselves visually and verbally, working through emotional challenges, and strengthening personal identity.
Call or Email me to schedule a free consultation to see if we would be a good fit!
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