Viva Lewes Issue #144 September 2018

HEALTH
Art to heart
Crafty counselling
Photo by Anita Hall
One of my earliest
memories is
of my first day at
school, where I was
confronted with an
array of crayons,
assorted containers,
paper shapes,
glue and - best of
all - colourful blobs
of Plasticine. I
remember a mixture
of excitement and
anxiety: which should I choose? What was I
supposed to do?
It feels a little like that when I enter the Rodmell
studio of Arts Counsellor and Shamanic
Practitioner Ali Rabjohns. Inside the door is a
blackboard with assorted chalks, while under
the window is a table spread with art materials.
There are coloured pencils and pastels, a palette
of water colours and a fat bag of clay.
Before I get stuck in, Ali offers some background
information. “Transpersonal Arts
Counselling was developed in the 1920s by
Rudolf Steiner,” she explains, “who essentially
said that imbalances in the head, the heart and
the will need to be brought back into balance
so that they are all working in harmony. If they
are not balanced, then we can become depressed
and physically ill. We need colour and art for
the soul to breathe and express itself.”
Working creatively, she continues, allows us to
access the subconscious mind, bypassing the intellect
and tapping into our intuition. Problems
that we normally struggle to tackle, or find difficult
to face, can be more easily addressed and
healed when approached indirectly.
“It can suit people who have experienced trauma
or have a terminal
illness,” she adds, “or
who are going through
a big transition like
death or grieving. It’s
also very good for children
and those with
special needs. Often
these are the types of
people who shut down
with other forms of
therapy, so a softer approach
is needed.”
Then it’s time to get creative. I elect to try some
‘wet-on-wet’ water-colour painting, whereby
the paints are brushed onto dampened paper,
allowing the shades to bleed pleasingly into one
another. Red, purple, blue, green and orangeyyellow
merge in swirls, blobs and stripes on
the white background, and I realise I can’t
remember when I last ‘played’ like this, without
thought of the end result. It’s enormously
liberating, and my inner four year old is in her
element.
“It’s very much about seeing what feels right,”
advises Ali, “and letting the process unfold at its
own pace, through a spirit of play.”
The ‘therapy’ part follows the art, but is
informal and very much client-led. “At the end
of each session, we talk about the process, and
discuss anything that’s shifted or anything new
that’s come up. Over time, you start to notice
patterns and changes. It’s gentle but powerful.”
My dabble is too brief to prompt much in the
way of self-realisation, but, I tell Ali, I was
aware of how freeing it felt to let go of my usual
perfectionist tendencies. Perhaps my takeaway
lesson is that I need to stop trying so hard. And
maybe buy some paints… Anita Hall
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