Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to the Designer Practice Podcast, and I’m your host, Kayla Das.

In today’s episode, Jodie Lockey and Stephanie Dinsmore, Social Workers and Clinical Supervisors, will redefine traditional therapy by teaching how to integrate creative approaches into your practice.

I’m so glad to have you both on the show today, welcome.

Jodie: Thank you, Kayla. We’re so happy to be here.

Stephanie: Hi Kayla, thank you.

Kayla: Before we dive into today’s episode, please introduce yourselves, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about your own practice journeys.

Jodie: Hi, I’m Jodie Lockey we are integrative trauma and somatic therapists with a passion for holistic approaches. So, our practice incorporates things like art, music frequencies, polyvagal therapy, walk and talk therapy sessions.

We really are dedicated to redefining that traditional therapy approach by integrating creative methods into the work, that we do to support clients more comprehensively and more holistically.

Stephanie: Yeah, absolutely. And just off what Jodie said, so I’m an integrative trauma therapist, and just like Jodie, use all of these holistic approaches that she’s talked about.  

Kayla: Amazing. So, first of all, what are creative approaches in therapy, and how do these approaches differ from, say, traditional therapy methods?

Jodie: Absolutely. So, we really like to incorporate innovative techniques to make it more engaging and effective. So creative approaches in therapy involves using more of these non-traditional methods to facilitate healing and growth. So, this can include doing creative expressive work, which allowed the externalization that traditional talk therapy may not do.

Music and frequency therapy also allow for a different outlet or facilitate different levels of healing at cellular levels that is not necessarily through verbalization through talk therapy. Movement and somatic based work allows your body to release stagnant emotions, trauma or things that have kind of been stuck in your body maybe for a lifetime.

And really engaging in embodiment-based work. So trying to get people used to things like somatic experiencing, which is listening to your body, understanding where the emotion is coming from, where it is stored in your body and learning how to heal and grow through that.

Things like EMDR allow clients to safely and gently kind of release these traumatic scenarios that they’ve experienced in their life without having to just verbalize it. So not all, verbalization actually elicits healing. And so it’s really important that we use creative components for clients to process experiences and emotions. 

Kayla: So, what are benefits of incorporating creative approaches into therapy?

Stephanie: So, there are actually many benefits to creative approaches that can help clients to express themselves in ways that words alone may not capture that actually makes it easier to access and work through those really deep seated issues.

And they can also make therapy more engaging and actually enjoyable, which can really improve our client’s retention and outcomes. So they might notice that it helps them get to a place faster where they feel that whole wellness and essentially recovery.

And additionally, these methods can really help clients to tap into their innate creativity, fostering that sense of empowerment and self discovery, which we absolutely love as wholistic trauma therapists. 

Kayla: So, when we think of creative approaches to therapy, how can a listener start integrating some of these pieces that you’ve mentioned into their practice?

Jodie: So, every time we talk about creative elements, sometimes people get nervous about it because they’re like, well, I’m not an artist, or I’m not good at this, or I don’t have previous experience with these pieces. The thing is, is that we individualize this based on clients’ needs and what’s unique to the client and their personality. So, we always start by exploring different creative methods and finding out what might resonate with the client.

So, for a counselor you want to look at what might resonate with you and when you’re looking at gaining competencies and understandings around implementing creative techniques. So, you start by exploring different creative methods that might actually go in alignment with who you are. And then there’s, of course, training and certification and specific modalities if you want to do very specialized things like art therapy or music therapy. But ultimately incorporating some of these pieces into the work that you’re already doing can be really beneficial.

So, begin by incorporating some of these elements slowly as you feel comfortable and seeing what feels right for you. What feels right for the client. Perhaps starting with small exercises or activities. So if you were going to do the ACT matrix with a client, perhaps making that an external document that you can do together. So whether it’s on Canva virtually or if you’re in person on a whiteboard or a paper that they get to take home. This allows the client to be engaged in what they’re doing and also bring something home with them.

And experiment with art and creative healing techniques such as like painting and drawing, sculpture to help clients at all ages, by the way. Express emotions and experiences, may be difficult sometimes to actually do through words.

So, working with clients, say with PTSD, sometimes they don’t have the verbalization or expression to do that. And so, if you incorporate techniques like movement and breath work, somatic experiencing. This helps clients actually connect with their bodies and release that tension or that trauma stored in the body. 

Stephanie: And I think what’s so important about what Jodie is saying is oftentimes when we’re meeting with clients, we hear from them about their experiences in child or in youth. And oftentimes we are taught and even I was taught to not listen to my body, listen to an adult, listen to who’s in charge, listen to your teacher.

And so over time, we’ve actually gotten away from listening intuitively to ourselves. that gut reaction, what’s coming up for us. And what we love about holistic trauma therapy and doing it creatively with art and other ways is that people are starting to relisten to their body and noticing how they’re feeling, what’s coming up for them.

What am I seeing and hearing in my gut? Am I noticing any tension in my shoulders? And all of that can be discovered through these different creative healing practices.

Jodie: Something uniquely that we started offering to was walk and talk therapy. And this is a refreshing change that can get clients out of that therapeutic setting, off of that couch walking while they’re talking. And there are so many benefits for both the counsellor and the client around moving or being in nature while processing really hard thoughts or feelings.

And virtually something that I switched to recently was I wanted to really foster this embodiment work. And so even if I had virtual clients, I was like, let’s walk while talking on the phone. Let’s get away from our cameras. We know that sometimes the camera can create moments of shame or feelings of having to sit still and listen and pay attention.

And it’s like, no, we actually need to move. We need to get up and we need to model that as counsellors too. To listen to our body like Steph was saying and move around and that can be so powerful for people of all ages that experiential therapies can be things like role playing or using guided imagery or interactive strategies or activities.

This allows clients to truly experience what they’re going through. Understand where it is in their body, process them in a tangible and very gentle way. I often hear the somatic approaches. Clients really find it gentle. They find it beneficial. They feel like they’ve now walked, they’ve expressed, they’ve moved their body, they’ve released emotions. Of course, we have to be mindful to the unique needs and preferences of each client and tailor them accordingly. But ultimately, creating that safe space, that supportive environment where clients are safe and feel comfortable to explore these creative modalities. You don’t have to be an artist. You don’t have to be good at these pieces. It’s simply about the process and the expression.

Kayla: This makes me think of some of the activities that I’ve done in my own work. So, although I wouldn’t necessarily call them as creative, but it’s tailoring the different approaches to the client. So, I come from a cognitive behavioral, ACT kind of approach. And I’m a very process driven person, and a lot of my clients were process driven because I worked with a lot of executives. And with that, what I often did was, as we were talking about certain things, I would have the client write down what they were saying depending on what it was, like whether, we were identifying some key pieces, some issues, so forth.

Because there’s research that shows that when we read and write, we’re using a different side of the brain than when we’re speaking. So, as a result, we’re able to integrate both sides of the brain when we’re writing and we’re able to process differently as well. So, thinking about creative approaches is sometimes our clients may also need to process some of what’s happening outside of the verbal pieces.

Stephanie: Amazing. I love that. And even one thing I want to add that Jodi spoke briefly about was our walk and talk therapy. And just because we’re moving into winter does not mean walk and talk therapy has to stop. It just means we have to dress appropriately and we can absolutely continue this type of therapy and this type of creative modality.

And also, I like to point out to clients, how do you notice, and how do you feel when there’s a hot temperature versus a cold temperature? So we can actually utilize the shift and change in season to tailor it to the therapy while we move and while we talk. 

Kayla: I love that. Do you have any additional tips or advice for listeners wanting to integrate creative approaches into their practice?

Stephanie: Yeah, absolutely. We have some tips and I can start us off. So, one thing would be embracing that creativity. So, encouraging people to not be afraid to try new things and bring their own creative interests into the practice. This can actually make therapy more authentic. We talked about the concept of unmasking and being our authentic selves, and it actually makes it more enjoyable for both you and your clients.

One of the other thoughts I have is about staying informed. So continuously educating yourself about different creative approaches and how they can be applied therapeutically. You could attend workshops, read relevant literature, and even connect with other professionals in the field like Jodie or I, who have explored and continue to explore all of these different and alternative methods.

Jodie: I think embrace your creativity. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Bring in new, innovative, and creative interest into your practice. This makes it more authentic, more enjoyable. I think it also helps prevent from burnout when we think of thriving and learning and growing professionally and personally, staying informed. There’s always new relevant literature, research, workshops, events things that we can engage in that can help us with this.

And really not being afraid to just try new things and get out there and embracing your inner child self too, because that’s ultimately the time that we were the most present, the most engaged. And so what does that look like for you and your creativity?

Stephanie: And then we also want to be integrating really slowly. So starting actually small and incorporating these creative exercises into your sessions, this can help you and your clients to adjust to those new methods and see the benefits gradually. And it’s also something you could encourage your client to track and then you can track as well to see is this one that I’m trying helpful? Or do I want to shift it and how I facilitated it and try something different, but also creating that safe environment. So, ensuring that your practice space feels welcoming and safe for clients to express themselves creatively.

Kayla: Amazing. So, I know you both have a free podcast that you’d like to share. Can you tell us a little bit about what listeners can expect when they tune in?

Jodie: Absolutely. It’s probably our most creative and most fun and innovative thing that we’ve done. So, our podcast, Therapists Off the Clock, it offers insights and training on various therapeutic approaches, including the creative methods we’ve discussed today and integrating the mind, body and soul. Listeners can expect practical tips, in depth discussions, personal and professional reflections, and many more things.

Kayla: Great. So, to listen to Therapist Off the Clock podcast, head to kayladas.com/therapistofftheclock

Or you can also connect with Stephanie and Jody by checking out their website at mindfulpathcounselling.ca.

You can also simply scroll down to the show notes and click on either link.

Thank you both for joining us on the podcast today to discuss how to integrate creative approaches into our practices.

Jodie: Thank you so much for having us.

Stephanie: Thank you, Kayla.

Kayla: Thank you everyone, for tuning into today’s episode, and I hope you join me again soon on the Designer Practice Podcast

Until next time, bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay

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