Author Archives: Priya Senroy

The Art of Un-Goals – Embracing Cultural Perspectives While Setting Goals

Posted by: Priya Senroy on January 19, 2015 8:29 am

I always grapple with goal setting and while have to do that continuously in my work, for my kids as well teach about it. I have been having a conversation with a colleague who said that he doesn’t set goals, he has no past and no future but the present only and he is happy going with the flow. I found that concept somewhat unsettling as suddenly feeling rudderless, having no control over the future and off course not having a plan. And then he explained that he has had to master the art of un-setting goals and that has been inspired by the eastern philosophy that can practices. I dug deep and I found similar thoughts shared in this article by William Berry, 2014( http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-second-noble-truth/201402/control-is-the-psychological-goal) who shares that though it is often believed control leads to a happier life, there is evidence to suggest the opposite is true. In Eastern philosophies the goal is to let go of control, to let things unfold, to go with the flow of the universe. Wu-Wei is a term which is translated to “action through non-action.” Wu-Wei is practiced by letting go, letting things unfold, and aligning one’s actions with the flow of the universe. It is the opposite of trying to control.

And that’s I think is interesting to share with my clients and let them perhaps think of how to set goals not in the sense of using it to control the future but as guide map and perhaps not letting it control the present. I will try to incorporate that into my goals for this year-which is to be more of myself and be less of what others want me to be and just explore-be more creative more free and hopefully un-setting goals might liberate me from the shackles of trying to control what is not mine.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Replenishing My Depleted Cells

Posted by: Priya Senroy on November 6, 2014 4:01 pm

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Hello fellow counsellors.

This month has been taxing on many levels. The attacks on our soldiers, being bombarded by elections materials and trying to keep Halloween alive in my parent council have made me feel tired and lethargic and all drained.

This is also when I attended a workshop on Sensorimotor Art Therapy and that has brought some energy back into my depleted cells- It has energised me physically, emotionally, spiritually and I feel I am ready to tackle Christmas!!!!

So SAT (Sensorimotor Art Therapy) centralises the wisdom of the body in therapy. Building on mainstream theoretical approaches within psychotherapy and mental health and integrating art mediums of paints, pastels, crayons and clay allows access, expression and healing bringing deeper experiences of a sense of self. Guided drawing is one of the approaches of sensorimotor art therapy. I find that while I am free spirited doodler, the guided art is helping to reclaim my boundaries, give me security and make peace with some of the body memories that have been churned by different events in the last months. I feel that exploring art through all the senses helps to remember its (the body) needs, its instinct to survive and to heal” (Elbrecht & Antcliff, 2013).

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Diversity and Creativity

Posted by: Priya Senroy on September 15, 2014 3:49 pm

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It’s back to school time and also a time for refresher trainings and courses. In one of the palces that I work, we had a refresher on diversity and creativity.There has beena big turover in stfaffing broing with it not only perople from a variety of backgrounds and experiences but a variety of thinking styles. It is crucial for any orginisation to have some kind of common vision and be able to work creatively within a diverse framework.

One of the group exercises was to mix up the counsellors from different departments and then strategically group them according to their diversity. The rationale behind this is that an intellectually diverse group operates more creatively and is more likely to generate innovative solutions as when all members are alike, they often reach agreement quickly — and although that may seem to be an asset, it is more often a liability. Only later might they realize that they lost a chance to see things differently and to create something truly groundbreaking, by tapping the experience of outside experts.

Therefore, even though there is unity in diversirty, often it might be benefitial to have opposites work together just to get creative results.Unusual connections produce-exciting results; Steve Jobs said that innovation occurs at the intersection of technology and the arts.

By: Priya Senroy

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Laugh ‘Till I Die?

Posted by: Priya Senroy on September 8, 2014 10:07 am

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Humor can be therapeutic or can be an excellent mask…For the last two days since depression and humor or comedy has been in the forefront of Hollywood, some of my clients who have been effected by depression have been posing lot of questions…and that has made me revisit the therapeutic nature of laughter-while it can be healing—perhaps it can be a smoking gun too!!! I have heard that famous comedy club in Los Angeles called the Laugh Factory has a as an in-house therapy program. Researching I have found that two nights a week, comics meet with psychologists in a private office upstairs, discussing their problems while lying on a therapy couch formerly owned by Groucho Marx. “Eighty percent of comedians come from a place of tragedy,” explains Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada. “They didn’t get enough love. They have to overcome their problems by making people laugh.”Further reading of Peter McGraw’s book on Humor Code brought some interesting perspective. The author talks about, that humor arises when something seems wrong or threatening but is simultaneously OK or safe. If comedians are going to mine their lives for material, they’re naturally going to start by looking for violations—the foibles, neuroses, and bad behaviors that are great for a laugh …So perhaps comedy as a therapy perhaps might not be funny at all sometimes.

R.I.P The Funny Ones!!!!!

By: Priya Senroy

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Colours of the Rainbow Are the Same, Everywhere

Posted by: Priya Senroy on July 24, 2014 3:37 pm

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June and July have been vibrant months in the city of Toronto, colors are not only showcased by the nature but is found regularly on the streets- World Pride was one of them. This summer has also been colorful for a LGBTQ group that I sometimes facilitate workshops for. The group is mixed in ages, sexual orientation , ethnicity and cultural upbringing. There were many differences, many similarities and the diversity was overflowing. They all had one thing in common- they wanted to use the summer months as a way to symbolize the process of coming out-some of them are already out, some of them can never ever while some are contemplating. Whatever their stages of ‘coming out ‘are, the group shared a sense of struggling with their identity.

So delving in suing creative arts, the group explored some creative art therapy interventions which they could relate to , especially the ones who were struggling with identity. I have used these activities with clients with disabilities, clients with gender abuse etc.

The activity “Inside Me, Outside Me” is one example, in which the client creates two self-portraits—one of the publicly presented self, the other of the private, internal, self. For the clients in the early phases of coming out, these may be two very different portraits. The idea of creating self-portraits has been used by many clients in art therapy as a means for externalizing feelings and qualities of the self that are too delicate to expose verbally This activity may use a variety of media or take different forms, such as a mask or box (using the inside as well as the outside). These portraits were used as a gateway for discussion and reflection. Another activity involves puppet making, in which the created puppet “speaks” for the client. When the process stopped, there were sighs of relief and a sense of letting go, which some felt were equivalent to coming out in a safe and non threatening environment. Taking a step forward, the group felt that their personal journeys that they had explored during the workshops could be showcased or just simply shared with other groups. So role plays, movement and embodiment were used to create plays which the group are working on for informal and private sharing in the future.

Articles:

http://www.plumeriacounseling.com/coming-out-through-art-a-review-of-art-therapy-with-lgbt-clients/

http://www.lianalowenstein.com/article_gender.pdf

BY: Priya Senroy

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Self Harm and Creative Arts

Posted by: Priya Senroy on July 24, 2014 3:34 pm

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I could not find any metaphors to tie these two-I am sure there are many…for me at times its best to keep it as simple and direct as possible keeping in mind the sensitivity of the topic and the young clients that I work with. Summer has had an influx of teens that are as they say “being discovered’ by their parents or other faults as having self harm behavior-and they blame it on the weather and their clothing….no matter what the reasons are…one thing is sure that this needs to be addressed and expressed in many ways and creative arts has been a window of opportunity for some of these youth who have chosen to explore this medium. Some techniques that are based on the technique of focusing can be modified and used in various ways. I have found useful are:

Creating a Safe Space: Using art materials an image of the felt sense of the safe place is created. Once the client does this step, it may be fine to just stop here. This is an important step in creating a safe place within that the client can always choose to return to, whenever she or he needs to. The client can also embody this safe space and using movement, music and gestures could use it either as an intervention technique or calming technique.

2. Safe Space/Creating Distance: Once the client creates the safe space, and can clearly make connection to it when she or he needs to, then the client can move to place all the things between her/him and feeling all fine. Beginning with the safe place, in the art form, the client uses the art materials to symbolize the issues in the way of feeling all fine. Possibilities include, drawing symbols of each issue, or writing, onto pieces of construction paper; tearing or cutting into shapes papers to represent each issue; or using clay, beads, or other objects to symbolize the issues. These objects or papers are then placed at a distance that feels right to the client, from the safe place. The client resonates, or checks inside for a feeling of rightness as well as to check whether there is some more space inside. If the client connects with the image/art piece, it may be helpful to have the drawing/image present during subsequent sessions. When the client focuses on the experience, invite the client to sense the whole feel of it in her or his body.. While creating the art, the client resonates the handle (image/symbol), checking for a right fit.

More information on self harm and creative arts can be found in:

http://www.lianalowenstein.com/Self-injury.pdf

http://www.dtaa.org.au/download/Thematic%20Unfolding.pdf

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/self-harm%20distractions%20and%20alternatives%20final.pdf

BY: Priya Senroy

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Summer!

Posted by: Priya Senroy on June 6, 2014 4:09 pm

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Hello fellow readers…..yes summer is here and so is the season of evaluations for my programs.

One of the current programs I am coordinating in the community is a multi arts projects for youth with disabilities and evaluation has been challenging as the traditional survey, questionnaire and hasn’t really worked so I had had to think of creative approaches of evaluating them and that’s makes sense right-I have also started using them for my counselling session and have found them useful. ABE or Art-based evaluation (ABE) uses creative activities such as visual arts, sound, photography, media arts, cartoons, movement, creative writing, to explore the impact of a project or program. Creative activities when combined with more traditional evaluation approaches, such as interviews and questionnaire, are an innovative and effective way to evaluate a program.

I have also combined things like Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) taking pictures at the end of the day and then stringing them with a simple like dislike symbol to accommodate and navigate clients with various communication, language and cognition barriers. There is not much out there in terms of resources on using creative approaches to evaluation and some approaches that I have been using can be found in this website:

http://www.artreachtoronto.ca/toolkits/the-goal-toolkits/creative-approaches-to-evaluation/

The process is tedious and requires time since it has to be group and needs specific but it is able to capture the evaluation process well and I would encourage practitioners out there to embrace the non traditional forms while evaluating their programs or sessions.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

I Feel Like a Flower Waiting to Bloom….

Posted by: Priya Senroy on May 16, 2014 3:33 pm

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Dear fellow counsellors….YES…SPRING is finally here…I am seeing it in my backyard…although the weather is enigmatic as ever…I try to find some meaning in its forecasts, try to make sense of the erratic nature…..this year is going to be unpredictable and I need some kind of roots to ground me—speaking of metaphor—while doing spring cleaning…I found my old metaphor cards and have used them occasionally with my clients….the results have been better than our weather forecasts—each time I use them, they are interpreted in amazing ways. I was first introduced to them as a young fledging Drama and Movement Therapist- we were encouraged to embody the images and then dramatize the associated feelings and metaphors…they can be defined as therapeutic tools that open a window into a person’s inner world; associative reactions to the illustrated cards make it possible to reflect upon childhood memories, to recall repressed experiences, and to release blocked feelings. Since the interpretations of metaphors featured in the cards are completely in the eyes of the beholder, the same card can trigger different reactions in different participants (OH cards institute 2014) There are many kinds of cards, I use ECCO which are just one of the few decks out there .If anyone is interested in finding more about these cards which are specially useful when words are not enough to express how one feels. I became more fascinated by them when one of my favorite therapists-Mooli Lahad spoke of them. He has quoted about them in another site as (the) cards help us create a space in which we allow ourselves to invent, make believe and day dream, while knowing all along that the “fantastic reality” is there to serve our coping skills and not in order to cut us off from reality (Lahad, 2003).

I can go on and on….but I think I will leave you with websites that can shed more light on them and hoping that they will inspire to be used as an effective creative therapeutic tool in counseling:

http://www.oh-cards-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Chen-Nicole-International-Conference-Experiential-Card-Therapy-v2.pdf

http://www.oh-cards-na.com/areas-of-use/therapy-and-counseling/

http://www.oh-cards-institute.org/2012/metaphoric-cards-an-effective-tool-in-therapy/

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Lost In Translation

Posted by: Priya Senroy on April 25, 2014 3:40 pm

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I am hoping that Spring is finally here and we can get liberated from the scarves and the tons of clothing which I am finding is restricting my body language and sometimes I am also finding it difficult to read my client’s body language. This is especially true for clients in counseling who find it challenging to communicate using words and use their bodies primarily. We know that in counseling, body language is used to help build rapport, by observing the clients body movements and matching them in an appropriate way it can improve communication. On an unconscious level mirroring the clients movements can help them feel more comfortable with their counsellors; reason being people feel more connected to the people who are most like themselves. The counsellor observes the client’s body language at all times, noting any discomfort, as this could indicate difficulty verbalizing something, and further exploration can be carried out to connect to the client’s deeper feelings. Body Language is the unspoken communication that goes on in every face-to-face encounter with another human being. It informs us the true feelings towards us and how well our words are being received by others. I found an acronym in a website which helps me to remember that dos and don’ts of using body language as a counsellor-it is important though to remember that every client t is different and every situation is different so it is important to make sure that using body language takes into account the diversity,culture, gender , ethnicity etc. So the acronym SOLERF stands for

S – Squarely face person vs. sitting kitty-corner.

O – Use Open posture vs. crossed arms and legs

L – Lean a little toward the person vs. settling back in your chair

E – Use Eye contact vs. staring off into deep space

R – Relax; keep it natural vs. sitting like a board

F – look friendly vs. neutral or scowling.

For me, every client is always feeling much more than what they are saying and it is important to be aware of my own body language and making sure that I am keeping the communication simple and make sure that nothing is lost in translation.

Priya Senroy

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

What is a Social Justice Approach to Advocacy Counselling?

Posted by: Priya Senroy on March 18, 2014 12:42 pm

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This month is all about waiting for Spring and being surprised by digging myself out of the snow…again and again…almost to the point of being internally oppressed by winter and not taking a more proactive role in dealing with the world….. Resigning to the internal oppression and not be an advocate for my personal wellbeing….speaking of advocacy, I attended a lecture on the subject of looking at social justice approach to advocacy counselling- a new subject area for me except t few words… At the end of the lecture, I was fascinated by the take….so here is my understanding along with the experts…..

A social justice approach to advocacy counseling involves advocating for clients within their many social systems, modeling empowering behaviors by teaching clients how to access services, and encouraging clients to become advocates for themselves within their communities (Toporek, Gerstein, Fouad, Roysircar, Israel, 2005). The goal of advocacy counseling is to increase clients‟ feelings of self-empowerment and belongingness (Lewis & Bradley, 2000; Lewis et al., 2003). Specific techniques of advocacy counseling involve, but are not limited to, encouraging clients to join self-help groups; imposing class advocacy, which involves speaking out on clients‟ rights (Lee & Walz, 1998); and consulting with individuals, communities, and organizations. According to Kiselica (1999) and Lee (1999), counsellors who ascribe to a social justice model understand and validate their clients‟ reality and empower their clients to take a more active role in resolving their own issues.

For example; On an individual level: A Client who has experienced sexual harassment in her worksite and would like to address it but does not know how, can be counselled to take the empowerment approach and the advocacy approach to start to raise awareness not only for herself but also for her peers. On a community/organizational level: A counsellor observes a number of clients who have experienced similar barriers in the community. They can take the community collaboration and the systems advocacy approach to mobilize resources in the community to address those barriers.. On a societal level: A counsellor works with clients who experience difficulty obtaining adequate parental leave can access public Information and critique social/political policy.

There is a plethora of information out there and some of the thoughts; the references shared in this blog can also be found in

http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/lewis-v3n1-11_5-16.pdf

http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/hof-v2n1-09_15-28.pdf

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/jsacp/Green-V1N2-08.pdf

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA