Art Therapy

"When I was in my Master's program at University of Louisville, they required us to attend therapy ourselves.  It allowed us insight into what therapy was like from the inside and work on any issues that might get in the way of our own services in the future.  It also set the standard for me that everyone needs help sometimes - even the helpers.  I chose a wonderful Art Therapist MaryAnn to be my counselor.  While I went to therapy thinking I was pretty OK, it became an amazing time of growth and self-discovery.  At the time, I was in a long distance relationship, let's call him Steve.  Steve and I had known each other since high school and I felt like he'd be The One. We got along great, despite the distance.  Back in the old days, long distance calls were still expensive, but we talked as much as we could.  We shared our everyday struggles, our long term goals and supported each other through rough times.  When I would meet with MaryAnn, she would ask me to depict issues in my life.  At the time, I was using swirling lines in a lima bean shape to represent people.  I used these loops and whirls to show feelings, energy and thoughts.  Each color meant something specific to me. Lime green was bright, happy energy, the smell of fresh cut grass and feel of endless possibilities.  Orange was a sick feeling in my stomach, dread and illness.  Light blue was calm, centered and focused with mindfulness.  I drew these lima bean shapes endlessly that year.  One day, MaryAnn asked me to show my connection with Steve in a drawing.  I immediately jumped into my lima bean shapes, chosing colors that represented us as people and our connection to each other. I filled the paper with bright,  vibrant colors and lines to show what an amazing duo Steve and I were. Connecting the two lima beans was a strand of lines, some bright, some dark. I felt that the distance was a bit of a yin & yang.  That's when I got to see the true mystery that is Art Therapy unfold.  You see, I figured that I knew myself better than anyone else.  Yet MaryAnn was able to see something that I never had in all the long months of lima bean drawings.  She noticed that my lima beans looked like ears....I was astounded! How could I not realize what my own hands were drawing. And yet I didn't see it until she pointed it out.  At that moment the weight of a long distance relationship crashed down on me.  I felt the distance, both physical and emotional. I noticed that what Steve and I were actually really great friends, but maybe not a great couple. That realization allowed me to reassess my relationship - was it truly right for me? I can still remember that moment to this day, 20+ years later, when my eyes shifted and I saw my entire world in a different light."