30 NATURE-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY
The circle is open
But unbroken.
Sally Atkins and Melia Snyder
This is a book about nature, art and healing in therapeutic practice.
We open this book as we open a class, a workshop or a therapy
session, with breath, with poetic words and with a tuning in to
ourselves and to each other with intention and presence. Within the
holding space of this book we share personal and professional ideas
and experiences from our research, teaching and practice.Purpose of the book
The purpose of this book is to explore the expansion of theory and
practice in the field of expressive arts therapy in order to articulate
a nature-based approach to the work. In this exploration we ask the
following questions: What is the role of a nature-based expressive
artist/therapist in this time? How can we envision a practice of
therapy that does not separate us from the natural world? How can
we envision a sustainable way of living that supports individual and
planetary wellbeing? The ideas discussed are relevant to many areas
of professional practice. The theoretical stance expressed in this book
is informed by work in the expressive arts field as it is being developed
around the world and particularly by our own work at Appalachian
State University in North Carolina and at the European Graduate
School in Switzerland. We draw on our professional experience as
well as on our personal heritage of the Southern Appalachian culture
in which we live.
This is not a how-to guide. This book is intended as a theoretical
grounding for both beginning and experienced professionals who
use the expressive arts and nature as means of facilitating learning
and promoting personal, organizational and planetary healing.
Here we explore therapeutic, artistic, scientific, philosophical and
cultural theories that inform our work. In keeping with our artistic
perspective, we intentionally choose to refer to these theories as
stories , rather than the more common academic term of theories.