In psychotherapy clients sometimes experience breakthrough moments - profound moments in which their world and how they view themselves is changed for ever. But what exactly occurs during such moments? In Breakthrough Moments in Arts-Based Psychotherapy the author shares her very personal journey to discover what might be happening at these pivotal moments and demonstrates their importance for clients' change processes. Filled with examples from her own practice, the book dips into the worlds of chaos and complexity theory, neuroscience, quantum physics, and theories of change, in order to show how the use of arts-media in psychotherapy - visual images and drawing, drama and music, sand-tray and enactment - can encourage the arrival of these dramatic breakthrough moments. The aim of this unique book is to shine a spotlight for the first time on a deeply profound aspect of arts-based psychotherapy in an accessible and engaging way.

In psychotherapy clients sometimes experience breakthrough moments - profound moments in which their world and how they view themselves is changed for ever. But what exactly occurs during such moments? In Breakthrough Moments in Arts-Based Psychotherapy the author shares her very personal journey to discover what might be happening at these pivotal moments and demonstrates their importance for clients' change processes. Filled with examples from her own practice, the book dips into the worlds of chaos and complexity theory, neuroscience, quantum physics, and theories of change, in order to show how the use of arts-media in psychotherapy - visual images and drawing, drama and music, sand-tray and enactment - can encourage the arrival of these dramatic breakthrough moments. The aim of this unique book is to shine a spotlight for the first time on a deeply profound aspect of arts-based psychotherapy in an accessible and engaging way.

This book demonstrates some of the unique ways in which therapists can help complex and vulnerable clients considered "hard-to-reach", using arts media and play. Using a wealth of case studies, contributors describe their unique therapeutic attempts to reach clients who, for various reasons, seem unreachable. These moving therapeutic journeys are described in a phenomenological, auto-ethnographic way by the therapists themselves, as a series of "snapshot" glimpses into the therapy room. The therapists describe how combinations of art, play, metaphor, and imagination have helped them navigate the complex pathways to reach their clients. Each chapter is fully supported by the contributing therapists' own selection of theoretical ideas and analysis. The book will help therapists consider innovate creative approaches in their work with clients who have been deemed too complex to work with in individual therapy, emphasising the importance of play and arts resources in helping them achieve this.

Trauma in the Creative and Embodied Therapies is a cross-professional book looking at current approaches to working therapeutically and socially with trauma in a creative and embodied way. The book pays attention to different kinds of trauma – environmental, sociopolitical, early relational, abuse in its many forms, and the trauma of illness – with contributions from international experts, drawn from the fields of the arts therapies, the embodied psychotherapies, as well as nature-based therapy and Playback Theatre. The book is divided into three sections: the first section takes into consideration the wider sociopolitical perspective of trauma and the power of community engagement. In the second section, there are numerous clinical approaches to working with trauma, whether with individuals or groups, highlighting the importance of creative and embodied approaches. In the third section, the focus shifts from client work to the impact of trauma on the practitioner, team, and supervisor, and the importance of creative self-care and reflection in managing this challenging field. This book will be useful for all those working in the field of trauma, whether as clinicians, artists, or social workers.

‘Psychology in Action’ is a term coined by the Guest Editors from the Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society (CRILS), University of Liverpool, in their work in filming, recording and analyzing shared reading groups, led by The Reader organization. It refers both to the work of psychology within literary texts and to the responses of multifarious reader-participants to literature read live and aloud in small community groups within a variety of settings. In particular, ‘psychology in action’ has meant seeing readers suddenly activated into deep personal thinking, responding to situations imaginatively simulated by reading literature in ways that trigger surprised and involuntary emotion, autobiographical memory and spontaneous empathy.

Unpolished Journey takes the reader through a raw and uncensored look at what recovery from an eating disorder, depression, and PTSD look like on a daily basis. The book is a collection of journal entries spanning the course of six years where through poetry, short stories, prose, and a jumble of other thoughts an honest portrayal of the realities of mental illness are unearthed. Morgan Blair is an artist whose work is inspired by her mental health recovery journey. She is the founder of Unpolished Journey, an organization where creatives effected by mental health can share and sell their work. Morgan graduate of School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently getting her masters at Northwestern University where she is studying to become a therapist. Whether painting, drawing, taking pictures, making videos, writing, or anything in between, Morgan can always be found getting her hands dirty while creating a new piece of art. Morgan never stays in one place and is always traveling around, exploring the world, and finding new spaces that fill her soul. Currently you can find her hiking mountains in Colorado and camping in back country places.

This best-selling book is an easy-to-read introduction to the ideas and practices of narrative therapy. It uses accessible language, has a concise structure and includes a wide range of practical examples. What Is Narrative Practice? covers a broad spectrum of narrative practices including externalisation, re-membering, therapeutic letter writing, rituals, leagues, reflecting teams and much more. If you are a therapist, health worker or community worker who is interesting in applying narrative ideas in your own work context, this book was written with you in mind.