SHOSHANA AAL, PsyD
As therapists, we sit with our clients through so much. Therapy is best known for moving through the darkest hollows of a human mind. I work as a trauma therapist and I find myself holding space for so many painful things. Yet, I find that these are not the moments my mind goes to when I envision therapy.
Instead, my mind and my art is drawn to the places in therapy when you see the spark of light. We sit with our clients for hour upon hour. For months and years. I try never to push a client towards growth, trusting in the Rogerian idea that growth happens in its own time. Instead I hold space for the darkness but keep an eye out for the moments of light. And then one day, a client’s mind appears to ignite with a beautiful brilliance. You can see joy in their eyes, a sense of freedom and choice. This may be the first time this person has ever felt that way.
The spark is made of so many complex experiences and it burst forth like a fire clearing away dead brush. So much complexity, feeding into light and joy. Its these moments of therapy that my mind, and my art, is drawn to. When everything starts to build into a beautiful understanding. To me these moments have symmetry, clarity and the feeling of transformation. My art embodies my visualization of these growth experiences.
Illuminated Insight
(Altered Photo of Grass in Winter, 4096 x 1365 pixels)
A moment of growth
What was once a person’s experience, a weight chained to them
Morphs, transforms, draws apart, doubles, expands and is mirrored into symmetry.
The experience rejoins us in a new light, becoming something new
The shift makes all the difference
Illuminated, this piece of the self can stare back at us and offer love With an embrace and a rush of healing.
Our insight can bring us illumination, connection
Giving us the chance to move forward with one less burden and a feeling of being paired with a loving companion.
Let’s look into the eyes of love.