TERRY MARKS TARLOW
The Power of Art to Penetrate the Psyche
Words are used all too often where a picture is needed, especially with respect to complex, highly charged, emotional topics. Art can soften painful experiences by bypassing logical thought and cutting under ordinary defenses. This artist spotlight centers on a graphic novel with co-author Leanne Domash recently published called, The Eel & the Blowfish: A Graphic Novel of Dreams, Trauma & Healing. This is a zany and humorous book that takes readers on a psychedelic journey from trauma to healing. Set against the backdrop of the close friendship between our heroine Toni and her friend Lulu, a myth-like tale of sibling incest begins with a disturbing dreamlike sequence, which the heroine Toni brings to her psychotherapist, Dr. Young. Excellent psychotherapy and strong friendship help Toni to find her power and learn to speak about the unspeakable. The presentation uses art images to reveal signs of trauma in the face and body posture; complicated processes of psychotherapy, including transference distortions and embodied dreamwork; and real-life interactions between an incest survivor and her perpetrator.
About The Speaker:
Terry Marks-Tarlow, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica, CA, where she specializes in deep transformational work, including creativity issues and blocks. She was on the Board of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association for 10 years, where alongside Pamela McCrory she co-founded Mirrors of the Mind: The Psychotherapist as Artist. Besides the recent publication of her graphic novel, she is author/editor of more than 10 books, including Mythic Imagination Today, A Fractal Epistemology for a Scientific Psychology, Play & Creativity in Psychotherapy, Truly Mindful Coloring, Awakening Clinical Intuition, and Clinical Intuition in Psychotherapy. She presents workshops and training nationally and internationally in topics related to creativity, clinical intuition, interpersonal neurobiology, and nonlinear science and also serves as Adjunct Professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute and California Institute of Integrated Studies. markstarlow.com