Expressive arts therapy gains support in Hyderabad

There are days in life once we wrestle to course of intense feelings. While expressing these emotions can supply some reduction, the emotional weight typically lingers, affecting each our psychological and bodily well-being. For those that discover it troublesome to articulate their ideas, expressive arts therapy presents a strong various. This therapeutic method helps people join with their interior selves and course of their experiences by inventive expression.

Expressive arts therapy is step by step gaining floor in Hyderabad. This multimodal apply combines numerous inventive kinds — visible artwork, reflective writing, poetry, drama, motion, dance, journaling, and music — to support emotional therapeutic throughout all age teams.

Space for self-expression

Pallavi Banothu with a participant at an an expressive arts therapy session at Align Hub in Hyderabad
| Photo Credit:
Siddhant Thakur; Shot On OnePlus; #FramesOfIndia

Experts in the sector conduct solo and group classes that vary between one and three hours to supply a non-verbal outlet for self-expression. Can one navigate life’s complexities by creativity? Yes, says Hyderabad-based Pallavi Banothu. A licensed expressive arts practitioner (she did Foundation in Expressive and Creative Arts Therapies (FECAT) and Expressive Body programs from SMArT, Bengaluru), she takes solo classes on-line and collaborates with centres aligned with arts in Hyderabad for group workshops.

Her solo classes sometimes start with a ‘discovery call’ — a dialog designed to know the participant’s present wants, what they hope to realize, and why they’re searching for therapy at this level in time. “It helps me understand how they see their life, their expectations from the space, and gradually we work to build a sense of safety and invite their stories and experiences,” says Pallavi. The practitioner additionally gauges which artwork kind the person is drawn to on that specific day. “I use movement therapy, visual art, painting, journaling, elements of psychodrama, mask and puppet work, and even playback theatre. I’m not big on music, but it still has a place,” she provides.

The integration of those artwork kinds unfolds over a number of classes. The purpose is to encourage inside dialogue and assist people construct emotional sources to allow them to finally navigate their emotions independently, even with out skilled help.

Sammy Sahni conducts the session at Pause for Perspective
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Group classes — sometimes with as much as 10 contributors — are designed as protected areas to discover ‘curiosity, compassion and courage’. Pallavi arrives armed with an eclectic mixture of supplies: drawing sheets, numerous varieties of paints, crayons, sketch pens, brushes, clay dough, printed nature pictures from magazines, pebbles, kinetic sand, and even cleaning soap for blowing bubbles. Dupattas or scarves are used to kind protected circles, support dramatherapy, and even craft puppets.

Participants discover completely different artforms at an expressive arts therapy session being  carried out by therapist Pallavi Banothu at Align Hub in Hyderabad
| Photo Credit:
Siddhant Thakur; Shot on OnePlus #FramesofIndia

These classes start with introductions and interactive workout routines to assist contributors get aware of the facilitator, one another, and the house. “We explore how to be present for someone and how to witness artwork created by others during the session,” Pallavi explains. The focus then shifts to the principle exercise, which permits deeper emotional processing.

This house, she emphasises, is ‘for them to just be’. “When art is involved, we often become performative. The idea here is to shift away from those conditioned beliefs about perfectionism and performance. We open up conversations about what it means for them to simply be here and what support they need to feel safe and comfortable.”

Sessions for therapists

Sammy Sahni conducts a session at Pause for Perspective
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

A non-judgemental house welcomes various voices at Pause for Perspective, a counselling and psychotherapy centre in Begumpet. In addition to month-to-month and bi-monthly expressive arts therapy classes, the centre additionally hosts workshops for psychological well being practitioners as a part of its broader programming. Therapist Sammy Sahni explains that insights from these classes typically assist different professionals combine expressive strategies into their private and scientific apply.

The group classes are theme-based. A current one centred on ‘Rest’ integrated visible artwork, motion, and embodied practices to domesticate mindfulness. Participants had been launched to the idea of ‘slowing down’, with many describing the expertise as ‘cathartic’ and leaving them ‘relaxed and restored’. “When the mind and body are brought into awareness, one begins to recognise the emotions that surface and reflect on how they feel by the end of the session,” Sammy provides.

Rise in classes

A company session by Srini Nelluri

Wellness coach Srini Nelluri takes company classes as soon as per week at at HCL, Amazon and Google. She says “It (demand for sessions) was not the case eight months ago; Now I don’t find the time to take sessions because so many requests come. The demand, she believes, is due to an awareness among people that managing emotions goes a long way in their physical and mental health. “A lot of people now want to sit and feel their emotions and the best way to do it is through expressive arts.”

Corporates, particularly in center administration roles, search such classes. “With constant work stress, they want places which are fun but also tap into their emotions in a direct way. This kind of self-exploration and healing aids growth personally and brings them back to themselves and that’s what they want.”

Participants show artworks after a company session by Srini Nelluri
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Her two-hour company session integrates completely different artforms involving some dance strikes, loads of music play therapy and mindfulness-based actions with clay-based work and visible arts. “Indians are culturally rich and have many arts. The sessions, a culmination of different arts, bring participants back to their roots.”

A classical dancer, Srini shifted gears first to bounce motion therapy and later obtained educated in expressive arts. “Since I use a lot of visual arts, movement therapy sessions too are like expressive arts for me. Even blinking your eye is movement; making art is movement. It depends on which lens you are looking at.”

Mental well being accessibility to all is a problem and Sammy hopes integrating the arts with different frameworks — a social justice stance, neurodiversity and tenting will break the obstacles. Make psychological well being extra accessible like listening to music for communities, college students, professionals and older individuals she says. “It should be accessible in a way where people feel comfortable to talk about it and also easily access the information.”