Counselling
for Creative Professionals
actors, animators, architects, artists, comedians, composers, dancers, entertainers, designers, directors, film makers, journalists, museum specialists, musicians, new media artists, performers, photographers, poets, presenters, producers, publishers, sculptors, singers, writers
actors, animators, architects, artists, comedians, composers, dancers, entertainers, designers, directors, film makers, journalists, museum specialists, musicians, new media artists, performers, photographers, poets, presenters, producers, publishers, sculptors, singers, writers
Creativity Lost and Regained
Creativity Lost and Regained
All creative professionals know something about the pitfalls, set-backs, blocks and failures that can disrupt or halt creative energy and productivity
Some people find a way through these difficulties,
accepting them as 'part of the territory'. They 'get a grip', summon up good feelings about themselves, take a break, distract themselves or patiently await the return of good times. The prospect of success, driven by self-belief, motivation and determination, kick-starts the creative energies afresh. Without getting any professional help, everything comes right again.
What do you do if the creativity you rely on for self-esteem, self-respect and an income for survival, deserts you and doesn't look like it will be coming back any time soon?
What do you do if your creativity hasn't quite left you, but has lost its vibrancy and power, hanging around as if to torment you?
What do you do if personal problems, relationship difficulties or workplace conflicts impact on the work that means so much to you, rendering it pointless or a pain?
Situations like these can be bewildering and devastating for creative professionals. They then suffer all the feelings that come with a loss or bereavement: sadness, frustration, confusion, inertia, despondency, self-doubt, helplessness and anger - to name just a few.
Sometimes, creative activity saves the day - it rescues us, being one of the most effective anti-depressants known to man, woman, or child. It restores a feeling of security and sanity, holding us between the tyranny of certainties on one side and the abyss of chaos and confusion on the other.
You are in a relationship with your creativity, for better or worse. It is a relationship that variably yields riches or poverty - emotionally and sometimes financially, too.
Some lucky people, who are consistently and prolifically productive, may have little or no inclination to think about their relationship with their own creativity. They don't need to - it has never let them down !
The truth is that some of us have a problematic relationship with the creative work we do. The difficulties often arise from conflict . Too much conflict, damages our wellbeing - affecting self-worth, confidence and concentration and a vast array of other internal resources that fuel the desire to create and put our mark on the world.
The conflict is within ourselves on the one hand, and between ourselves and our work, on the other. Conflict and confusion consume energy that could otherwise be used to make, plan, invent and innovate. Certain types of conflict will devour, also, the energy and motivation to play - not just in the sense of relaxing, but in the sense of participating and engaging in all aspects of play: enjoying the creations of others, immersing ourselves in all things cultural, expressive, celebratory, symbolic.
Counselling can help you to see more clearly what is going on in this thing we call the 'self' - enabling us to regain the capacity to go about our lives in a frame of mind in which work and play are combined, so to speak. This way of being draws on, and is driven by, all areas of the self. It gives rise to a feeling of not knowing if we are working or playing and of not needing to know! This is the fabulous paradox of true creativity.