Emotional Regulation Part 1: Understanding the Window of Tolerance

 

Someone who is over-reacting to a situation is often said to be crossing the line. But what if they don’t see the line? We assume everyone agrees where it is, but emotional regulation skills aren’t taught, and for many have never been learned. Low emotional intelligence impacts all relationships, whether they be personal, social or work-related. Using art and discussion, you will learn where the window of tolerance is for emotional reactions, and gather strategies to stay within it. 

 

Emotional Regulation Part 2: Beyond the Window of Tolerance

 

Okay, so now you know where the window of tolerance is, so other people are happier with you. But what about your own happiness? What about your purpose? This workshop builds on the insights and progress you gained in the Understanding the Window, by reshaping that rigid structure into a circle that allows you to experience joy and goals while still respecting what others will tolerate. 

 

 

Healing Your Inner Child Using Body Mapping

 

The first instrument of art that you ever had was your own body. You will use your body as an art medium to share your experiences through body mapping, by either tracing your own body outline or using one provided to symbolically draw in your inner conflicts. You will then be able to reflect and discuss what you see, to help you to accept and heal your inner child.

 

 

Shame Less

 

That wash of shame that most of feel at some point of our lives is a constant unwanted companion of many of us. Where does it come from? How do we overcome it? 

 

Compassion has come to be recognized as the best antidote in a growing body of research. You will learn the power that self-compassion can have in battling the shame monster and improve both your physical and mental health.

 

Finding Purpose in Pain Using Body and Brain Mapping (2 Sessions)

 

We naturally respond negatively to pain. We want to push it away and get rid of it. We convince ourselves it will last forever, dwelling on how much we despise it, and ourselves for making us suffer. Although instinctive, this response can lead us to unhealthy behavioural patterns, withdrawal from others, self-medication and depression. As we give up control, pain can eventually rule our lives. 

But what if we looked at pain in another way?  What if pain was the body reacting in a habitual way? And if we change that habit, could we alter the pain? What if it was trying to tell us something? What if we change our attitude to our pain, rather than pushing it out, we invited it in, got to know it? Instead of hating our bodies, what if we responded with self-compassion?

 

In the first workshop you will use body mapping, by either tracing your own body outline or using one provided to symbolically draw in the areas of pain. By representing your pain creatively, you are accepting it as simply another part of you, neither good nor bad, but real and instructive. In the second workshop, you will use mind mapping to give you the vocabulary and concepts to move on to creating a unique map of your brain, which will show the parts responsible for your cognitive challenges and help you on your journey to acceptance and understanding of your condition.

 

 

The Hero’s Journey: Finding Resilience after Grief and Loss

 

While I have not lost anyone in the true sense of the word, I still feel like I’m mourning the loss of someone I love very much: me. However, in my own hero’s journey, I have discovered this feeling of loss and pain gets better with time. I have learned that I have to go through some of the same stages of grief as in the past when I’ve lost someone I love. I’ve learned to accept this disease and all it represents. I have discovered that is the only way I will ever move on and make any improvements in my life.

 

We have all heard about those five stages of grief, but what we’re learning is that this journey through the stages is never linear. Using narrative therapy and line exercises, you will embark on your own hero’s journey, processing and validating your unique experience with the grief that follows your unique loss. Then, using a combination of acceptance, through mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy, you will deal with these stages, and learn the skills to become the hero.

 

Give “Me” a Break : Learning Self-Compassion and Self-Care

 

As if we didn’t have enough to deal with, many of us face sharp criticism from those who make our life journeys more difficult, and often our most relentless critic is ourselves. You will use creative imagery to recognize which influences and voices are external, which are internal; which ones are healthy, and which are unhealthy. You will paint out the metaphorical boundaries, so that you can clearly recognize them and make decisions on where the voices you are hearing belong and whether they should continue to be a part of your life.  You will learn about the importance of self-care, the power of saying no, when to say yes, and the difference between tender and fierce self-compassion.

 

 

Self Talk: Reversing the Negative Cycle

 

When faced with difficulties, it is natural to look for blame, and often a convenient target is ourselves. Once this inner judge has set up court, it becomes stronger and stronger. In a devastating feedback loop, we look at only the negatives that happen to us, and justify them by some perceived failing that we often carry with us from our youth. It is a cycle that can be broken by listening to ourselves, actively and empathically. When we ignore the judge, we find that many of these accusations don’t make any sense.

 

You will be given provocative and metaphorical artworks to interact with others and give your interpretation of them, then actively and empathically listen to their interpretations. These discussions will encourage you to develop those listening skills and start you on the road to positive, rather than negative, self-talk. Finally, you will create your own artistic metaphor, reflecting your new more positive outlook.
 

 

Self Care Part 1: Preventing Burnout

 

One term we can’t seem to agree on is burnout. When have you moved from the normal stresses of everyday life into the burnout zone? We look at six important cues to look for as warnings that you are burning out and use therapeutic art and discussion to not only identify them, but also to internalize them so that  we can be on the lookout. 

 

 

Setting Your Own Pace: Salima’s Signal Approach

 

Those of us living with chronic pain know well that what we can accomplish depends on how much energy we have in a given day. Each activity has a cost. The traditional pacing approach encourages you to look at those costs and balance heavier activities with those carrying a lighter debt. By keeping within your limits, you can do more activities and build up less pain and cognitive fatigue. 

 

My Signal Theory takes this a step further by allowing you to define recovery for your own unique situation. It takes a holistic, individualised approach to managing cognitive, physical and emotional fatigue and environmental stresses. In the only workshop not based on art activities, you learn how to establish your individual baseline, from which you can make informed decisions on how to conserve your resources. I will then show you how to use this evaluation process to improve the quality of your life.