Zara Drapkin Psychotherapy

https://www.lisamanca.com/blog/all-about-art-therapyguest-blog-with-zara-drapkin

had fun sharing about art therapy here

All About Art Therapy—Guest Blog by Zara Drapkin — Lisa Manca, MA, LPCC, BC-DMT Guest blog for somatic therapy San Francisco written by Zara Drapkin, MA, LCSW

NEW OFFERING-
A wellness retreat for those living in young bodies with chronic pain / chronic illness

New offering!!

Thanks everyone for listening in to The Chronic Illness Therapist Podcast 🥹😭🙏🏽 if there’s any topics you want to hear next hear, comment them below!

And I’m so so thankful to every one who agreed to be a guest on the show. Tagging as many as I can think of here! Everyone tagged has a focus on chronic pain and illness, so give them a follow if you want to see more therapy-related content in your feed!













psychology

So excited to be offering this group again….

Do you feel alone in your experience of living with pain and crave a space to gather with people who get it?

Do you want alternative ways to process your lived experience with chronic pain, integrating creative outlets like art therapy and mind/body tools?

Do you lack motivation and accountability in the habits you aim to build to best care for your body?

If any of these apply to you, check out this group and I have put much time and energy into creating. This group will incorporate experientials, pain science learning, alternative ways of processing, concrete tool/ resource building, and community building/ space for accountability.

Reach out for more information!!

A gentle reminder for those who sometimes feel their mind can be a dangerous place- we are not our thoughts.

We are constantly storying the world around us, and our stories don’t always feel so good, our thoughts aren’t always true.

I’ve found that there is a lot of power and healing in being able to create distance from one’s thoughts and stories. I often work with clients to practice instead of latching on to a thought and letting that take up all of the space in one’s mind, finding ways to defuse from the thought, recognize the emotion that is there, and practice riding the wave of it- knowing the wave always ultimately passes, the emotion moves through you, and a thought is just a thought.

This all is so much easier said than done, but with practice and awareness, your relationship to your thoughts and stories can change. Your mind does not need to feel dangerous, and your body can be a helpful tool in this process.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on the power of nature, community and collective healing. This past weekend I immersed myself in nature among some dear souls and through time in nature, movement, words, song and image making, we experienced a weekend full of joy, grief, pain, peace, giggles and growth. The weekend felt deeply healing and I feel so grateful to not only create space for my clients to connect with these practices, but to also intimately experience then and grow from them.

In absolute awe and gratitude for the beauty of the day yesterday at the expressive arts and embodiment retreat I co-facilitated with . Participants showed up vulnerably and courageously to explore invitations to understand their personal narratives- often times engulfed in pain stories- and tools for strengthening their preferred narratives and rooting themselves in these more empowering stories. It's a beautiful process to be in, to be witness to, and to create around and with. Deep gratitude for all the beautiful souls that showed up and Pam for being a dream team co facilitator. My heart is full 💜

Join trauma informed therapists and artists, Zara Drapkin and Pam Lozoff, on 10-15-2022 in Oakland for a daylong retreat blending expressive arts, body based (somatic) practices, and nature/ eco therapy to explore and express the stories our bodies hold and tell.

bit.ly/earthbodies

Reclaiming/remaking and Rooting: exploring our bodies’ stories
A daylong expressive arts and embodiment retreat in nature

This day long retreat blends expressive arts, body-based (somatic) practices and nature/eco therapy and will create a space to explore and express the stories our bodies hold and tell.

The retreat will include guided visualizations/ meditations, expressive arts exercises, space for processing, and collaborative creating. Through this retreat, participants will explore their connection to their body / embodiment and will leave with creative tools and practices to deepen into the process of claiming/reclaiming and/ or rooting into our bodies’ stories—from a place of choice, autonomy, and connection to others with shared and distinct lived experiences.

This is a trauma-informed, co-facilitated and therapeutic space, held by two therapists. It is not intended to take the place of individual or group therapy. This retreat is open to all folks 18 years and older. We aim to create an inclusive space for all bodies, abilities, genders, sexual orientation, race, and culture.

For more information, or to sign up to attend, visit www.earthbodieszine.com

After the storm…
Being someone who works with trauma and has experienced my own trauma, I am so aware of the ways trauma impacts a person’s mind, body and spirit. I’m also so aware of the ways healing from trauma can create opportunities for new growth. I spent the past weekend up in the mountains where the snow finally melted, the storms stopped brewing, and flowers bloomed abundantly. I connected to this beauty I was witnessing and remembered the cold and harsh winter that came before it. Folks often use the term post- traumatic growth to explain the ways we can alchemize our trauma stories into stories that include different understandings of self, others, the world, and connection to things within it. The process becomes more empowering as you begin to share your new stories and allow them to be witnessed. My own process was rooted in connecting with nature and art. Therapy is one avenue for this, but the possibilities for this process are endless. What helps you move through your trauma stories?

In my own process of healing and wellness, I’ve come to learn and deeply appreciate how crucial being connected to the natural world is. Here’s a double exposure I took reflecting on this process for myself. Nature is able to hold us in all of our phases and in all of our feelings.

Connecting to water- through tears- we learn to release, flow and let go.

Connecting to air, we learn to connect with breath, to observe, and to listen.

Connecting to fire, we learn to alchemize and the process of igniting, burning, and adapting.

Connecting to earth, we learn to ground, build, and heal.

When I need a release, I go to the sea. When I need grounding, I find myself in a forest. When I need perspective, I find myself on a mountain.

how do you connect to nature, and what does it offer to you??

I came across this poem “how I became a warrior” by and was moved by how beautifully it speaks to the process of understanding our parts and compassionately turning towards them / integrating them

~TREE OF LIFE ~
a favorite narrative art exercise of mine is the tree of life exercise (developed by Ncazelo Ncube and David Denborough from the Dulwich Centre Foundation). I appreciate this exercise as it allows one to start connecting to oneself and one’s life in a positive way. In this exercise, one creates themself as a tree. This can be done using the medium that works best for you (such as visual art, photography, sculpture, music, movement, or words).

Beginning with the ROOTS, one explores where one comes from and one’s family of origin. One thinks about what roots allowed them to grow into the person they are now, and to reflect on how important and deep these roots are. Next, one thinks about the GROUND. For instance, what’s the ground (day to day) like in your life? One can reflect on the ground representing daily activities. One explores whether the ground feels bumpy, flat, vibrant with life, or full new sprouts. After that, one considers the TRUNK and explores it by reflecting on one’s skills and abilities, as these things hold one up and offers support. After that, one considers the BRANCHES of the tree as one’s hopes and goals. The branches reaching out represent the goals one is reaching for. The LEAVES represent important people in one’s life and allows one to explore who plays an important role in one’s life and what type of influence they have. The FRUIT on the tree represents the gifts from important people (such as life lessons, emotional / physical support, or material gifts that have meant a lot). Lastly, one thinks about the STORMS that the tree faces/ has faced. The storms represent challenges and provides space for one to reflect on challenges such as loss, grief, family conflict and mental health struggles. One can explore this by reflecting on storms one has survived, what helped one survive the storms, and an exploration of storms that may come.

I invite you to create your own personal tree of life to begin rooting yourself in a deeper self knowing and a more empowering remembering.

a remembering of recent lessons from nature on themes of death, loss & moving through life stages

earth day! I’m filled with a whole lotta awe for this natural world that I’m continuously learning from, growing with, being held by, and connected to!

The noise we create….
I spent some time at Mirror Lake this past weekend and was moved observing the stillness of the water. The calm water perfectly reflected back the nature that surrounded it. It reminded me how from a calm place, we can look at what’s before us without distortion, judgments, or reactions. As a hand touched the water, a ripple effect appeared and the water’s reflections were distorted, but only temporarily. Letting the water ripple out, it returned to stillness. It reminded me of the ways we create noise and the ways in which we can return to calm/ stillness, as long as we don’t latch on to the ripples and the noise. Sharing this reflection with the invitation to explore what creates stillness for you that allows you to look at what’s there without judgement or reaction, and what helps you return to that state when disruptions arise?

“If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence we could rise up rooted like trees."
- Rainer Maria Rilke

I have always had a deep love for trees and especially trees that grow in funky ways, or despite challenges. After a weekend in Yosemite, I am feeling extra close to this message from Rilke. I am always learning from the natural world that surrounds me. I’d like to extend an invitation to be mindful of the trees around you and find the one that calls your attention. Spend some time with this tree and journal about what it is about this tree you are drawn to, how you feel looking at it, what it elicits in you and any guidance it may offer. Notice how that process feels for you as you practice being mindful in your environment and connected to something bigger

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty”
- Maya Angelou

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/imperfectly-perfect-how-art-therapy-helps-chronic-pain/id1610811529?i=1000553678569

I really enjoyed speaking with Destiny about my work as an art therapist and my use of art therapy as a means of support for my clients living with chronic pain and for my own body with chronic pain. check it out!

‎The Chronic Illness Therapist: Imperfectly Perfect: How Art Therapy Helps Chronic Pain and Perfectionism with Zara Drapkin LCSW on Apple Podcasts ‎Show The Chronic Illness Therapist, Ep Imperfectly Perfect: How Art Therapy Helps Chronic Pain and Perfectionism with Zara Drapkin LCSW - Mar 10, 2022

My biggest takeaway from my conversation with was about what happens AFTER we deconstruct our painful stories. We take the broken pieces and we create something beautiful.

Zara doesn't just talk about concepts - that's the beauty of art therapy. She uses very specific techniques to help you truly embody the new lessons you learn in therapy so that you can actually leave your sessions feeling like something has changed inside of you.

Get ready to go to the art store and buy some alcohol inks and clay, because tomorrow (Friday 3/11/2022) you'll hear Zara tell us her favorite art exercises to do with clients.

We talk a lot about chronic pain, but anyone with a strong inner critic will benefit from this episode.

Link in bio to access the podcast and subscribe.

Big smiles over here after a full dose of nature as medicine. Being among the trees and in community, I am deeply moved by the beauty that surrounds me. Leaning into the reminder from Peter Wohlleben, “A tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it.” With so much pain, trauma and chaos in the world around us, finding ways to build and lean into community has been more vital than ever.

~ Earthing ~

I have always had a deep appreciation for the symbiotic ways healing happens. I believe we have an innate capacity for healing and I also believe we heal in and through relationships (with ourselves, our bodies, other people/ beings/ creatures, community, nature and the world at large). I think true healing and wholeness comes through accessing all these relational forms of healing.

Today I want to talk about something called “earthing”. Earthing is a form of grounding that quite literally “grounds you to the core.” I am not alone in loving to put my bare feet on the ground, in the grass, in the sand, or in the water; ends up, this is one of the many ways we can heal in and with nature.

Earthing relies on earthing science to explain the healing effects in our bodies as we access the electrical charges coming from the earth. Humans are bioelectrical beings living in an electrical world. The earth carries a natural, subtle electrical charge that is like a gigantic battery. When we make contact with the earth (connecting our physical body/ skin to the earth), we access the abundant supply of free electrons in the ground. On a cellular level, this contact offers us a healing effect. In fact, research has shown earthing helps reduce chronic stress, inflammation, pain, poor sleep and other health issues (want to learn more? google it! There’s lot of cool research about this)

I wanted to share the science behind the practice so many of us have gravitated towards for no other reason but, damnit it feels good! I also wanted to use this an opportunity to invite you to connect with this form of healing for your body today. Some ways to practice earthing include 1) walking / standing barefoot on the dirt, grass, sand or mud 2) skin to earth contact by lying on the ground, sand, grass, dirt or mud.

As we ease into this new week, I invite you to create some space to intentionally earth yourself today and to pause in that experience.

as I’ve hunkered down waiting for my PCR results, I’ve been generating LOTS of art; much of which feels quite personal, and some of which feels universal- can you relate?

As we wrap up a(nother) year of ongoing collective trauma, chaos, change and uncertainty, I am continuously grateful for the lessons from nature, the ability nature has to hold us and all the elements, and the healing qualities of being among trees. I couldn’t have said it better than Mary Oliver does below ~

“When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

Mary Oliver

With less than a month away from our start date, our group is almost completely full! Two slots left, please help us spread the word to anyone who may be interested! Our integrative support group for women and gender expansive folks living with chronic pain will offer a space for support, resource building, community, creativity and growth 🌱

I recently was talking to someone about the fact that after 7+ years of higher education, I spent so much time diving deeeeeep into theory and practice. So much of my early work focused on how we think and thinking through things. This is inherent in school, but especially in what was available to me in my schooling. Yet, now I’m so aware of the fact the power lies not in how we think, but in our ability to connect to/ return to/ access our body. When I find myself lost in my thoughts, I find my ways to return to my body, to return to a sense of centered/ connected and with time, calm. Part of my story, which I have not shared as publicly, is I live with chronic pain. For the chronic pain population, coming into the body can be scary and/ or overwhelming. Finding safe / restorative ways to return to the body is possible (and vital to live a life with vitality). One incredibly reliable way for me to do so is through walking meditations. Today, upon finishing walking this labyrinth, I felt compelled to reflect on this and share. Mindfulness and mindfulness based modalities have changed my life and I’m grateful to be grounded in them and able to share these resources with those who chose to partner with me. No matter the trauma we hold and/or the pain we live in, connecting to our body in a safe way can be possible.

Do you feel alone in your experience of living with pain and crave a space to gather with people who get it?

Do you want alternative ways to process your lived experience with chronic pain, integrating creative outlets like art therapy and mind/body tools?

Do you lack motivation and accountability in the habits you aim to build to best care for your body?

If any of these apply to you, check out this group and I have put much time and energy into creating. This group will incorporate experientials, pain science learning, alternative ways of processing, concrete tool/ resource building, and community building/ space for accountability.

Reach out for more information!!

Seasonal shifts~
As we witness the loss, change, rooting and hibernating that takes place in nature this season, it always invites the offering for us to explore what is shifting in our lives. This season tends to be one in which we turn inwards and slow down. Relationships, opportunities, rhythms and energy are some of the many things that tend to evolve during this time. As a new season is upon us, I invite you to pause, slow down, notice what’s present, what’s changing, and what offers support for you in this process.

I am intentionally changing numerous things in my life right now. As I welcome that process (as well as the unease it brings), I’m finding myself stepping outside even more to bring me back to myself in the process.