4 POWERFUL WAYS TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS

Solution-focused thinking is constructive and empowering. It's time now! to become the driving force behind your healing which will encourage long term benefits. In this article you will find 4 powerful ways to solve your problems with art.

WHY DO I FIND IT SO HARD?, SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I'M IN A BIG BLACK HOLE OF PROBLEMS... MAYBE THERE IS NO SOLUTION?

it's a matter of changing the way we think.

There is a difference between wallowing in your problems until something happens to change the course of direction in your life and actively seeking a way to find a solution to your problem.

Changing the way we think from 'can't do it' to 'how can I do it' is a great first step and sometimes it takes a little bit of creative thinking to get you to where you want to be. Becoming solution focused is underpinned by the belief that you are the expert and the leader in your life.

This focus on solution will open the door wide open to uncover endless possibilities and solutions to your problems.

The way we think is like a muscle, so if we are practised at letting barriers limit us in our daily life and goals, then like any other habit to break, you may need

a few tools in your belt to help you along the way. It's like dieting, the first day of dieting you see all the yummy 'no' foods EVERYWHERE. But as you continue on your journey, eating healthy gets easier, and after more time its just second nature. The question is, if we are hell bent on being 'glass half empty', how can we progressively and sustainably change the way we think? Enter- ART THERAPY....

4 WAYS YOU CAN SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS WITH ART THERAPY

Before we get into the 4 ways to becoming solution focused, we should look at how we can accurately identify our problems. It may be useful to create a collage that expresses your problem in a tangible form. Collaging is one of the easiest ways to get started as it does not require any specific ‘art skills’ to glue and paste.

Now, simply choose an activity that you think you will enjoy the most!

1. REMEMBER PAST SUCCESS Remembering a past success related to a current problem also forms part of solution-focussed therapy. This recollection of success helps to inspire you and keep you on the solution-focussed track. That is, you are able to see that you have the ability to be successful and overcome obstacles, and that you can achieve this again. To start this process ask yourself “when you experienced a moment like this and yet moved through it successfully, do you recall what you did, said or thought that helped you to achieve this?”. Then, translate this time (or the exception) into art, thus making this time concrete in the your conscious and unconscious mind. You can draw this image, or create a collage representing this experience
   

2. MAGIC WAND EFFECT Draw an imagine how your life would be without this problem. This technique is widely used in visualisation, as it helps the mind to visualise what you hope to achieve as you focus on a solution to your problem. We can see how this is similar to visualisation. By “seeing” it in our mind’s eye we are then able to translate this experience on a sensory level. This approach also helps the you to recognise a possible solution to your problem, and speculate on what is preventing you from achieving what they you in life.
   

3. SYMBOLIC DESTRUCTION Symbolic Destruction refers to acts that symbolically destroys, rids, or removes an event, feeling, thought, belief etc from ourselves and our psyche. This is especially therapeutic, and many cultures practice symbolic destructions through ceremonies and rituals. Art therapy uses similar concepts in its own act of symbolic destruction. The most common technique applied is the cutting up or burning of art work. For example, we can either burn a picture to cleanse it from our psyche, thus removing it from your consciousness. Or we can cut it up into tiny pieces, helping the client to view the problem as small and insignificant – and to reinforce the fact that you have the power in this matter, not the problem. Simply draw or paint a picture of your problem, and then.... Tear it up!
   

4. HEALING NARRATIVES Healing narratives help you externalise your problems. Sometime you can identify yourself with the problem, when in fact ‘the problem is the problem’. When you can separate yourself from the problem, you can objectively view it in order to resolve it. Healing narratives require you to retell the story is a way that you are no longer the problem, instead you are telling the story of the problem with you as the characters in it. Within the context of art therapy, we “tell” the story in our art work. You will be able to transform a problem narrative in your life into one that is positive. This changes the stories that we tell ourselves (and which then become imprinted in our unconscious mind), transforming these stories into positive ones that enrich our life.

Please do comment below if you have tried these activities, and let us know what you think!