Creative Therapy ~ Shannon Shertzer, MS, NCC

I love when my clients get creative with their therapy...creative in how they express their healing. I've had clients draw pictures, write poetry or stories; others have brought in a song that touched them deeply. I'm a bona fide crier myself, so when a client expresses themselves vulnerably, we've been known to get teary together. Tears are very healthy, in my opinion. I'm glad Scripture tells us to "rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep." That gives me permission to connect with my clients on an emotional level.
A few weeks ago, a client I've counseled for 3 years was both creative and vulnerable. She pulled out three photos of herself as a little girl, then she pulled out a little metal box...inside were her razors. These razors had been used to slice through her lovely skin on numerous occasions. Cutting has been one of my client's favored modes of coping. She's been caught up in its addictive cycle for too long. In recent weeks, we've had some particularly difficult sessions related to her self-mutilation.
As we looked at each of her "little girl" pictures, she told me how they reminded her of her sweet little niece and how she couldn't imagine taking a razor to that little girl. She said she was beginning to understand that when she cut she was not helping herself, but hurting the "little girl" inside of her. My client cried a little, which was a huge step for her. To her, tears are "illegal." She passionately said, "I don't know how to do it, but I know these [the razors] have to go!
After we talked things through, we prayed for the client to have the grace and strength to get rid of her "tools of destruction." Then we walked outside and chucked those razors into the dumpster. When I heard that metal ping against metal, my heart rejoiced. My client renounced those destructive tools and willingly proclaimed that she would use "tools for life" on her body.
We still have work to do. There may be days ahead of temptation and a desire to return to old habits. But we have a date and a time with which we can war against those temptations and desires. I have no doubt as she continues to creatively and vulnerably heal, God will be glorified and honored.