Why you should use creativity as a resource in psychotherapy

Being creative is an increasingly valued skill in the therapeutic environment.

The main objective of therapy is to help overcome the state of paralysis, and to recompose the available resources of the individual. In this sense, creativity is an integral and characteristic property of human beings because of the predisposition to generate the unprecedented..

Thus, creativity is a resource in psychotherapy that is not limited to the area of the arts, but refers to the expression of key behaviors that differentiates the human being.

Trauma is an obstacle to imagination

Trauma appears when the subjective experience reaches such intensity that it produces an unacceptable experience, or requires processing capacities not available to the subject.

Among other consequences, trauma appears to block the creative and generative expression of its own development..... Trauma can be hidden in plain sight, and appear in non-verbal and unexpected forms, which therapists must observe in the person's response to determine whether or not the experience has been integrated. Integration affects all levels, and takes place when the left and right brain hemispheres communicate and establish parallels between thoughts and somatic sensations.

In his gestalt theory, Daniel Stern proposed the dynamics called vitality form. With these forms he refers to basic dimensions that can assume a creative characterization, since imbalance is a sign of vitality, something necessary for growth and development. Vitality favors many active and present forms in daily life, in psychological development and in numerous artistic expressions..

The use of creativity in psychotherapy can be the basis for the reworking of trauma through the recognition of the not yet activated resources available to the individual. Creativity arises from the integration of our left hemisphere with our right hemisphere; creativity integrates opposing aspects of our mind, and as a result the mind leans toward vitality, flexibility and resilience.

The ability to imagine

One of the most significant differentiating abilities of humans is the imagination.. During psychotherapy, the guidance through the traumatic experience is done through the stimulation of the patient's imagination. A dialogue is established between the experiences and the imagination. Thus, psychologists can use the creative therapeutic process to release and foster creativity in the patient during the therapeutic course.

Positive emotions and creativity

Emotions, even negative ones, play an adaptive role in human beings. An emotion constitutes a transitory affective response that predisposes one to perform an action that is conclusive to it.. Positive emotions can be defined as those that have adaptive functions because they facilitate the effectiveness of the responses to the stimuli presented, and promote growth and well-being.

Positive emotions modify the way in which information is processed, facilitating creativity. This explains why people in a positive mood are able to evaluate a situation more broadly and positively, and make decisions that are more beneficial to their well-being..

Positive emotions influence cognitive processes and cognitive flexibility, which, as we have seen, is indispensable for problem solving. Cognitive flexibility" can be defined as the ability to adapt to different requirements or changes (Isen, 2002) that through plasticity build new neural networks.

Problem solving

Taking into account the relationship between positive emotions and problem solving, it can be obtained a method with which the therapist can help the patient to achieve the desired change by encouraging creativity and cognitive flexibility in the search for new solutions.The therapist can help the patient to achieve the desired change by encouraging creativity and cognitive flexibility in the search for new solutions, giving new meanings to their contexts and improving their quality of life and sense of happiness.

Positive emotions increase interest and curiosity, leading to greater flexibility in thinking about how to improve life in the future, including new ideas that might otherwise have been dismissed.

However, overestimation of positive emotions should be avoided.as they may lose their meaning-organizing effect. In psychotherapy, the management of both positive and negative emotions requires special care and a working strategy for the success of the therapeutic process.

Bearing in mind that cognitive processes produce emotions through mental representations, and emotions in turn produce mental representations, it is important to emphasize the therapeutic ability to get the patient to construct an alternative story to the original one, making new positive connotations. by making new positive connotations.

While the problem-situation leads to a series of negative anticipatory thoughts, positive emotions increase cognitive flexibility, which allows for greater creativity, empathy, understanding, associative capacity, choice of alternatives for problem solving and motivation, among other factors.

The creative therapist

The therapist Joseph C. Zinker (1934) defines the psychotherapist as a "person who uses his or her capacity for invention to help people shape their lives". Psychotherapy is a creative encounter between two people: therapist and patient..

Thus, creativity makes the psychodynamic process more adaptive by allowing:

• Discovering the patient's emotional world, being more sensitive and receptive.
• To find what was ignored or hidden.
• To make connections and relationships between different elements.
• Encourage curiosity and reflection.
• Confronting insecurities from spontaneity.
• Reworking trauma by recognizing non-activated resources

Do you want to learn more about creativity for psychotherapy?

Within the therapeutic field, creativity is a resource that allows the spontaneous exploration of an event, the approach and accompaniment in the understanding of the emotional world and cognitive processes of the patient. On the other hand, creativity allows the patient to externalize what he/she is experiencing without the need to use words. It is a liberating act that enriches him/her and brings him/her closer to others..

Creativity is an innate intellectual capacity of the human being, which allows adaptation to different contexts and subjective experiences, which can be fostered with simple and easy to apply exercises, with writing, drawing and painting techniques, clay modeling, music and play.

A creative therapy can consist of directives where the therapist determines the activities or theme to be developed, materials or techniques with which the patient can create. Or non-directive, leaving the patient free to choose materials, techniques and theme to develop his creative process. And finally, semi-directive, where minimal instructions are given, so that it is the patient who completes the creative process (Moreno, 2007).

Bibliographical references:

• Weber, C., 2021. Creativity and trauma: pars construens in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. cpm, (38), pp.29-31.
• Ceberio, M & Rodríguez, S. (2020). The "Start Point" in psychotherapy: Positive emotions, creativity and problem solving. Teoría y Práctica: Revista Peruana De Psicología CPsP-CDR-I, 2(2), e30.
• Stern, D. (2010). Forms of vitality: Exploring dynamic experience in psychology, the arts, psychotherapy, and development. Oxford: University Press.