The subject of this week's lectures is 'Practicing listening' which is very relevant to me: as an art psychotherapist, I practice active listening every day at work - it's my job!
But as an art therapist this is more than listening just to words - it's listening to their tone, modulation, volume, emphasis, visible affect, body language, posture, eye movement, even changing skin tone such as blushing or 'goose-bumps'; often the 'voice' of the client is also the 'voice' of their parent or carer, the voice of a YouTuber they follow or video game they're obsessed with. I try to hear and sift these voices, untangle the threads. I also try to listen to what is not said, the words unspoken because they're avoided, or too scary, or so obvious it seems unnecessary, or so ubiquitous the client hasn't even noticed.
Then there is 'listening' to the art they make, their play and process during the session, their body language, eye movements, posture, muscle movements and breath. I've also learned to listen internally to myself during these sessions - what are my reactions and responses to what the client brings? What do I feel emotionally, physically, what am I thinking? Why? Our brains contain 'mirror neurons' enabling us to experience empathy, and we may even experience some of the same emotions and feelings as the other person ('projective identification'). So when I'm with a client, and notice that I feel sad, or anxious, or struggling to think... it's important that I listen to myself, and simultaneously ask myself.. 'is this me, or is this them, where does this come from and why? What does that tell me about what is taking place?'
Reflective practice is fundamental to an effective therapeutic practice: the capacity and practice of reflecting on the work, the clients and oneself. For me, listening to my inner voice(s), processing my own psychological material is an important part of my art practice too and a vital part of self-care, personal sustainability.
I practice mindfulness most mornings - just ten minutes of guided, reflective meditation. Part of that practice is quietly noting what I hear; I love being silent, for lots of reasons, not least because it allows me to relax into a space, gain a sense of myself and the space around me.
Over the last year, I've started to bring elements of this into my art practice - sitting quietly in the studio to reflect inwards or outwards, walking outside and focusing attention on one thing... the big views, the small things at my feet, physical sensation or sound. I'm learning slowly, often forgetting, to document this and bring it into my art practice both for myself and to disseminate it. I've made a few faltering sounds recordings on my iPhone and find myself captivated by these amateur soundscapes. The ones I enjoy most are sounds in nature - but I'm looking forward to capturing the sounds of modern Florence when I visit in the summer.
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