EXA is a therapeutic school dedicated to the use of creativity as a vehicle for change.
How Does EXA Work? Expressive Arts Therapy uses our capacity for spontaneity and play to help us leap out-of-the-box and notice new options, perspectives, truths and new solutions. Our ability to engage creatively with our problems brings new life to the effort (it's fun!) and helps us connect with aspects of ourselves we didn't know we had.
What Happens In An EXA Therapy Session? EXA is a form of Art Therapy that uses multiple creative outlets to explore and heal psychological wounds. Through training in the clinical use of visual art, drama, creative writing, music and movement, I tailor the therapy to your individual needs. I hold the creative activity itself in an accepting atmosphere that values creative process and self-expression over product. You do not need to be an 'artist' to do EXA.
What If I'm Not Creative? Many people experience shyness or inhibition around their creativity. Art therapy is about using art to express and communicate how you feel. I am interested in how you experience the process, not how the art looks in the end. Still, if you are uncomfortable with creative expression, it is not required. Whether art gets made in a session is entirely up to you.
Why Art?
Art Therapy is a way to communicate your inner experience without
words. This is important because it is not always easy to talk
about life experiences directly, or in a way that conveys the essence
of how we feel. This can happen if:
- You tend to get 'stuck-in-your-head' through over-analyzing thoughts and behaviors.
- You've been through an overwhelming experience that isn't easy to talk about.
- You naturally process life via images or body sensations, instead of language.
Tell Me More: The Expressive Arts is a wonderful way to access and convey our experience through images, scenes, sound, and movement. It also allows us to view from the outside our inner stories, and to actively engage in shaping the meaning we make of our lives.
| Rachel Walker, MFT | (510) 501-2936 | rachel@rachelwalkermft.com |