It binds people together, opens them up and shows us things about ourselves we may have forgotten or lay undiscovered that can help us heal and grow and flourish, which I guess intrinsically The Nelson Trust was put in place to do.
Content warning: Mental health
I self-referred at a full-grown point of crisis after hearing about the trust through a friend. I’ve been so lucky to benefit from some of the groups, therapies and support I have found there. I remember waiting eagerly for a place to open on the Health and Arts therapy group, as it was popular and in high demand.
Now I am in no way an artist as one might describe, but I am a creative and I just knew that given the chance, being artistically encouraged, I was bound to benefit from this group in some way shape or form.
Well, I can hardly describe how valuable it’s been to me, in so many ways, reaching into areas of my life I couldn’t have even imagined.
Most obviously, I met new people and began relearning how to interact and socialise in a group of strangers. My self-esteem with showing up and being me, talking, sharing, visiting places, and ultimately getting things out in any way, let alone artistically, was at an all-time low due to my mental health. Non-existent if I’m being perfectly honest.
I felt so safe and gently encouraged by the group’s therapist. I was astonished at how comfortable and included and worthy I felt from day one in the very first hour. I felt like a little flower bud in spring suddenly watered and exposed to the sun. It was shocking at first but also ok. Now I don’t want to ramble on about everything Art Therapy has done for me because it would be too lengthy, so in a nutshell, it has had many dramatic, positive effects on my very sad lonely, quite desperate previous existence. It began to work on firmly packed traumas that were so tightly woven into every fibre of my life and being, in a way other groups wouldn’t.
I may have even made a friend! I haven’t had one of those in a very long time. Having people in your life and keeping them there can be so tricky for a person with my mental health issues and life experiences. Unfortunately, I have lost all mine, and I grew up in care, so don’t have family support. Namely, making a new friend is priceless for me and for others like me, I expect.
I want to say that I feel, when damage has been life long, frequent, and on-going from a young age, through teenage years and then again into adulthood. To fix and heal such lengthy impact takes lengthy work. I feel Art Therapy has a particularly unique power to engage and reach people in a very gentle and unintimidating way. It binds people together, opens them up and shows us things about ourselves we may have forgotten or lay undiscovered that can help us heal and grow and flourish, which I guess intrinsically The Nelson Trust was put in place to do.
