How Creativity Encourages Spontaneity and Deepens our Relationships with Ourselves and Others
Amy (not real name) has a rare congenital disorder that affects her everyday life. At home, she often expressed her frustration aggressively towards her parents and sibling. Therapy was seen as a way to offer her a safe space to explore the issues underlying this behaviour and to help her develop healthier peer relationships.
At first, Amy seemed pleased to leave the classroom for our sessions, but she was hesitant to engage fully in either the therapeutic process or our relationship. Although we shared the same space, we were not yet connecting. Our interactions were centred on the left brain, with more emphasis on doing than being. For example, Amy used puppets to show her interests, but this kept her in a more logical mode and limited access to the right-brain processes involved in creativity, connection, character development, and imaginative play. Early on, we were not yet reaching Amy’s emotional world.
As therapy progressed and trust developed, Amy shared her interest in natural disasters. Using materials and puppets, we created scenes based on different scenarios. Through this creative process, we explored the characters and their emotions, gradually moving into more fictional situations. In doing so, Amy began to access her own emotional world. Drawing on creative psychodramatic techniques informed by child development theory, she started to express her feelings and needs. She allowed herself to be vulnerable in sessions, knowing she was supported and held within the relationship. Over time, growth occurred not only in our connection, but also in the integration of her right and left brain.
Right and left hand brain in relationship
Phillippa Perry, a psychotherapist and author, emphasises that mental health and effective parenting rely on integrating the right brain, responsible for emotions, intuition, relationships, and the bigger picture, with the left brain, which manages logic, language, sequence, and detail. She argues that society often prioritises the left brain, even though the right brain plays a central role in emotional connection and the development of self-worth.
The right brain is about feelings, empathy and relationships. People often need to be ‘felt with’, rather than ‘dealt with’ or fixed. In healthy early relationships, we develop our self-observation/awareness skills through how we have been previously mirrored by our primary care givers. This phase of child development can sometimes be interrupted and so might need other opportunities in our lives to develop these skills. Within our self-observation we learn to ask ourselves how we are feeling, what we are thinking, what do I need right now?
Through therapy, Amy has started to develop a healthier balance between her left and right brain, helping her build stronger relationships and share her vulnerability more openly. She is now better able to recognise and express difficult emotions, understand how she feels within herself and in relation to others, and develop strategies and new ways of coping that support positive change.
References
Thanks to Kat Salisbury and Sarah Morley for their inspiring creative workshop and handout, which helped shape my thinking in this blog.
Perry, Phillipa (2012) How to stay Sane, Bluebird
Blatner, Adam (1996) Acting-In – Practical Applications of Psychodramatic Methods 3rd edition, Springer Publishing company
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in blog posts are solely those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of Plymouth Learning Partnership CIC. The content is provided for general information and educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as professional or legal advice. Plymouth Learning Partnership CIC accepts no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or actions taken in reliance on this content. The individual author is responsible for ensuring that any third-party material used (including text, images, and media) does not infringe copyright. Plymouth Learning Partnership CIC does not accept liability for any unauthorised use of copyrighted material by the individual author.
