Welcome to the Blog!

Hello and welcome to my creativity and wellness blog!

I’d like to share a quote by researcher Brené Brown: “There’s no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Unused creativity doesn’t just disappear. It lives within us until it’s expressed.” It is my hope that this blog will inspire you to find and release your inner creativity, whether or not you identify as a creative person.

The use of creative methods to support the healing process is not new. Throughout history, various cultures have embraced the use of creative expression through pictures, stories, dances, and chants as healing practices and rituals. As children, our lives are full of creative activities. We color regularly, create our own little songs, make shapes with play dough, build towers and houses, and invent stories with our toys and dolls. As we get older, our educational and vocational pursuits as well as family and daily life obligations can cause our creativity to be put on the back burner. Even those who have made a career out of their creative passions can face blocks, difficulty managing personal and professional creative projects, and burnout.

My favorite and earliest memories as a child involve music, storytelling and art. I enjoyed dancing around the house as my parents played Regina Spektor, Leonard Cohen, and Raffi from the speakers. I remember laying in bed as my mom sang sweet lullabies to help me fall asleep. My mom also played the piano and loved hearing the beautiful melodies drift through the house. My dad would tell me thoughtful stories. My favorite was one about a bird who would ask to have a little girl’s strands of golden hair to make a nest (my hair is blonde). My dad would take me to the playground or on walks and we would re-enacted fairytale stories.  Before I was even old enough to go to school, my dad would take me to the art museum and I’d try to recreate the artwork on my sketchpad. My mom and I would create our own picture book stories. She would create the illustrations and let me color in the pictures as she told the story. 

There are home videos of me sitting at the piano and pretending to read the sheet music. I would look at the picture on the page, and create my own song based on the picture. My most memorable song was “Give Me My Presents” - the actual song was titled “Happy Birthday.” My parents signed me up for piano lessons when I was 3 ½ years old, which then led to taking on the cello and engaging in school choir. I knew early on that I wanted music to be a part of my life and hoped that I could have some sort of career that involved music and utilizing my creative interests. 

My path towards my current career was not a straight line, however, I value all of the different creative experiences that I have had because they led me to where I am today. I was trained as a classical pianist and cellist and began performing at a young age. It was always satisfying to see how my music could create various emotional reactions among audience members. The music experiences I favored were always those in which I was not a soloist, but was a part of a group, whether it was a choir, chamber ensemble, symphony orchestra, or a collaboration with a composer or singer-songwriter. As I was working towards my undergraduate degree in cello performance I realized that I wanted more than to be just a performer. While I enjoyed sharing my music with others, there were aspects about the field of performing that did not fit with who I was. I also could not practice hours a day due to a medical condition in my arm. In looking for another avenue in music where I could be creative, I decided to pursue a career in music publishing. I was specifically interested in music synchronization, pairing music with some type of visual media outlet. Through internships at publishing companies in NYC, I learned about the creative processes of music synchronization and pairing demos written by songwriters with performing artists. As my internships progressed, however, I discovered that I was not fulfilled by this career path. While I was accessing my creative qualities, I missed creating my own music and having a direct human connection. As I re-considered what I wanted to do with my life,  I decided that I wanted a career that encompassed my desire to be creative, develop relationships with others, and help individuals optimize their unique potentials and health. (Please check out my bio for a brief summary on what led to my interest in wellness). On a subway ride, I had an “a-ha!” moment and realized that I could combine my love for the arts and working with others, and decided to pursue a career as a music therapist and licensed creative arts therapist.

 Fast forward several years, and I’m working as a school-based psychotherapist and doing contract work as a music therapist. I’m feeling like something is missing. I’m not balancing my creative passions and my current job well. I’m getting burnt out. I started doing some research and found the field of creativity coaching and life coaching. Everything about the coaching field clicked. I completed a life coaching program and became certified. I decided the job that I wanted for myself did not exist where I was living and I needed to try and create it for myself. I took the leap and resigned from my full time therapist job, and decided to start my own life and creativity coaching business and music therapy private practice. This decision allowed me to also reconnect with performing and to take part in more ensembles, which was something I really missed doing. So why did I just go off on a tangent about my career background? It is to give you a personal example of how I have continuously reassessed the balance and engagement of  creativity in my life  in order to find fulfillment. I can empathize with others who are trying to find their own balance, whatever that looks like for them. 

Let us now return our focus on how engaging in creative methods can be beneficial. We must not forget that creative expression comes in many forms, including but not limited to: photography, journaling, gardening, acting, sewing, painting, cooking, singing, playing an instrument, doodling, dancing, drawing, and collage. In recent years, there has been an increase in research directed towards studying the therapeutic effects and benefits of the arts and healing. These studies have shown that creative self-expression reduces stress and anxiety, increases the experience of positive emotions, improves focus on self-worth, and helps to develop resilience and mental wellbeing. 

I look at health and wellness as an active process and as a way of being. Music therapist Ken Bruschia stated, “health is who we are as we experience ourselves and as we shape those experiences.” Tapping into our own unique creative expression can support our individual wellness experience. I hope that this blog will help you reconnect with your creative interests and discover new ways to add creativity in your wellness journey.  

Thank you for taking the time to check out this blog and I look forward to sharing with you creative exercises and tools, inspiring music, and wellness tips.