Zara Drapkin Psychotherapy

Mark your calendars y’all @art_therapy_ndnu has a wonderful lineup of continuing education workshops (CEUS) exploring cultural intersections in art therapy. I’m honored and truly looking forward to collaborating with @miss_eeeeee_ again for our workshop Engaging the Whole Person, Working Toward Authenticity and Understanding of the Art Therapist Identity in the Clinical Practice of LGBTQ+ Clients. Our workshop is happening 3/20/21, but in the meantime, check out the amazing workshops starting next month! #arttherapy #arttherapyeducation #socialjustice #socialjusticetherapists #intersectionaltherapists #learning #growthmindset #arttherapylife

Repost from Mamamia

These times are trying. There are so many feelings in response to ALL the things we’re navigating now- with a global pandemic, an extremely overdue reckoning with systemic racism, and with a constant state of instability and discomfort- it can be truly difficult to feel grounded. As a therapist, and a human, I feel it all too. Specifically, as a trauma therapist, I’m acutely aware of how all these current traumas are deeply evocative for folks with past traumas. Old and perha...ps harmful coping patterns are more enticing and accessible during this time. Loneliness due to social isolation compounds the problem. Slowing down and sitting with is healing but truly horrifying if you’re acutely activated. Therefore, I’m focusing on grounding myself and my clients during this time. We start here, then we grow. Feeling grounded- connected beyond your thoughts and feelings- and able to integrate yourself and the environment is a vital practice. For me, nature grounds me to my core. What allows you to feel grounded in moments of distress? I invite you to explore this individually, collectively, or with a trusted therapist. There are amazing resources to support us all, regardless of age, ability, race, gender, class, location, etc.... See more

Yesterday as the rain pounded the concrete outside, I felt a particularly intense wave of grief come over me. I was grieving life as I knew it- the ability to walk out my door, embrace a friend, sit in my office sharing the space with a client, and to walk in and out of shared spaces as I pleased. I stepped into this grief, feeling all it was mounting to in that moment. Breathing into it, I decided to create about out it. Ripping pages of magazines, & deconstructing images to... create my own felt particularly cathartic. As I glued the final images together, I felt the calm that comes when a wave comes to its natural conclusion. The feeling had passed and I was feeling more integrated, connected and able to move forward. There are so many emotions that are showing up for us these days and so much more time to really sit with it. This can be scary, but it can also be a truly healing practice of being. Sending warmth and health to you all as you navigate the waves of emotions related to Covid-19. #arttherapy #artastherapy #therapist #mentalhealth #berkeleytherapist #arttherapist #berkeley #creativeprocessing #collageart #collageartwork #artishealing #covidart See more

Shout out to @miss_eeeeee_ for creatively connecting art therapists with this directive- Create 2 images (exact size 3.5 x 5, any medium) that incorporates a WORD, FEELING/EMOTION, VERB, or PHRASE that best represents the vision we hold for our clients, families and friends, communities, the world and ourselves as mental health professionals during this world-wide pandemic. During this time, I hold a vision of CONNECTION and GROUNDING for my clients, families and friends, communities, the world and ourselves as mental health professionals. #arttherapy #arttherapist #artastherapy #mentalhealth #therapist #connection #grounding #mentalhealthmatters #berkeleytherapist

Dear community, I want to share some resources for folks during these unsettling and unprecedented times. Ways to take care of mental health in times of uncertainty: https://afsp.org/taking-care-of-your-mental-health-in-the-/... free resources for all to navigate the current times & 6 months free access to all content to folks working in healthcare: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free 5 day virtual meditation summit with thich nhat hahn https://promo.lionsroar.com/free-summit-thich-nhat-hanh/ Some museums are offering free virtual tours as well... https://www.travelandleisure.com//museums-with-virtual-tou Yogis Anonymous is allowing one month free of online yoga if you use the coupon code: stayhealthy. No credit card required for the trial either! https://yogisanonymous.com/ Resources from SAMHSA for coping with stress during this time: https://store.samhsa.gov/system/files/sma14-4885.pdf Stay safe, stay connected (virtual communities are abundant at this time), and ask for help if you need it. We’re all navigating this together and you don’t need to experience this alone. With warmth, Zara

4 years after graduating from NDNUs Art Therapy program it was lovely to return to campus for a super awesome day. Collaborating with @miss_eeeeee_ and Shaleece Haas, our workshop, film screening and panel discussion - Engaging the Whole Person, Working Toward Authenticity and Understanding of the Art Therapist Identity in the Clinical Practice of LGBTQ Clients + screening of the documentary, REAL BOY was a truly wonderful time. Thanks to all those that came and experienced it with us! @ Notre Dame de Namur University

Inside/ outside masks (reflecting on the way one is seen by the outside world vs how they feel inside) is an art therapy exercise that always reminds me how often times images can speak in ways words can’t access (or the images create access to words that had never been spoken).

https://www.lionsroar.com/how-self-compassion-can-help-us-/ Holidays can be hard and going back to a family home or spending time with family can create situations in which we revert back to old behaviors and dynamics. Here’s a great read offering suggestions to hold some self compassion to help navigate these situations. "The moments you speak and act from a fresh sense of vulnerability will mean much more to you and your family than the hours you spend acting out old patterns and beating yourself up inside about it."

https://www.ndnu.edu//grad/art-therapy/workshops/schedule/ I’m excited to be joining forces with Melissa Satterberg and Shaleece Haas to offer a continuing education (CEU) workshop at NDNU in February. Our workshop Engaging the Whole Person, Working Toward Authenticity and Understanding of the Art Therapist Identity in the Clinical Practice of LGBTQ Clients + screening of the documentary, REAL BOY will take place on February 22nd. Check it out!! Also, lots of exciting upcoming workshops worth looking at!!

I came across this street art and really appreciated it. Often times we get stuck in narratives that create deep pain and suffering. These narratives (such as I’m not good enough, I’m a failure, everything is my fault) then become a lens through which we experience the world. Every interaction and experience is processed through this lens and the narrative becomes our sense of reality. Taking the space to open your mind, separate yourself from your problem saturated ...narrative (often times shaped by self as well as family systems and the greater society), and explore alternative narratives inevitably creates space for growth, healing and new preferred narratives. In both my social work and art therapy education I was drawn to narrative based work. I love being witness to the process of folks exploring their problem saturated narratives, externalizing them (verbally or visually), and creating preferred narratives. I literally feel like I get to stand aside folks as they OPEN THEIR MINDS

Through my own journey getting me to where I am today and in my work every day as a therapist and art therapist, I’m often so deeply moved by the profound healing, restorative and grounding benefits of nature. Today group art therapy participants collectively created these beautiful and symbolic nature mandalas representing their healing journeys. Eco art therapy, as described by Dr. Theresa Sweeney is a blending of traditional Art Therapy with the emerging science of Appli...ed Ecopsychology (learning to think, feel and relate like Nature's wisdom works). It's a creative process that anyone at anytime can use to consistently think and feel with the unadulterated clarity and happiness that each of us readily enjoys in attractive natural areas. It makes nature not only cathartic, but therapeutic. I am now offering eco art therapy as a service in my private practice. Please reach out if you’re interested in these services!

Mental wellness takes continual work, attention and nurturing. Sometimes, despite all of that effort, you can still have bad days or episodes- And that’s ok. Despite what can feel like setbacks, you can still move forward and continue to grow. You are still doing the work. Today, on world mental health day, I want to share these important Reminders- Healing is not linear Grief has no deadline Your ancestors have carried you through anxiety and worry Your body remembers ... And it is possible to feel that way again Poem by Fabian Romero Art by Texta Queen #healing #mentalwellness #mentalhealth #worldsmentalhealthday #arttherapy #griefjourney See more