Odd admission…I have a longstanding appreciation for the artistry of vintage postcards. I love the nostalgic, dream-like quality in the images, as well as the analogue intentionality (i.e. not social media) of sharing our adventures with our loved ones. This enthusiasm for postcard art was so acute (and/or problematic) that one time—maaannny years ago —I attempted to cover my bedroom walls in them. The project failed…probably for the better…due to a decided lack of funds in the postcard budget and/or my wavering attention span's well-honed capacity to lead me on to some other quixotic misadventure….
Although I’m no longer covering my walls in them, I do still have a small collection of postcards, and I recently decided to incorporate them into an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (“ACT”) informed art therapy exercise.
WHAT is ACT?
ACT is a behavioral therapy that I use a lot in my work with clients. Simply-ish put, ACT promotes living out our values through developing greater psychological flexibility; we move toward what (or who) matters to us even though doing so often conjures up a whole host of unwanted internal experience—i.e. anxiety, worry, doubt, racing heartbeats, the dreaded “throat lumps,” and sticky shame-based self-assessments…to name just a few of the uninvited quests. It’s like Joseph Campbell’s purported reappraisal of his “follow your bliss” directive:
”I should have said follow your blisters…”
It’s not just grin and bear it though. Working with an ACT therapist, clients can learn processes, often rooted in mindfulness practice, to enhance psychological flexibility. Attention is given to present moment awareness (the here and now) and emotional acceptance. Clients also develop the capacity to relate to their thinking patterns—some of them quite old stories—in new and more helpful ways.
THE ART OF IT ALL
I titled the postcard exercise as “I Am Here.” It’s an acknowledgement of ACT’s emphasis on present moment awareness, as well as a playful echoing of the most common message written on postcards - i.e. “wish you were here.” The exercise is classic behavioral therapy—set up to support clients in following through on the commitments they make in session that are specific to their treatment goals—but with an added element of Jungian concepts of intuition and symbology. Using “I Am Here,” clients are posed the following questions:
What am I committing to?
What unwanted experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations) am I willing to accept in order to follow through with this commitment?
Why is this commitment important to me?
Clients write down their responses, and then choose an image from the deck of postcards I have in the office—there’s about 20 cards total—that they feel represents something about their commitment. Although clients can interpret the images however they like, I find it’s helpful to move away from literal interpretations—e.g. a postcard of a specific place or landmark—and focus on the symbolic instead—e.g. a stream might represent staying fluid in response to a stressful work situation …or a wish for reconnection with an estranged friend may be represented by an image of a bridge.
Since the supply of postcards is limited, I encourage clients to take a photo of the image as a reminder about their commitment. This is a new exercise that I’m just starting to incorporate in my practice. I’m hopeful it’s a fun way for clients to support themselves in their work. If it seems to be resonating, I’ll share an update here in the coming weeks…
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