Day 63 – Cathy Moon and Stephen Levine

Day 63 – I’ve gone back to re-read Stephen Levine’s 2019 book, Philosophy of expressive arts therapy: Poiesis and the therapeutic imagination. Cathy Moon has written a foreword that describes the concepts that stand out to her in the book, and offers us, what seems to me, possibly one good definition of Levine’s method of expressive arts therapy:

 

Levine’s approach to therapeutic process is a flexible one, responding to what is emerging in the session for the client and being able to follow it—whether what is emerging is movement, sound, visuals, poetry, enactments, or multiple art forms. (p. 12)

 

Moon goes on to point out that current arts practices are transdisciplinary and often improvisational with a “generous” view of what is considered “art.”  She points out that discipline-specific arts therapy practitioners who resist this broad view may be missing out on something important in the exploration of what is “art.”  She also asks important questions – what is superficial engagement with an art form?  What impact does restricting materials have on the process? How important is it for the therapist to have expertise in working with artistic materials, process, and practices when introducing those to the client?

 

This collection of essays and poems is Levine’s way to revisit the concept of poiesis which is so central to the way he conceptualizes the work of expressive arts therapy, and to centralize some of his writing on the subject. 

 

I hope that in reading through these essays again – I can encounter the concept of poiesis again and that I can frame the exploration of the concept with my students this summer and fall in a new and exciting way, one that opens possibilities for encounter, connection, and meaning making.