26. Exploring Expressive Therapy

[00:00] Hello, welcome to a Victus Health Care NU podcast. I'm Namit. Chana isn't available to join us today, but she'll be back for our next episode. On today's

[00:20] In this episode, we have two therapists, Rachel Baker, a voomit therapist, and Tim Regan, a drama therapist, both from Adventist HealthCare's ShadyGrow Medical Center's Behavioral Health Services team. They're with us today to discuss expressive therapy and behavioral health's new Serenity spot at Rio Lakefront opening Saturday, May 20th.

[00:40] during the National Alliance on Mental Illness Walk. Welcome, Rachel and Tim. Nice to have you. Thank you. Nice to be here. Nice to be here. So why don't you tell us about yourself, about how long you've been at Adventist Health Care, your role, and what's your specialty? I've been with Adventist for about two years now.

[01:00] I'm a board certified dance movement therapist. I'm also a registered yoga instructor, so sometimes I'll bring that into my work as well. I got into the field when a dance teacher of mine was doing some research and I had just been laid off and she introduced me to.

[01:20] it. So I did some of the reading for the article she was finding and I said, you know, this is just something that I have to do. The field kind of found me. What about you, Tim? I am a drama therapist and I've been a drama therapist at Ventus just for about a year and I got involved.

[01:40] years ago I was a theater educator and a colleague at a performing arts organization down in in Bethesda was becoming a drama therapist and I was very intrigued and so I started working towards that registration and I'm also a board certified trainer for drama

[02:00] therapists. Right, so what do the drama therapists exactly do? It's basically like going to the gym but for your imagination and to stretch your compassion and your empathy muscles and to do some storytelling and story listening. We do this in groups which is most effective.

[02:20] For folks, they get to listen to folk stories, they get to share their own stories, and it's also provides some distance for folks. So we may take a story and develop a character and improvise some situations. And often it can lead to laughs and maybe sometimes

[02:40] some tears. Yeah it sounds like one of those very exciting creative workshops that you know like the mind just goes all the juices in your mind kind of keeps going and a lot of ideas come out of it. Oh definitely. Yeah. So one of the expressive therapy is dance therapy that I think Rachel you specialize in. Can he elaborate a little bit on that?

[03:00] Management therapy works with the mind, body, spirit connection to really promote growth and healing. I start sessions primarily running group sessions helping folks feel safe in their bodies and we build from there, bringing in

[03:20] different warm-up stretches, improvisational movements, sometimes dancing. Sometimes we just sit and breathe and meditate, depending what the needs are in the group and what people are comfortable with and looking for in that time. Yeah, I think that's great because it combines both.

[03:40] both physical and mental health. So we've heard a lot about expressive therapy. So what exactly is expressive therapy and what are the different types of it? So expressive therapies use different creative modalities to promote healing. We've got dance movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, art therapy.

[04:00] Some folks are specifically expressive therapists. Yes. And I know on our team as well, we have a couple of folks who are technically not expressive therapists, but we also have recreation therapy and occupational therapy and pet therapy.

[04:20] tandem for many of our patients and community. Well, how does explicit therapy assist with mental health patients specifically? I know during pandemic, post-pandemic, mental health awareness has gone up significantly and this could be another avenue that people are using or another tool that we can use for our patients and communities.

[04:40] So how does this help with our mental health population? I think listening, as I mentioned earlier, to stories, but also there's, if you're familiar with something called mirror neurons, when other folks are sharing, the rest of the group will see, hey, you know, I can do that too.

[05:00] And so they get to the point where they can express different emotions, whether it's happy, sad, scared, or angry. And with the techniques of theater where we use improvisation, it can be very enlightening because it's very spontaneous. And folks who are hesitant will see other people.

[05:20] folks in the group actually look like they're enjoying it so then they'll join in as well.

[05:40] therapies can assist with mental health patients are just building self-awareness, self-regulation and expression, building self-esteem, enhancing communication skills especially because our creative modalities can aid non-verbal communication and get to

[06:00] subconscious and unconscious, not just the conscious self. And then we can aid in problem solving, building healthy coping skills and resiliency. And just mentioning the pandemic and kind of coming on the other side of the pandemic.

[06:20] I know there's been a lot of personal and collective trauma and trauma is stored in the body. So we need to process it in the body. Yeah, thanks for sharing that. What are some of the things I could do at home? You know, if I don't have, if I don't have any.

[06:40] can get to an expositive therapist myself.

[07:00] did someone so do this or what happened here? What do you think they're going to do next? And it's fascinating to put yourself in the perspective of one of the characters in the film. And films are all over the place. You can access them anywhere. And it's just a nice way to put yourself in the shoes of somebody else with that perspective taking.

[07:20] That's a good idea. And adding to what Tim is saying, some more ideas can be stretching, dancing, doing some meditation, painting, drawing, coloring, journaling, either word or art, writing.

[07:40] listening to music, singing, playing music, and just really taking time to play, taking time to really nurture your soul. We get permission to play. And I think being intentional about it too, I think one of the things that a lot of people have told us, or a lot of experts have told us is journaling.

[08:00] you know, ensuring that you're journaling once a day, it's like five to 10 minutes, and just write down your thoughts and reflect on your day. Or have, you know, positive thinking before you go to sleep, or write something positive for like, you know, three bullet points or something like that, which is beneficial. There's an exercise that we might do in a group where there's no

[08:20] talking involved, but they write a scene between one character and another. So one person will write the name of their character and write a series of lines or questions and then they pass it to the person and they write it back. And a whole scene will develop non-verbally through their writing, but then eventually they'll present a scene.

[08:40] it to the rest of the group and it's pretty magical.

[09:00] anywhere, but we encourage folks to park themselves, so to speak, in an area across from the pond which is yet to be fully landscaped, but we've got visions of trees and plants and different types of nature accessibility that you can see.

[09:20] there. So it's still in the works, but it'll be, like you mentioned, launched May 20th. We're looking forward to it. That's very exciting. And the Serenity Spot really highlights the message that mental health is essential, emphasizing that caring for one's mental health is important.

[09:40] health can occur through different outlets. It can happen really anywhere, and it doesn't have to be anything complicated. So the spot gives folks permission to really prioritize themselves in the moment. So you can check in with yourself, mind, body, and spirit.

[10:00] it. We'll have QR codes throughout the spot to access this playlist that we've curated with different meditation tracks, different sound and music tracks, so you can literally take it with you. Yeah, that's great. I think Tim said you could listen to it anywhere. You don't have to be.

[10:20] either for it. But I've been to the Rio myself and it's a very nice area, the walk itself around the lake is really nice. So what can a community expect from the spot itself, like from the space? We'll have a resting place along the Adventist Health Care Path to Wellness trail at the lakefront

[10:40] users can sit, reflect, and connect to this playlist we created and let their mind travel to a calming space. We'll have various guided meditations and sound experiences. There will also be nature-themed art, colored glass features, trees,

[11:00] like Tim is saying, and it also highlights our behavioral health offerings at Adventist healthcare. That's great. So a lot of not just, you know, listening, but also a lot of visual cues as well for, you know, for you to relax and just take a moment for yourself. Absolutely. And one of my favorite things here is,

[11:20] how in the hospital we offer so many different forms of expressive therapies because everyone connects with things differently. So the serenity spot will also give everyone something to connect with, whatever that is, whether it's sound, whether it's

[11:40] visual art, whether it's nature, whether it's moving with the meditations, just really encompassing something for everybody. So what are you guys looking forward to the most about the Serenade Spot?

[12:00] Just soak it all in not worrying about what's happening next, maybe thinking about what happened earlier, but just letting it go. Great exercise is deep breathing, but also with music and just to get you in the zone where you can just be present.

[12:20] In DC, things are running constantly. The wheels are turning. And this is a nice place just to relax and to sort of access your inner calmness and reduce anxiety and stress. Yeah, I think being present is, I think people...

[12:40] take it granted for at times. One of the therapists that I used to work with told me that being present is like being grounded and you just check your five senses. Look at what you see, look at what you smell, look at what you hear, and just touch and feel things when you're there. I think being at that spot just relaxing and grounding yourself could be

[13:00] be hugely beneficial for many of our members of the community. And I'm looking forward to just really seeing this creative project come to life. I've been working on my part with the playlist for a couple of months. So it's really exciting to see this project launch and become real. And

[13:20] I just always love the work that I do. So I'm excited to share it with others and not just talking about it, but really sharing it in an experiential way. And like I was saying, how we get to all the different modalities in this space, I just think that's really cool.

[13:40] how to listen to the playlist in the future so it's good that it could be accessible anywhere which is really neat. So I know at the Cerny spot at Rio Lakefront I will be unveiling this spot but there's also the NAMI walks event that will be occurring on May 20th as well. Can you share some light on that? Yes it's been a

[14:00] real honor to partner with one of the nation's largest mental health organizations, both to unveil the space and also to be able to do it during the month of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. And working with NAMI Walks for this event allows the message of caring for your mental health.

[14:20] to be presented to a much bigger audience. This walk is significant because it mobilizes people who are affected by mental health, allowing them to have a voice and be able to actively demonstrate their support and their stories of how mental illness has affected them and their loved ones. To be able to communicate with people who are not

[14:40] able to add this bonus of the serenity spot, it's like presenting a gift to the community by inviting them to again, take an active part and do something about their own mental health by taking time to learn and engage in different therapeutic strategies. And the walk begins

[15:00] at 10.15 am on the stage in Rio. That's exciting. I think it truly is a gift to our community and allows them to come out and be part of the social event as well, being out of their homes and share their stories and have that peer support as well. So towards the end, we always ask our speakers about one thing they want to, you know, a message to us.

[15:20] tend to our listeners about one takeaway item. So what would that one point or be from you guys? I would say that there is no health without mental health. So it's so important that we take care of our whole selves. And

[15:40] not just on a personal level, but on a community level as well. Yeah, so help yourself and help others as well. Go make that commitment to help yourself and just to have the courage to take charge of your own and also to be aware of mental health with your peers.

[16:00] with your family. Set goals and solve problems and again just be. I think keeping mental health just in the forefront of your physical health because at times it takes the backburner over physical health so mental health is just as important if not more.

[16:20] Absolutely. Thank you, Rachel and Tim, for joining us on the podcast today. Thank you. Thank you. To learn more about Adventist health care shady group of medical centers, behavioral health services, please visit adventisthealthcare.com slash mental health. And don't forget to subscribe so you get notifications for all new episodes.

[16:40] Thank you and be well.

[17:00] .