A More Creative Self

I’ve written before about how intriguing I find the concept “use of self.” I first heard of it when I was getting my master’s in social work. I find it helpful because it reminds me that we serve as tools, resources for our clients - we use ourselves in their service. As helping professionals, we make ourselves available to our clients in how we act (and interact), and in what we disclose. We're instrumental. We bring our entire being to the work, whether we intend to or not. And that includes everything:  our beliefs, our experiences, the paradigms we use to organize our worlds (and the client's).

I think creativity has a place in all that.

As I’ve worked to create my forthcoming program on creativity for therapists, counselors, and coaches, I’ve had to grapple with what it means to be “more creative.” That’s entailed an inventory of my own creative experiences, observation of the creative accomplishments of others, and a review of the academic research on creativity.

It’s been quite a journey.

Some of my own presumptions about creativity have been challenged, while others have been confirmed. Here are some of the discoveries:

• Researchers focus on 4 domains where creativity happens (you can focus on them, too).
• Two ways of thinking characterize creative ideation.
• Somatic skills can help you navigate the anxieties that often accompany the creative process.
• Creativity is part art, part design. What’s the difference?
• Solving problems creatively is one thing, identifying problems creatively is another.

These are some of the discoveries I hope to share with you in my signature course and coaching program - discoveries that can help you bring a more creative “use of self” to all you do.

Applications open soon. I hope you’ll consider joining me.