What’s in a name
Why "m"?
The name mpathway plays on "empathy" and "pathway". The letter “m” is given prominence by virtue of how it is pronounced as “em”.
For me, “m” represents meaning: the sense we make of our experience, through creativity or discovery, before we act. However, "m" has no fixed meaning. Instead it offers a menu of multiple options for making choices. It also means meeting, the time and space where client and therapist come together. We encounter metaphor as a way of understanding something obscure by connecting it with something more conceivable and to recognise patterns of thought and behaviour.
There is mystery in all of this: exploring the unknown; discovering hidden truths; reasoning with yourself and your surroundings; determining what movement best serves your desire for change. You get my point.
What might your "m" be?
As you think about starting therapy, what would "m" represent for you? Perhaps there’s a name, a quality, a value, a creature, a feeling or an intention. If so, what does each chosen word mean to you? How challenging was it to make any choice at all?
You're welcome to keep your answers to yourself, or to bring them to our first conversation. Either way, I'd be glad to hear from you.
FAQs
What is Integrative Arts Psychotherapy?
It is a way to heal oneself mentally through meeting with a qualified professional who is trained to understand and utilise a range of theories by talking and using any of seven art forms or modalities where appropriate to the situation in which the client finds themselves.
Why integrative?
My approach integrates a range of theoretical styles of therapeutic practice. I thereby draw inspiration from Gestalt, transactional analysis, attachment, existentialist and object relations theories. I find that these styles have more in common than what separates them, but that each offers a different perspective. As a relatively young discipline, psychotherapy continues to develop through new research
How good do I need to be at art?
No skill level or experience of art is assumed or necessary. The arts are offered for broadening your expression of thought, to add to — but not to replace — what needs saying. They can be a way of connecting with what is being felt in a way that is more manageable and often creatively rewarding by establishing meaning in the human experience.
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy draws on philosophies and traditions for treating the mind dating back at least 4000 years. However, in name it is a relatively young discipline of about 130 years, continually developing and expanding through research and practice. As a practitioner, I find inspiration both in its historical base and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for supporting clients to discover their own particular path to self-healing.