Besides being a PhD student, I’m engaged in other efforts.
- I run a full-time art therapy practice.
- I teach art therapy and MSW courses.I supervise new therapists.
- I’m active in my community.
- I serve on committees.
- I adore my partner and my young-adult children.
AND It seems like everywhere I go, I’m confronted with a CRISIS OF CURIOSITY.
🙈 An epidemic of certainty.
🙈 A shocking acceptance of what is.
🙈 Being at ease with what is already known or assumed.
Let me paraphrase something a long-term client told me.
🗣️ “The most important thing I’ve learned from therapy with you is curiosity. How to wonder about the world. How to wonder about others. How to be curious about myself, my life, and my experiences. Everything good I have gained from this therapy has come from curiosity.”
A slight uptick in curiosity could change so much about the world.
🔎 Curiosity drives us to explore and innovate.
🔎 Curiosity invites non-judgmental observation of our own lives.
🔎 Curiosity connects us to others.
🔎 Curiosity invites humility.
🔎 Curiosity opens doors and creates possibilities.
🔎 Curiosity is one of the IFS “8 C’s of the Self.”
🔎 Curiosity neutralizes judgment and increases compassion for ourselves and others.
In my role of creatively supporting people in making meaningful change, I intentionally cultivate curiosity in my clients.
🤨 Isn’t it interesting that…?
🤨 Are you curious about…?
🤨 Do you ever wonder if…?
🤨 What if we try…?
Often, their answer is “no,” but I don’t give up.
So, I wonder: How do we cultivate curiosity for meaningful change? How can we convince clients and professionals that the healing antidote to certainty is curiosity?