Right and Wrong Answers
Previous training teaches my students to seek the “right” answer to questions. I’d rather they embrace curiosity, imperfection, and the unknown a little tighter.
Bless his heart
A few years ago, I had a particularly earnest social work student who arrived early to every class, sat in the front row, raised his hand, and took fastidious notes.
I don’t need to tell you that he always wore a bowtie and Clark Kent glasses, but he did.
One day, he privately disclosed that he was struggling with the curriculum; it was challenging his notions of right and wrong, good and bad, and how the world should work.
He had enrolled in grad school to learn answers, not to collect more questions.
This happens with a lot of my students. I live in the western US, and many of them come from rural areas and conservative upbringings.
Fall in Love
“I think the world might be more complicated than right and wrong answers,” I offered. “The best therapists I know are operating without answers.”
He nodded slowly and stared at an empty corner of the classroom. “Okay,” he half-whispered. “So, I need to build up a tolerance for the unknown.”
I didn’t want to scare him away from this crucial moment, so I spoke softly. “I don’t want you to tolerate the unknown. I want you to fall in love with the unknown. When you sense the unknown is nearby, I want you to get butterflies in your stomach.”
I continued. “I encourage you to be skeptical when your clients, professors, supervisors, insurance companies, diagnostic manuals, or anyone tells you something with absolute confidence. I know you grew up in the warm embrace of certainty – but certainty isn’t therapy.”
If you’re still reading…
HI! I’m a veteran art therapist and new PhD student. I’m learning Western research strategies to better amplify the creative mental health work that art therapists do every day.