An Experiential Journey of

Creative Arts Therapy

SONALI SENROY&

PRIYA SENROY

Anubhav is a Creative Art Therapeutic approach

This kind of therapy is neither a stage performance nor an art exhibition.

This is an action based individual or group therapy.

This is a combination of some of the characteristics of different art forms and psychotherapy.

Anubhav means ‘ to experience’ .We believe that solving the present problem is not

the long term solution.We need to find out the root cause of the present day problems , so we make an experiential journey

with our clients to visit and heal our past.So our approach is called Anubhav, means to

experience.

Anubhav is a symbolic approach.

It places emphasis that emotions and feelings can be expressed through metaphors.

.

Anubhav is a transformative approach.

For those who wish to imagine, to elaborate and to transform things around them.

For those who would like to rediscover the inner child.

Anubhav is a non threatening approach.

To make the self awareness and acceptance journey less threatening, less embarrassing, we use

improvisation, music, movements, painting ,

story building and role play.

Who do we work with?

The population who come to us we refer them as clients and not patients.

We believe that they are not diseased but dis-eased about some thing, about some one or may be they are not

comfortable with their own selves.

How does Anubhav help its clients?

As Creative Arts Therapists , the staff of Anubhav are human service professionals that help individuals,

families, and groups improve their overall physical and mental health.

They apply and combine the principles and techniques of each art form and no directive counselling in an

effort to improve communications, allow expression of feelings, improve coordination, and increase cognitive

and social function.

Our clients have included

Children, young adults and at risk youths

in special schools and community programs.

Individuals recovering from

Domestic violence ,Substance abuse and Trafficking.

In hospitals, mental health settings, forensic and rehabilitation centres.

The following slides showcases some examples of the work of

our client groups.

In this improvisation, a group of children with special needs became the three wise men during a Christmas enactment.

Here a teen recovering in a hospital has drawn a picture of a flower as a metaphor to represent her Eating disorder and the sun symbolising herself

Taking part in an improvisation, a group of young adults with learning disabilities are enacting the emotion of joy

In this slide children who are survivors of domestic violence have used these objects to express the creative arts experiential journey they undertook while working on

recovering from the trauma of witnessing the violence.Here they used the magician and the bridge to represent the facilitator and the medium while the clay ‘blobs’ and dolls represented their past ,their inner and

their present selves.

In this slide , this underprivileged 16 year old used collage to express the different facets of herself using different colours and textures. Being a survivor

of domestic violence , the client was able to work through her trauma and is now a trainee in a Dance therapy course.

A 12 year old makes a puppet to dramatise a piece on self awareness.

In this group work, the clients take part in a guided movement piece of being in a bubble which represents the personal space. The external pressures of the society causes the bubble to shrink, pushing down on them. The end result is to make the self strong enough to resist these pressures which once forced them to becomes victims of trafficking. The clients belong to a children’s home in Kolkata India.

In this individual session, this 13 year old makes a red mask to show the anger she has been harbouring in herself against her parents. Her father tried to kill her three times for being a girl child and her mother rejected her due to family pressure. She stays in the children's shelter home in Kolkata ,India.

These masks are a part of the dramatic session where a group of senior women living in an old age home took part in a myths and legends workshop. Theseus and Minotaur was adapted to suit the Indian cultural scenario.

A young adult incarcerated in an Indian prison made a mask to express the range of emotions that he was feelings as has was recovering from substance abuse.

HIV affected mothers of new born babies made these dolls to express feelings of their bodies being trapped in the disease and how the creative arts therapy sessions facilitated their healing process over period of time.

Part of a multicultural women's group performance, in England, the enactment represented the conflict and pain caused as a

result of migration and associated mental health issues.

Research and professional development

We conduct and publish scientific research through numerous journal, conference and chapter publications.

We offer training and developmental workshops for:

*Professionals and Corporations*Educators *Organizations *Self help groups*Frontline workers

Supervisors and managers participating in our personal development workshop.

Caregivers and front line workers taking part in our professional development

workshop.

Mental health professionals taking part in our team building workshop using music as a form of following and leading exercise.

OUR CONTACT

SONALI SENROY

sonalisenroy@yahoo.co.in

PRIYA SENROY

psenroy@yahoo.com

anubhavcanada@rogers.com