Agent of Change
As a counselor and art therapist I consider myself an “agent of change”. I see my role as assisting my clients in becoming their own agents of change (assuming most people seek Counseling because there are aspects of themselves or their…
The Creative Process: Manifestation
To manifest is to make something visible. In essence, creating is making something known that was not before. Art making is self-actualizing. Through the act of making things, we define aspects of ourselves. By cooking a wonderful dinner for…
The Creative Process: Exploration
Exploration is the stage of the creative process that requires the most courage. Some even skip incubation and preparation and surrender themselves to exploring. In art therapy, the therapist often prepares the space and the materials so that…
The Creative Process: Preparation
Preparing to create may take different forms for different people. I find it helpful to conceptualize it in terms of physical and mental preparation. Further, there’s prepping the environment or space, materials and most importantly the spirit.
Environment:…
The Creative Process: Incubation
I have been thinking about what kind of content I want to publish here, mulling over different ideas and even started writing a few articles. This part of the creative process is “incubation”.
Many times we have to go inside ourselves…
Thoughts on Suicide and Prevention
I've had lots of thoughts about suicide prevention since the announcement of Chris Cornell's untimely death last week. No one has all the answers but having worked in community mental health for 18 years, I know there are many instances where…
Adoption and Loss
I recently wrote about adopting after infertility. In the article, I focused mostly on the adoptive parents and the need to resolve the loss of the biological “would be child” in order to form a healthy relationship with an adoptive child.…
Adopting After Infertility
by Raina Cowan on April 29, 2017
In the film Lion, there is a scene in which the main character “Saroo” ( really “Sheru”, meaning “lion” in Hindi, played by Dev Patel) about to embark on a trip back to India to find his biological…
A poem in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week
STALLED
by Raina Cowan
The seeds were planted but not sown
Our hearts ache with never knowing,
our babies never growing.
As if time stopped, our lives stalled
Waiting for due dates that never arrive,
trying out names, looking at tiny…
National Infertility Awareness Week, Part 3
Great tips for taking care of yourself during infertility:
https://creatingafamily.org/infertility-category/self-care-infertility-treatment/