Amabel Liu, who goes by “Ama,” is an experienced expressive arts therapist at Harbor Hall in Petoskey, originally from Hong Kong. Passionate about the healing benefits of art, Ama is a strong advocate for connecting people with the transformative power of creative expression. This fall, she is giving a Coffee @ 10 talk on “Transformative Journeys of Recovery and Healing,” and will be teaching a collaborative workshop open to the public titled “Healing, Wellness, and Creativity: Expressive Arts Workshop.” We sat down with Ama to learn more about what “expressive arts” is, the benefits of expressive arts therapy, and what we’ll be learning this fall during our partnership programming. 

The below has been edited for length and clarity.

How would you define “expressive arts therapy” - what does that mean and encompass?

Expressive arts therapy is a therapeutic approach that utilizes & focuses on an array of creative processes, such as visual arts, music, dance, drama, and creative writing. The main goal is to help individuals to express & explore their feelings, while helping them to process their emotions and experiences in non-verbal ways.

What does an “expressive arts therapist” do, specifically?

An expressive arts therapist uses creative modalities—such as visual arts, music, dance, drama, and writing—to facilitate healing and personal growth. 

Why is expressive arts so important for your clients? What are they learning during sessions?

Expressive arts is a non-verbal way to process, explore, and express emotions. Many of my clients here may not be particularly comfortable with expressing themselves in words, so having an array of creative mediums to choose from and to express with, gives them a wider range of play, a new outlet to explore their experiences and emotions.

Through our work together, they are learning how to communicate their emotions, and in the process, insights arise for self-discovery and self-awareness. They also learn to utilize creativity as a way to cope with stress and anxieties, as expressive arts promote mindfulness & grounding, which is important as it brings clients to their “here & now.” 

Creative thinking is also an excellent problem solving skill, as when clients decide to create an artwork, they have to go through brainstorming processes and come up with ideas, and try out different things before coming up with their final art piece. 

Finally, this process teaches them patience, how to utilize creative solutions, and also self-efficacy, as they accomplish completing the whole creative process, from an idea to the final product, giving them a sense of fulfillment.

What types of art materials can or do you use for the expressive art process? How does the choice of media influence the process, if at all?

Different creative modalities have an array of unique qualities, for example in visual arts, we have drawing, painting, photography, collage, sculpture. In music, we have music listening, song writing, playing instruments, or playing music with others. In writing, we have fiction or nonfiction, poetry and creative writing. All have unique and specific ways to help evoke and express the special quality that different clients respond to the most.

The beauty of expressive arts therapy is that all creative mediums are interlinked, allowing for the client to reflect deeper into the work by reflecting the original work with other mediums. For example, writing a poem in response to a photo, or playing a piece of music as a reaction to a painting, creating a dance piece in reflection to a song, so on and forth. This therapeutic process is called “intermodal transfer,” which gives clients different perspectives to process their emotions, and deepens their own understanding for insights.

What are some of the common challenges you see among your clients when it comes to creativity and expression?

Common challenges are the low self-esteem of the clients, who may have a tendency to judge themselves before even trying. Our philosophy here at Harbor Hall heART studio is to challenge the normal way of traditional art education, where we do not require clients to be Da Vinci before they can create art. It is about trying, experimenting, that even some dots and some lines could create art, and that art is a process, it is not a destination. 

We also challenge our clients to think outside of the box, that art is not only limited in pieces we see in a museum or can listen to in a concert hall, that art is in fact a way of seeing, of living our life from our heart. 

How are expressive arts beneficial to the everyday person?

Expressive arts are intrinsic to the human experience. Creating from nothing to something is innate to all of us. And the beauty of creativity is to create things we do not see, where everyone starts with an idea, and creating it makes it come alive, from nothing to something, and that is magic. Creating in this way is beneficial to everyone, of all ages and for all walks of life. Art gives people a voice, it gives people comfort, an outlet to express, to unite people. It has no boundaries, it is transparent, and can touch the very deep part of the human soul. 

Tell us a little about this partnership between Harbor Hall and Crooked Tree Arts Center - how did it come about?

Our two organizations both shared the same vision that creativity brings healing and wellness to our community. The idea of a workshop and potential art exhibitions came forth as we both wanted to echo this vision and spread the benefit of expressive arts to our community through our unique audiences.

What is your hope with working with Crooked Tree this season?

My hope is to build a bridge of connection between the recovering addiction population to our larger community. My goal is to eliminate the social stigma of this population. I have the privilege to be among the kindest, empathetic, highly creative and talented people here, and I want more people to understand and see that underneath their addiction, we are all human beings, we all experience lives’ challenges and obstacles, sometimes we may fall but that doesn’t determine our future or who we can become. That sometimes all we need is the chance to rediscover and recreate ourselves for a larger purpose than our own sufferings. Art is the most wonderful way to do that, and to bridge this gap.

We welcome you to join us for Amabel Liu's Coffee @ 10 Talk "Transformative Journeys of Recovery and Personal Growth" on Thursday, September 26 at 10:00 am at CTAC Petoskey and sign up for her 6-week course on "Healing, Wellness, and Creativity: Expressive Arts Workshop", which runs on Mondays from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, November 4 - December 9.