1. Introduction

“To educate somebody, you should start with poems, emphasize ceremonies, and finish with music.”

(Confucius, 551-479BC)

In the fall of 2014 a collaborative workshop presentation that merged practitioners from eastern and western approaches to creative arts therapy (CAT) took place. The presentation reunited four creative arts therapists who met in August 2009, when each presented at The Third Annual Art and Natural Health Creative Arts Therapy Conference in Beijing, China. Since their meeting in 2009, these practitioners have become colleagues, friends, and mentors to one another. The presenters included myself, Dr. Krystal Demaine a board certified music therapist and registered expressive arts therapist from Massachusetts, USA; Dr. Jane Ferris Richardson, a board certified registered art therapist, registered play therapist, and certified sandplay therapist from Massachusetts, USA; Ms. Andrea Gollub a board certified registered art therapist from California, USA; and Ms. Chunhong Wang a dance therapist and skilled traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner from Beijing, China.

The professional relationship among these colleagues blossomed at the Beijing conference in 2009, however the seeds for their original meeting were planted earlier. Dr. Richardson was the first among the Americans to make contact with Ms. Wang in Beijing. The two developed a dialogue over email through an introduction via Dr. Stephanie Brooke, an art therapist who presented at the Second Annual Art and Natural Health Creative Arts Therapy Conference in 2009. At the time, Dr. Brook referred Dr. Richardson to the 2006 conference and invited her to attend. In lieu of her conference attendance, Dr. Richardson sent a film of her work. The film brought excitement and particular interest to Ms. Wang, one of the conference organizers. From there, Ms. Wang contacted Dr. Richardson, and the two developed a relationship over email communications that lasted more than two years. Their dialogue helped them realize the mutuality of their work, even when separated by distance and traditional thought. In preparation of the third annual conference in 2009, through email, Dr. Richardson introduced Ms. Wang to Ms. Gollub and Dr. Demaine who became invited presenters to the fourth annual conference. It was at this conference that these women would meet for the first time. Here presentations occurred in symposium-workshop style, where all attendees sat for the same interactive or lecture based experience.

After meeting in Beijing in 2009, a kindred friendship maintained through email correspondences and dialogues via Skype. Their dialogues served as an opportunity for learning about each other’s approaches to CAT, learn from Ms. Wang about TCM and build ground to generate new ideas, connections, and collaborations. In turn both Dr. Demaine and Dr. Richardson began researching TCM more seriously and integrating its approaches into their CAT classrooms. Consequently, in 2010 Dr. Demaine and Dr. Richardson presented a response to their time together in Beijing at a University Scholars Conference (Demaine & Richardson, 2010). In 2011 the two, wrote book chapters on the same topic (Demaine & Richardson, 2015; Demaine 2015). In 2014 Ms. Wang announced that she would be traveling to the United States for the first time. After continued dialogues and thoughtful planning, the stage was set for three workshop style presentations to take place while Ms. Wang was stateside. Each workshop was to occur for one and a half hours, with the goal of teaching the relationship between CAT and TCM, viewed and explained from both eastern and western perspectives. Each workshop was housed in the presenters’ affiliated university or clinical practice, occurring first in Los Angeles, California, then Cambridge, MA, and finally in Beverly, MA. The latter will serve as the focus of this article.

The integration of eastern spiritual practices within expressive and creative arts therapy education currently exists in some programs. For example, the California Institute for Integral Studies and Naropa University both offer degrees in Expressive Arts Therapy with an emphasis in the study of eastern spiritual practices. In addition, the Five Branches University in California, which specializes in the training TCM education, regularly offers workshops related and trainings in creative and expressive arts therapy (see Rappaport, 2014). Along similar lines, wellness organizations such as the Omega Institute in New York offer workshops that integrate the arts and eastern healing practices (Super Qi Weekend, 2016). Historically, the most ancient known form of arts based healing existed with shamanic traditions, which began in Asia during the prehistoric era. Shamanic practices involved healing ceremonies and rituals that included music making, dance, and visual art making and laid the groundwork for much of western current expressive arts therapy practice (McNiff, 2009).

The workshop discussed in this article brought together professionals, while distanced by geographic location, shared a like-minded valued of the arts and role in mind-body integration, and whole body awareness. Honing on the beauty of nature and everything that it has to offer as a healing resource, TCM draws upon nature and the whole body as a method of healing. This article will discuss how the presenters of this workshop integrated the arts through western and traditional Chinese healing models, in order to explore how the roots of western CAT may have a connection to the east. It will also reflect on the relationships formed by the workshop presenters and how their passions and perspectives of CAT have informed each other in order to produce a successful collaboratively instructed workshop.

2. Development and Opening

In the late afternoon, in early fall, just as the sun light was beginning to change, twenty five students, staff, and faculty entered in to the third floor Creative Arts studio for the Creative Arts Therapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine Workshop. Ascending through an imaginatively designed arts building, where sunlight casts a glow through large glass windows, participants arrived to their workshop space. The school houses a black box theater, piano practice rooms, recording studios, design studios, and photography labs. On the top floor of the building lives the fine arts department. Here, the halls are filled art created by the students of the college. On view, large paper cascades across a wall composed in black chalk, sketched by a dancer who used her whole body to visually capture a still of what her movements looked like. Next to that, paintings of animals, which emulated Jungian archetypes, are hung boldly. These works are results from the students arts based research projects (Demaine 2016). In the painting studio, students diligently work with oils on hardboard and canvas and in the classroom next door, students anatomically sketch figures on large drafting tables from live human models. The second to last classroom on the third floor is the creative arts studio; this classroom is exclusively for CAT courses. The room is dressed in artistic icons of distraction, which are hung from the walls, dangling from the ceiling and mounted in corners. The classroom invokes creativity, play and discovery. As people entered the studio, Chinese gu zheng music played and green tea was brewed. The aromatic scent and sounds swirled around the room as people quietly soaked up the environment. The presenters wanted to bring their attendees into a multi-sensory environment that captured the essence of their experience in Beijing together in 2009. Chairs were set up to allow the participants a view of the front of the room where the presenters stood. A long table was set behind the chairs and decorated with a large role of craft paper, various paintbrushes, cups of water filled with differently saturated levels of black paint and colorful scarves.

Before the workshop started, the presenters met for about an hour to discuss how the room would be set up and the general flow of the presentation. This arrangement emulated what occurred at a previous workshop, where an environment was created to encourage one’s imagination of being in Beijing (Demaine & Richardson, 2010). Similarly, materials were set up to allow for a variety of art forms to be explored through TCM and CAT. After taking a moment to explore the space together, the presenters determined the flow of the arts, beginning with music. Much like an expressive arts therapy session develops, the workshop progression seemed to emerge naturally, as one art yielded to the other. After the choreography was determined, the remaining dialogue would be improvised and disseminated from each presenters’ area of knowledge and clinical experience.

As the attendees settled into the studio, the presenters invited them to become aware of the environment and the studio space. Participants were asked to notice the sound of the gu zheng and the smell of green tea. For the presenters, this environment re-awakened their first meeting. Once the participants were seated, Dr. Demaine discussed the music that was being played. She described the gu zheng as a multi-stringed traditional Chinese musical instrument, that appeared much like a large dulcimer. She described its beauty, size and resonance. She noted that the name of the instrument comes from when it is strummed; with a large full strum it creates a strong sound of “ZHENG!” (Demaine, 2015). From Dr. Demaine’s words, the workshop opened, and the presenters began with the first modality in their collaborative workshop together.

3. The Roots and Tones of Healing

“Music in the soul can be heard in the universe”

Lao Tzu (600-531 BCE)

As the gu zheng music faded off, the presenters introduced themselves, their relationship to one another and their work. Then, Dr. Demaine began to discuss the background philosophy of Chinese culture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). She noted that much of TCM originated from the philosophies of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. These three beliefs came into existence, at an axis or an age of enlightenment (around 600 BC), with a common goal for people to live a harmonious life and yield to the flow (Unschuld, 2003). Such yielding, she noted to the attendees, is akin to McNiff’s (1998) concept to “trust the process”. The workshop participants were familiar with this idea from having studied it in their courses. It was important to the presenters to draw upon the students learning for the integration of the understanding of TCM. Dr. Demaine went on to say, that seminal writings on TCM are found in the Huang Ti Nei Ching, which is translated as “Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine”. The Huang Ti Nei Ching, presented the original theory and protocol of TCM. Dr. Demaine began to note that TCM relies on the Five Elements Theory. The five elements are represented as: earth, fire, metal, wood and water. Each of these elements correspond to five organs in the human body which also correlate to elements such as the seasons, nature, colors and musical pitches (Reid, 1996; Su, 1966). As Dr. Demaine shared information on Chinese medicine, she related it back to western approaches of CAT; like intermodal expressive arts therapy, Chinese philosophers found that one element generated the other, for example wood generated fire, and earth, air or water; just as painting generated movement, and sound encouraged imagination (Knill, Barba, & Fuchs, 2004). Dr. Demaine then stated, now we will begin to explore the first modality – “MUSIC!”

Ms. Wang reached to the table and clutched five small plastic boxes, each of a different color. She brought these boxes from Beijing. She informed the group that these colors matched those of the five elements, green, red, yellow, white and black. She switched them on and passed one to each of the presenters. Each box resonated a drone sound with one fundamental pitch. Dr. Demaine explained that each pitch corresponds to a musical tone from a pentatonic scale, also known as a five-note scale. This scale is familiar in both western and Chinese music. Dr. Demaine sang the pitches as do, re, mi, so, la, she noted that these pitches are C, D, E, G and A, where C is “do”. Ms. Wang then chimed in and stated that these tones in Chinese are called Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu (Demaine & Richardson, 2015).

While Dr. Demaine discussed the five tones and their relationship to the Five Elements Theory, the participants listened and experienced the vibrations piped through the small hand held music boxes. Ms. Gollub, Ms. Wang, Dr. Demaine, and Dr. Richardson moved the sound boxes around the room, over the participant’s bodies, above heads, sides of body, and down to the soles of their shoes, so that the participants could have a full body experience.

Dr. Demaine discussed how these tones correspond to the organs: lung, liver, kidney, heart and spleen respectively, or tastes of sweet sour, bitter, acrid, salty (Reid, 1996). From a western perspective, expressive arts therapies often refer to a connection of arts and body integration within a healing context known as therapeutic attunement. Dr. Demaine drew upon a course reading where Kossak (2008) defined attunement as “a felt embodied experience that can be individualistic as well as communal, that includes a psychological, emotional, and somatic state of consciousness” (p. 14). In TCM there is a focus on the whole self, an integration of the whole is known as Qi, pronounced “chi”, which can be defined as “life force,” or the movement of energy in the body (Demaine, 2015). Like Qi, therapeutic attunement focuses on a flow or balance of energy and notes that asynchronicity of balance can disrupt this flow (Kossak, 2008). In TCM, Qi or life force is responsible for the function of organs and the way that blood and air circulate through the body, Ms. Wang explained. When the arts integrate with the body (dance/ movement, music, visual arts) there is a sense of wholeness and integrated awareness that allows for a sense of attunement. Drs. Demaine and Richardson chimed in, and noted that similarly, TCM places an emphasis on the balance of body (organs) and mind through foods, environments, seasons and movement that one engages in. In essence, the arts can afford a multi-sensory experience that engages the whole body in a sense of integrated awareness (Demaine & Richardson, 2015).

After experiencing the sound boxes and listening to the presenters discuss TCM and the five-elements theory relationship, a discussion from the participants transpired. The notion of how music can affect the whole body, through movement, stimulation of the kinesthetic sense, and rousing Qi, was identified. Dr. Demaine noted that, with this way of thinking, there is consideration for both the western and eastern perspectives of music. One participant shared how listening to the tones soothed her body, calmed her heart, and helped her to tune into one non-distracting element. Another shared that he felt a sense of grounding to the earth while listening to the five tones. Dr. Demaine recapped that each tone was designed (with the five-elements theory in mind) to resonate with an organ in the body. While there is not very much research on this topic, she noted, the literature indicates there there is interest in scientifically studying how musical tones stimulate the organs (Demaine, 2015).

4. The Flow and Color of Energy

“Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness is the ruler of movement”

(Tzu, 1994, p. 26)

After the experience with the five-tones concluded, the presenters naturally, without cue, gathered the sound boxes together, and Ms. Wang instructed the group to stand in a circle in front of the chairs. Ms. Wang brought a bag filled with colorful nylon scarves to the group, and asked each person to choose one scarf from the bag. Dr. Demaine noted that in the five-elements theory, five colors are represented, and each nourishes an organ of the body; green is for the liver, red is for the heart, yellow is for the spleen, white is for the lung, and black for the kidney (Demaine & Richardson, 2015). The participants clutched various shades of pinks, oranges, greens, blues, and yellows and Ms. Wang informed the TCM meaning of each color. She noted that when a color was not a direct hue of the five elements (green, red, yellow, white, and black), colors that are blended (such as orange – a mixture of red and yellow) provoked two different elements or meanings. Ms. Gollub and Dr. Richardson pointed out the difference with western approaches to art therapy, where colors are not interpreted per-se, but rather a client of art therapy may identify what the color means to that individual. The colleagues here identified this to be a significant difference in the cultural understanding of CAT. From these colors, Ms. Wang invited an integration of movement. She asked the group to one by one make a single movement with the scarf and then asked the other people in the circle to repeat it. Dr. Demaine and Richardson referred to western texts in art therapy and expressive arts therapy where this method of witnessing, accepting, reflecting, and replicating often occurs (Knill, Barba, Fuchs, 2004; McNiff, 1998; 1992; 2009). Ms. Wang then instructed each person to move his or her scarf one by one, going around the circle, in a sort of improvised choreography. She asked the group to find a connection between the color, the body and the whole movement. She related each individual’s movement to be an important result in one greater dance. This larger dance allowed for the group to find Qi as a method of group interaction and interpersonal connectedness. Dr. Demaine reminded the group of the nature of this Qi, flow, as a method of finding whole-body integrated awareness.

While the participants moved their scarves, expressions became exaggerated, larger and more flamboyant. Expressions on group members’ faces changed to appear freer. Ms. Wang noted that people seemed to be more in the flow. The group had let go of expectation and allowed the scarf to move their body and their body to move with the scarf. There was a natural leaning into the process, a surrendering to the flow that is found in Qi. Once the movements came to a pause, Ms. Wang collected the scarves and stood with a smile.

5. Painting with Black Ink

The scarf dance segued the group to discuss how movement plays an important role in the visual arts. As painters themselves, many of the participants had personal experience in exploring how movement influenced their own visual art work and how painting is conducted with and by movement. Dr. Richardson invited the group to circle around the table where the paintbrushes, paint cups and large white paper were set. Paper was rolled out across the long table with small containers of black paint, each with a shade of light or darkly saturated paint, and a variety of large and small paint brushes. Ms. Wang instructed each person to pick up one paintbrush and dunk it in the paint container of his or her choice, then one-by-one to cast a stroke on the long white paper. Ms. Wang witnessed the painting, while the presenters participated with the attendees. Ms. Wang noted the importance of being present and quietly witnessing work as a method of CAT. After each person made one stroke on the paper Ms. Wang invited the group to after a moment of pause, make another stroke on the paper. She reminded the group to not lift the brush from the paper while making the stroke. After each individual made two strokes, she asked if any person had more paint to add (see figure 1).

Figure 1 - Mural in process

Only two participants added a little more paint, and the group agreed that the mural was complete. Ms. Wang took a moment of silent pause, smiled and then asked the participants to witness the mural in its entirety. After a few moments of silent witnessing she asked each person to provide a word or two about what the mural meant for them (see Figure 2). Each person shared one or two verbal thoughts about the painting process. Some of the words that emerged from the group members included; meditative, collaborative, clearing, freeing and informative. One of the group members asked if the mural could be hung up in the creative studio. The group collectively determined a hanging location and the mural found its new home.

Figure 2 - Discussion of completed mural

6. Reflections

“Life is a full circle, widening until it joins the circle motions of the infinite”

(Nin, 1967, p. 249)

Once the mural was hung the participants and presenters stood in one large circle together. Dr. Demaine turned on the music of the gu zheng that played when the workshop originally started. She then suggested a familiar closing that was often conducted in her classes, called the imaginary ball. She told the group that she was holding an imaginary ball and that the ball would be passed around the room. She said that anyone could add a message to this ball and that the message could be shared with the group. Each person contributed to this imaginary ball and everyone had an opportunity to thank the group for the experience. Here participants also stated some of their most special moments in the workshop.

After the workshop closed and all of the participants left the room, the presenters began to clear away the art supplies and with the gu zheng music still playing in the background, they discussed their time together. The presenters thought that the workshop was meaningful. They reflected that, it seemed evident that the participants had experienced something new and that they also realized a deep connection between CAT and TCM. The presenters noted a sense of coming to a full circle within the art modalities and through the body, the heart and the mind. Starting the presentation with the modality of music, via sound boxes and moving to a full body expression through painting and thoughtful discussion, allowed for an awareness of whole body connection and integration. In addition, it was noted that there was a connection between theory and practice. The presenters drew upon current literature that the students were examining in their courses. This literature supported what was being presented and the presenters encouraged the identification of links between eastern and western perspectives. In addition, an inter-connectedness with each of the arts and how these drew upon ancient eastern philosophies, allowed one to lean in to the flow and surrender to the process. Ms. Wang pointed out the use of whole body integration during the course of the workshop. She noted, that the group started with the grounding music and moved through the body into the head or thinking space.

The presenters felt that their East-West collaboration held unique and undeniable value for its participants. Each presenter came from a different cultural, creative, and personal background. Each presenter had something to contribute that was skillful, knowledgeable, relatable and important. The presenters noted that collaboration could be challenging, however felt ease in working together. They sensed that this comfort came from equal respect and space for each other’s work. They understood that despite age, training and background, each presenter was valued and had something to learn from the other. Collaborative pedagogy and learning is intrinsic to the multidisciplinary field of creative arts therapy as it is to the study and practice of TCM (Demaine, 2014). It is something that the presenters of this workshop have come to inspire.

After their discussion together, the presenters left the creative arts studio and together descended to the first floor of the school of visual and performing arts where they met earlier that day. They all said farewell to one another and looked forward to their future collaborations together. Dr. Demaine promised that she would send student feedback to her creative colleagues.

A few days after the workshop presentation and after the students had time to digest their experiences; Dr. Demaine, back in the classroom, asked her class if they could respond to the workshop through the arts. Each participant created an aesthetic response through music, a poem, or visual arts and shared it with the class. In discussion, the students said they appreciated the workshop experience and that they were so glad to have attended. Some students were particularly moved by the element of Chinese culture and hoped to study CAT in China one day. Other students found unique interest in singular art experiences. For instance, the black painting mural moved one student to sketch with black ink in her journal as a response. Another student was moved by the sound boxes and was interested in exploring the aspect of sound and vibration more deeply, she responded with an abstract image that represented sound. Dr. Demaine shared the student’s responses with her colleagues, now settled in their respective homes across the globe.

In summary, the workshop allowed its participants to explore the richness of TCM from CAT experts with eastern and western lenses. In addition, it allowed the presenters a chance to reunite and rekindle their muses for teaching, expressing and making art together. Collaboration in pedagogy can be challenging, but finding the right collaborators can be rewarding and enriching for both students and instructor. The bond between the presenters of the workshop discussed in this article will be ever lasting. A goal disseminated by Ms. Wang was to forge new paths in a cross-cultural integration of CAT worldwide. This sentiment was felt by each of these women with the plan to continue their mission.

7. Reprise

In the summer of 2016, Ms. Wang returned to America and met with Dr. Demaine. The two discussed the next steps for their east-west collaboration. Ms. Wang shared her reflections from her recent fourth annual Creative Arts and Natural Health Conference in Beijing China, which took place in the summer of 2015. Ms. Wang was the primary organizer of the conference. Among the American colleagues, only Dr. Richardson was able to attend. In looking forward, the colleagues have expressed interest to bring the Fifth Annual Creative Arts Therapy and Natural Health conference to America. A new home for the conference would allow an opportunity for a greater western participation. The richness of information that has been exchanged among these colleagues is dear to each of them. While only Ms. Wang has formal training in TCM, the American colleagues through their own research and from working with Ms. Wang have learned and grown. Likewise, Ms. Wang has reported learning more about CAT, western culture, and the English language from her colleagues. They hope to continue their dialogues of CAT with colleagues and students alike as well as deepen their common thread which resides in their passion for teaching, learning, and growing together in order to create a global bridge of healing, understanding and widening the East and West creative bridge.