Creativity and the Inner Other | Online Workshop by Wilna van der Walt

Creative inner work can be an indispensable tool in therapy. In this workshop the focus will be on the theoretical background to the creative process, as found in medicinal stories from around the world.

We will explore the principle of the creative space as a containing liminal space, its unfolding content and how it may be meaningful. The natural tendency of the unconscious to restore equilibrium in creative work will be discussed. In the work of David Blum we will trace the development and integration of motifs and how this manifests over time.  Finally, we explore how the ongoing relationship to the creative space may influence one to recognize and accept previously undervalued aspects of the personality.

Jung, in The Aims of Psychotherapy: “A patient needs only to have seen once or twice how much he is freed from a wretched state of mind by working at a symbolical picture, and he will always turn turn to this means of release whenever things go badly with him.” Chodorow, 1997, p. 93

Online Creative Café: The practical aspect of the workshop will be facilitated as a separate ongoing creative space, to meet on the first Sunday morning of every month, commencing 7 June. Simple introductory guidance will be given. By lighting a candle in every Zoom window, we will be reminded that we are working together.

It will be hosted on the first Sunday morning of every month 9 – 10.30 am, as from 7 June 2020. Simple introductory guidance will be given, similar to the approach taken in my previous workshops, as well as suggestions in preparation of the event; no previous artistic experience of any kind is required. Sharing of the content of your work and discussing of personal creative difficulties will not be included in this process, but can be arranged privately.

Booking Information

Cost of June 20th Workshop: R1400 (not including the Online Creative Café)
Cost of Online Creative Café: R 300 per person per meeting
All welcome. Advanced bookings only.
All queries/bookings: Please contact Wilna at asdopas@gmail.com

Banking details
Standard Bank | Account name: PW van der Walt | Acc nr 043120008 | Branch 051001
Beneficiary reference: SURNAME
Please email POP to asdopas@gmail.com

No cash or cheques deposits please. No refund policy if cancelled within 3 days of workshop.

More About the Facilitator

Wilna van der Walt is a registered medical doctor; she practices in the field of psychotherapy in Muizenberg, and has a special interest in creative work. Her experience as medical doctor and caring for terminally ill patients increased her conviction that the unity of psyche and body is often neglected in sickness and in health. On her personal journey, she
encountered the creative process in the 1990’s as a living organic process. Jungian psychology confirmed her experience of the potentially transformative power of the creative process and continues to inform her current work. Her creative experimentation of 25 years was published in book-form in 2016.