RECEPTIVE-EXPRESSIVE ARTS FOCUSING

Studio art in Focusing settings which is based on Expressive Arts, using art from museum collections and other global sources

Trauma-informed Receptive-Expressive Arts Focusing (REAF) is the primary program within the Creative Arts and Culture Focusing (CACF) approach

Receptive-Expressive Arts Focusing uses Felt Sense-Based Studio Art and references from museum collections to solve problems and heal emotional wounds from the present and past

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REAF is a body-focused approach embedded in the European Focusing culture, using art from museum collections and other global sources

REAF is an integrative approach that blends Focusing with receptive-active arts engagement and  expressive arts activities

REAF is a trauma-informed, bottom-up approach that promotes self-regulation, resilience and existential well-being

REAF draws from a variety of approaches, but is primarily person-centered and experiential. It places the client's experience at the heart of the co-creative therapeutic process

 

developed by Freda Blob

The Felt Sense is a work of art in the making. Its beauty is revealed through painting, writing, role-play, and exploring movement and sound

REAF: Museum Art, Expressive Arts, and Focusing for Best Practice

This program uses Focusing and trauma-informed toolsets from the Creative and Expressive Arts to help individuals and groups get the most out of their engagement with receptive-expressive Felt Sense-Based Arts

INFOBOX REAF Principles

Receptive-Expressive Arts Focusing REAF follows the ethics of the person-centered and experiential approach. This means that the needs of the client are at the center of everything the therapist or facilitator does

Foundational Focusing and FOAT® principles (Eugene Gendlin, Laury Rappaport) are the main principles, along with Empathic Curiosity for Differences (Christiane Geiser) and Aesthetic Empathy (Friedl Dicker-Brandeis)

We also draw from principles of the Expressive Arts Therapies as defined by Paolo Knill, Stephen K. Levine, Shaun McNiff, and Cathy Malchiodi (founder of the Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy®)

If you have felt stuck in traditional talk therapy, Receptive-Expressive Arts Focusing (REAF) may be especially beneficial

Start Your Healing. Add Arts to Your Life!