Holding Emotional Space
In my career as a therapist, my client’s stories are not for me to share but to hold like an archivist of human experience, piecing together meaning from the stories people tell. I have always been pulled towards observing stories whether in therapy, writing, creativity or conversation. My mother was an engaging communicator, she told my brother and I adventurous stories about her life, childhood in Jamaica, her journey to the UK in the 1960’s. I fondly remember her telling tales of Anansi and his cunningness, on Saturday nights, drinking cocoa tea and eating fritters in front of a coal fire in the kitchen. Intrinsically my motivation to build on my web of stories through my profession, friends, family and personal experiences is something that seems a natural progression.
I haven't discovered a new theory; I'm retracing the steps that have brought me to my current life. Over time, I’ve come to realise that what truly motivates me isn’t external validation, but a deep sense of personal fulfilment and curiosity. When I’m connected to that inner drive, creativity flows more freely, it feels authentic, unforced, and alive. I’m increasingly drawn to the idea of self-actualisation: the ongoing journey of becoming more fully myself and supporting others to do the same. From this place, creativity doesn’t feel like something to “achieve,” but something that naturally arises. a reflection of who we are, that’s shaped by our lived experiences, values, and the parts of ourselves we’re still learning to embrace.
Facilitating groups has become a meaningful extension to my therapeutic practice, allowing me to hold space in a different, yet deeply complementary way. Through group work, I’ve been able to explore the power of shared reflection, creative expression, and collective witnessing. Facilitation has strengthened my ability to attune to the energy of a group, navigate complexity, and support emotional safety, skills that have also enriched my one-to-one work. It has offered a space where I can integrate my interest in the arts, psychoeducation, and narrative exploration in a more dynamic format, while reinforcing the importance of clear boundaries and gentle leadership. Above all, it continues to renew my own sense of purpose by reminding me of the transformative potential that arises when people come together in reflective and creative communities.
My involvement in the MIRIAD partnership between Portraits of Recovery, Manchester Museum, and the incredible artist Divine Southgate Smith evolved from the MIRIAD Spark project in 2024. This co-curative collaboration felt like a natural extension of everything I’ve been working towards. The opportunity to bring therapeutic support into a creative and culturally significant space is deeply important to me because healing doesn’t only happen in clinical rooms. Healing can happen in places where meaning, identity and expression already resides.
While the lead artist, Divine Southgate Smith guides the artistic vision and practice, my role centred on holding the emotional landscape of the group, attending to process, reflection, and the wellbeing of participants. A unique immersive and experiential experience that places me not outside of the creative process, but within it, observing and gently supporting as emotional layers are revealed through artistic expression.
The therapeutic element brings depth, integrity, and a framework of safety that complements and strengthens the transformative potential of creative work. This support and facilitation allows the space to remain both supportive and ethically grounded and can ensure participants navigate any emotional responses that arise, this is particularly important in community or group settings where experiences and needs may vary widely.
It was therefore my intent to listen for emotional undercurrents, offer grounding when needed and hold space for the stories that emerged through the creative process. It wasn’t just about offering support, but witnessing growth in real time, within the shared act of making.
The African Objects: Psychoactives, Spirituality & Mental Health project affirmed that healing and transformation can happen through culturally rooted, creative, and community-based practices. The work illustrated how therapeutic presence, storytelling, and art can reconnect individuals to cultural heritage and personal meaning. The metaphor of the flowing sacral chakra encapsulates the essence: joy, creativity, and expression beyond the clinical setting. Initially, participants expressed curiosity, nervousness, and excitement. In closing participants reported reduced anxiety, greater connection to community and heritage, and increased relaxation and emotional insight.
The African Objects: Psychoactives, Spirituality & Mental Health project stands as a powerful testament to the healing potential of creativity, cultural reconnection, and community reflection. Rooted in a collaborative, co-curative process, the project created a rare space where participants could engage not only with the history and symbolism of African artifacts, but also with their own stories, emotions, and identities.
Including wellbeing and mental health at the planning stage of art projects is essential for creating experiences that are not only creatively engaging but also emotionally safe, inclusive, and sustainable for everyone involved.
The project was a deeply human experience, where healing didn’t look or feel clinical. Sometimes it looked like someone daring to try something new, like a moment of laughter after a period of silence, or a shift in energy when someone sees their experience reflected in someone else’s work.
Open communication is essential when facilitating an art project with multiple partners because it fosters clarity, collaboration, and trust—key ingredients for a successful, inclusive, and ethically grounded creative process. Open communication is the connective tissue in collaborative art projects. It helps ensure that creative vision, participant care, and partnership values move forward together, not apart. With it, projects can be both creatively rich and ethically strong.
It’s important to continue to create spaces that honour emotional truth, cultural heritage, and community healing. In doing so, we not only learn from the past, but we also shape the future.
When the sacral chakra flows freely it helps us experience joy, connection, and self-expression with ease.
I’d like to thank everyone from the organisers to the participants in allowing me to partake in the African Objects journey...