8 Things We Swear By: Art Therapist and Clinical Supervisor Laura Miles
We loved Cup of Jo’s recent “8 Things We Swear By” post for providing a snapshot of personalities and neat things to try. Just for fun, and to let you get to know our team a bit better, we’re doing our own series with an art therapy & self care bent.
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Associate Art Therapist and Clinical Supervisor Laura Miles specializes in individual therapy for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and trauma. Laura also offers clinical supervision for ATRs and Virginia LPCs in the El Duende Process Painting model.
Here, Laura shares 8 things she loves…
Daily ritual: My partner and I love the card sets from We’re Not Really Strangers, and we take turns asking each other questions from the various decks as we’re going to bed every night. Our favorites are from the Couples, Honest Dating, and Relationship decks. I love being surprised by the answers, especially when it reveals something about each other that leads to deeper, more connected conversation.
Artwork: The immersive Gustav Klimt exhibit at the Atelier des Lumieres. The company behind this gallery created the original immersive Van Gogh exhibits in Paris, so when I saw they were doing Klimt (my favorite artist), I knew I had to go! I felt overwhelmed getting to walk through the swirls of color and pattern brought to life. There’s already so much to see in the work of Klimt that seeing it brought to life was a surreal experience.
Art supply: My all-time favorite paint is gouache from Charvin Paris. The colors are rich and vibrant, and the fine texture of the paint makes it easy to work with. Gouache is a particular kind of watercolor that is more opaque but can still be thinned down to that delicate watercolor consistency.
Inspiring Space: Local bookstores. Nothing gives me a thrill like the sight of colorful book spines waiting for me to discover them. We’re lucky in Alexandria to be so close to many interesting ones!
5. Song: “Sedona” by Houndmouth. I once planned an entire trip to the Southwest based only on listening to this song over and over. It sounds like the feeling of sitting around a campfire on a cool autumn evening, staring into the flames as the sky fades to black, revealing stars.
6. Scent: Papier d’Armenie, an Armenian burning paper made with benzoin resin. I light one of these papers before every supervision group to deodorize and lightly scent the air. It comes in three versions, and my favorite includes vanilla and myrrh in addition to the woodsy scent.
7. Book: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. What if you could relive parts of your life and make different choices? Where would you end up if you’d taken a left instead of a right? Who would you be if you’d said yes instead of no? Reading this book made me consider all the possibilities in my life that didn’t come true, and the ones yet to unfold.
8. Aha Moment: I have a friend who introduced me to the idea of “inconvenient epiphanies,” which I’m pretty sure she heard from her own therapist. These are the moments when you realize something important and your immediate thought is “Well, ****, now that I know about this I have to do something about it.” It’s probably something you needed to become aware of, but it sure is inconvenient to have to do the work that follows.
To join Laura’s waitlist, first tell us more about you. You can inquire about individual, group, or virtual supervision here. For more inspiration (including wonderful creative and calming roundups each week), follow Laura on Instagram.
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