How experiential therapy can lead to more complete healing

When thinking of the traditional therapy experience, what usually comes to mind is a client being able to sit down with their therapist, talk out their issues, and receive empathetic listening, reflection, and feedback from their therapist. This psychotherapy, or “talk therapy”, has been proven to be helpful in improving mental health (Cujipers et al., 2020), as well as other familiar therapy approaches, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Narrative Therapy (Erbes et al., 2014; Watson et al., 2003). However, these approaches are analytical and heavily dependent on verbal processing and reasoning, and it’s not always easy to put feelings into words or to fully accept the things one can logically know. This is where Experiential Therapy can step in and bring about greater healing.

Experiential Therapy is a therapeutic approach that involves the use of activities where the client works through their emotional experiences by using expressive tools and simulated emotional situations, such as art, role-play, music, animal therapy, and play therapy. The goal is to be able to be brought into and embody the experience of healing instead of just talking about it analytically (Madeson, 2023).

Engaging in experiential techniques can offer unique benefits that may come more slowly in traditional therapeutic approaches. This is because while traditional therapy engages the brain’s thinking and language centers (the prefrontal cortex), experiential therapy engages the body, senses, and emotional brain (the limbic system), which are directly linked to emotions and memories. This means that it is easier to reach and process emotional and body responses (King, 2016).

So, what does this look like practically?

Through art activities, such as drawing, painting, collage work, or pottery, people can express and release emotions that may be hard to verbalize. Music activities can help reduce anxiety and allow for expression of grief and other difficult feelings (Drury, n.d.). Through roleplay, clients can safely practice putting new social skills into action, overcome anxiety, and experience the catharsis of expressing themselves to people who may no longer be able to listen. Psychodrama is a powerful tool where traumatic experiences can be re-processed and re-written, allowing for people to overcome their past. Working with animals, such as in equine therapy (horse therapy), can help build trust, empathy, and emotional regulation (Madeson, 2023). Play therapy, originally designed for children, is also effective in allowing people of all ages to increase self-esteem, decrease stress, and foster healthy relational skills (The Play Therapist, n.d).

Experiential therapy is a powerful approach on its own but can also be used as supplemental techniques to more traditional forms of therapy to finish processing trauma and fully incorporate new ideas. For example, the Let-it-go Rock activity is a symbolic act that allows for a client to completely let go of their past by writing what they have decided to let go on a rock, going for a walk, dropping it somewhere and leaving it behind. The Renounce the Lies activity helps clients break free from lies and negative beliefs by writing them down on popsicle sticks, renouncing the lie in front of a witness, and then breaking the sticks and burning them. The decision to forgive someone and turn your burden over to Christ can be cemented by writing down your decision to forgive and physically nailing it to a wooden cross. All these activities have been expressed to be powerfully effective by clients young and old at Wellspring.

Here at Wellspring, we embrace experiential therapy not just in our individual sessions but use it as a key point of the healing process in our different programs. Both our Bounce program for children, and our Restore retreat for adults, programs designed to overcome trauma, utilize many experiential interventions, such as art, psychodrama, equine, and the use of symbolic acts to allow clients to fully express themselves and embody their healing. For anyone looking to have a taste of what experiential therapy can be like, Wellspring offers Come to Your Senses, a monthly event where anyone can join a creative therapeutic experience that connects you to your inner self and the world around you. These events occur every third Thursday of each month.

As Christians, it is wonderful to recognize that God not only created each person unique and precious, but also that He meets each person where they are at and in the way that they need so that they may experience complete salvation and transformation. In Christ, we become a completely “new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In a similar way, at Wellspring we recognize that each client comes with their own unique experiences and respond and process in different ways. So, whether it is through traditional talk therapy, or through creating a collage of trauma and growth, or through equine therapy with a horse, at Wellspring we hope to be part of the journey that leads to total, inside-out healing that moves past the old, and embraces the new things to come.

Written by Judith Lemus