Jen writes... It is the middle of the night, bleary-eyed, I am double-checking my spreadsheet to make sure I am giving the right medicines at the right time.It is the middle of the night, I am holding her hand, trying to say goodbye, but trying to hold on.It is the middle of the night, I am weeping softly into my pillow, because alone, in the middle of the night, is the only time I can empty some of the bucket of tears inside me.These are snapshots of times in my life. I am a caregiver, not as a profession, but...

CZT Jennifer Marchand writes... Encouraging a State of Flow and an Optimal Healing State As an art therapist, we often use structured creative practices to help clients achieve a state of calm and integration, such as making mandalas. Structured and repetitive creative tasks can support shifts in brain activity away from the fast-paced thinking that accompanies daily life and toward slower, more integrative states associated with relaxation, creativity, learning, and healing.  As attention becomes gently focused on the drawing task, many individuals enter what is often described as a flow state, a state of absorbed, effortless attention. In this state,...

CZT Jennifer Marchand writes... As a mental health professional and registered Canadian art therapist specializing in trauma recovery, my focus has always been on grounding healing work with creativity, embodiment, and culturally responsive care. Over the past decade, I have been integrating the Zentangle Method into trauma therapy across a diverse range of contexts and cultural settings as a powerful stabilization tool, particularly by combining it with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and the Flash Technique. What I have witnessed, time and again, is that Zentangle offers clients an accessible, safe, and empowering way to fully engage in trauma...