Somatic Art Therapy and EMDR for Creative Anxious Souls
When Anxiety Lives in Your Body: Somatic Art Therapy and EMDR for Creative People
You've tried talk therapy. You've read the self-help books. You understand why you're anxious—your childhood, your patterns, your triggers. You can articulate it all beautifully.
But your body still holds the tension. Your chest still tightens. Your thoughts still spiral.
That's because anxiety isn't just in your mind—it lives in your nervous system, in your muscles, in the memories stored in your body. And healing anxiety means working with your body, not just your thoughts.
Why Creative People Experience Anxiety Differently
If you're a creative, sensitive person, your anxiety might show up as:
Creative blocks that feel like physical paralysis
Perfectionism that keeps you from finishing (or starting) projects
Overwhelm from feeling everything so intensely
Procrastination paired with harsh self-criticism
Physical symptoms like tension, fatigue, or stomach issues
Difficulty staying present in your body
You might feel like your creativity and your anxiety are tangled together—afraid that if you heal the anxiety, you'll lose your creative edge.
Here's the truth: Your creativity doesn't need your anxiety to survive. In fact, your creative self is waiting on the other side of that nervous system activation.
What Is Somatic Art Therapy?
Somatic art therapy combines body-based awareness with creative expression. Instead of just talking about your anxiety, we work with:
How anxiety feels in your body right now
Where do you notice tension? What's the quality of that sensation? We'll explore this through art, giving your body's experience a visual form.
The stories your body is holding
Your nervous system stores memories and protective patterns from past experiences. Somatic art therapy helps you access and release what's been stuck.
Creative expression as a regulation tool
Making art can help shift your nervous system from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest. We'll find the creative practices that help your body feel safe.
Parts of you that need attention
Using somatic Internal Family Systems (IFS) work, we'll meet the anxious parts of you through art—not to get rid of them, but to understand what they're trying to protect.
How EMDR Supports Anxious Creatives
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy that helps your brain process difficult memories and experiences that fuel current anxiety.
EMDR for anxiety works when:
Past experiences are triggering present-day anxiety
Your nervous system gets stuck in hypervigilance
You experience panic attacks or intense worry
You have creative trauma (criticism, rejection, perfectionism wounds)
Traditional talk therapy hasn't created lasting change
In our work together, I often integrate EMDR with art therapy—allowing you to process difficult material while having creative expression as a resource and grounding tool.
Somatic IFS and Parts Work: Meeting Your Anxious Parts
You're not just one solid self—you're a system of parts. There's the part that pushes you to be productive, the part that's terrified of failure, the part that just wants to rest, the part that's critical, and the part that's creative and free.
Often, anxiety is a part of you trying to protect you from something—rejection, failure, vulnerability, or past pain.
In somatic IFS work through art, we:
Give each part a visual form (drawing, collage, or sculpture)
Learn what each part needs and fears
Help your parts communicate with each other
Unburden parts that are carrying old anxiety
Strengthen your core Self—the calm, compassionate center of you
This work is especially powerful for creative people because you're already skilled at thinking in images and metaphors.
What a Session Looks Like
Our work together might include:
Body scanning and art-making: Notice where you hold anxiety in your body, then give it color, shape, or form
Bilateral drawing: A somatic technique that helps regulate your nervous system while creating
Parts dialogue through art: Let different parts of you express through separate images
EMDR processing: Work through specific anxious thoughts or memories using bilateral stimulation
Resource building: Create images of safety, calm, and inner strength to support your nervous system
You don't need to be "good at art." This is about expression and healing, not performance.
Virtual Art Therapy Throughout New York State
Whether you're in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Hudson Valley, or anywhere in New York State, we can work together virtually. I provide guidance on simple art materials you can use at home, and we'll create a safe container for your healing—even through a screen.
For those in Brooklyn, in-person sessions are also available.
Signs You Might Benefit from This Approach
Somatic art therapy and EMDR might be right for you if:
You experience chronic anxiety or depression that hasn't fully responded to talk therapy
You're a highly sensitive person or empath who absorbs others' emotions
You feel disconnected from your body or creativity
You have a history of trauma (big T or little t)
You experience creative blocks tied to anxiety or perfectionism
You want a body-based, creative approach to healing
You're drawn to holistic, integrative therapy methods
Your Body Knows How to Heal
Your anxiety makes sense. Your body is doing exactly what it learned to do to keep you safe. And now, through somatic art therapy, EMDR, and parts work, you can teach your nervous system that it's safe to relax, create, and be present.
Healing doesn't mean your anxiety disappears overnight—it means you develop a new relationship with it. One where you're no longer controlled by it.
Ready to explore body-based healing for your anxiety? Book a free consultation to learn more about somatic art therapy and EMDR in Brooklyn and throughout New York State.
