An Experiential Journey
of
Creative Arts Therapy
SONALI SENROY
&
PRIYA SENROY

Anubhav is a Creative Art Therapeutic
approach
This kind of therapy is neither a stage performance nor
an art exhibition.
This is an action based individual or group therapy.
This is a combination of some of the characteristics of
different art forms and psychotherapy.

Anubhav means ‘ to experience’ .
We believe that solving the present problem is not
the long term solution.
We need to find out the root cause of the present
day problems , so we make an experiential journey
with our clients to visit and heal our past.
So our approach is called Anubhav, means to
experience.

Anubhav is a symbolic approach.
It places emphasis that emotions and feelings can be
expressed through metaphors.

.
Anubhav is a transformative approach.
For those who wish to imagine, to elaborate and to
transform things around them.
For those who would like to rediscover the inner child.

Anubhav is a non threatening approach.
To make the self awareness and acceptance
journey less threatening, less embarrassing, we use
improvisation, music, movements, painting ,
story building and role play.

Who do we work with?
The population who come to us we refer
them as clients and not patients.
We believe that they are not diseased but
dis-eased about some thing, about
some one or may be they are not
comfortable with their own selves.

How does Anubhav help its clients?
As Creative Arts Therapists , the staff of Anubhav are
human service professionals that help individuals,
families, and groups improve their overall physical and
mental health.
They apply and combine the principles and techniques
of each art form and no directive counselling in an
effort to improve communications, allow expression of
feelings, improve coordination, and increase cognitive
and social function.

Our clients have included
Children, young adults and at risk youths
in special schools and community programs.

Individuals recovering from
Domestic violence ,Substance abuse and
Trafficking.
In hospitals, mental health settings, forensic
and rehabilitation centres.

The following slides showcases
some examples of the work of
our client groups.

In this
improvisation, a
group of children
with special
needs became
the three wise
men during a
Christmas
enactment.

Here a teen
recovering in a
hospital has drawn
a picture of a
flower as a
metaphor to
represent her
Eating disorder
and the sun
symbolising
herself

Taking part in
an
improvisation,
a group of
young adults
with learning
disabilities
are enacting
the emotion
of joy

In this slide children who are survivors of domestic violence have used these objects to
express the creative arts experiential journey they undertook while working on
recovering from the trauma of witnessing the violence.
Here they used the magician and the bridge to represent the facilitator and the
medium while the clay ‘blobs’ and dolls represented their past ,their inner and
their present selves.

In this slide , this underprivileged 16 year old used collage to express the
different facets of herself using different colours and textures. Being a survivor
of domestic violence , the client was able to work through her trauma and is
now a trainee in a Dance therapy course.

A 12 year old makes a puppet to
dramatise a piece on self awareness.

In this group work, the clients take part in a guided movement piece of being in
a bubble which represents the personal space. The external pressures of the
society causes the bubble to shrink, pushing down on them. The end result is to
make the self strong enough to resist these pressures which once forced them
to becomes victims of trafficking. The clients belong to a children’s home in
Kolkata India.

In this individual session, this 13 year old makes a red mask to show the anger
she has been harbouring in herself against her parents. Her father tried to kill
her three times for being a girl child and her mother rejected her due to family
pressure. She stays in the children's shelter home in Kolkata ,India.

These masks are a
part of the dramatic
session where a
group of senior
women living in an
old age home took
part in a myths and
legends workshop.
Theseus and
Minotaur was
adapted to suit the
Indian cultural
scenario.

A young adult
incarcerated in
an Indian prison
made a mask to
express the range
of emotions that
he was feelings as
has was
recovering from
substance abuse.

HIV affected mothers of new born babies made these
dolls to express feelings of their bodies being trapped in
the disease and how the creative arts therapy sessions
facilitated their healing process over period of time.

Part of a multicultural women's group performance, in England,
the enactment represented the conflict and pain caused as a
result of migration and associated mental health issues.

Research and professional development
We conduct and publish scientific research through
numerous journal, conference and chapter publications.
We offer training and developmental workshops for:
*Professionals and Corporations*Educators *Organizations
*Self help groups*Frontline workers

Supervisors and managers participating
in our personal development workshop.

Caregivers and front line workers taking
part in our professional development
workshop.

Mental health professionals taking part in our
team building workshop using music as a form of
following and leading exercise.

OUR CONTACT
SONALI SENROY
sonalisenroy@yahoo.co.in
PRIYA SENROY
psenroy@yahoo.com
anubhavcanada@rogers.com