Work-in-Progress: A Trainee Psychotherapist’s Experience With Aesthetic Inquiry
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Authors
Supervisor
Tudor, Keith
Item type
Other Form of Assessable Output
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Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Description
Aesthetics refers not only to material products or art, but also the atmosphere of our environments. Human beings interact with aesthetics every day, with varying degrees of recognition and appreciation. An extensive theoretical history suggests that these interactions are a form of knowledge and personal growth. However, practical applications of these theories are often in contrast with predominant social structures. This heuristic self-search inquiry explores how aesthetic inquiry as a sensory knowledge and sensibility can impact a trainee psychotherapist studying within a university setting. Many aspects of this researcher’s world were discovered to be in-between, liminal spaces that were effectively explored through aesthetic engagement.
The growing field of neuroaesthetics research finds engagement with arts and environment to be an often undervalued, yet important ingredient in health, education and culture. Non-arts based psychotherapy does acknowledge aesthetics in theory, but further cross-disciplinary collaboration with neuroaesthetics may inform practice and training approaches. Psychotherapy training often seeks to impart a therapeutic “attitude” and increased self-knowledge so that the fledgling therapist can safely and effectively relate to their clients. This trainee found that aesthetic inquiry supported such growth but that this required an intentional change in state and pace to foster play, creativity and resonance.