Scap-Booking as Healing Art
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Scrap-Booking as Healing Art
Those attending Amy West’s Scrap-booking Workshop September 30 at The Center of Unlimited Possibilities (CUP) in Spring Lake, Michigan, will find that creating a scrapbook is more than an art form, hobby, or craft – it can be one of life’s most satisfying therapies.
"Superficially, making a memory book seems a good way to organize, store and protect favorite photographs and memorabilia," says West, a mental health practitioner at CUP. "Yet every snapshot or other record actually represents a vital moment in time for us, a type of self-portrait, a kind of mirror-with-memory."
Bits and pieces saved and committed to a scrapbook tell the story of our life. This visual footprint collects the high-water marks of our physical and emotional journey. Yet the meaning actually lies in what these freeze-frames evoke inside the mind and heart of the viewer.
"As we compile and compose a scrapbook of memories as a gift for our self or someone else, it’s fascinating and instructive to watch what’s going on in our heart as we organize, trim and paste each page," says West.
For each memento touches on a life chord that maps our growth. While we work we revisit significant moments, relive joys and sorrows that define us, and choose those worthy of preservation. Emotions attached to far away events may feel as real and fresh as ever. We may even see signs of where we’re headed next.
Old wounds and fears surface too, perhaps ready to be recognized, processed and healed. "The healing possibilities of considering a significant photograph, old or new, are amazing," says West. "A picture can indeed be worth a thousand words."
Amy West is a licensed master social worker and mental health practitioner skilled in substance abuse treatment, relationship counseling and life transition issues with a practice at The Center of Unlimited Possibilities (CUP) in Spring Lake, MI. CUP was founded by West as an integrative healing center encompassing a variety of therapeutic techniques offered by a diverse and experienced staff of devoted practitioners. For more information call 616-842-0264 or visit YourNextStepUp.com.
Originally published in Natural Awakenings West Michigan September 2006 Creative Arts issue.
