TAROT-BASED THERAPY
A new approach to psychotherapy that uses images and mind/body connection to encourage reflection and perspective.
WHAT IS TAROT-BASED THERAPY?
The image of tarot cards often bring to mind fortune-telling and mysticism. While tarot's purposes and uses are diverse as they are numerous, tarot cards can be a useful tool when combined with psychotherapy. Within the structure of therapy, tarot is not used for "fortune-telling" or "reading the future" (after all, the very principal for therapy is to create your own future) but instead is used as a tool for representation, metaphor, and insight.
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The very basis of the cards is to represent life events and experiences through the use of 78 pictures. The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words," certainly applies here. Oftentimes, our experiences and emotions lie outside of the realm of language and wording. How often do we say "I'm having trouble finding the word for that feeling," or "I can't think of a word that accurately describes that experience"?
Tarot-based therapy skips the translation process from feeling to language. Instead, it challenges the brain to speak using pictures to depict what is being thought, felt, or experienced. Tarot-based therapy often incorporates a mind/body connection that is utilized to help the individual experience the moment.
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Additionally, tarot can be used as a way for clients to look objectively upon a picture which represents their problem and then apply the solution to the challenge to their own lives. In this manner, tarot acts as a metaphor to engage the subconscious and the associations that drive so much of our reactions.
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Tarot-based therapy would definitely be considered an insight-focused, experiential form of therapy, meaning that it is driven by reflection while bringing in a more kinesthetic, hands-on approach to therapy.
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If you think that tarot-based therapy might help you on your journey or if you have a question about this approach, feel free to click the "Contact Me" link below to get in touch with me.
