Experiential therapy uses active, hands-on approaches to help clients work through emotions and past experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapy which relies on discussion alone, this approach lets clients process in real time by using creative or physical activities.
Using active experiences, clients often bypass mental blocks or defenses, making it easier for insights and emotions to come to the surface. This can lead to breakthroughs that might be harder to achieve in talk therapy by itself.
Anything that is “doing” while in the care of a coach or therapist can be considered experiential therapy. It is quite effective for all ages, and especially within younger ages. Clinically sophisticated programs will be creative and individualized in their treatment plans including practices like experiential therapy.
Here are some common practices of which fall under experiential therapy:
- Adventure Therapy. Uses outdoor, physical activities to help clients build self-confidence, resilience and teamwork skills.
- Art Therapy. Creative activities such as painting, drawing, crafting and sculpting, which allow clients to express emotions visually and process experiences.
- Drama and Psychodrama Therapy. Acting out scenarios or reenacting past events. This helps clients confront trauma and practice healthy reactions.
- Equine-Assisted Therapy. Interacting with horses teaches us so much about ourselves.
- Music Therapy. Using instruments and listening to music as a way to express emotions, reduce stress and explore unresolved feelings.
- Movement Therapy. Incorporating dance or movement to help clients become more attuned to their bodies and their minds in order to release stored trauma and stress.
- Nature-Based Therapy. Using the power of nature to promote self-discovery, adaptability and mental clarity.
- Day or weekend trips. Using real life experiences will naturally bring up rich teaching and therapy moments.
These techniques offer clients unique, fun meaningful ways to engage in working through emotions and past experiences. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to healing. Allowing individual exploration to learn, grow, cope and heal will reap rewards.
Who benefits most from experiential therapy?
Experiential therapy can be used for just about any mental health struggle. Help with trauma, behavioral disorders, anger, anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, addictions and grief are some that I’ve personally noticed to be effective. The physical activities and experiences allow the client to explore their struggles in a tangible way.
All ages do well with experiential therapy. Adolescents and young adults in particular can get more out of it, compared to sitting in an office with a therapist. It’s not natural for a young and usually high energy person, to sit and talk through their inner thoughts. Having a buffer, or an activity, helps helps them to open up, engage and remember the lessons.
For some people, traditional talk therapy can feel like a lot of overthinking and analyzing. Experiential therapy uses activities and creative tasks that help clients feel their emotions without needing to talk through every detail. This can lead to “aha” moments where insights come from the experience itself rather than conscious reasoning.
In an experiential therapy session, clients can get past mental blocks, letting their emotions and discoveries come up naturally.
How to find an experiential therapist.
International Society for Experiential Professionals (ISEP) certifies experiential therapists and lists professionals trained in experiential techniques. Association for Experiential Education (AEE) primarily focuses on experiential education, but they also list therapists and programs that incorporate experiential methods.
As a therapeutic consultant, I consistently travel around the country knowing treatment centers, nature-based therapy, therapeutic boarding schools and alternative education options. Experiential therapy is common and effective in programs of which I refer.
You may schedule a no-cost discovery call with Rae Guyer, your therapeutic consultant to discuss options.
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