Language of the Soul

When words fail, people can turn to creative alternatives to communicate. Researchers in the field of social work emphasize the importance of expressive communication through art, music, and play to connect with clients. Heidi Heft LaPorte, DSW, is an Associate Professor of Social Work and holds level 1 and 2 certificates from the Expressive Arts Florida Institute. She is completing the requirements to become a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant Educator (REACE) with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA). She also serves on the board of IEATA and is bringing the expressive arts wave to Barry University. We talked to her about how she infused her practical courses with expressive arts and offers in-person and virtual open studios and professional development sessions to interested faculty and students.

Interview by Gina Margillo

Often, art therapists will look at a piece of art and then come to some diagnosis or assessment. With expressive arts, it’s more about holding space, witnessing, and compassionately accompanying the person through the journey of self-exploration. So I might see a bird, but the client or student might see a lion. My bird has to do with my journey, and I may be ready to take flight, but the client or student may be ready to roar. So if I tell them I see a bird, it can diminish what they’re experiencing.

It’s more about being a compassionate, empathic witness in the presence of somebody and being curious with them about what it is that they’re noticing in their journey. It’s not about diagnosing. It allows us to reframe. It’s about self-care for the social worker—if we can’t sit with our sufferings, we certainly won’t be able to sit with the sufferings of others.

Expressive arts therapy allows individuals to find a language that opens tender spaces where they may have blocked emotions. The use of multimodal expressive arts provides opportunities for expressing feelings without being concerned about the product. It is as if the movement, the visual image, or the sounds become an emotional lubricant that allows the emotions to surface and find an outlet. Some things don’t have to have words, and for others, it may be that the client can’t say it until they see it, or that they embody it in the presence of a witness. The most important thing is that it’s never about the product; the power is in the process

While expressive arts is a professional discipline with a professional association, the use of expressive arts has been foundational to the profession of social work. Employing the arts with diverse groups began with the Settlement House Movement in Chicago. Jane Addams (Hull House) and Ada S. McKinley (South Side Settlement House) incorporated cooking classes, dance classes, poetry readings, art-making, theater, and music lessons into the practice. Artistic modalities have been used for thousands of years to create rituals for celebrating, grieving, coming together to heal collectively, praying, and more.

It is becoming more common to formally acknowledge the arts in the social work curriculum. Although they are sometimes referred to as complementary methods, I see them as essential tools in a social worker’s toolbox. Creative expression and its processes help us interpret the “languages of the soul.” At Barry, we’re known for trauma-informed social work education. We incorporate expressive arts in our toolbox because it is students’ responsibility to become fluent in the languages of the soul.

I teach advanced clinical practice with groups, and we use this work—both experientially and theoretically—in the classroom. My students will come back the following week and say that they did what we did in class with their clients, and it was amazing. It’s about using this in clinical work or supervision, management, and social justice. There’s no limit to how you can use the expressive arts.

I also emphasize the use of expressive arts for self-care: For example, I, along with several graduate assistants, hold space every Sunday night for two hours for Barry students. We initiated a virtual open studio called Contemplative Expressive Arts for Self-Care when the pandemic started. Students log in and find a space where they can check in and have their own expressive arts process. They can engage in movement, visual art, or music, and then we have a writing prompt. We witness one another without interpretation. The students are present for one another and are seen and heard. And then we wish each other well and move on with our week. The virtual open studio started as a pilot for social work students and is now available to all Barry students.

We can also use expressive arts to process social justice issues. Right after the execution of George Floyd, we started a six-week program called Cross-Cultural Conversations, during which we addressed race and social justice through music, art, writing, and facilitated discussions. Participants are invited to discard their assumptions and approach tough subjects and emotions with curiosity. In rotating pairs and in the larger group, we discuss ideas like ancestral heritage, identity, feeling diminished by others and diminishing others, and imagining the world we want, among other things. By the end of the workshop, participants have shared deeply with others in the group. They have experienced the power of witnessing and being witnessed by others without judgment. The students reported that listening without making assumptions made space for new possibilities.

Expressive arts transcend language barriers. When the Special Olympics athletes visited, we did an exercise called “pour painting.” They poured paint into a cup, choosing the colors that reflected their feelings at that moment. Then they put the canvas on top of the cup and flipped it over, letting the paint move around the canvas to create a self-portrait of their soul. The results look like museum pieces. I recall a conversation with a participant who was nonverbal, although very expressive in other ways. I asked him if he loved the painting that he did. He just smiled and gestured that he understood my question and was able to communicate, with absolute certainty, that he loved what he did. When I said to him, “That’s your soul,” I could feel that he knew what I said. It was a beautiful connection. When we think that words are the only way people can communicate, we underestimate and limit how we can have relationships.

The Open Studio grew out of research we conducted to determine what students and faculty needed on campus. The hypothesis for the study was that if people found comfort in a more open, fluid, and creative space, it would reduce the stigma of seeking accessibility services. For the pilot, we created portable open spaces at the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice, OAS, and at Landon Hall, where people met every two weeks for a couple of hours. As a result of that research, we created a permanent space on the third floor of Landon Hall. It is full of art supplies and even a therapy dog, so you don’t have to bring anything. It has become a refuge for students, faculty, and staff.

According to Heidi Heft LaPorte, expressive arts is about holding space, witnessing, and compassionately accompanying a person through the journey of self-exploration. LaPorte infuses her classes with the practice and brings expressive arts therapy events to the Barry community.

"My students will come back the following week and say they did what we did in class with their clients, and it was amazing"

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