Therapeutic Work
The Transformingthreads website was created in 2015 and looked very different. It offered workshops where topics such as self concept, relationships, taking care of self and other similar interests were explored, enabling a focus on issues of living more congruently and authentically. The unusual component in these workshops was that all this was explored via the use of fabric and thread.
In my professional life as a clinical psychologist I had worked mainly with deprived families in communities and in children’s homes. I had for decades searched for a way of working psychologically with people that was more tangible and felt in the body rather than the conventional more cerebral way into the psyche.
Fabric may seem an odd vehicle to do such work, but think again. Fabric envelops us throughout our life. It has always made statements about us, whether of wealth, status or position. Fabric has told many stories and often holds the memories of crucial events in life and so is ideal to use in a psychological way.
In 2017 my own life had a blow, and over the four years that followed my physical body demanded virtually my full attention. I temporarily suspended running workshops and concentrated on making my own art.
In 2021 I moved to East Sussex and started exploring how my therapeutic work could once again find a place to come into action. Previous work had included running groups in schools, in community centres and in consultation settings.
Now, I continue to have the privilege of working in Women’s Centres offering an 8-week course aiming to enable participants to find ways through which they can increase their agency in certain situations of their life. This is all done through the medium of fabric and stitch.
I also run a monthly Slow Stitch morning at The Stitching Post in Isfield where, although not strictly therapeutic, we do consider themes (chosen by participants) that create difficulties or pressures in daily lives. We discuss, we reflect, we stitch, we chat, we share and have delicious cake and tea! And we leave, hopefully, with a little more awareness and sense of agency as to how to deal with them.
