Therapy For Creatives & Performers

Are Your Emotional Issues Affecting your Creativity and Artistic Career? Psychotherapy Can Help.

by Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT

Psychotherapy can help you, the artist, overcome issues that interfere with your creativity, performances, and your ability to develop your artistic career. You can clear creative blocks, access your most powerful performances, heal your emotional wounds, and live a life of connection, fulfillment, and success.

As a professional creative or performer, you want to live with meaning and purpose. You long to express your creativity, to follow your heart, and live out your biggest dreams. You know you have something important to share with the world.

For you, a creative mind, there is only one language that can communicate the depth, richness, and complexity of what you have to say: the language of art.

The Artist has the power to speak the language of the mind, heart, and soul… With or without words, you speak the unspeakable. Through your art, you dissolve emotional barriers, and strip down emotional defenses. You can touch the untouchable and reach into the furthest corners of the mind in a way that no other form of human communication can.

It’s through the language of art that you touch minds and transform the world.

However, you don’t always have full access to your creativity and the full range of your emotions. And, when you feel “blocked” and separate from your inspiration and from your artistic self it can trigger emotional conflicts that can interfere with your ability to create or perform.

As an artist, you rely on the intimate connection to your own fascinating internal world to make your art. When something stands in the way of your connection to your creative source, you find it hard to show up and make art. And, when you’re not expressing your creative energy, you find it challenging to be yourself and show up in the world.

Feeling disconnected from your creativity doesn’t just feel like a temporary loss of inspiration, a little case of writer’s block, or a brief period of distraction – it feels as if your entire life has been disrupted. Creatively and emotionally, something just feels off in your mind and in your heart

What happens when unresolved emotions get in the way of your creativity?

Old emotional wounds or unresolved traumas can disrupt the way you feel and the way you work. You may find that:Fears and insecurities interfere with your creativity or performance

• You procrastinate, avoid making your art, or avoid the stage or the camera
• Big, unmanageable emotions take over and you cannot focus on your art, your performance, or your career
• Your authentic voice doesn’t come through in your writing, canvas or you no longer feel like yourself when you step in front of the camera

And then, the disconnection from your creativity spills over into how you feel about your life, how you connect with people, and how you show up in the world. In turn, these experiences further diminish your creativity.

When you’re a true artist, you realize that there is a symbiotic relationship between your creativity and everything else in your life. What happens with your creative life affects all other aspects of your life. What’s happening in your life impacts your creativity. And the cycle continues…

I say: ‘All roads lead to your Creative Core!’

As a psychotherapist who has worked with many creatives and performers, I know that your life, your art, and your career are all intimately connected. I understand that your creativity is not a choice. It’s a non-negotiable. Your art is what you are.

So, what’s blocking your creativity and keeping you from being in touch with who you are as an artist?

Depression, anxiety, emotional trauma, relationship issues, loss and grief, or addictions can all disrupt your creative life, as well as your relationships and your sense of self.

I am Dr. Mihaela Ivan Holtz – founder of CreativeMindsPsychotherapy™ and I specialize in working with artists like you. Together, we can get at the root of what is keeping you from making art, developing your career, and living your fullest life.

Psychotherapy is a powerful, transformative journey that enables you to strip down the emotional walls that stand between you and what’s most amazing about you: your unique ability to see the world, translate that into art, and create a life of meaning and beauty.

Your art matters in the world. Your mental health matters too.

Whether you work in film, music, on the page, or on the canvas, your art enriches others’ lives. You use your art to heal and transform the world as you express existential truths and shed light on injustice. The world needs your art and we need you to feel whole and inspired so you can keep creating!

Though you hope to touch an audience with your art, you also create for yourself. You feel most alive when you are in touch with your creative energy. When your creative ideas flow, you’re in the world of your dreams. There are no doubts and no fears when you feel you can trust what you create. This is you, in your creative emotional space. Here, you feel at home with your creativity – you are where you belong and thrive as an artist.’

Whether you call it a creative block or a sense of separation from yourself and your inspiration, you know what it is like to feel exiled from your creative emotional space. Psychotherapy can help you – as a creative, performer, artist – find your way back to yourself. Through our work together, you can find your way back home to your creativity whenever you feel like you’ve gone astray.

Therapy can help you:

• Dissolve your creative blocks and develop a healthier, deeper, and more productive connection to your creativity
• Overcome performance anxiety or other performance issues to perform with more authenticity
• Navigate the demands of your artistic career and create more opportunities and success
• Discover who you are as an artist and how your unique talents can facilitates your artistic journey
• Have more fulfilling professional and private relationships that can further support your artistic endeavors
• Heal anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, and addictions that stand in the way of your success and happiness

To get at the root of any emotional issues, creative blocks, or performance anxiety, I combine EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), with the neuroscience of psychotherapy, modern psychoanalytic approaches, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Therapy is an art, a science, and a craft, all at the same time. Indeed, for each artist, therapy becomes a very unique and personal journey, just like your art.

You May Have Some Concerns About Therapy for Creatives and Performers

I’m afraid psychotherapy may diminish my creativity or take the “spark” out of performances.

Therapy will help you navigate the pressure, stress, and burnout that come with an artistic career. This work will address any emotional trauma, depression, anxiety, and grief that interferes with your creativity or performing abilities. Rather than “dulling your edge,” therapy will help you access your creativity in deeper ways and help you get in touch with your talents and abilities at a more profound level.

Isn’t therapy expensive?

Therapy can be an investment, but think of it as an investment in both your personal and professional future. As an artist you invest much of your resources in developing your career. The investment you make in coaching and training cannot pay off if unresolved emotional issues continue to hold you back.

You can stop the repetitive, self-defeating cycles that lead to creative blocks or performance anxiety and can, ultimately, sabotage your career. Learning better coping mechanisms to face the challenges that come with being a professional artist can only help your creativity, your ability to perform, and your chances of achieving your dreams.

I’m very busy, I don’t have time for therapy.

Your mental health is too vital to your personal and professional success to be ignored. As you identify what is holding you back, you’ll find that new opportunities open up for you. Emotional resilience will further help your growth as an artist. Investing the time it takes to heal and grow stronger will help you for years to come.

I believe creating a beautiful life is the most exquisite form of art.

Begin your healing journey.

To begin the road to emotional and creative transformation with counseling for artists, I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. You can reach me at 310-424-0292 or click on the contact link.