dRAW heART
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​​A life affirming way to move imaginatively towards an embodied sense of wellbeing, connection and purpose
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  S i n g  t h e  c o l o u r
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 D a n c e  t h e  p o e m

   A c t  t h e 
d r e a m
 
dRAW heART
Noriko Oka, MA, RCC
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Expressive Arts Therapist
Registered Clinical Counsellor
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Designation of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors​
EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY
Rooted in a somatic, sensory and play-based approach, expressive arts therapy fully engages the right brain.  Shape your world using sound, movement, visual art, drama and writing with the freshness of a beginner's mind.  Discover where movement naturally trickles and tickles with a sense of ease and spaciousness (laughter is a potential side effect).  Follow the flow of this fine thread and make sense through this co-creative, experiential and process-oriented healing arts that can sometimes cut to the heart of the matter.  Land in your essence and undergo a transformational journey back home.  No background in art is necessary...just a sense of curiosity.
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Since 2005, Noriko has ​been fortunate to serve diverse communities ​across the whole spectrum of life in various clinical and community settings.  She found her way to this field while immersed in her love of clay and inspired by the resilient war time stories of Japanese Canadian elderly with whom she was working.  The merging of these two realms set her on a path towards her calling as an expressive arts therapist.
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Photo: Carmina Articona
The Way It Is
There's a thread you follow.  It goes among
things that change.  But it doesn't change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you it you can't get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.
You don't ever let go of the thread.
by William Stafford
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Blessed as an uninvited guest to work, play and create within the unceded lək̓ʷəŋən territory also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt nations.  Embracing indigenous wisdom to learn how to cherish the world, honour interconnectedness and live in harmony with nature.
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Photos used under Creative Commons from marcoverch, wuestenigel