I think you raise an interesting question that goes to the heart of how we view the people we work with. We also need to examine how we look at our own view of ourselves. If we believe ourselves to be learned dispensers of healing we are bound to treat people we treat as sick and “less than”. I prefer to see the populations I see as people who search for something to find their way again on their journey. Sometimes , as the case in adults with Autism with whom I work, I see them as unique artists who may need my ingenuity to enable them to make their art. One of my interns developed new types of brushes that made it easier for people with underdeveloped motor skills to make brush strokes with less effort. There is usually a challenge , a blockage or an obstacle in the path of our client artists. Our quest is to know what to do to assist and how to avoid getting in the way.

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Hoda Mazloomian,
MAAT, ATR-BC, LCPC