Published:
December 2020
Issue:
Vol.15, No.1
Word count:
284
About the author
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PGDipHSc, BA, AThR, NZAP (provisional), NZAFT (clinical), Waka Oranga (associate).
Agnès is an expressive arts therapist, psychotherapist and family therapist. She works with children, youth, and adults to help them recover from severe trauma, depression, anxiety and grief. Her approaches are systemic, integrative and holistic and include mindfulness, expressive arts, psychotherapy and psychosomatic integration. Agnès works full time in private practice (in English and French) in central Auckland. She is contracted by Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), a government agency which funds counselling services for survivors of sexual abuse. Agnès is a published author, has presented at international conferences and has been involved in numerous community-based arts projects.
This work is published in JoCAT and is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND-4.0 license.
Three meditations in Marahau, Abel Tasman National Park
Agnès Desombiaux-Sigley
Agnès Desombiaux-Sigley, Three meditations in Marahau, Abel Tasman National Park, 2010, Nikon D40 – Nikkor Zoom (18-55mm), print, 300 x 430mm.
Artist statement
Inspired by nature as a source of creativity and renewal, I love to take photographs while wandering and wondering, reflecting the many facets of New Zealand. These three photos are part of a larger group of photographs taken in Marahau, Abel Tasman, where I was captured by the light. They are an exploration of and meditation upon the boundaries between the three elements (water, earth and sky) in stillness and movement.
Engaging body and soul in creative activities and being attuned to nature gives me a sense of wholeness, purpose and belonging to a sacred space and helps me reach a place of peace.
This series of images was born from a mindfulness practice [1] that is integral to my personal and professional life. The images are a reflection of my inner world, one which I would like to be spacious, free and flowing with kindness and compassion.
My clinical practice is deeply informed by my personal practice. It is the foundation of my ability to be fully present in the therapeutic relationship in order to explore personal and interpersonal boundaries and foster a creative process in stillness and movement.
Endnote
[1] While I am influenced by diverse contemplative traditions, I note the roots of mindfulness meditation in Asian cultural contexts, specifically Buddhism, and acknowledge the dangers of “taking a culturally embedded practice and applying it to clinical work without first acknowledging the practice’s origins, history, intents… [R]ecognizing spiritual bypass, understanding the desired effect of meditation, matching the treatment to the client, and engaging in reflexivity… these principles constitute… the essentials of best practice that honor the unique cultural heritage of meditative practices adopted by Western psychological care” (Surmitis, Fox, & Gutierrez, 2018, p.14).
Reference
Surmitis, K.A., Fox, J. & Gutierrez, D. (2018). Meditation and appropriation: Best practices for counselors who utilize meditation. Counseling and Values, 63, 4–16. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/10.1002/cvj.12069