Yes, I’m not a licensed therapist but I never claimed to be one. I do talk about mental illness and mental health in my content but that’s because I live with a mental illness and I’m an advocate. It doesn’t mean I’m a therapist or I claim to help people with their psychological or nervous system issues.
I’m a coach or a mentor or a healer. I’m not a therapist.
In my consult calls and DMs people often ask me if I have a certificate in what I do.
The answer is simple.. the work I do doesn’t have any certifications
I don’t have ONE art therapy or coaching certificate because the work I do doesn’t have any certifications. I had to combine everything I have done in this area.
I have work experience in different creative fields ~ fashion design, interior design, content, illustration, etc. Fashion design was the first post-grad course I enrolled in when I was switching careers. I converted all of them into therapeutic approaches. There isn’t any qualification (that I know of) that teaches interior or fashion as a way to cope with your emotional health.
Plus, over the years I have created my own personal projects and tools like visual journaling, photography, traditional painting, music, meditation, etc. The work I do now is a combination of all creative mediums I have used to help me live consciously and actually enjoy the process of creativity and life. Having the work experience and being an entrepreneur for 6+ years, I love that I get to help artists and creatives with their visibility as well and not just their emotions and confidence.
I discovered the healing benefits of blogging & online & in-person community spaces myself
My journey to discovering the healing benefits of creativity started from my personal blog. In academia, they have just started researching on this. They call it ‘digital art therapy’. I was even invited to deliver a lecture on this at a university in Karachi because It’s a new concept.
My personal blog was not just me writing about myself or sharing my art, it created a community and helped me connect with like-minded people, which was so crucial for me when I felt like I didn’t belong. This is why I curate safe spaces and I host art circles for both artists and non-artists.
I often study different approaches in psychology. I did a course in positive psychology which is the study of happiness. I’m currently doing a course on the psychological theory of motivation. I read a lot on spiritual approaches to psychology. A lot of the times when I study psychology I only do it to understand what exactly I did and how self-expression helped me so I can teach more people that. Studying about human behavior truly fascinates me.
It’s like I already know everything
Truth to be told, I find it hard now to finish courses or books around creativity. Because whenever I go through them, it’s like I already know everything they’re teaching! Once I found the exact same approach to stress management through art that I have been implementing myself and also facilitated once in workshop written in an art therapy book once.
This is because I have lived experience. I have experimented a lot for my own health. And it’s not the just the experience of this lifetime. I don’t know if you believe in past lives but I have already mastered the art of creativity in my past life and this current life of my soul is meant for teaching and spreading that knowledge.
I love experiences
For me learning is not about getting a certificate so I can make money. I enroll in programs for engaging in a live, enriching discourse because I truly enjoy being around and conversing with creative people. I DESIRE creativity. I’m taking some time off work October to December and I am going to enroll in this workshop around dance meditation and short course. I focus on short workshops and courses so that learning doesn’t take a toll on my health.
I love experiences and my chase for experiences and creative adventures always helps me find the right people and right opportunities.
Ethics of coaching
I have a life purposing coaching certificate + I enrolled in a program where they taught us how to be a coach; how to speak, how to start and end calls, how to make the client self-reliant. I found this program when I was frantically going around looking for a certification for the skills that I already have. Thanks to that program I’m well versed in the ethics of this field and how to go about talking to my clients in call.
Plus, I have the natural abilities to make people seen and safe enough to speak. It’s like I’ve always been a life coach to everyone around me. Even strangers start telling me things that they never felt comfortable to accept.
I have a spiritual mentor
Most importantly, I work with a spiritual mentor who helps me amplify my natural talents. Having a mentor is 100% more transformative. It’s like having a private tutor who knows what your skill level is and what you need. While in a course / classroom setting the teacher delivers a lecture on a specific modality which is not custom to you. A course is generic while having a mentor is like going through the application of your abilities and the courses you do.
To sum it up
I only study because I love to. I don’t need the label of an organization or federation to prove that I’m worthy of transforming people’s lives. I hope this answers any questions you had around my certificates. I know coaching or healing methods or art therapy is new so it’s hard to understand and I don’t mind answering questions.
If you have any questions, you can always email me Jabeen at hello@thewishingwellco.com. If you have been meaning to work with me, I do offer a 30-min free consult call to clarify any questions or confusions you have regarding my work. You can see my coaching services here & fill out the application form if you think I’m the right coach for you.
Love,
Jabeen.
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