Beyond Bubble Baths and Boundaries

The conversation around therapist self-care has evolved significantly over the last two decades. What once centered primarily around bubble baths and boundaries has broadened into deeper considerations of burnout, vicarious trauma, and the long-term sustainability of a career in mental health. Professional organizations now widely recognize the emotional toll of therapy work and encourage therapists to adopt consistent self-care practices to maintain clinical effectiveness and personal well-being . Yet, even within this expanded conversation, something is still missing.

Too often, self-care strategies focus only on rest, regulation, or routine maintenance. They help us reset, but they don’t necessarily renew us. They help us survive the work, but not always thrive within it. What if the missing piece is something older, more essential, and much more personal? What if creativity, not just consumption or rest, but active imagination, is not a luxury, but a necessity?

Why Creativity Belongs in the Self-Care Toolbox

As a licensed professional counselor and creativity coach, I have witnessed first-hand how integrating creative practices into daily life can help therapists stay present, resilient, and inspired. It’s time we include creativity in our professional wellness conversations, not as an afterthought, but as a foundational element of our mental health.

But “creativity” can feel intimidating at first glance. Creativity has long been associated with the arts, but it is far broader in scope. Creativity is the capacity to generate new ideas, make connections between disparate concepts, and engage with the world in an imaginative and open-ended way. While many people associate creativity with painting, writing, or music, it also shows up in problem-solving, humor, storytelling, parenting, and even the way we organize our thoughts during a therapy session. In this sense, creativity is not an exceptional talent but a fundamental human faculty.

From both psychological and physiological standpoints, engaging in creative activities offers numerous benefits. Research indicates that creative expression can significantly reduce cortisol levels, which are associated with stress (Kaimal et al., 2016). Activities like drawing, journaling, and music-making activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and emotional regulation (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010). Furthermore, creativity has been linked to increased dopamine release, which enhances mood and motivation (Limb & Braun, 2008).

When therapists engage in creative activities, they are not only calming their nervous systems but also restoring access to the deeper narrative and emotional functions that are so essential to both healing and therapeutic presence.

Therapists Are Creative People

In many ways, therapy is an act of creative improvisation. Each session is a co-created experience between the client and the clinician. We weave narratives, generate metaphors, make meaning, and hold space for transformation. Our ability to attune to clients requires empathy, flexibility, and the capacity to see beyond the immediate moment into the symbolic and emotional layers. This is intensely creative work, even if it isn’t always recognized as such.

Many therapists are drawn to the field because they are naturally inclined to make meaning. We are often sensitive, imaginative people who feel called to help others explore their inner worlds. These qualities, curiosity, intuition, and emotional depth, are the same ones that fuel artistic and creative expression. In fact, studies show that therapists frequently score high on measures of openness to experience, a personality trait strongly correlated with creativity (Feist, 1998).

However, under the constant weight of holding space for others, it is easy to lose touch with our creative spark. Clinical documentation, insurance paperwork, and back-to-back sessions can leave little room for imagination. Over time, therapists may find themselves feeling emotionally flat, disengaged, or even resentful. These are signs not just of burnout, but of creative depletion. 

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of clients, many of whom are artists, musicians, writers, or deeply imaginative thinkers. I began to notice a pattern. When these individuals were cut off from their creative practices, either by life stress, trauma, or external pressures, their symptoms often worsened. Anxiety spiked, mood dipped, and a sense of existential emptiness crept in. But when they returned to even a small, consistent creative routine, their sense of vitality improved dramatically. To address this, I developed a concept I call the Creative Vitality Theory, which suggests that the more creative a person is, the more essential regular creative expression becomes to their mental health. In other words, creative people not only benefit from creativity, but they also need it. Just as an extrovert needs social connection to feel energized, a creative mind requires regular access to imagination and self-expression to maintain psychological well-being.

How to Reimagine Creativity for Yourself 

Given the importance of creativity for mental health, how can therapists begin to reclaim it in their daily lives? The key is to think of creative self-care not as a separate or time-consuming endeavor, but as a form of everyday expression. You do not need hours of free time or a studio to be creative. Micro-practices, or small acts of intentional creativity, can have a profound impact over time. Here are some examples of micro-creative practices therapists specifically can incorporate into their routines:

• Keep a small sketchpad in your bag and doodle between sessions.
• Create a visual representation of your emotional state using color, shape, or collage techniques.
• Rearrange a small corner of your office or home space as an act of visual renewal.
• Take a daily “aesthetic walk” where your goal is to notice beauty.
• Build a playlist that reflects your mood and listen to it with mindfulness.

I have seen clinicians who were on the edge of burnout find renewed energy simply by taking a pottery class, keeping a daily sketchbook, or allowing themselves to write creatively again. These small practices do not require talent or output. They are not about producing art. They are about giving yourself permission to express, explore, and experience imagination again. 

Bringing Creativity Into Your Practice

Reclaiming creativity in our personal lives naturally influences how we show up in our professional roles. When we feel inspired and emotionally nourished, we are more able to attune to our clients, hold complexity, and think symbolically. Our sessions become more dynamic, intuitive, and alive.

Furthermore, modeling creativity can have a powerful impact on clients. Many of the people we work with are trying to reclaim aspects of themselves that were shut down by trauma, social conditioning, or chronic stress. When we model creative engagement, we offer them a roadmap for doing the same. We become living examples of what it means to access imagination as a tool for healing.

Incorporating creativity into therapy does not require a complete shift in modality. It can be as simple as asking a client to journal between sessions, encouraging them to explore metaphor, or noticing moments of playfulness in their storytelling. The more we normalize creativity as part of the healing process, the more space we create for authentic transformation.

But to do this well, we must begin with ourselves. We cannot ask clients to be vulnerable, expressive, or imaginative if we have abandoned those qualities in our own lives. Encouraging creativity in others begins with reclaiming it for ourselves.

Your Creativity Deserves Care, Too

Therapists are uniquely positioned to understand the importance of emotional expression, yet we often neglect our most innate tools. Creativity is not a frivolous indulgence. It is a core element of well-being, especially for those who spend their lives holding space for others.

If you are a therapist who has felt disconnected, exhausted, or uninspired, consider this your invitation to reconnect with your creative self, not just for enjoyment, but for your own well-being and survival. Make room in your life for beauty, for play, for exploration that is yours and yours alone.

Your creativity deserves care, too. And in tending to it, you may find not only renewed energy for your work, but also a deeper, more sustainable connection to the parts of yourself that made you choose this path in the first place.