Irene Maropakis

LCAT

I’m an Art Therapist, and you’re probably wondering what that actually is. Well, I promise you that we go a bit deeper than your average “art therapy coloring book.” (Although, I do think coloring in a kitty wearing a fireman outfit has been very understudied for its therapeutic benefits). I could rant on about technical differences and modalities, but the gist of it is that I am a trained psychotherapist who utilizes the arts. Break it down even further? I am a therapist where you can scribble outside the lines, smear paint across a canvas, meditate in stillness or hum mantras louder than maybe your roommate, or family would prefer. (Om Mani Padme Hum anyone?) I invite you to perform and design your own healing rituals of creation that evolve from you, and for you. I invite you to create for yourself, without judgement, and maybe a dash of fearlessness too. Or none of that. We can just talk. I will push you to push yourself to heal. I will get in there with you and call you out on your stuff. I am not afraid to talk about anything you need to talk about. I’ll lend a listening ear and some gentle (but firm) nudges to explore whatever it is you’re going through, all at your pace, with the respect and sensitivity you deserve. I describe my therapy style to my clients as a car ride we are going on together. You are in the driver's seat at the wheel, and I am in the passenger seat. We set out on the journey and you decide where we go and don't go. I may look out the window at the landscape, and point out things here and there, but you decide whether we drive down that road, park the car, and take a look around. I believe there is no need to rush in the therapeutic process and sometimes taking our time to approach something can be more beneficial than just driving straight into it. I bring my real human self to the session, we will laugh, (and cry) and connect in a real human way.

The first session with me sets the foundation for your compassionate and affirming care. I will talk with you about relevant history based on your comfortability, toss on some music and perform an art therapy exercise if you feel interested in it. Then we will discuss your artwork, and process what we talked about in session that day.

Internalized capitalism is this idea that our self-worth is directly linked to our productivity. Internalized capitalism joins the ranks of harmful attitudes towards ourselves, internalized sexism, internalized racism, and internalized homophobia. It creates internal systems of oppression held and supported by cultural attitudes so deeply rooted in everyday experience it’s hard to recognize. It’s no surprise to us that capitalism affects our identity image. Perpetuated by the messages that feed on people's insecurities, since birth we have been advertised to. You’ve seen advertisements in media that tell you how you should look, be, feel, exist, and experience the world. It’s wonderful at creating dissatisfaction in yourself when inevitably you don’t fit that image and then selling the solution to you for the small price of credit card debt and a stuffed closet. Over time, it doesn’t just become about objects or how we look, but how we interact with others. A woman is “supposed to do this” in a relationship, a man is “supposed to do that”, and then the couple wonders why it doesn’t feel like “real love” like on the TV when they're both in their “roles”. We no longer feel value in ourselves for just being, but only as a human person “doing” or “acting like” or being “seen as” do we earn our value. It is a perpetual cycle of being dissatisfied, and when we notice that dissatisfaction or unhappiness, we jump back on the wheel of “how to be (trendy keyword here).” You cannot buy real self, but you can invest in cultivating your true self. Investing in therapy is investing in yourself, and that can be a scary thing to consider when you don’t feel worth it. So I ask you, why don’t you feel worth it? Why don’t you believe you are worth your own time, energy, and attention. When it comes down to it, therapy is asking you to invest 50 minutes a week dedicated to just you. That’s the equivalent of a breaking bad episode or 90-day fiancé. Not feeling like therapy is an investment doesn’t just boil down to cost. It’s the idea that you’re putting time and effort into exploring your emotions, your experiences, your inner self, after you’ve spent thousands of dollars, on treatments, sheet masks, seduction books (yes I’ve read Robert Greene), fashion nova Kardashian booty jeans, and lululemon leggings burying all of it down. In therapy, we’re not looking at how you adorn your pain, we're working to heal it. In therapy, we’re asking you to have a human experience, not a capitalistic one. Therapy is an investment in not only yourself but your mental health, emotional and interpersonal growth. Each session grows the foundation for the space to intentionally improve yourself in the alignment of who you are and want to be.