Over the course of this academic year, images of the ocean have recurrently appeared in my reflective arts journal. Looking back, I can see how these images held the complexity of my experience as a trainee integrative arts psychotherapist: moments of feeling immersed in unfamiliar territory, meeting emotional depth, and encountering parts of myself that were not yet fully known.
When I began this painting, I planned to represent deep water, waves, and the sea. However, as I engaged with the process, the image led me in a different direction. Rather than simply depicting the ocean, I found myself painting the feeling of floating within it. The depth seemed to loom in, offering glimpses of itself while still leaving me guessing about the full picture. This mirrored my own developing capacity to remain with the unknown, rather than needing to resolve it too quickly.
The gold Persian calligraphy is from a Hafez poem, which had been a signature part of my childhood. Its sudden re-emergence reminded me of a relationship with language, culture, and memory that I had forgotten. The collage pieces on the right include images that have resurfaced with resonance: some I have begun to understand, while others remain curious and unresolved.
This piece reflects my development as an IAP by showing how the arts can reveal, contain, and transform emotional experience. It has taught me to be curious, to listen to the image, and to sit with the unknown in both my own journey and my therapeutic work.