Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Lichtenberg. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Emily, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My purpose (art therapy) came through a series of events, starting with the death of my step-mom Susan in my final semester of college. I had a vision of her spirit leaving the Earth, and moments later received confirmation that she had passed. My mystical experience of her passing led me to the psychedelic art scene and began my practice of channeling my inner experiences onto canvas. I became more involved in the live painting and visionary art communities, which led me to discovering art therapy. Something just “clicked” for me, and I knew I was meant to pursue that path. Creative processing helped me work through so much of my own grief and trauma, and becoming an art therapist felt like the best way to give back to the world.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Honestly, while there are ways that my two careers are separate, much of my inward experience of them are entwined. I find my growing identity as an eco-art therapist informs my artist self, and my artist self continually informs the way I guide clients and curate my space in my eco-art therapy office.
When I’m wearing my “therapist” hat, most of what I do falls under the title of “eco-art therapy.” This combines practices of ecotherapy and art therapy into one model. It can look a few different ways, where the “eco” part relates to the subject, setting, or materials (or a combination of these!). I have held outdoor sessions, which focus on building relationships with the more-than-human world and ethical foraging practices, and indoor sessions where themes of the more-than-human world inspire conversation and art-making. What I find so special about eco-art therapy is that it’s not a healing modality for just humans, also for the beings around us by becoming more aware of our impact on and relationships to our non-human neighbors. It feels like the kind of work that’s really needed in our society right now, and I find that really fulfilling. Contrary to what most people assume, I primarily work with adults. When I reach my post-graduate life (June of this year!), I plan to expand my eco-art therapy services to more community-based structures, including groups and workshops, to make these forms of healing and self-reflection more accessible to a wider audience.
With my “artist” hat on, most of the physical work I currently do is with oil paint, but over the last year I have begun exploring the process of creating art with materials I ethically forage. I have created various inks, charcoal, and am in the process of exploring making pigments with rocks, plants, and shells. I find that when I spend the extra time building a relationship with the materials I’m using, through foraging and processing them, I feel more connected to the whole creative process. I currently maintain a balance of both forms, since they satisfy different parts of my creative self.
On the digital side of things, I am currently in the process of developing a 2D animated short film, using a more traditional frame-by-frame style. I have always loved this animation format, but it’s a slow process, so I haven’t worked on anything big in a long time. While I feel it is still too early in development to share more details, I will say that it is a project of the heart and an homage to our ancient connection with the more-than-human world around us. It started as a vision I received during a psychedelic therapy session I underwent last year. As part of the world-building process, I have been designing little nature spirit creatures, and turning some of these designs into stickers to hide around the various places I visit. I haven’t announced this project on my website or socials yet, but I will be posting updates regularly once I bring this into the light!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
What a great question! When I distill what qualities have helped me most along my path, what to mind for me are: curiosity, passion, and love. Curiosity drives my inner voice to constantly ask questions and look at things in new ways. It has gifted me with an open mindset and allowed me to receive critical feedback constructively. My passion for creative expression, for nature, and for collective healing has provided me with resilience and drive to continue forth, even when things feel tough or like they won’t get better. I have found that I’m always willing to push through when I’m working toward something I genuinely believe in. My deep love and care for other beings is a core part of why I’ve stepped into the work that I do. I don’t think I would last on this path if I didn’t love the world so intensely.
My advice for anyone early in their journey is to always retain a beginner’s mindset. This means approaching everything like you are learning it for the first time, even if you have years of experience with it. A beginner’s mindset fuels curiosity, and opens us up to questions and perspectives we might not have otherwise thought of. There will be times in your journey where you will feel disconnected from what inspired you to take this path in the first place. That’s okay. In those times, remind yourself of what it is you’re passionate about, or what you’re working towards. Delayed gratification is a learned skill. It’s also okay to allow yourself to feel the weight of some of those heavy parts of your journey – it’s okay for it to suck from time to time (this is the therapist in me coming out now). I think it’s important to remember that we are all running marathons here, no one gets to their highest-level goals in a day. If they we did, I don’t think it would feel worth it. I encourage anyone who’s just starting out on their path to remind themself that things will take time, and it’s okay to slow down the pace. Sometimes cutting corners to advance to the next step seems tempting, but I’ve always found that at some point I come back and have to refine that skill anyway, so I’m better off just slowing down from the beginning.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The book that has been more influential on my path than any other is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. Frankl was a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, who spent 3 years in a small concentration camp. He is considered the father of Existential-Humanism. He created a therapeutic modality called “Logotherapy” based off his experiences in the camp, and this book is part autobiography, part theoretical exposition.
The most profound message in the book for me was his declaration that no matter where a person is, no matter what they are experiencing, each person still has the freedom to choose the meaning of one’s life and experiences. Another aspect of this book that I find meaningful is the immense healing power of community and relationships with others. It’s both a heartbreaking and deeply inspiring piece of literature, and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Emilylichtenberg.art
- Instagram: @emilylichtenberg.art
- Linkedin: Emily Lichtenberg
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