Finding Healing in the Center: The Foundations of Haptic Healing at the Pottery Wheel™
Trauma is a burden etched deep within the body and psyche. Traditional talk therapy, while valuable, often fails to reach the core of this experience. That’s where Haptic Healing at the Pottery Wheel comes in. This unique, non-traditional approach to healing utilizes the power of clay and the potter’s wheel to foster resilience and promote post-traumatic growth. But why clay? Why not simply continue talking about the trauma?
The answer lies in the limitations of language itself. Trauma often disrupts the pre-frontal cortex, the region responsible for critical thinking and emotional regulation. When overwhelmed, we struggle to articulate the depths of our experience. Haptic Healing focuses on the body – the very place where trauma resides.
Eight foundational elements form the bedrock of Haptic Healing
Mindfulness
We live in a world constantly goaded towards “doing.” Mindfulness, in contrast, invites us to slow down, to simply be present. Trauma survivors, however, often struggle with this concept. Their world is dominated by fear, intrusive thoughts, and a constant state of hypervigilance. Haptic Healing teaches them to acknowledge these thoughts without judgment, and to return to the present moment.
Nervous System
The rhythmic whirring of the potter’s wheel offers a surprising benefit – nervous system regulation. This rhythm echoes the comforting beat of our mother’s heart in the womb, a primal memory of safety and security. As we work the clay, a sense of stability and balance is instilled within, replacing the dysregulation often experienced by trauma survivors. Furthermore, the brain forms connections between these repetitive patterns, creating new neural pathways. Simply sitting down at the wheel, even without conscious effort, can initiate this healing process.
Empowerment
Trauma steals a sense of control. The initial clumsiness of throwing clay can be both frustrating and empowering. Students learn to direct their efforts towards meaningful outcomes, experiencing a sense of mastery that combats the helplessness often associated with trauma. Small victories – the clay responding to their touch, the gradual improvement in technique – become testaments to their own agency.
Integration
Healing from trauma involves integrating the experience into a coherent narrative. Haptic Healing facilitates this process by encouraging students to put language to their felt experiences. Additionally, working with clay can evoke childhood memories. And maybe for the first time in a long while, they are willingly thinking about their past and associating something positive or perhaps neutral with their past. Which means we are helping a survivor begin to uncover stories from the edges of childhood memory. Our identities are created in relationship. And the stories we pay attention to support certain identities. By helping students pay attention to these stories at the edges of memory, we are helping them begin to create new identities.
Grounding
Trauma survivors often dissociate, disconnecting from their bodies as a coping mechanism. Both mindfulness and grounding practices bring us back to the present moment. Mindfulness invites observation without judgment, while grounding actively disrupts unwanted thoughts by connecting us to something concrete in the environment. Haptic Healing, by its very nature, promotes grounding. The act of shaping clay, the feel of the earth beneath our hands – these are powerful anchors in the present moment.
Body
Trauma can lead to a disconnect from the body’s internal signals. Haptic Healing emphasizes interoception (awareness of internal feelings) and proprioception (awareness of body position and movement). By reconnecting with these sensations, survivors can regain a sense of safety within their own bodies, better regulate their emotions, and respond more effectively to stress. The very act of throwing clay – the resistance of the material, the pressure applied, the weight of the form – fosters this crucial self-awareness.
Transpersonal
The rhythmic act of throwing connects us to a broader human experience. For millennia, humans have used their hands to create, a language understood by the body on a deep, subconscious level. The potter’s wheel becomes a bridge, connecting us to generations past, to a shared human story. Clay itself holds its own mythology, appearing in creation myths across cultures. This connection fosters self-compassion, a vital element often missing in the lives of trauma survivors who struggle with self-blame.
Relationship
Healing happens in connection. Haptic Healing emphasizes the importance of a safe and supportive relationship between student and teacher. It’s not about power dynamics, but about fostering influence and trust. The very act of working together, sharing the space of the studio, creates a bond that facilitates growth.
These eight elements, woven together, create a holistic approach to healing. They address the core of the trauma experience, the body, laying the foundation for emotional regulation, self-compassion, and ultimately, post-traumatic growth.