How We Approach the Healing Journey

Our approach is NOT new, although it is often touted as such within capitalism. Long before "somatics" or "ecotherapy" had names, people lived in ongoing relationship with body, land, cycles, and even spirit, because survival required it. What we practice here is an intention to listen deeply to honor ancient wisdom and ways of knowing, not an invention of something new that we created. While the gold standard in Western research has value, it is also colonized and has limitations due to what it extracts and reduces. It strips away thousands of years of different modes of knowing, traditional wisdom, lived experience, and shared human ancestry to get its "objective" data. We acknowledge and work with both: the research that demonstrates evidence to support the practices we use such as the demonstration of neurological regulation in somatics, nature based practices, and ritual and we work with the intention to tend to what research has left out.

The Values we honor and the 5 Pillars Approach we practice are woven together:

Somatics & Embodiment

When we refer to Somatics, we are referring to the many layers: physical, neurological, energetic, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Your body is a repository of emotions, memories, non-verbal experiences, and sensations-the body's wisdom language. For many of us, the healing journey includes learning how to attune to the body and listen to its communication. Somatic practices recognize the inherent wisdom of the body and its role in the healing journey. At Creative Spirit Collaborative, we utilize a variety of somatic approaches such as mindful movement, breathwork, yoga, and other organized somatic practices but most of all, your own intuitive relationship to body to reveal the hidden messages unique to your healing journey and to help use physical tension and emotional blockages as portals to deeper awareness, relationship with self, and ultimate healing. By attuning our awareness to the wisdom of the body, the body begins to blossom and map the territory to your own sovereign empowered healing. Somatic practices can offer neurological regulation, direct communication with areas of holding, in addition to deep intuitive development and connectiong to spirit fostering an embodied, resilient, grounded, center.

This pillar holds the Embodied Wisdom value and opens the Sovereign Healing journey, where we recognize the body as wise sage instead of a pathologized set of symptoms and we begin to trust the wholeness already woven into your body, your story, your knowing, and your spirit.

Ecotherapy & Nature

Deep within the heart of our approach lies the profound connection between mental well-being and the natural world. Ecotherapy harnesses the healing power of nature to foster emotional resilience and promote inner harmony. By immersing individuals in natural settings and engaging in activities like forest bathing, earthing, or mindfulness in the elements, we tap into the therapeutic benefits of nature. Research shows that spending time outdoors reduces stress, anxiety, and depression while enhancing cognitive function and promoting a sense of awe and interconnectedness. Through Ecotherapy, we guide individuals toward a reconnection with the earth, nurturing a sense of belonging and tranquility.

This pillar holds the Land & Lineage Kinship we value, which reminds us to practice reciprocity with the land and lineages that held this work long before we arrived, and that there is a vast community of connection within and around us reflected in nature.

Transpersonal & Traditional Wisdom

The exploration of consciousness and the integration of wisdom traditions form the cornerstone of our transpersonal pillar. Transpersonal therapies encompass spiritual and mystical experiences that transcend the individual ego. By drawing from mindfulness practices, meditation, and contemplative traditions, we guide individuals toward self-transcendence and expanded awareness. This pillar invites individuals to embark on a journey of self-inquiry, tapping into their inner wisdom and connecting with a greater sense of purpose. Through Transpersonal therapies, individuals navigate the depths of their consciousness, fostering profound personal growth and transformation.

This pillar holds both our Sovereign Healing and the Evolving Consciousness values. It means learning to trust the wholeness already woven into your body, your story, your knowing, and your spirit, while surrendering to the never-ending River of life's opportunities for learning, growth, and experience.

Expressive Arts & Creativity

Art has an extraordinary ability to transcend words and delve into the realm of the subconscious. Expressive Arts Therapies provide a creative outlet for individuals to explore, process, and communicate their inner worlds. Through mediums such as painting, music, dance, and writing, individuals can externalize complex emotions, facilitating healing and self-discovery. Expressive Arts Therapies encourage authentic self-expression, promote emotional regulation, and enhance self-esteem. By engaging in the arts, individuals tap into their innate creativity, fostering a deeper connection with their authentic selves.

This pillar holds the Wholehearted Presence we value, reminding us that we must each show up as we are — with authentic presence that hasn't abandoned it's aliveness — and that vulnerable expression is a powerful tool for creativity and fulfillment.

Benevolent Community

Healing rarely happens in isolation. It happens in relationship: in the witness of another, in the safety of being truly seen and in the particular alchemy that arises when people gather with intention around shared growth. What we mean by community here is broader than most people first imagine. Yes, it includes conscious spiritual community and intentional healing circles. But it also includes the family that raised you, the yoga class you attend on Tuesdays, the coworkers you share a mission with and the forest ecosystem you walk through on your lunch break. Community is reflected at every layer of existence, from the microbial biome that keeps your digestion running to the mycorrhizal networks threading through the soil beneath your feet. We are, each of us, already swimming in it. The invitation is simply to become more conscious of that.

This pillar holds our Radical Relationship, our Positionality, and our Collective Liberation values. Rugged isolationism is outdated and ineffective (and soul-killing), because relationship itself is the medicine we often need. The healing of our minds, bodies, relationships, and planet are deeply interconnected; like it or not, we are in this together. And yet we also acknowledge our privilege, the ways our training shaped us, and more. We actively question these frameworks and continue to grow.

Who does Creative Spirit Collaborative work with?

Creative Spirit Collaborative is a practice of therapists, coaches, and healing arts practitioners based in Eugene, Oregon, with practitioners and clients across Oregon, Washington, California, and beyond. We're licensed and trained in the conventional sense, and we're also in an ongoing process of relearning what that training left out. As such, CSC is on a quest to share these values and practices with clients and practitioners alike.

Our approach often draws people who have felt like standard mental health care was not created with them in mind and has not met their needs:

Queer and Trans folx
BIPOC folks
people carrying ancestral or intergenerational trauma
people whose spirituality doesn't fit inside a clinical intake form
those experiencing spiritual awakening, emergence, or emergency
anyone who feels outside the lines of the "normal" modern world

Our approach is also tailored for heart centered visionaries, empaths, intuitives creatives, environmental or social justice advocates who are also helping professionals, therapists, healers, and caregivers who are burnt out on the very systems they were trained to work in. Our approach is an offering for those healing professionals who are looking for somewhere to be held instead of holding everyone else. Practitioners seeking ways to root in spirit-centered being and hone their unique healing presence might find particular resonance with our approach and our community.

CSC Practitioners

Our collaborative continues to grow, change, and evolve. Click below to explore the background, philosophy, and speciality of each of our creative spirits. You can also meet and learn about our guest facilitators and virtual practitioners here.

Current Openings

Currently seeking therapists for in-person work in the Eugene, OR and/or Portland, OR areas (special preference given to bilingual candidates). View the full job posting here.

Those interested in joining our online community as a virtual practitioner can inquire by emailing

info@creativespiritcollaborative.com

Location

Our central Eugene office is located in a shared, healing office space at 3525 Hilyard St in Eugene, near Amazon Park. There are plenty of spaces in the back for parking.

Practitioners in other areas work with clients in home offices, in safe natural settings, and via telehealth