How Somatic and Expressive Arts Practices Restore Self-Trust and Emotional Resilience
In the second half of the ANEW Insight Podcast conversation, Dr. Supatra Tovar sits down again with body-based healing practitioner and expressive arts therapy expert Cathy Williams, founder of Intuitive Self.
This episode dives deeper into how creativity, movement, and imagination calm the nervous system, heal the wounds of psychological abuse, and help people rebuild trust in themselves after years of self-doubt, gaslighting, or emotional trauma.
The message is clear: healing doesn’t come from thinking harder. It comes from listening differently.
Creativity as Nervous System Regulation, Not Performance
One of the biggest misconceptions about creative healing is the belief that you need to be “artistic” or talented for it to work. Cathy challenges this idea head-on.
Creative expression, she explains, is not about the finished product. It’s about the process of being present with yourself.
She describes creativity as a form of functional meditation. When the hands are moving, drawing, shaping, or tearing paper, the mind finally gets permission to slow down. Racing thoughts lose their grip, and the nervous system begins to settle.
Whether it’s:
- Process drawing with pastels
- Using the non-dominant hand
- Full-body movement across large paper
- Tactile expression like ripping or scrunching
the goal is the same: create space for emotions to move instead of staying trapped in the body.
Anxiety softens not because it’s analyzed, but because it’s given somewhere to go.
Imagination as a Pathway to Inner Resources
Another powerful tool Cathy uses is guided visualization.
Rather than forcing insight, she invites clients into imaginative journeys – walking through landscapes, entering caves, approaching trees, or arriving at meaningful places. Whatever appears is not random. It’s the psyche offering exactly what the nervous system needs in that moment.
Clients might discover:
- A symbolic object
- A message or letter
- A protective image
- A sense of strength or reassurance
These become internal resources – tools clients can return to during moments of stress, panic, or emotional overwhelm.
Because the resource comes from within, it’s trusted. It belongs to them.
Psychological Abuse and the Loss of Intuition
A particularly moving part of this conversation is Cathy’s reflection on her own experience of psychological abuse.
She describes how emotional manipulation and gaslighting slowly erode intuition. Survivors often stop trusting their inner voice, replacing it with self-blame, confusion, and relentless self-doubt.
The body carries this betrayal deeply.
Somatic healing addresses this by restoring the relationship with intuition – not as an abstract concept, but as a living, communicative presence.
Cathy often invites clients to meet their intuition as a figure or energy and begin a dialogue. For many, the first words are an apology:
“I’m sorry I stopped listening to you.”
That moment alone can open profound healing.
Compassion Rebuilds What Self-Blame Destroys
Dr. Tovar highlights how survivors of psychological abuse often speak to themselves in ways they would never speak to a friend.
Through somatic and imaginative practices, clients begin to replace harsh inner criticism with compassion. Techniques like:
- Asking what advice you’d give your best friend
- Listening to your imagined 80-year-old self
- Reconnecting with your intuitive 6-year-old self
help soften shame and restore dignity.
Healing isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about remembering who you were before you learned not to trust yourself.
When Movement Becomes a Lifelong Resource
One of the most powerful stories Cathy shares involves a client who discovered a protective movement during a session – arms forming a “bubble” around the body.
This gesture wasn’t symbolic at first. It was instinctive.
Later, the client used the same movement in daily life whenever stress or overwhelm surfaced. The body remembered what the mind could not:
“This is what I can control. Everything else can stay outside the bubble.”
The body doesn’t just release trauma. It teaches regulation.
Dr. Tovar beautifully connects this to Glinda from The Wizard of Oz – the guide who moves through the world in a protective bubble, grounded in wisdom and trust.
Clear boundaries. Inner authority. Calm power.
Intuition as an Ongoing Relationship
For Cathy, intuitive practice is not about reaching a destination. There is no arrival point.
It’s about building a relationship with a wise, loving inner presence – one that can hold grief, anger, joy, and fear without getting stuck.
These practices have helped her:
- Feel safe in her body again
- Regulate intense emotions without suppression
- Recover self-trust after abuse
- Develop emotional resilience without numbing
The goal isn’t emotional perfection. It’s emotional capacity.
You Already Have What You’re Looking For
As the episode closes, both Cathy and Dr. Tovar emphasize an empowering truth:
You don’t need to become someone new to heal.
You need to reconnect with who you already are.
When the mind steps aside, the body speaks clearly.
And the body – unlike the inner critic – is always on your side.
FAQs
- How does creativity help reduce anxiety and depression?
Creative expression engages the body and senses, helping the nervous system exit the fight-or-flight response. It gives emotions a physical outlet, reducing mental rumination and restoring regulation. - Why is somatic healing important after psychological abuse?
Psychological abuse disconnects people from their intuition and bodily signals. Somatic healing rebuilds trust by helping individuals listen to their body again and recognize internal truth over external manipulation. - Do I need artistic skills for expressive arts therapy to work?
No. Expressive arts therapy focuses on process, not outcome. The healing happens through presence, movement, and expression – not artistic ability.
Want to Learn More from Cathy Williams?
For deeper insights into nervous system regulation, emotional resilience, and practical tools for managing stress and burnout, follow Cathy Williams on social media and stay connected with her latest work.
Links:- https://www.instagram.com/intuitiveself , https://www.facebook.com/IntuitiveSelfCathyW , https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathywilliams-intuitiveself/ , https://www.intuitiveself.com.au/
Continue Your Journey
- 🌿 Rebuild body trust and nervous-system regulation inside my step-by-step program: Deprogram Diet Culture course
- 📘 Go deeper on mindset, cravings, and sustainable health: Deprogram Diet Culture book (paperback, Kindle, and audio) find it via the book page on my site
- 🎧 Listen to the full ANEW Insight episode featuring these practices and Dr. Lavretsky’s research
View here the full podcast Transcript:
Cathy Williams Part TWO
[00:00:00]
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Hello and welcome back. We are back for the second half of our interview with body-based healing practitioner, expressive arts therapy expert and the founder of Intuitive Self, Cathy Williams. Cathy, welcome back.
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Thanks for having me.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Thank you for being here. Cathy gave us some really, um, you know, just, thorough insight into healing through movement, how we are able to release trauma, stored pain, difficulties that we’ve, you know, just kind of gotten trapped in our bodies through movement, creativity, and somatic approaches. I am so excited to learn some more from Cathy. So Cathy, what role does creativity play in calming the nervous system in particular, and also lifting [00:01:00] symptoms of anxiety and depression?
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Oh, I love that.
So creativity can, you know, can, can come in many different forms and channels and avenues. And what I really encourage in my clients is to not box themself into what creativity has to look like and be like. Um, one of the, the big misconceptions around creative arts therapy is that you have to be an artist or that it’s about the finished product. But so much of the processes are really about taking the time, finding a pause, and simply being with self through these different creative mediums. And it what it allows and what it opens up is [00:02:00] this way of being with self. I call it functional meditation. You know, our hands are doing something, our bodies are doing something, but our mind can be either be focused on what we’re doing or it can be elsewhere.
And it really is about the process of just being in tune with self. So whether that is with pastorals on paper, you know, maybe they’ve had a very racing mind, or they, they’re experiencing a lot of anxiety or a lot of stress in the body by getting them to focus on one thing. And maybe that is their pastoral in their non-dominant hand and they’re just seeing what lines are coming out onto the page.
You know, those, those thoughts aren’t able to stay recurring in their [00:03:00] mind as they’re doing this. We do processes called process drawing, where maybe that is getting their full body experienced in it, and they’re moving the colors and lines around on the paper with their whole hands, with their arms.
Maybe it’s ripping up the paper if that’s what they wanna express and scrunching it up. It’s really, um, tactile ways of expressing. And yes, they’re creating along the way, but it really is about being present to the feelings and the emotions, and then seeing how that wants to be moved and expressed in that moment through creative means.
Another common one is different visualizations, so. If we’re exploring a [00:04:00] particular theme in their world, it can be helpful to get them to connect with their body and connect with their breath, and then bring in a different visual journey that they can go on. And, uh, one, that one that many of my clients like is something where it’s a journey where they’re going on a bit of an adventure.
And then they arrive somewhere, whether that is, you know, a cave or a fairy tree or a, like a beautiful sunset and there is something there that is waiting for them. And my prompts are about, you know, you walk towards it and what do you see? And it’s really fascinating every single time what the imagination, what [00:05:00] the psyche wants to highlight, what wants to, um, get their attention.
And I see this as resourcing themselves. So whatever they find, whether it is a jewel or a letter, or a photo or a memory or a nature-based, um, gift that is something that we can explore further. And maybe that’s, maybe that becomes their strength symbol. Maybe that becomes something that they, that they imagine themselves holding in times of great anxiety.
Maybe that’s a message that they needed to hear, and they can repeat that affirmation to themselves in times of stress. What I really like to encourage is, you know, I have all these different tools and processes at my disposal to guide people through, [00:06:00] but they are the ones creating the content, if you will.
So they have all of these different things that they’re moving through, things in their world, things in their field, and the wisdom comes through what is being explored from within. So these messages and these resources they are creating for themselves. And what I love about that is that. You know, they, I really encourage them that they have the wisdom, they’ve got the answers, and it’s through practitioners like ourselves that they can be supported to unveil those within themselves and then strengthen that connection so that they know that that pathway to communicating with their body or to connecting with their intuition is always available to them.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: I absolutely love this. This is a big part of the work that I [00:07:00] do with my clients is. Really to remind them that they’ve always had this ability, and I like to take people back to like their little 6-year-old self when they were, you know, before a lot of this conditioning was put on them. A lot of the self-doubt, a lot of, you know, other people’s expectations were placed upon them. When we were that young, we totally trusted ourselves. We trusted our bodies. I do a lot of work with people who have eating disorders or disordered eating. We were the kids who were like, yeah, this is what I want to eat. No, I don’t want to eat that. I’m not hungry right now. No, I’m hungry right now. We were so connected to our body and this kind of work helps you to return to that.
And it’s not just about, um, listening to our hunger and fullness cues. We were really good at listening to our intuitive self and figuring out how to [00:08:00] access that through imagination and through play.
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Hmm.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: So I love that you help people kind of come back into their little childhood self. So let’s talk about people who have really experienced some psychological abuse. What are some of the unique challenges that the body carries and how does somatic healing address those wounds?
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Mm.
So I. You know, as as I’ve evolved, my business has evolved and my offerings with with women have evolved, and it was through my own experience of being in a psychologically abusive relationship that I recognized all of the ways in which I had disconnected from my body and betrayed my intuition and [00:09:00] abandoned my intuition.
And continuously had to find ways to come back to trusting myself again. Because there was a lot of, there was a lot of self blame. There was a lot of, oh, I should have known better. And when it comes to psychological abuse, you are constantly up against, um, someone disarming you with different seeds of doubt in your own capabilities and your own world.
And this is, it’s very difficult to be able to see what is, what is, what is truth, what is my truth, and how do I actually feel about something without being, um. Without being gaslit or without being told this is, this is what it is. [00:10:00] And so one of the, one of the biggest things that I, I encourage my clients to hone is that connection with, with their intuition.
So that for me is, is our, is our inner a compass. It, you know, our intuition is our ally. And that part of ourselves, that wise part of ourselves is always available to us, and I believe is always communicating with us, but it’s about honing our ability to listen and to be able to make sense of the signals and be able to trust that part of ourselves again.
So for me, in the years after this relationship that I had, where I definitely was a, a shell of my former self and had to [00:11:00] come back to who Cathy was and who, what my identity was. One of the, the starting points for me, and what I often encourage in my clients is, you know, let’s, let’s meet our intuition.
What does she look like? What form is she taking? And it’s okay if you know she’s, she’s a little shy or we can’t, you know, she, she’s not, you know, jumping out of the gate to meet us. How can we start a dialogue with her? And often for me it was starting with an apology. I’m sorry that I stopped listening to you.
I’m sorry that I mistook you for self-doubt. And where does that lead? [00:12:00] It opens up so many different doors of communicating with self in a really compassionate way and. You know, I feel like a lot of, a lot of the, the dialogue and the self-talk with, with, with women who’s who are the majority of my clients is, is very negative and it’s very, um, you know, we wouldn’t talk to our friends that way, but we think that we can talk that way to ourselves and that it doesn’t have any repercussions when it really does.
We’re sort of chipping away at our self-esteem and our confidence. So finding ways to develop a really compassionate dialogue with self and to acknowledge the ways that we’ve abandoned or dismissed or over overridden our intuition is really important. Way to start. Um, [00:13:00] because then we can, we can build on that relationship and it is something that we need to build.
Um, and it is a practice, but when we are in relationship with our intuition, you know, I, I’ve made it a, a practice to. To always communicate with her, um, and to be open then to the signals that she’s wanting to, what she’s wanting to say to me. Um, and I feel like this is, this is such an important part of developing or redeveloping that self-trust.
Again, after someone has experienced a, a world where they’re questioning everything, this is something that they can, they can hold onto and it can ground them in their sense of self again.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: I love, love, love, I love this so much. Oh my goodness. So this is a very similar to a technique that I do. So along with getting [00:14:00] people back into their 6-year-old self, actually have them project into their 80-year-old self. And have their 80-year-old self advise them onto what they should do in this particular moment. And I tell you what, our 80-year-old selves A, we don’t really care about all those appearance, you know, related anxieties. We are not worried about what people think about us. We are totally tapped into what is right for ourselves in this moment and doing the thing that will make that 80-year-old self happy in the end.
And I tell you, it’s, it’s really wild to hear what comes out. it’s, it’s true we, the way that we talk to ourselves is so toxic, so mean. So another way that I will help people get past that is I will say, if your best friend [00:15:00] was in this situation right now, what kinds
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Hmm.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: of things would you tell her? What kinds of things would you, would you encourage her to do? How would you encourage her to think about herself in that situation? And you see a dramatic turn. It’s so true. We, we would be so kind to our best friend, but we don’t realize how cruel we’re being to ourselves. These are really powerful ways to help people, especially those who’ve had psychological abuse.
It is very difficult to overcome, um, you know, and to process through and to transition out of psychological abuse because there’s so much self blame and shame. That goes into like, how did I get into that situation and why, why would I let myself be in that situation? But when you can look at that compassionately really understand why, and give [00:16:00] yourself, you know, that comfort that you need and that understanding, rather than beating yourself up, certainly that helps you transition out of something abusive.
And I’m so sorry that you went through something like that. I can see how it shifted and changed you. And so in some ways, things can be really great gifts if we’re inspired to move past them to learn from them and to help others through them. So I can see that that’s happened for you.
And that’s really, really, wonderful. So if you could share a moment from your work where you witnessed movement or creative expression unlock a major emotional breakthrough, what would that, what would that be? Without, of course, giving away any client details.
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Hmm.
I guess a good example is [00:17:00] the ways in which this process can continue into their daily life. So, um, one client was really, she recognized that she was in her head a lot. Um, she had sort of this underlining hum of anxiety, feeling like she had to, uh, control everything and, you know, that comes from, uh, from a need to feel safe.
Yeah. And to feel like she, she was capable and she could, she could handle what she was moving through in life. And through the movement exploration, there was a particular movement that she was doing, which, um, [00:18:00] was, you know, her hands were out in front of her body and there was, they were almost creating like a, a, a shield a bubble for herself.
So I recognized that this was a movement that she was. Um, really enjoying. So I got her to repeat it, to make, you know, what does that feel like? What does that look like? And at the end of the session, she then drew an image that was, that was almost similar. So it was like a, a person I imagine herself in sort of this, this bubble, this sphere.
And, you know, she went away and then went into her, her daily life. And then a fortnight later she returned. And I asked her how she’d been going and you know, how she’d, how she’d been using that or if she’d referred back to it and, the way that she had integrated it into her [00:19:00] life was that whenever there was a point of tension or a point of stress, um, something in her world that she couldn’t control and she couldn’t influence.
She either imagined that that bubble, that shield, or she physically did that movement, and the way that she expressed it was that not only was it supporting her to ground herself in that moment. But that’s what she, it was a reminder that that’s what she had control over. So within my bubble, this is, this is what I have control over.
Whatever’s outside of my bubble, it’s none, none of my business. And I love that because we can, you know, we can come up with all kinds of ways that we can deal with challenges, but, our mind can’t comprehend something that comes through the body. So the body [00:20:00] has shown this movement and this gesture that she could do to physically remind herself of that feeling that she wanted to feel.
And in doing that, in repeating that for herself, she was taken straight back there and it was like this immediate resource that she could do whenever she feel felt like she needed to. Um. And I also encourage people to, you know, if they’ve got an image or a drawing that they can put that up on their altar or somewhere in their house, and that, that the visual, the imagery can take them back to that as well.
So I love how these processes can allow a safe container for someone to move through an emotion that has charged for them, but then is also able to give them a resource to be able to move through confidently with whatever that challenge is.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Oh, I love that. It reminds me of, this is [00:21:00] a really silly, uh, intervention, but it’s actually super powerful. I ask people, um. Who the most powerful character in the Wizard of Oz is. And if I were to ask you that, what would you say?
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Um, in The Wizard of Oz in the movie, I’m thinking of Wicked now, but, um, I would say it’s, it’s the, the young girl on the adventure.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Nope. She has no idea where she’s going. She needs help all along the way. She enlists, help from her friends, from her dog. Definitely not powerful, but it is the person who is providing the help that is the most powerful,
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Ah,
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: and that is?
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718:All of the different characters.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Nope. The big kelp [00:22:00] in that is Glenda the good witch, and she travels around in her bubble and she is the one that makes everything happen. She guides everybody to where she needs to go. So a part of one of my silly interventions is helping people inhabit their bubble. What does their bubble look like?
And it’s so interesting, uh, ’cause a bubble is essentially like, you know, clear boundaries that you have around yourself and a full trust of your own power and your intuition and your way of guiding people. So I, I love how aligned we are on so much stuff. Uh, Cathy, I just think, I’m so happy you’re out there doing this. I would love to know, we only have like about five minutes left, but for you personally, how have [00:23:00] intuitive practices changed your own relationship with self trust, stress, and emotional resilience over these years?
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: You know, I feel like there. I’ve always, I’ve always really resonated with that quote that there is no arrival point. It’s about the journey and it’s not about perfecting anything, but rather being with ourselves through all of the different seasons. And for me, these practices have really supported me to feel safe enough in my body and capable enough to feel all of the different heights of emotions, all of the highs and lows, and to not get stuck there. To have ready processes where I can [00:24:00] allow myself to feel, allow myself to have a pity party, but then also release them in a really cathartic way. And be in dialogue with a wise, loving part of myself who is always in my corner and be able to refer to her.
And that’s been really supportive because you know, in the years post psychological abuse, it’s, it can be really, um. Damning the ways that we speak to ourselves, and it can be very confusing and being able to feel all of that, but then still know that there is a wise, loving part of myself that is taking care of things and that I can refer to.
Um, has been, yeah, has been [00:25:00] really comforting and has allowed me to feel the full spectrum of emotion, but then also remember my power in all of this and be able to return to that powerful, capable place.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Oh man. Yes, and I, I really encourage people. Cathy is not the only person that is able to do this. I’m not the only person. Everyone is capable of this. And if we can tap into our Glenda good, the good witch in our bubble, if we can tap into our 80-year-old self, if we could also bring back our 6-year-old self, all of them are really the same selves. The oldest, most intuitive, most kind, loving parts of ourselves, and we always have this guidance with us. If we can take the mind a little bit offline for a bit and get into our bodies. I often say a mind [00:26:00] can be a jerk, but the body loves us. We can stop doubting ourselves and really just delve into our bodies and trust what our bodies are saying.
And I know that that’s hard, everyone. It is hard. It is also possible. You can become your own best expert. You don’t need to go and seek the guidance of anyone else that wise, intuitive part of yourself is going to tell you, and it’s always right. Cathy, oh my goodness. Please tell our listeners how they can learn more about you, how they can explore your work, get your book, give us all the information.
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Um, thank you so much for having me. This has been such a great conversation. People, if you have resonated with anything that we’ve shared today, if you’re curious to find out more, my website is [00:27:00] intuitiveself.com.au. And I run sessions online. I run workshops online. My shop has lots of free resources, so definitely check that out and you can access my book, Body Wisdom, A Guide to Connecting With Your Intuitive Self on there as well in either paperback, ebook or audio.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: Hey, Cathy, it’s just so lovely to be connected with you, and I hope that we continue our relationship past this podcast because I just think what you’re doing is so valuable, and certainly for anyone who is looking for ways to release their trauma, their pain, say who’ve gone to just straight up talk therapy who haven’t really found that relief. There are plenty of practitioners out there, and I encourage you to look for people who [00:28:00] incorporate somatic work into their treatment just like Cathy does, because does involve. A little bit more than just what’s happening from the neck up. It involves the whole body. So I encourage you holistically, look at yourself, uh, with compassion, um, and seek out ways to release what’s been stored in the body. And Cathy’s a great person to go to. Cathy, thank you so much for joining me.
cathy-williams–she-her-_2_12-11-2025_083718: Thank you so much for having me.
dr–supatra-tovar_5_12-10-2025_133718: And thank you everyone for joining the ANEW Insight podcast. I’m really looking forward to the next exciting interview and hope you join me next time.
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