Alice Sirounis - How can art heal trauma?

In this week's episode, we had the opportunity to interview the amazing Alice ‘Aliki’ Sirounis. Alice is best known for creating a 7-Step-System that teaches anyone how to draw. “My life’s work has been to encourage others to find the joy of drawing and creating art, and how it can actually make you feel better.” With her emphasis on bringing art to all, she creates sessions using something she calls Art Mindfulness* After a series of unexpected life plot-twists, she personally reaffirmed how art can be a powerful healing force. “Difficult relationships and life events can shine a spotlight on the self. Deep knowledge and awareness of the human condition has allowed me an even broader perspective on how to help people using art and a blend of other modalities.” Alice began her career as a classroom teacher in Saskatchewan and has been an art educator for over 35 years. She founded Aliki’s Art House (Calgary) in 1991. An entrepreneur at heart, she continued her second business, Aliki’s Art in Mind, while living in Brisbane, Australia. Alice has taught in several countries, published a book, is a visual artist, and is currently helping others via the therapeutic benefits of Art Mindfulness. Alice enjoys living in the moment. She is inspired by healthy. relationships, nature, creation and creating. Not shying away from having a thirst for learning new things, and her curious nature, her latest keen interest is social activism. *Art Mindfulness Is… Integrating Mindfulness (moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings and body sensations) with Art Therapy (making art in a therapeutic setting) which naturally helps us access our present, past and future in a gentle, nurturing, non-judgemental way. In our chat with Alice… We get to expand on so many things that all tie together. How can art heal stress and trauma? Alice from her first steps of being a teacher realized how art can get you in a meditative state. You can understand a lot for a person by their painting or the way they express themselves through art. There’s truly something liberating the minute you tap to your creativity and let it guide you. Imagine how your life would be if you allowed and gave permission to yourself to be creative in all aspects of life? A whole new world! Alice is the creator of a 7-Step System that can teach anyone how to draw within 2 hours. That’s right, only 2 hours. This notion that we’re not artists because we cannot paint realistically, needs to be stripped away. Taking the 7-Step System course is the first step that leads to healing. Alice beautifully explains how art therapy can get deeper faster in comparison to talk therapy. Unresolved emotional trauma brings us to disease and dysfunction in our bodies. We have the responsibility to heal our trauma so we don’t dump it out in the world. Finally, we discuss the definition of activism and what led Alice to spend every weekend participating in freedom fighting rallies. Success to Alice is: “The relationship we have with God, with ourselves and with other people.” To connect with Alice find her on the following platforms: IG: @alikisartinmind Email: [email protected] Website: www.AlikisArtinMind.com