Episode 10: Spaces of Healing, Belonging, and Resilience (feat. Shrivalli Pandey, Claude Michelle Oliveira)

Speaker 1  00:10

Announcer, welcome to from ideas to impact the show where students, professors and professionals seek to understand the overlap of creativity, innovation and a love ethic in various industries. I'm Jocelyn Bell, the professor of the human spark class at Bryant University, a class formerly known as the sociology of innovation and creativity, and we're in the segment of the podcast when we hear student reflections on and analyzes of the themes and ideas that emerged over the course of the class. Sometimes they used this final assignment as a chance to imagine what an episode of their own podcast would sound like. Other times, they put the episode together as part of the larger story of the class. One thing that's consistent throughout this segment of the show is that each student invites you into their thoughts on the overlap of creativity, innovation and a love ethic. Shriv offers a wealth of information, interweaving psychology and sociology as she analyzes what she learned from Claude Michel's visit in light of what we covered in the course. I learned a lot of things my own self when I heard this, and I hope that you will

Speaker 2  01:50

us. Hello and welcome to another podcast series where we explore how creativity and innovation transform our world across different industries. I'm your host, reeval Lee, and I'm excited to be with you today. Before we dive into today's fascinating topic, let me remind you what this podcast series is all about. We believe creativity and innovation aren't just for art, for the artists or engineers. They're powerful forces that can reshape any field. In this podcast, we spotlight creators and innovators whose work is guided by what Bell Hooks calls a love ethic. We're interested in how people use creative approaches to change the world, regardless of their industry. Today's episode focuses on the intersection of mental health, dance therapy and community building through the lenses of Claude Michel Oliveira's work. Claude Michel is a multidisciplinary professional who bridges mental health counseling, dance movement therapy and creative arts in Providence, Rhode Island. So let's not waste any more time and dive in deeper. So this podcast has been broken down into different parts. Firstly, we'll be talking about the creativity in the mental health and therapeutic arts industry. So as we all know, the mental health field has evolved significantly over the decades, moving beyond the traditional talks, and now it's more holistic and has creative approaches to it. Claude, Michelle Olivera exemplifies this evolution as a both licensed mental health counselor and as a registered dance movement therapist. When examining the role of creativity in mental health and therapeutic arts, we see several key dimensions. Firstly, creativity functions as both a diagnostic tool and a treatment method. As Claude Michel explains in her work at valiant arts, she says dancing was the epitome of what she was going to do in the very particular moment when she was feeling her best self and she thought how she could externalize the emotions that she was feeling. So she did it through dance, connecting this to what we've learned in class. Goddard Seong and Philips offer a framework that helps us understand Claude Michel's approach when they write about the sociological dimensions of creativity. They emphasize that creativity doesn't happen in isolation, but is fundamentally socially embedded in relationships, networks and communities. Claude Michel's dance therapy work embodies this principle by using collective movements to facilitate healing within community context, rather than treating creativity as an individual act.

Speaker 2  04:55

So in the therapeutic context, creativity also serves as a bridge. Between cognitive understanding and emotional processing, according to the research by Koch and Fishman 2011 in their article, embodied in active dance, movement therapy, movement based interventions create bottom up processing that can bypass cognitive defenses and directly address embodied trauma and emotional experiences. So now moving on to part two, where we'll be talking about innovations, encouragement and constraints. So innovation in the mental health and therapeutic arts industry faces unique challenges and opportunities. Claude Michelle Oliveras approach demonstrates how innovation is encouraged through interdisciplinary collaboration. By merging dance psychology and community building, she creates what organizational theorist Amabile would call combinational creativity, which means bringing together previously separated domains to create something new. Similarly, Godard se young and Philips helps us understand this process through what they term as cultural entrepreneurship, which is the ability to re imagine existing cultural resources and practices in new contexts. Claude Michel demonstrates this by bringing dance movement therapy techniques traditionally reserved for clinical settings into community spaces and educational environments, creating innovative hybrid approaches to mental health at the same time, innovation in mental health is constrained by several factors, one of the first factors being institutional constraints. As Claude Michel noted regarding her work at the wheeler school versus her studio, she mentioned that at Wheeler, she had to focus on that social and emotional development for the students. As Wheeler was very much parent based, there was a lot of parents that were focused in their kids, so she wanted to make sure that anything and everything that she did was okay with the parents. This reflected a lot to what Dr Bell had discussed in her lecture regarding institutional boundaries that can limit creative approaches, particularly in educational settings. Moving on to the next factor, which is financial accessibility. Claude Michel also highlighted a critical barrier when explaining why she founded valiant arts,

Speaker 3  07:35

but when I wanted to open up the studio, it was to be able to have that space for everyone else in that particular community, and not just the Christians and not just the people that grew up with me, but to provide low cost, I would say, because a lot of the studios, I'd say around me are pretty much expensive when I think about even me growing up, I didn't have the opportunity to go to a studio because my dad looked at me and said, I am not going to pay this much for you to go to dance. So I had to figure it out on my own. So I wanted to provide that opportunity for a lot of my students, right at probably 75% less that they would pay elsewhere. And again, I wanted to provide them with a space to be themselves, a space that gave them cultural awareness, cultural identity, where they can tap into anything and everything that they can get into because they weren't able to get it elsewhere. And so that was my biggest why, because I know I needed it for myself, so I had to do it for somebody

Speaker 2  08:38

else. Now moving on to part three, where we will be talking about social, economic and cultural consequences. We know that the integration of Creative Arts Therapy into mental health practice has significant consequences across multiple dimensions, first being the social consequence. Claude Michels work create space of belonging for marginalized youth. She mentioned that a lot of her community are brown and black students that don't necessarily have a space to express themselves, so she created a space for them to have more of a deeper belonging. This directly addressed what sociologist Collins calls safe spaces, which is environment where marginalized individuals can express their authentic selves without judgment. The creation of these spaces represent a form of what Dr tortolani described as a social innovation during the guest lecture. Bell Hooks, in her book all about love, provides a crucial context for understanding the importance of these bases. When she writes about love as a practice of freedom, hooks argues that genuine love involves nurturing one's own and other spiritual growth. Claude Michel's creation of accessible healings. Basis exemplifies this principle by fostering environment where love becomes a transformative practice, rather than just an emotion, as hooks argues, when we understand love as the will to nurture our own and other, another spiritual growth, it becomes clear that we cannot claim to love if we are harmful or abusive, now talking about the economic consequences by providing affordable access to dance, education and therapy, Claude Michel is democratizing access to Mental health resources, which traditionally have been available primarily to privileged populations, moving on to talking about cultural consequences. Claude Michelle's approach validates cultural expressions and identities. She mentioned that she wanted to provide individuals with the space to be themselves, a space that gave them cultural awareness, cultural identity, where they can tap into anything and everything that they can get into because they weren't able to get it elsewhere. This work challenges what hooks describes as the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy by centering marginalized cultural expressions and healing practices. When we look at Claude Michel's work in relation to other creative practitioners in the mental health field, several patterns emerge. First, there's an increasing emphasis on what psychologist Stefan Porges calls Bolivar vago informed practices that acknowledges the body's role in processing trauma and emotions. This represents a shift away from purely cognitive approaches that dominated 20th century psychology. Secondly, we see a growing recognition of cultural humility and responsiveness, as Claude Michel demonstrates through her work with diverse communities, effective mental health interventions must recognize and incorporate cultural contexts rather than imposing Western models on all populations. Godard Siyoung and Phillips helps us contextualize these patterns through their concept of field, configuring events, which is the moments when practices from different professional fields converge and create new possibilities. The integration of art based approaches into mental health represent such a convergence, creating what these sociologists would call institutional spaces for creativity, where new therapeutic Model Ts can emerge and gain legitimacy. When

Speaker 2  12:56

examining Claude Michel's work, intersectionality provides the most illuminating sociological lens developed by legal scholar Kimberly Crenshaw and expanded by sociologist Patricia Hill Collins, intersectionality examines how overlapping identities shape experiences of privilege and oppression. Claude Michel's practice explicitly addresses the intersections of race, class and age that affects her students access to both mental health resources and creative expressions. Claude Michelle shares that for her movement and creativity are essential tools. She explains that even when she is leading a stress management workshop focused on building empathy and encouraging perspective, taking she finds herself returning to the same core ideas no matter the context. She emphasizes resilience, confidence and tenacity, believing these qualities are central to helping others grow and thrive. This approach also exemplifies what Bell Hooks terms a love ethic in action, which means using care and empathy as foundation for transformative work in all that love, hooks defines love as the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another spiritual growth. She argues that genuine love requires care, commitment, trust and knowledge. Claude Michel embodies this love ethic when she states she operates in a spirit of excellence. Claude Michele reflects that she encourages everyone she works with to approach their passions with dedication. She clarifies that it's not about striving for perfectionism, but rather about operating with a spirit of excellence. For her, it's important to put genuine effort and care into the things she loves to do. This commitment to excellence is an expression of love Alliance. Perfectly with hooks argument that love is an action rather than simply a feeling. It requires sustained effort and dedication to others well being and growth, tying in whatever we've learned about Claude Michel's industry so far to the framework of burns et doll on the business of ideas. The most compelling question for understanding Claude Michel industry is, how does the system of producing creative work incorporate or exclude marginalized voices? Claude Michel directly addresses this question through a deliberate creation of accessible spaces. She mentioned that she wanted to open up the space, in a sense, for everyone to feel like, as if they had a place to belong. She loved the idea of devotion and bringing someone in however they wanted the space to be and in their dance journey and mental health and creative journey, she wanted to support them. Go tort si young and Philips provides a useful framework here with their discussion of how cultural capital and the gate keeping affects who has access to creative expressions, they note that creativity is often constructed through social processes that legitimize certain forms of expression while de legitimizing others based on race, class and gender dynamics. Claude Michel's work actively challenges these dynamics by creating alternative spaces where marginalized expressions can be validated and nurtured. Claude Michel, approach represents what's called her activist. Adrienne Maree Brown calls emergent strategy, which means building alternatives that address immediate needs while modeling more just systems. By creating affordable, culturally responsive spaces for creative healing. She demonstrates how the mental health field could become more equitable and effective. Throughout this episode, we have seen how love in action intertwines with creativity and innovation. In Claude Michel's work, her approach embodies what Bell Hooks describes as love, as the practice of freedom, using care, empathy and connection to create spaces of healing and transformation in all about love, hooks argues that we live in a culture that devalues love, often confusing it with domination, exploitation or mere sentiment. She calls for reclaiming love as a powerful transformative force in social life. Claude Michelle's work exemplifies this reclamation by placing love at the center of her therapeutic practices and community building. This love ethic manifests in several different ways, firstly, by intentional community building. Claude, Michelle doesn't just provide services. She creates relationship and environments where people feel valued, as she mentioned, she expresses that because she loves what she does. She holds that space with deep care and intention. She understands that no one else will nurture it with the same passion and attention that she brings to the space for her, the emotions that she experiences in her work, which are joy, inspiration and fulfillment, are the same feelings that she hopes to pass on to those that She soothes.

Speaker 2  18:40

Yet again, this approach aligns with hooks definition of love as an act of nurturing growth rather than simply an emotion, by incorporating diverse cultural expressions into her therapeutic practice, Claude Michel validates identities that are often marginalized in traditional mental health settings. She explains that she places a strong emphasis on creating emotional safety and offering affirmation for those she works with. She believes it's important to encourage individuals to be be their best selves, especially as dancers. However, she also stresses that without a healthy mental state, true creative greatness isn't possible for her emotional well being is the foundation of artistic excellence. Perhaps most fundamentally, Claude Michelle's commitment to making therapeutic resources affordable represents love translated into economic justice. Claude Michelle shares that her goal is to offer her students an opportunity that is both accessible and valuable. She explains that she aims to provide this experience at a significantly lower cost, around 75% less than what they would typically pay elsewhere, making it more affordable for them to benefit from her expertise. 90s, this economic dimension of love connects to hooks critique of capitalism as a system that often undermines genuine love and care.

Speaker 2  20:17

Now moving on to the impact on social change, Claude Michelle's work contributes to social change in several significant ways. Firstly, by creating accessible mental health resources outside traditional clinical settings, she challenges the medicalization and privatization of healing. This represents what sociologist Nancy Fraser calls transformative remedies, rather than merely affirmative remedies, addressing root cause of in equality, rather than just their symptoms. Bell Hooks provides a framework for understanding this impact when she argues in all about love, that love must be understood as a political force capable of challenging systems of domination. Hooks writes that a love ethic presupposes that everyone has the right to be free to live fully, that

Speaker 2  21:18

making therapeutic resources accessible to marginalized communities. Claude Michel enacts this political dimension of love challenging systems that restricts wellness to the privileged. Secondly, by validating diverse cultural expressions as a legitimate modes of healing, she challenges the Eurocentric bias of conventional mental health practice, as Dr Bell observed, being able to fully inhabit and feel empowered in one's own body makes a significant difference. When individuals are comfortable and confident in their bodies, it becomes much easier to truly be present, to take action and to fully experience life. Finally, by training youth in creative self expression and resilience, she builds capacity for future social change. Her students don't just receive services, they develop tools for ongoing personal and community transformation. Well, we've come to the end of this episode. Now today, we've explored how Claude Michelle Oliveras work at the intersection of mental health, dance therapy and community building, exemplifies creativity and innovation driven by your love ethic. We have examined how creativity functions, both as a therapeutic tool and as means of community building in the mental health field, drawing on Godard Seong and Philip's sociological framework, we've seen how Claude Michelle's creativity emerges not in isolation, but through the networks, communities and cultural resources that she engages in her work reminds us that creativity and innovation are not just about new products or technologies. They are about new ways of being together, new ways of healing and new ways of loving and nurturing growth, even within systems that often resist change through the intentional creation of accessible, affirming spaces. Claude Michel shows how creativity fueled by love can drive real social change, reshaping not just individual lives, but also the broader cultural narratives around healing, belonging and resilience. Thank you so much for joining us on today's episode. Until next time you.