Sport Psychology Tactics - Enhancing Musician Creativity Through Brainspotting
About the Author
Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!
Introduction: Sport Psychologists & Musicians
Often times people have the misconception that sport psychologists and mental performance coaches exclusively work with athletes, when in reality many professionals within the field of sport psychology actually work with a variety of performers such as musicians. I know that in my work within the music performance population there is actually very little difference between the demands of athletes and that of musicians. Like athletes, musicians oftentimes will perform in front of large groups of spectators, have a performance obstacle that needs to be overcome, and will need to develop psychological tactics in order to achieve their goals. But one area that I have taken particular interest in is helping musicians enhance their creative process through sport psychology & clinical interventions. For this Training Report, I thought it would be relevant to review what musical creativity is, what causes mental blocks towards creativity, and why Brainspotting is one relevant clinical intervention for enhancing creativity! First, let’s discuss what musical creativity is.
Part I. The Neuroscience Of Musical Creativity
Musical creativity is the process where musicians use their imagination to create their artistic work. Neurologically, we only have theories to work off of in terms of which parts of our brain are primarily responsible for the creative process, but many experts within the field of neuropsychology believe that there are certain aspects of brain function that appear to have the most impact in this area. For instance, the brain’s frontal lobes are responsible for our ability to use language, abstract thinking, learn new information and attach meaning to new information. The frontal lobes also enable us to strategize, reflect, imagine what is possible in the future, and just as importantly are responsible for our ability to have empathy (Van Der Kolk, 2014). All of these functions are critical aspects towards a musician’s ability to be creative, but why would it be important for us to understand the neuropsychology involved with the creative process?
One of the most common problems I encounter when working with musicians who feel inhibited in their ability to be creative (a.k.a. mental blocks) is that they will become frustrated and are understandably concerned that their future in the profession (or hobby) is limited. They will either scale back or abandon their involvement with music all together. Highlighting the anatomy and physiology of their brain and explaining the neuropsychology behind what causes mental blocks helps clients understand that there are interventions that can be used to help with this issue. After all, since one human brain is composed of billions of neurons with trillions (if not quadrillions) of connections, I like to think that there are at the very least millions of potential positive options for solutions! With that being said, let’s go deeper into what mental blocks are and how we can solve these obstacles.
Part II. Brainspotting & Musicians
When I am working with musicians dealing with mental blocks I have found these clients oftentimes have unresolved clinical issues that either stem from early childhood, or have experienced cumulative trauma that they may not normally identify as trauma. This is important to know because even trauma that might be perceived as ‘not severe’ can have a significant impact on one’s ability to be creative. For instance, while the frontal lobes are responsible for higher level brain functions, our amygdala acts as a type of alarm system which is responsible for processing and notifying us of potential threats. One downside to this feature of our brain is that if the interpretation of the threat by the amygdala is too intense, these alarm systems can potentially stay active for too long, and can remain in the body as a type of stored memory. In my work I have found that this stored trauma is often initially identified by musicians as the mysterious mental block that is affecting creativity. So how can this be addressed?
First, the client and clinician need to develop a strong therapeutic alliance. This may be the most foundational piece towards helping remediate the mental block because unless the client trusts the clinician, then no meaningful work can be completed. Next, when appropriate the clinician will utilize Brainspotting as an integrative therapeutic method to help the client identify and process the mental block. I’ve written about Brainspotting before in previous Training Reports, but in summary Brainspotting is a process where the clinician helps the client identify a specific eye reflex point that is closely associated with the trauma, and then releases the stored trauma/mental block through this eye reflex position. But there are also eye reflex positions associated with positive experiences, and if the clinician can help the client identify these eye movements, they can significantly enhance the creative process. This is called Expansion.
Part III. Brainspotting, Expansion & Enhancing Musical Creativity & Flow States
Through the Expansion model, the clinician works with the client to identify eye reflex points that are closely associated with memories and feelings that are aligned with positive performance experiences. The paradigm of Expansion helps musicians (and even athletes) attune to the sensations associated with peak creativity and enhance those psychological processes through this intervention. Increased awareness of unprocessed conflict may still arise during Expansion which can be psychologically difficult for musicians (still requiring a licensed mental health clinician to utilize this technique), but can ultimately help the client re-experience and create a new peak creativity process.
Again, this eye reflex point and technical intervention requires a trained clinician who has an understanding of the proper technique. When I have used this intervention with musicians, clients will frequently report increases in clarity of thought, less exertion of mental energy use during the creative process, and more enjoyment/connection through the creative process. Brainspotting through the Expansion model still requires additional interventions to help enhance the creative process. For instance, proper sleep hygiene, exercise, nutrition, and other factors still affect a musician’s ability to be their most creative self. But when all facets are addressed, musicians can potentially experience peak creativity in a way they have never experienced before! If you would like to learn more about Expansion work, please use the contact form below!
Note To Reader:
If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!
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