Seyderhelm, A., 2006  'My Body Remembers' (mixed media on canvas), Seyderhelm, A., (2012) Coming to my Senses: finding my voice through ovarian cancer. London: HARK Publications.
My dentist says I have a fractured root. A what? I didn't know a root could fracture. I thought roots were stubborn to remove, sunk deep into the earth, strongly embedded. While I pondered this news, and my eye wateringly expensive options for treating this pesky root, my mind raced forward to the 'what if' scenarios. What if I did nothing? Would my root simply die and break off, and push my tooth out naturally (it was already wobbling) - could I face the gap and empty space this break off and death would leave especially when I smiled?

And then something miraculous happened which helped me to transform my pain and shock into a deep awareness. During my monthly art therapy session I drew an image that initially made no sense. As I stared at the image, and focused on the colours, I became aware that the image reminded me of (and symbolised) my tooth, only this picture contained a healthy, well grounded tooth that was rooted in a soft yellow cushion. The fracture had healed.

My Mother died a year ago. She was my root: strong, loving, protective, my frame and compass. When she died, I lost all sense of direction, and felt as if I'd had root canal surgery on my heart. My grief is still difficult to talk about - too early to make sense of to anyone but me. And that's OK, because for now the narrative for my grief is being expressed through images.

As always, my body had spoken up for me, and shown me, through this image, how impactful my loss of her has been, and directed me to where I need to connect and repair myself. Turns out there are no quick fixes. So for now I will have the root out, and while I ponder my options for filling the gap, I will honour her memory one more time. I will choose carefully how I fill this gap knowing that something is forever changed.

Jung knew a thing or two about symbols and transformation, and it was to him that I turned for an explanation to root my experience. "The experience of the symbol unites body and soul in a powerful, convincing feeling of wholeness." Stein, M. (1998) Jung's Map of the Soul. Chicago: Open Court Publishing.

The image that appeared during art therapy underlines how important this creative tool is for accessing my unconscious, our unconscious, and guiding us to greater awareness of the interconnectedness of things.