Tag: arts therapy

Inviting curiosity and compassion as you explore your inner world

Trauma, depression, anxiety and life challenges can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself, overwhelmed, dysregulated, out of rhythm and without a sense of true meaning or purpose. Life events can imprint certain unhelpful ways of thinking upon you, which you may find difficult to escape, or even to identify. Your intuition may feel like a luxury you cannot afford, or access.

You may fear your feelings, believing they are too much for you to contain. You may feel that you are too much for others or too little. You may be in battle with your body, misunderstanding it’s language and unsure of how to re-connect with it. You may feel betrayed by yourself, by your body.

You may doubt yourself, doubt whether you are capable, doubt whether you can love and be loved. Your beliefs about yourself and the world may be unfounded, and unhelpful. You may wonder who you are, whether you can know yourself in any meaningful way. Your life, your decisions, your view of yourself, may be dominated by events, people, traumas of the past. You may feel stuck and unable to move past such things.

Your behaviours may be contrary to what you truly desire for yourself; you may feel you have no control over them. You may get stuck in a loop of damaging, unhelpful ways of acting in relationships. You may secretly long for more in life. You may desperately want to understand yourself. You may need to turn inward and accept the call to return home to your true self.

Therapy sessions are adapted to your needs. I work on a continuum from verbal therapy to body-based techniques. This holistic approach to therapy is suited to various mental health challenges, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar and personality challenges, as well as life transitions or spiritual searching. The work is trauma-informed and consciously focused on reducing power dynamics. I work out of a beautiful practice in Vredehoek, Cape Town, where we have the space to move between verbal and body-based work.

To enquire about therapy or book a session, contact Melissa: Whatsapp 0834129768 or email info@melissamcwalter.co.za

The Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell’s work elucidating the ‘Monomyth’, the journey that each human travels, informs a great deal of how I approach therapy.

The Hero’s Journey shows us how each of us are called to adventure from our place of comfort. Sometimes this can be an unexpected or even disturbing call. It is normal for the individual to refuse the call for various reasons. It may seem too hard, they may have obligations, they may be afraid or not trust themselves to carry through.

At this point, some form of “supernatural aid” appears, maybe in a dream, a therapist, a connection made, and this allows the hero to move from refusing the call to standing on the threshold of what is known, and what is not known.

This can be a scary place and it takes courage to delve into the darkness, a place which is unconscious and holds trials as well as riches.

Navigating the unknown, we face darkness and light, newness and old stories, confrontation with that which hold the greatest power over us as well as the reward of facing the supreme ordeal.

We come back to the known world with more wisdom, clarity and insight. We become the master of two worlds and our resilience allows us the freedom to live, to reach for what we want in life.

We all travel this journey on the large scale of our lives, as well as daily and within our relationships with others and ourselves.

If you feel that you are being called to adventure, contact Melissa for a consultation and see if you are ready to journey into the unknown.

Info@melissamcwalter.co.za

WhatsApp: 0834129768

Coming Home to Self

Many of us lose connection with our authentic selves for reasons that extend to childhood. As we develop, we want to come home to our Self, the compassionate, curious, present Self that has in fact, always been there.

Integration of different parts of ourselves is challenging at times, but rewarding. Using an integrative approach, I draw on different ways of working with this task of integration. Having an arts therapy background, I also work with the body, with symbols and mythology during the course of therapy.

Offering an alternative or complementary approach to traditional talk therapy, arts therapy allows for verbal and non-verbal avenues to explore this coming home to Self.

If you are looking to explore yourself more fully, in a therapeutic process that is different to traditional psychology, this approach may be for you.

Contact Melissa to book a consultation.

Possibilities Beyond Words

I write this post as I make my way back from Israel, having been a guest speaker and part of a facilitation team that offered training in psychedelic-assisted therapy for trauma survivors.

The trainees and trainers have left an in indelible mark on my heart, as the nature of the training was incredibly inclusive, intimate and rich.

My topic was ‘Possibilities Beyond Words: creative and embodied approaches to trauma work with psychedelics.’ I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to travel to Israel and speak about what I am most passionate about.

When someone survives an event that is truly traumatising, it often leaves them without words, speechless, unable to articulate their traumatic experience or to describe their inner world of emotions and sensations. This is when non-verbal , creative or embodied approaches are so beneficial.

Through working this way, we as therapists can offer our clients opportunities to express themselves without words, to be heard without speaking and to come to understand themselves and their trauma responses better. Ultimately, we can afford our clients hope when previously there was none.

To find out more, please feel free to contact info@melissamcwalter.co.za or to WhatsApp 0834129768.

9 Reasons Why People Seek Out Alternative Therapies

“I have been to so many different therapists, psychologists and helpers but I have not found what I need.”

“I haven’t found anyone that I can really connect with.”

“I need to connect with a real person, not a blank face.”

“I don’t feel like I can relate to my therapist.”

“I don’t want to blindly follow a conventional medicine model, but I also don’t want to ignore important medical advice.”

“Traditional therapy is just not working for me.”

“I am desperate for my mental health or my child’s mental health to improve, and nothing seems to be working.”

“I’ve tried everything.”

“Just simply talking isn’t helping me.”

These are some of the most common reasons my clients look for alternative therapies, and often why they come to me. I highly value the fields of psychology and psychiatry, which is why I work collaboratively with other professionals. However, traditional therapy approaches are not for everyone.

Sometimes, people need a different approach in order to feel seen and heard. The traditional therapy models tend to allow less transparency, real-ness and openness from the therapist, with the focus remaining exclusively on the client. This works really well for many people.

For others, the core element of safety in therapy can only be found in an imperfect, somewhat irreverent approach that allows relationship and connection to unfold between two real human beings. I bring a valuable expertise to the relationship pertaining to the areas of therapy and skills I offer; however, I am not an expert on life. This is a journey we undertake together. The relationship we form is the vehicle for growth and healing.

The integrative nature of this approach means that we may use talking, music, art, movement, trauma-informed yoga, breathwork, lifestyle modification, creative process, symbol work, nature, writing and/or mindfulness in a way that feels safe and appropriate for you.

I like to take 1 – 3 sessions to get to know you and to allow you to get to know me. From there, we can decide whether we would like to work together and if I could be helpful.

If you are interested in integrative therapy, an alternative approach, please contact Melissa by clicking here

A Brief Rationale for an Integrative Approach

Music therapist integrative therapy Cape Town Melissa Ellse
Integrative Therapy in Cape Town with Melissa Ellse

We are all unique 🌟

An integrative therapeutic approach draws thoughtfully from various theories, methods and techniques based on the individual’s strengths, needs and concerns.


There is no one-size-fits-all. It simply does not exist. Every single encounter we have with one another is both meaningful and unique. This is because we are human and beautifully complex.


I’ve learned this first hand in my own therapeutic processes, which is why I strive to be integrative, intuitive and informed in my approach. And my approach will probably not work for everyone, because we are all unique 🌟 and that is truly wonderful.

To find out more, click here.

Universal Health Coverage

Please note there is a Universal Health Coverage Day event taking place tomorrow at Erin Hall. I will be leading a short, interactive musical session at the event and there will be pertinent discussions and presentations as well as interesting, creative interludes. Admission is open and free.

#healthforall #capetownmusictherapist

Bipolar Lifestyle Support

“… despite how bipolar disorder may leave one feeling, there is realistic and attainable hope for balance, positivity, health and meaningful living.”

Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with bipolar disorder? Struggling with uncontrollable mood fluctuations, unpredictable energy levels and unpleasant medication side effects? Treatment options failing you?

Bipolar is a complex disorder. The medical model offers some assistance with various medications, but it often falls short of providing lasting relief. In order to survive and thrive in daily life, it is essential that a treatment is integrative and holistic, taking the entire person and their unique story, symptoms, strengths, needs and desires into account.

I help people establish and maintain healthy, positive lifestyles, manage symptoms and concerns as well as facilitate a deeper knowledge of the Self. ‘Lifestyle’ factors are far more important than they are often given credit for. Diet, exercise, sleep, mindset, daily structure and relationships are some examples of lifestyle factors that influence the progression of the disorder and maintenance of wellness.

Practical and experienced, empathic assistance is greatly beneficial for establishing and helping maintain positive lifestyle factors, managing symptoms and medical/non-medical treatment options, providing accountability, reality-checking and validation.

Along with receiving practical advice and lifestyle assistance (where necessary), my clients embark on a process of deeper engagement with the Self, wherein we utilise verbal dialogue and creative, symbolic work. It is a process of meaning-making. Together, we will trace your self-story (sometimes called a personal mythology), which is a meaningful, individualised life-narrative based on your particular experiences, beliefs, personal symbols and meaning-making process . We map this purposeful, unique and continuous self-story onto your current experiences and defining beliefs, as well as connecting the story with larger, archetypal (or universal) psychological and spiritual patterns. This provides us with a mythological or spiritual heritage, so to speak.

Essentially, this process elevates the struggle (depression, mania, psychosis, broken relationships, internal battles, self-harm, addiction, shame, intrusive thoughts etc.) and affirms the Self and it’s various, oft-unrecognised accomplishments.

You can discover meaning, transformation and different perspectives, behaviour change and a sense of your connectedness to a larger pattern or story. You can rediscover ownership of your experiences, your life narrative and the direction you choose to go. You can find hope and confidence for facing the future, or even the present.

Any teens or adults can engage in this process, no matter the current mood state.

Bipolar disorder is associated with a relatively high prevalence of suicide and should be taken very seriously. Besides the risk of suicide, the impact that various mood states can have on an individual’s relationships, commitments and self-worth may also be devastating. However, in spite of, or perhaps because of extreme mood states, individual’s have an unusually great opportunity for self-mastery, connection, creativity, awareness and self-knowledge, which in turn radiate outward in relationships and affect the world in positive ripples.

The message is this: despite how bipolar disorder may leave one feeling, there is realistic and attainable hope for balance, positivity, health and meaningful living. Accessing this knowledge is admittedly extremely difficult at times and experienced, empathic support can be invaluable to gaining greater traction on one’s life or maintaining wellness.

For more information on Bipolar Support, please click here.

~ Melissa McWalter Ellse, HPCSA registered arts therapist (AT 0001350)

Peddling Blossoms

The Full Circle Peddling Blossoms - blessing poem

Give up what you do not want, now.
Give up what you do not need.
Strip down; strip yourself down to bare, raw, bone essentials.


Beg the wind to blow away the excess and then plead for it to take away even more –
yes, even that which you thought you could not live without.
Strip down to the Imperishable I,
the Eternal Essence,
the bone-deep, soul-deep brutal burning that no fierce gale can sweep away.


And when you are only a kernel, a seed, a bare, tiny fraction of the earth, your very existence will call out with pure, raw potential
and you will be heard.
You will be heard by the mountain, by the river and by the sky.
You will be heard by the smallest creature, by the widest expanse and by the deepest, chasmic depth.


You will be allowed passage into fertile ground, granted the right to flow, to go
where previously you were too large and cumbersome to tread.
The immensity of your promise in this world will be borne within your humbled and holy frame,
Borne through the long season, the longest night and the darkness of the dirt that you must endure.


And then, as it should be, and as it is, you shall begin to expand, upward and downward, inward and outward, rooted in life-giving, life-promising earth,
rising true toward the sun,
renewed and blessed.
You will be blessed.

Intention Setting for 2020

Now available: Creative INTENTION SETTING 2 hour session in preparation for and contemplation of 2020. Choose awareness and intention as you embrace your potential and invite prosperity. This is a tried and trusted process with the powerful effect of consciously and unconsciously guiding you toward your goals and desires. Mark the passage from one year to the next in order to step more fully into your potential.

Mixed creative media (pastels, collage etc.), intentional use of music-listening to stimulate the process and verbal reflection and contemplation. All materials provided. No ‘creative’ experience necessary.

Available for adults or teens. Individual or group bookings available in Cape Town.

To book, click here.