Out of the Light and into the Shadows
Not so long ago, I painted a piece titled Out of the Light and Into the Shadows — unaware at the time of how deeply it would resonate with our collective experiences of 2025. Just yesterday, I revisited the painting, and in hindsight, saw it not just as an artwork, but as a kind of map or guide, with messages for me that continue to unfold, as many of my paintings do. When I created it, I sensed it was revealing something important. Now, I realise it is showing me sensitive knowings about the places where insight, depth, and creative transformation reside.
“Stepping into the light,” is a well-known metaphor, suggesting that clarity is only found through illumination. In creative and experiential therapies, and in life, shadows possess their own kind of wisdom. They are not the opposite of light but a companion that gives light its meaning. Without shadow, nothing has depth or form. Nothing appears in relief, and there is nothing for light to push through. Shadows show us what is real.
The misunderstood nature of shadows
Culturally, shadows are often seen as scary, or something to avoid; darkness, obscurity, the unknown. In therapeutic creative practice, shadows can be the places where stories gather. They are the spaces we go to listen more deeply, to ourselves, to our clients, and to the collective experiences we carry and inherit. Shadows are not necessarily where fearful things go to hide; they can be where things go to rest, gestate and transform.
Every painting I’ve ever made has been shaped by its shadows; areas of high contrast that capture the eye, the way a shadow can ground an object, giving it weight and place to stand, patterns that play across flat surfaces, bringing them to life. In my recent re-viewing of Out of the Light and Into the Shadows, I see these same themes reflected in my own work as an artist, therapist, supervisor, and leader.
“The shadows are not to be feared”, I hear the image tell me, through my eyes.
“They are anchoring”.
Creative therapists work in the spaces between certainty and possibility
As Creative and Experiential Therapists, we inhabit spaces that don’t sit neatly in the binary of “light vs dark.”
We work in more subtle zones, where things are shifting, where feelings gather before they have words, where old stories loosen, where something new begins to take shape. In these spaces, grief can soften, identity can expand, people can discover new ways of knowing through colour, gesture, movement, sound, and making.
These are places where:
- People can bring unspoken experiences
- Creativity is a language of its own
- Imagination helps us see what has been waiting to be witnessed
- Healing happens through presence, relationship, and courage
This work can be both humble and profound, standing in its own its own integrity. It asks us to listen beneath the surface, to honour embodied wisdom, and to attune to what is emerging rather than what is already formed. It invites depth rather than speed, attunement rather than answers, and a kind of listening that trusts what is emerging. Much of our work happens away from any spotlight, even as it transforms lives, in textured spaces where stories, sensations and metaphors become visible in their own time, on their own terms.
This year, I’ve worked as Convenor alongside the dedicated Leadership Group of PACFA’s College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET) — in parallel with my creative practice, therapeutic work, supervision, professional development and advocacy. This has, at times, felt like I am feeling my own way through shifting territory, while also holding space for our community during a period of immense national change. Much of this has meant staying close to complexity, offering steadiness, and helping our collective voice remain clear and grounded.
What the painting now reminds me
In my re-viewing of Out of the Light and Into the Shadows, I see:
✨ permission to be complex
✨ strength in the unseen parts of my work
✨ clarity in the quiet
✨ trust in the process
✨ connection to the deeper currents that guide my practice
The painting has become a guide, a reminder that the spaces between light and shadow are where creativity is most alive, and that this is where the real “work” happens.
An invitation
As the year draws to a close, I’m sharing this reflection for anyone who is:
- navigating a threshold
- holding multiple roles with care
- working in deep relational practice
- feeling the weight and beauty of change
- seeking anchor points in complexity.
May you remember that shadows can be where mystery takes shape, and where meaning emerges.
May your shadows be kind.
May they be spacious.
And may they reveal exactly what you need to know, at exactly the right time.
Invitation to Supervision Studio
An Invitation to Step into the Space Between
If this reflection resonates with you — if you, too, are navigating thresholds, carrying multiple roles, or working in the textured spaces where meaning emerges — you are warmly invited to join Supervision Studio.
Supervision Studio is a unique, bottom-up approach to supervision, facilitated by Dr Carla van Laar, who brings over 30 years of practice wisdom and industry engagement.
You can expect to join a small, intimate, creative and experiential supervision group where we slow down, listen deeply, and explore the unseen layers of our work.
Supervision Studio is place for practitioners who value:
✨ relational depth
✨ embodied knowing
✨ creative process
✨ spacious, reflective practice
We meet online, in community, with room for each person’s voice and inner wisdom.
Supervision Studio runs fortnightly on Sundays from 10am – 12.30pm (Vic time).
Capped at 6 participants. Registered as PACFA, low cost supervision. $150 – 2.5 hours
We welcome therapists, counsellors and allied health practitioners.
You can book your place here:
👉 https://carlavanlaar.com/supervision/
This article is proudly brought to you by PACFA Accredited Supervisor, Dr Carla van Laar.
Dr Carla is an artist and creative arts therapist living and working on beautiful Boon Wurrung Country down in the south east of Australia in the coastal country township of Inverloch. She is a passionate advocate for access to creative arts and wellness for all members of our communities. Dr Carla leads by example, in her role as Convenor of PACFA’s College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET), Founder of the Creative Mental Health Forum and Collective Care Retreat, Author of articles, resources and books about the power of the arts for healing and wellness.
Dr Carla offers:
individual and small group creative arts therapy sessions at her Inverloch studio, professional supervision for therapists and counsellors, creative professional development workshops, art therapy first aid training, commissioned artworks, art and mindfulness wellbeing programs, and arts project development and facilitation.
Please contact Dr Carla with any enquiries at Carlavanlaar@gmail.com
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