SOME people know they need help. Some have even been referred to a therapist. Still, they never walk through the door.
Maia Labastide has seen that reluctance first-hand.
After completing her Master of Science in Counselling Psychology at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus in Barbados, Labastide spent several months at a clinic, where she encountered people who needed mental health support but were hesitant to seek it. Among those who attended, many were reluctant to speak or doubtful that therapy could work for them.
Alinye founder: Maia Labastide uses art and creative expression as tools within the therapeutic process.
The experience planted a question that would eventually lead to her founding Alinyé Creative Therapy Studio: what if counselling met people where they were?
“I saw the shortcomings of traditional counselling on our Caribbean population being that we respond well to humour, someone to ‘talk straight’ when needed and someone that understands and is experiencing certain challenges by virtue of living in the same country and being from the same culture,” Labastide explained during an online exchange with the Kitcharee.
Sometimes, words were not enough. She recalled one client communicating entirely through drawings and writing because the emotional pain was too difficult to verbalise.
That experience, along with her background as a visual artist, helped shape an approach that brings creative expression into counselling.
Opening new avenues
of connection
Alinyé, a stylised version of “align” inspired by French patois, is a nod to Labastide’s heritage. She works alongside counselling psychologists Ricardo Hall, Javaughn Forde and Jabari John, who also hold MSc degrees in Counselling Psychology. Their respective backgrounds in sport, spoken word and music offer different ways of connecting with clients.
For Labastide, a creative approach expands how people participate in therapy sessions.
“It’s using creativity, materials and the arts in a therapeutic session alongside an integrated therapy model to promote emotional growth and wellness,” she explained.
Labastide distinguishes this approach from Art Therapy, a specialised profession she hopes to pursue further studies in.
Art, she said, has long helped her explore emotions she could not always put into words.
“In a group setting, I gently guide members through creating a piece of themselves on a canvas in a setting similar to a sip-and-paint but with a different focus entirely,” she explained.
“Without using art and creativity, I do not think I would be able to connect with clients as deeply [or] explore more challenging topics in such a unique forum.”
Music as a doorway
John incorporates music into counselling to help clients regulate emotions, manage stress or prepare mentally for performance.
“A practical example of this may be using a slow calming song coupled with some deep breathing or guided imagery exercises to help clients relax and relieve stress,” he said. “In another case, a more upbeat song can be used to psych up athletes before a competition.”
He is careful to distinguish his approach from Music Therapy, which he said “requires specific and skilled training to successfully administer.”
His own experience as a musician also shapes his work.
“The rollercoaster of emotions you experience as a musician provides you with a certain level of empathy and ability to understand to some extent how people may be feeling,” he said.
“The musical journey allows me to bring creativity, empathy, an open-minded approach and relatability to the therapeutic space.”
Sport, spoken word
and the mind
For Hall, sport provides another route into counselling. Having competed in different sports for 19 years, he knows first-hand how pressure can affect an athlete.
“The world can sometimes be overwhelmingly loud or overwhelmingly quiet,” Hall said.
Athletes may doubt themselves while knowing that giving in to that doubt could affect their performance and the confidence others have placed in them.
“It can feel like you’re performing confidence for the sake of avoiding disappointing others,” he explained.
Wanting to perform well for supporters can create added pressure.
“That can also feel like a burden despite appreciating the love and support,” Hall said.
Forde has seen another kind of emotional struggle through spoken word.
“A background in spoken word poetry has allowed me to better understand masking and repression in everyday persons,” he said. “Watching emotions engulf performers when they least expected gave me the opportunity to properly appreciate emotional processing and the need for proper coping mechanisms.”
Creative expression, he believes, can uncover feelings difficult to put into conversation.
“We may write a poem or create an image which upon first glance is far removed from our persona,” Forde explained. “Upon review, however, the opportunity to examine that piece of artwork can reveal themes which we may have struggled with since childhood, issues usually masked and emotions yet uncovered.”
Therapy that fits
These creative techniques serve a clear therapeutic purpose.
“While we are using these tools, we are still having therapeutic discussions, using various counselling techniques like guided visualization and relaxation, challenging negative thoughts and working toward goals,” Labastide explained.
Progress, she said, can mean a client finally having a difficult conversation, managing their emotions or allowing themselves to rest.
Hall said the intention behind each activity is key.
“What makes it therapeutic is the intention behind each activity, the research that we do to ensure that what we want to do is most beneficial to any client,” he said.
The team also believes counselling in T&T must account for the culture and history of the people sitting in the room.
“Conventional psychology is often taught from a Eurocentric point of view,” Hall said.
Forde pointed to slavery, indentureship and colonisation as experiences that continue to shape how people in T&T see the world.
“Understanding the nuances of culture gives the opportunity for more attentive care and uniquely tailored clinical practice,” he said.
Labastide believes changing the conversation also means changing the language T&T uses around mental health.
“Too many of our people are living under constant stress from relationships, workplaces, finances, schools, and other internal or external forces but are dismissed as needing to ‘toughen up’ or just keep their head down and endure,” she said.
Humour, she added, can become a “double-edged sword” when people are afraid to share their challenges “for fear of being made fun of or not taken seriously.”
John wants to see an end to the perception that seeking therapy represents weakness.
“Our society has perceived mental health as a taboo phenomenon which often results in individuals enduring suffering rather than being open to therapy and discussing their feelings,” he said.
Forde, meanwhile, wants people to seek help before reaching crisis point.
“While it can be accessed when things have completely fallen apart, that should not be the start of your mental health journey,” he said.
For Labastide, Alinyé ultimately comes back to shaping counselling around the people it serves.
“Caribbean people are extraordinary,” she said, “and therapy needs to be made to fit them, not the other way around.”