On Building Resources

On building resources and resilience using expressive arts

Many of the capacities we rely on in everyday life — such as being able to pause, to stay present with uncertainty, to respond rather than react, or to trust our own instincts — are already part of us. What’s not always available is access to these internal resources in the moments we need them most.

Often, this isn’t because the resources are missing, but because we’re disconnected from them. Stress, uncertainty, or long-standing habits of self-doubt can make it difficult to recognise what we already carry inside of us. In these moments, being told to “focus on your strengths” can feel abstract or unhelpful if there’s no clear way to see or experience them.

Expressive arts offers a way to access and become familiar with these resources again. Through the act of making — drawing, writing, moving, shaping — we are invited into direct experience. Instead of thinking about resources in theory, we begin to encounter them in practice: noticing how we choose, respond, adjust, and stay with what’s unfolding.

Over time, this matters. The repeated experience of creative engagement doesn’t just give us a lived experience of our resources in action; it also creates conditions where awareness, agency, and trust can gradually grow.

What we mean by resources

When we speak about resources, we’re not referring to fixed traits or personality strengths. Rather, internal resources are our natural capacities — the ways we respond that support how we meet ourselves and the world.

These might include the ability to slow down, to tolerate uncertainty, to self-soothe, to remain curious, or to stay connected to bodily signals and intuition. They can also include less obvious resources, such as imagining something new or different, flexibility, or the capacity to find meaning through image or metaphor.

Creative practice doesn’t necessarily give us new resources. Instead, it can make visible and accessible what is already there. By engaging in creative exploration, we’re given a kind of canvas to notice qualities in ourselves — patience, responsiveness, choice — that were already present but not yet consciously recognised.

From this place of recognition, space opens for shifts, changes, and growth. Resources become less abstract and more embodied. They’re no longer just ideas to remember, but experiences to return to — and, over time, capacities that can be strengthened.

The act of making

One of the ways expressive arts can help us build internal resources is by inviting us into action. Rather than observing our experience from a distance, we’re asked to respond to it by making something — a mark, a movement, a form, a few words.

In expressive arts, this act of making is sometimes described using the word poiesis — a way of naming something simple and deeply human: the act of bringing something into being. When we create, we’re not only expressing what’s happening; we’re participating in it.

This matters because agency is built through action. In moments when we feel uncertain, overwhelmed, or unsure of ourselves, the experience of making — however small or tentative — can quietly shift how we relate to what’s present. Choosing a colour, deciding where a line goes, or responding with movement places us back in an active role.

What’s often noticeable in these moments isn’t only a shift in confidence or clarity, but a subtle sense of engagement. We’re no longer only thinking about what’s happening; we’re doing something with it. Over time, this repeated experience can support a growing trust in one’s own responses — a felt sense of I can meet what’s here and respond to it.

Importantly, this kind of empowerment doesn’t come from doing something well. It comes from doing something at all. From noticing oneself choosing, shaping, and adjusting in relation to experience. This is how resources such as agency, flexibility, and self-belief begin to take form — not as ideas, but as lived experiences.

What comes with the experience of creating

One of the things people often notice in expressive arts is that the experience of creating itself carries something with it. Even in a single session, making something — however simple — can bring a sense of clarity or orientation that wasn’t available beforehand.

This doesn’t happen because the artwork holds answers, but because the act of creating changes how we’re relating to what’s present. When we make something, we slow down. We engage our attention. We give form to experience rather than carrying it only in our heads. For many people, this breathing space alone can make things feel more manageable.

The value isn’t in how often someone participates, but in what they experience while creating and what they discover they’re capable of in the process.

Working with what’s already there

Expressive arts doesn’t ask people to change who they are or fix what’s difficult. It offers a practical way of working with what’s already present through making, noticing, and responding.

By creating something, even briefly, people experience themselves taking action, making choices, and staying engaged with experience. This can support a greater sense of agency, clarity, and trust in one’s own responses. These resources can then be carried back into everyday life.

Whether someone encounters expressive arts once or returns to it over time, what often stays with them is the experience of having met themselves differently. Of having made choices, responded creatively, and stayed present with what was there. For many, this becomes a quiet reference point — a reminder that they have the capacity to engage with experience and shape something into form with their own brave hands.

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