Dynamic Emotional Integration® with Sue Barclay - Exploring Emotions Through Creative Practice
"When Sue was in her licensing course, she developed an amazing emotion-accessing process called
‘mark-making,’ where she had us grab some paper and make marks – with crayons, pencils, paints,
whatever we had on hand.
I call it amazing now, but I was honestly alarmed at first, because I can’t draw! Yet when Sue asked us
to simply make marks, I was suddenly able to transfer what I felt onto paper. Something about getting
away from words and letting that untrained part of myself play was so freeing and illuminating.
I asked Sue to create a course for Empathy Academy, where she now guides people into conversations
with their emotions through mark-making, reflection, and creative activities in a supportive,
empathic environment.”
Karla McLaren, M.Ed., author of The Language of Emotions
I am a licensed Dynamic Emotional Integration® (DEI) trainer and consultant, trained by Karla McLaren, M.Ed., whose work on emotions as vital sources of wisdom has been deeply influential in my life and teaching. DEI offers practical, compassionate tools to help you understand your emotions, work with them skilfully, and integrate their insights into your daily life.
Over time, I’ve developed my own creative way of working with DEI principles — which I call Art and Emotions. This approach blends the basic principles of DEI, its empathic mindfulness practices, and my lifelong work as an artist, along with my training in the Alexander Technique and yoga.
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“Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, creative practices can be a powerful avenue for
self-discovery and support.
My DEI colleague Sue Barclay has created a wonderful workshop that can help anyone get in touch
with their inner artist (spoiler – we are all artists!). Sue’s ingenious ways of incorporating art and
mark-making into self-reflection and learning can benefit anyone of any skill level or experience.
If you’ve been looking for a way to delve deeper into your emotional understanding and skills in a
supportive, fun, and creative environment, Art and Emotions may be the right space for you.”*
Karla McLaren, M.Ed.
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What is Art and Emotions?
Art and Emotions is a creative and experiential approach to emotional integration developed by Sue Barclay. It is rooted in her training in Dynamic Emotional Integration® with Karla McLaren, M.Ed., and in Sue’s own personal journey of working with strong emotions, trauma, and self-discovery.
This work blends simple art and mark-making practices with gentle body awareness, emotional understanding, and DEI’s empathic mindfulness practices. It has grown out of Sue’s lifelong commitment to creativity, many years of practice as a professional artist, and her later training in the Alexander Technique and yoga.
Rather than offering a single method, Art and Emotions invites each person to explore their inner life in their own way through image, sensation, feeling, and words. The process is playful, intuitive, and deep. It offers an indirect but powerful path towards self-understanding, emotional healing, and inner connection and coherence.
What Happens in an Art and Emotions Session – and How They Can Help You?
Art and Emotions one-to-one sessions, workshops, and courses (online or in person) can help you:
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Engage with your feelings and emotions creatively and safely in your own unique way, using simple art and mark-making practices
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Explore gentle methods for tuning in to and relating with your emotions, engaging in meaningful inner dialogues
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Develop emotional awareness without needing to analyse or “fix” anything
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Learn creative tools for balancing your energy and emotional state
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Identify unconscious patterns or protective responses that may be rooted in past trauma or early conditioning
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Reconnect with your inner artist – the part of you that knows, feels, and creates with truth and vitality
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Learn self-regulation tools, informed by the empathic mindfulness practices of DEI, the Alexander Technique, and yoga
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Rediscover a sense of self-trust and insight through your own intuitive process
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Build a deeper sense of connection to your own truth, intuition, and creativity
You don’t need to be an artist, or have any previous experience in creative work—just curiosity and an openness to the possibility that your emotions hold wisdom worth listening to. Each session is shaped by you. You might work through image, gesture, inner dialogue, movement, or writing. There is no right way—just your way. Together, we explore what helps you tune into your emotions, hear what they’re telling you, and gently integrate the parts of yourself that may feel out of place or silenced.
If you want, I can also give you a no-bullet-point flowing paragraph version so it feels softer and more narrative. Would you like me to do that?