creativity + me/cfs

hello again everyone, i feel like i talk to you guys more than my own family haha. this post is on a more positive note. another users post and my reply to them has sparked some ideas for me, and i wanted to share them, and see if anyone has any opinions/feedback.

little bit of backstory, i am a 19 year old university student, going into my 2nd year of my undergrad, in a bachelors of creative arts health and wellness. i’m majoring in studio art, minoring in psychology, and my program/core classes are a lovely blend of the 2. the end goal is to complete my undergrad, grad, and become a visual art therapist. art therapy is something i am quite passionate about. i think it’s a beautiful way to express things and heal. i started this journey before my diagnosis of me/cfs, but now that i know what’s going on, i’m considering how i can implement that into my life/career.

i am nowhere near finishing my education and being certified (4-6 years, possibly more depending on my health), but i think there is still opportunity in the meantime. obviously, i cant, and wouldnt offer art therapy as a service until i am certified, but there is still non-clinical benefits/options. i’m thinking in terms of like helping people with me/cfs, or other chronic illnesses/disabilities, connect with their creativity, in a non clinical way. such as creative coaching (helping people adapt art to their energy levels, brainstorm accessible projects, organize supplies, and develop sustainable creative routines), facilitated art groups/accessible art workshops, one on one creative mentoring (focused on artistic goals, motivation, accessibility, and adapting techniques), making worksheets/activity guides. all of which would be online, likely through a website/zoom calls.

it would be nice to be able to do this to help the community, and also as a source of income for myself. i think a potential balance of this could be having less regular (say monthly, for example) free creative workshops, open to anyone who wants to join, and having some free worksheets/activity guides available. alongside offering more personalized/in-depth sessions/guides for a fee. i would like to keep this fee relatively low, as i know a lot of people in this community aren’t the most well off financially, and i don’t want to feel like i am trying to profit off of the ill. i truly do just feel a connection to this work, and would love to be able to do this, but have to consider my own time and value as well. additionally, since i am just a young adult, learning in the field.

i can see this being quite beneficial for people, both those who used to create more, and those who didn’t. i know it can be very challenging and sometimes impossible to stay connected to that creative side while living with this illness. but the act of creating can be such a good outlet for coping, for those who are able. i know that this wouldn’t be realistic for everyone to be able to partake in, but i would consider accessibility to the best of my ability, and likely reach out to you guys again for more specific ideas on how to accommodate more severe folks. as i am aware of my privilege of being mild, and i would like to take the time to learn from others who are moderate-severe and use that information in making these sessions as suitable as possible for as many people as possible.

this is all just a sporadic idea, and it would certainly take some time to develop if i go through with it, and i would have to look further into the legality of it all. but, does this sound like something of interest? do you have any feedback on my ideas?