Beyond
Beyond the Box: Rewriting the Stories That Hold Us Back
Have you ever noticed how quickly we place ourselves in invisible boxes? How easily we define who we are and who we’re not, based on past experiences, old narratives, and inherited expectations? At START Creative Arts Therapy Services, we see this pattern all the time, not just in others, but in ourselves too.
nicokokartinspiration. Nico Kok (Dutch, b.1954). Artist/sculptor.
A recent reel we shared captures it simply but powerfully: we often think we’ve outgrown the boxes we were placed in, only to realize we’ve built new ones, sometimes tighter, sometimes harder to see. These boxes can look like outdated roles, limiting beliefs, or patterns we keep repeating. They can keep us from exploring parts of ourselves that are already there, waiting to be accessed, nurtured, and celebrated.
This reflection isn’t just about stepping outside the box. It’s about looking inside the box too, seeing what we’ve forgotten, what we’ve buried, and what deserves to be reclaimed. It’s about realizing the box itself is a narrative, and like any story, it can be rewritten.
What’s Inside the Box?
In our therapy rooms, we see countless examples of this every day. Someone who walks in saying they "aren’t creative" rediscovers their love of watercolor after years of neglecting it. A parent who describes themselves only through their caregiving roles uncovers a buried passion for movement that feels both freeing and nourishing. We’ve witnessed people return to the instruments they once loved, reintroduce themselves to writing, or reconnect with parts of themselves that had gone quiet for decades.
Inside the box is the complexity of who we are, the dreams we set aside, the skills we’ve forgotten, the emotions we haven’t allowed ourselves to fully feel. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and especially through the creative arts, we help people reconnect to what they’ve been holding inside all along.
Art therapy allows us to express emotions and memories that may have felt too big to unpack. Music therapy can help us tap into joy, grief, and resilience we didn’t realize was accessible. Movement and dance reconnect us to the body, breaking through somatic patterns of holding and restricting. Drama therapy and storytelling give us a chance to play with identity, to explore versions of ourselves we haven’t allowed to take up space.
Inside the box are parts of ourselves that, once recognized and honored, can become powerful allies in growth and healing.
Kahar Erbol
What’s Outside the Box?
We also see what can happen when people dare to stretch beyond their old stories. One person finds the courage to return to school after years of telling themselves it was "too late." Another dares to show their artwork publicly for the first time, finding community and connection they never thought possible. Some of our clients embrace travel, new relationships, career changes, or simply experience the quiet satisfaction of reclaiming their voice in everyday life. The box doesn't just keep us from new things—it prevents us from fully inhabiting our lives, goals, and aspirations.
Outside the box lives possibility, the relationships we want to nurture, the new opportunities we want to chase, the peace and balance we crave. But it can also feel intimidating. Many of us learned early on that going beyond certain boundaries wasn’t safe. Through Internal Family Systems (IFS), we acknowledge the protective parts of ourselves that built the box for a reason. These parts were trying to keep us safe, and they deserve compassion, not blame.
With EMDR therapy, we help process the past experiences that formed those edges. With creative expression, we widen the window of tolerance, allowing us to explore new possibilities without feeling overwhelmed. With narrative therapy, we learn to externalize the box, not as something that defines us, but as a construct we can reshape.
Dina Badamshina
Who Built the Box?
Sometimes the box was built by others: family dynamics, cultural messages, systemic barriers. Other times, we unknowingly reinforced it ourselves, repeating phrases like "I’m not creative," "I always fail at this," or "I’ll never change." Cognitive distortions, like black-and-white thinking and labeling, form the blueprint of these invisible walls.
At START, we guide people in identifying these internal narratives. Through mindfulness, creative expression, and relational therapy, we uncover whose voice is really dictating the story, and begin to shift it.
Fons Heijnsbroek
Rescripting the Narrative, Redrawing the Box, or Erasing It Entirely
Our work doesn’t just stop at noticing. Through the arts, therapy, and intentional reflection, we actively rewrite. We loosen the edges of rigid identities. We allow for fluidity, growth, and surprise. Sometimes we redraw the box with softer, more expansive lines. Sometimes we erase it completely.
In our office, A Place to Be Seen serves as a physical reminder of this process. This living art piece invites everyone to choose a mirror and place it on the wall, reflecting the parts of themselves they wish to reclaim or acknowledge. It’s not about being boxed in, it’s about showing up fully, in all your evolving, still-becoming self.
Music plays a similar role for many of us. It allows us to feel seen in the stories of others and invites us to voice parts of ourselves we’ve kept quiet. Art, in all its forms, becomes a tool for rewriting, for rediscovery, for reconnection.
Connecting to Goals
One of the most rewarding parts of this work is seeing how unboxing ourselves reconnects people to meaningful goals. Sometimes, people uncover goals they had given up on: the business idea they always wanted to pursue, the desire to write or perform, or the intention to cultivate more peace in their daily life. Other times, new goals emerge, shaped by healing, by greater self-understanding, by expanded possibilities. At START, we witness people shift from "I can’t" to "I’m learning to," and from "that’s not for me" to "why not me?"
Sigmund. Jonathan Richard. Unsplash
Your Invitation
We all live with boxes. Some are transparent, some are deeply buried. But none of them are permanent. You are allowed to question them. You are allowed to erase the lines. You are allowed to rewrite your story.
So we invite you to pause and ask:
What have I forgotten is inside my box?
What feels just outside it, waiting to be explored?
Whose voice built this box, and is it still serving me?
What would it feel like to soften the edges, or erase them entirely?
At START, we are honored to walk this path with people every day, helping them rediscover what’s inside, reach for what’s outside, and sometimes, joyfully throw the box away.
Wherever you are in your story, you belong here. You deserve to be seen, fully, completely, and without the edges that once held you back.
Explore more about our services:
Creative Arts Therapy — Expressive arts for healing & insight.
Music Therapy — Find your voice when words aren’t enough
EMDR & IFS — Transform trauma and integrate your parts
Community Reflections & Installations — Visit “A Place to Be Seen” to deepen the journey