The path to art therapy: A heuristic arts-based inquiry on my career choices, a decolonial feminist reflection

This arts-based heuristic inquiry (HABI) aims to bring to light the authors’ process of finding her career choice, to become an art therapist while living in a male-oriented society that constantly influences career decisions for women. Through this self-reflection, informed by decolonial feminist theories (Lugones, 2011; Segato, 2015), the author provides a space for herself and an invitation to the readers to cultivate compassionate cultural humility, explore the influences of socio-cultural values and pressures in career choices and reflect on the influences of privilege and oppression within this decision-making process. In the author’s case, she resisted the mandate for masculinity (Segato, 2016) by choosing the stronger side within her academic interests: psychology – neurocognition, drifting away from her true-self: art and being a helper. Through an intricate path she found art therapy. While conducting the literature review, the author kept a narrative and visual journal where she proposed five questions framed within Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model (1979/1992). The author answered the inquiries using the Five Whys technique (Pojasek, 2000). These answers were used as prompts to create a series of artwork responses. The researcher reflected on her personal experiences about her career path and the possible cultural patriarchal influences through this process. The author grew up in Mexico City and locates herself as a Latina, multi-ethnic, middle-class, cis-gender woman. Through this research, she found that the narrative of women's minoritization (Segato, 2010) enforces oppression to all minorities, and post-colonial practices of land exploitation detriment mental, spiritual, and community well-being. Keywords: cultural humility, career choices, art therapy, decolonial feminism, masculinity mandate, patriarchy, minoritization