Parenting as a Creative Collaboration: A Transpersonal Approach

Abstract

This article discusses the authors' dialogue and collaborative writing regarding their professional views on the subject of parenting. The use of metaphor and analogy for parenting as a collaborative, cocreative relationship is woven throughout with references to the authors' own collaboration, research, and clinical applications in the fields of interpersonal neurobiology, transpersonal psychology, and collaborative creativity. The authors, one with a background in neuroscience and the other with a background in art therapy, propose that the metaphorical meaning of parenting as a creative process of conception, gestation, birth, and nurturance can be extended beyond parent-child dynamics. This approach facilitates growth and healing for both parents and children through a collaborative relationship that emphasizes transpersonal values such as creativity and interconnectedness.

KEYWORDS:

• parenting
• collaboration
• creativity
• creative relationships
• transpersonal psychology
• art therapy
• interpersonal neurobiology