“Maisel intimately understands the anxieties of the creative process and the psychological landscape that artists inhabit. Strong on the psychology, he is equally strong on practicalities.” — The Writer Magazine

Are you a painter, writer, actor, dancer, musician, or would-be creative? Are you stuck in the process of creating and sharing your art?
In Unleashing the Artist Within, Eric Maisel, PhD offers lessons, anecdotes, and real-life case studies that will help you unlock your creative powers. Dr. Maisel focuses on the reality of artistic development, explaining that unfinished and disappointing works are not a matter of personal weakness or unfortunate circumstances; they are simply daily occurrences in the lives of imaginative people. His twelve lessons demonstrate how to recover from dashed hopes and restore lost meaning. Helpful exercises show how to work through the process, managing the daily grind and pushing past everyday resistance.

Dr. Eric Maisel is a California-licensed family therapist who works exclusively with creative and performing artists and is considered the founder of the profession of creativity coaching. The author of 50 books, he has provided hundreds of radio, television, and print interviews and regularly presents workshops at the Omega Institute, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the Esalen Institute, and other locations around the world.

Contents
 
Preface
1. Embracing the Realities of Process
2. Cracking through Everyday Resistance
3. Getting Hungry
4. Restoring Lost Meaning
5. Recovering from Dashed Hopes
6. Supporting Right Feeling via Right Thinking
7. Creating and Relating
8. Managing the Daily Grind
9. Reducing Internal Dramas
10. Meeting the Marketplace
11. Picking, Protecting, and Honoring Your Creative Space
12. Speaking Up and Asking for What You Need
Conclusion