Balancing Acts: Walking the Tightrope of Public Identity
Case Metadata
- Case ID：CS-2025-09-001-BA
- Case Title：Balancing Acts: Walking the Tightrope of Public Identity
- Client Type：Public Figure・Performer・Content Creator
- Session Format：Sensory Ritual + Therapeutic Dialogue (120 mins)
- Primary Themes：Performance Fatigue・Public vs. Private Identity・Emotional Duality・Permission to Receive Support
Client Context
A public figure in the global sports scene, with over 500K YouTube subscribers, 150K TikTok followers, and 160K fans on Xiaohongshu (RED).
He is widely loved for his bold humour and sincere expression, bringing vibrant joy to audiences worldwide. His career is built on high-energy performance and continuous public exposure.
This was his first encounter with non-verbal art therapy — a moment without roles, without the need to perform.
Session Intention
- To create a safe space where expressive identity and inner truth could coexist.
- To invite the unconscious to surface — without analysis, explanation, or needing to please.
- To let emotional energy flow and integrate through visual creation.
Materials & Process
Materials: Black drawing paper and oil pastels
Process:
• Pre-session sensory ritual: riverside water show, night scenery, and tasting natural apple vinegar
• 120 minutes of conversation and guided visual expression
Artwork Description
The final artwork revealed a striking internal duality:
Left Side
• A tightrope walker (a safety net was added later upon the facilitator’s suggestion)
• Scales of justice
• Brain and cerebral motifs
Right Side
• A knife with dripping blood
• A dollar sign
• An aged face
• A clock (symbolising time pressure)
• A green empty square (linked to perfectionism)
Centre
• A brain dividing the two hemispheres — representing internal cognitive tension
Therapeutic Insights
The image carried a profound paradox:
“Bringing joy to the world while walking a solitary tightrope of the self.”
Symbols of danger, money, and the smiling mask hinted at exhaustion behind performance.
The safety net — not part of the initial drawing — emerged only after invitation, marking a key moment: a quiet permission to be supported.
This was not said aloud — it was revealed through the image itself.
Integration & Continuation
We ended with a simple grounding gesture sequence. No interpretation was imposed. The artwork remained open — a mirror, not a map.
The client was invited to continue working with the piece:
“Whenever you think of something — a person, a place, an idea — that helps you breathe more easily, draw it next to the part that feels heavy.”
The image becomes a living emotional map, open to future reflection and transformation.
Therapist Reflections
Although the client is deeply accustomed to performance and visibility, during the two-hour session of dialogue and drawing, he showed a remarkable level of emotional awareness and inner openness.
Client Reflections
“Thanks, Pei. You too. Thanks for coming over. I know it was a lot of listening to me sharing, but I guess if you wanted to speak more or share your thoughts, you would have.
So hopefully, yeah, I’m happy to hear you liked it and maybe it was a good balance for you. Thank you for the art therapy.It was very interesting. You ran it very well. I enjoyed talking about it and hearing your thoughts.
So it was therapeutic and I wanted you to know my positive feedback. All right. Keep in touch. Have a good night. Talk to you soon.”
