The Healing Power of Dressing Up: How Halloween and Costume Therapy Help Us Reconnect with Ourselves

As Halloween approaches, the air fills with imagination. Behind every mask and costume lies something more profound than play—it’s a glimpse into who we are and who we might become. At Transcendent Self Therapy in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, we explore this connection through Costume Therapy, an experiential form of psychotherapy that uses creative embodiment as a path to self-understanding and healing.

Dressing up can unlock aspects of the psyche that are often hidden in daily life. When we put on a costume, we invite permission—to explore archetypes, emotions, and identities we may have disowned or suppressed. In therapy, this process can help people connect with “split-off” parts of the self: the confident one, the sensual one, the fierce protector, the child who still wants to play. Costume Therapy allows these parts to be safely expressed, witnessed, and integrated.

Much like psychedelic integration or somatic therapy, this approach honors the body and imagination as tools for transformation. Intention-setting and post-session reflection ground the experience, turning creative expression into meaningful insight. It’s not about performance—it’s about authenticity through experimentation.

At Transcendent Self Therapy, we believe creativity is central to healing. Whether through Costume Therapy, art therapy, or narrative psychotherapy, we provide a supportive space for clients to explore identity, self-expression, and emotional freedom.

This Halloween, consider what it means to step into another form—not to hide, but to reveal. Sometimes, the costume that feels most playful can also be the one that brings you closer to wholeness.