Art Therapists Angelica Joy Miskanin and Kelly Moore have run community support groups (Art and Contemplation and Mindfulness and Meditation) over the course of the past year during the pandemic. The groups have had dozens of individuals join as they need. While the groups are literally open to anyone (worldwide) who may want to join, we have established a small core group with some of our participants that tend to join week after week.
Those who are curious about attending one of our groups can expect to be welcomed into the virtual space and given permission to share as much or as little about themselves as they choose. The groups are an hour long and no previous experience with mindfulness, meditation, or art making practices is necessary. Because the groups are trauma informed, a lot of flexibility is given to each participant to utilize the time and experience as they choose. Each group offers practices that can provide relaxation, grounding, insight-building, and opportunities for simply noticing. While we do leave time to process the experiences at the end of each group, the scope of that processing is limited. We consistently encourage those who need time for further processing to seek support from their individual therapists, but in the event that they do not have one, we are willing to help find resources in the community if we can.
Many of our participants have commented that they feel as though the groups provide them with a sense of community, which has been lacking over the past year for so many people, and many members report genuinely looking forward to attending each week. Due to the current success of these groups, we will plan to continue them for the foreseeable future as long as the need remains pertinent for our participants.
To join either of these amazing groups, click the link below and select a date you would like to join!