Our Groups.
Art therapy benefits people of all ages and life challenges. Facilitated by a licensed art therapist, Art therapy uses various art mediums to inspire imagination, expression and creativity. The process brings to life images of hope, resilience and possibilities that give fresh perspectives to the most difficult situations. Participants explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, and reduce anxiety. Currently, The Art Experience offers art therapy services through the groups listed below. These groups are offered at no cost to the participant. Each group lasts about 6-12 weeks and repeats throughout the year. Days and times vary.
To enroll in these groups please go to the enroll tab.
Pathfinders
Art Therapy group for girls ages thirteen to sixteen. The group provides a safe, nonjudgmental space to share their stresses, concerns, and successes through talking, journaling and creating meaningful art pieces. The emphasis is on the process of art making and allows girls a non-verbal pathway to express themselves, as they chose. Girls report having increased confidence, self-esteem, and it empowers them to make positive choices, while making new friends. It is a great creative way to end the week. No experience is necessary. Any teenage girl interested in joining must sign up through our enroll page.
8 weeks, Beginning Tuesday, January 23, 2024, from 5:30 to 7pm,
Completed
Circles of Healing-Finding Clarity through Creativity
Using the Circle as a beginning metaphor you will be led in a creative process designed to promote stress relief, emotional healing, and a deeper understanding of personal resilience. Participants will have opportunity to share in a small, safe environment. The creative experience offers healing-- especially when words fail to communicate pain, desperation, grief and the internal confusion created by caring for patients in a pandemic. Led by: Jo Ann Kaminsky, MEd, LPC, ATR-BC, RPT-S, Dreama Phoenix MA, ATR-BC and Lauren Levine MA, EXAT, LPC. Interested nurses can sign up on using the ‘Enroll’ tab.
For more info click here.
Beginning April 2021
Memory Keepers & Makers
This is a closed, 8 session Elders Art Therapy group led by Katheryne Riffle, LAC. The group will consist of elders and their adult children, which include 4 separate sessions for caregivers. The first goal of this art therapy group is to help elders and their adult children acknowledge each other’s perspectives. Elder Parent perspective: trying to maintain a sense of self direction and control. Adult Child’s perspective: threat to parent’s safety. The second goal is to aid in the forming of a support network for adult children caregivers. Art therapy is effective because working in an art therapy group can offer a sense of companionship, friendship, and support it can fulfill a need for a meaningful activity to create a sense of purpose, sense of empowerment to share stories. Any elder interested in joining must sign up through our enroll page.
Dates TBA
Masks for Change
In this multisensory personal growth group, adult participants will use clay, paper mache and mixed media to create a face to represent the changes they want in their lives. Through this process of exploration and expressing in the safety of a supportive group it is possible to discover a path for change. This group offers insight to change through art, sound, movement, and journaling.
10:00am-12:00pm Saturday mornings beginning January 13, 2022. This 6 week course has a fee of $250.
Fireflies
Art Therapy group for girls who have experienced sexual abuse ages 13-15
This group will provide safety to explore your feelings and find strengths through art making in a group setting. Although you are only asked to share what you feel comfortable sharing, you will learn to take charge of your story and find ways to put it together for yourself and tell others if you want. We will work with many media to find ways to share your experiences and insights while diving into your own creativity. It’s good to know you are not alone. Any teenage girl interested in joining must sign up through our enroll page.
6 weeks TBA
Pages of Honor
This 10 session Veterans Art Therapy online course will use drawing, painting, collage, mask-making, creative writing, and mixed media to explore and express feelings, find support and share. The group will be led by Art Therapist and counselor, Jo Ann Kaminsky, MED, LPC, ATR-BC, RPT-S. Jo Ann is a practicing artists who enjoys their own work and sharing that enthusiasm with others. Any veteran interested in joining must sign up through our enroll page.
Beginning Thursdays at 1:00pm, January 2021