Group Art Therapy Program
FALL 2024
Many Moons provides an 8-week Group Art Therapy Program twice a year. Every 8-week group cycle is inspired by a new creative theme that is woven into each of the 8 group gatherings. This model introduces the use of metaphor & symbolism into the therapeutic process. Each new theme guides our personal projects and offers a fresh, creative opportunity to returning group members.
During each group gathering, we will introduce a creative exercise with intentionally selected art materials and directive. Members are invited to consider metaphorical connections and share personal expressions and insights with peers.
Our upcoming FALL 2024 cycle will be inspired by theme of 🐛TRANSFORMATION🦋. We will explore how our development, our experiences and our self-awareness play interconnected roles in the forming & transforming of our evolving identities.
We will look to nature for examples of changing lifeforms. Like the chrysalis/cocoon phase of a butterfly, transformation can be dark, self-protective and solitary. It can seem like the caterpillar is falling apart! What emerges is an amazement that possesses new found abilities (flight!) and unique beauty.
For our creative inspiration, we turn to Kintsugi- an ancient Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with gold. This art form highlights the cracks in order to honor what had once been broken. This is an accessible metaphor for even our youngest clients, who understand that a physical scar is a visual reminder of a healed injury.
We are offering 8 different groups and each group has 8 spots available. Ages, grades, and genders for each group are subject to change as registrations are received. Our ultimate goal is to create positive, cohesive peer groups and therefore, groups may not align with traditional age/grade/gender categories.
Fall 2024 Dates:
Sunday, October 20th- Sunday, December 15th, 2024 (8 consecutive Sundays, except 12/1/24 following Thanksgiving)
Group cohorts updated: 10/16/24
Program Details:
Facilitated By:
Stephanie Cimmet, LCPC, ATR-BC & rotation of Many Moons clinicians
Location:
4 Cottage Street
Freeport, ME 04032
Cost:
$90.00/ per session, totaling $720.00 total for the 8-week series.
Deposit:
$270.00 due upon registration,
applied to the final 3 groups (11/24, 12/08 & 12/15/24)
For more information or to register for the program, contact Stephanie at (207) 504-2664, scimmet@manymoonstherapy.org
At this time, we do not have an online registration option or online payment option. Contacting our office via email, phone or text is the best way to connect with our services.
WINGED WONDER: Building self-understanding and self-regulation through creative art-making and sensory-based collaboration.
Grades K & 1st, 10:00am- 10:45am
Grades 2nd & 3rd, 11:00am- 11:45am
Young children are learning to navigate and adjust to the ever-widening world around them; physically, emotionally and socially. They are developing internal capacities, while seeking and assessing their external resources. This group will conceptualize our ever-changing selves through the metaphor of metamorphosis. We will explore when and how our feelings, ideas and memories impact the formation of our identities.
Group goals include building self-awareness, celebrating positive social behavior, providing a sense of belonging, and inviting safe opportunities to share struggles and challenges.
CREATIVE COCOON: Enhancing awareness about how we soothe, protect and strengthen ourselves while navigating complex decision making, social boundaries and deep emotional states.
Grades 3rd & 4th, 12:00pm- 12:45pm
Grades 4th- 6th, 1:30pm- 2:15pm
Grades 6th- 8th, 2:30pm- 3:15pm
Early adolescence is a time of profound transformation. As young people develop their sense of identity and more sophisticated perspective-taking skills, they must also navigate an increasingly complex social world. This developmental stage can provoke feelings of isolation while living in an evolving physical body. Through various symbolic art processes, we will consider the cocoon phase of metamorphosis as a metaphor of adolescence.
This group endeavors to uplift and empower one another while coping with this developmental transition. Peer group art-making offers an opportunity to learn and benefit from both observing someone expressing themselves, and receiving acceptance and reassurance when sharing one’s own story.
GOLDEN REPAIR: Examining our multidimensional identities and the elements that influence how we recognize and represent ourselves, using symbolic imagery and poetry.
Early Adulthood (17+), 3:30pm- 4:15pm
Grades 8th-10th, 4:30pm- 5:15pm
Leaning into the metaphor of KINTSUGI, group members will be invited to examine themselves through creating and honoring the emotional and physical reminders of growing experiences. Using mixed media and ceramics as the creative foundation, group members will creatively visualize the experiences that provoked and shaped their identity development.
This group will provide a safe, non-judgmental space for teens to practice authentic self-expression through personal and collective art-making. The intention of this group is to celebrate the transformative nature of "witnessing"—both observing peers expressing themselves through art and being witnessed while sharing one’s own story.
Deposit Policy & Payment Schedule
The cost of the group is $90 per session, totaling $720.00 for the 8-week program (unless otherwise pre-arranged). The group cost is a "bundle-fee", which means families commit to pay for all 8 weeks, even if their child misses a session. A non-refundable deposit of $270.00 is required upon registration to reserve a spot. Once group programming begins, the deposit is applied to the final three groups (11/24, 12/08 & 12/15).
$90.00 will be charged to your card-on-file each Wednesday following the first 5 group sessions. Claims for group sessions will be submitted to your insurance plan as arranged.
We understand that covid is still a significant concern and highly contagious. After offering various accommodations for the last 4 years, we are not longer able to waive/refund due to missing group due to covid-specific illness. We trust that parents/caregivers will keep their child home when sick.