Creative Approach to Trauma Workshop

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    Creative Approach to Trauma Workshop

    GSBTB has initiated a series of workshops aiming towards self-growth, self-care and hands-on knowledge useful in everyday life, work and during one’s volunteer experiences. This involves holding monthly workshops designed to creatively deal with the trauma often associated with volunteer work and contact with vulnerable, marginalized groups.  Trained psychologist, psychotherapist and  Open Art Shelter Manager Hania Hakiel provides a brief write-up of the last Creative Trauma workshop, detailing their activities and the artistic approaches they undertook. This work is supported by Lotto Stiftung.

    At our Creative Approach to Trauma Workshop yesterday, we sat on the rooftop pavilion during sunset, snacking on tea and cookies, and we discussed the ways in which creative works such as poems, songs, films, and especially stories are used by people around the world as tools to cope with and heal from trauma. We told stories we had heard, read, or created ourselves that we felt could be used in such a way, and generated a list of other works we have turned to ourselves or think others could turn to during troubled times. This list included:

    – poet Nayyirah Waheed
    – Le Petit Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
    – Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak
    – Camus’ Essay on the Myth of Sisyphus
    – the song “How Could Anyone” – Shaina Noll, Songs for the Inner Child
    – a Shakespeare poem

    The participant who contributed the Shakespeare poem could not remember the title, but she recited it for us by heart in French, her mother tongue. This directed our discussion toward the unique soothing power of our first languages, reminding us to stay connected to where we come from. Connection to our places of origin is so important for all of us — migrants, travelers, refugees, and new locals.

    Warm thank you to all of the lovely people who came to our workshop and shared pieces of themselves – we had a great evening with each other!

    This event is supported by: