Access Living’s Arts and Culture Project & Disability Culture Activism Lab Presents: Mental Health Support Group

February Topic: Coping with Depression

Admission: FREE

Mental Health Support Group is an opportunity for Disabled-identifying people and those exploring their relationship to disability identity to share and hold space for one another in an accessible and virtual setting. During the group, we will share our current concerns, our thoughts/emotions, and offer support to one another through validation, encouragement, and even practical ideas to cope. 

Access information and Schedule: 

1/31:

• Open Studio
• ASL + automatic captions

2/7:

• Peer Support Group with Discussion and Coping Skill Share
• ASL + automatic captions

2/14:

• Open Studio
• Automatic captions

2/21:

• Peer Support Group with Discussion Coping Skill Share 
• ASL + automatic captions

2/28:

• Open Studio 
• Automatic captions

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Please reach out to Bri Beck bbeck@accessliving.org with any questions, concerns, or access needs. 

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FAQ

What is an open studio?

Open Studio is a community space for people to spend their creative time doing what they enjoy, such as writing, artmaking, reading, cooking or resting. You are invited to enter the space and create your own projects alongside fellow participants. You can drop in and take off at any time. You can stay as long as you’d like!

What to bring: 

Any art/craft materials you may have (even just a pen and paper). For people who do not identify as artists, bring your curiosity. Come and check out what other people are making. Let’s explore and exchange new ideas together!

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Facilitators:

• Disabled and disability-affirming art therapist Bri Beck, LPC, ATR-P, the group will also feature opportunities for creative expression, mindfulness practices, and tips and tricks for coping with chronic health issues during the ongoing pandemic. 

• Based in the Chicago Northwest suburbs, Abby Mendoza is a second-generation Filipinx-American painter and art therapist-in-training.

• Michelle Alvarado is a second-generation, Honduran-American, graduate student and multimedia artist in the Master of Art in Art Therapy and Counseling program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with experience working with diverse populations in both Spanish and English. 

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Organizers: This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL). 

Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL) is housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. DCAL is a platform for creative advocacy projects and disability allyship training. In partnership with Access Living’s Arts and Culture Project, DCAL provides teaching and hands-on learning guided by disability justice–a framework that examines disability in connection to other forms of oppressions and identities. Using a peer support and collective care model, disability community members and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change. 

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.