The Peer 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.

Facilitated by disabled art therapist Bri Beck, LCPC, ATR, this group is meant to offer an opportunity for participants to share current concerns, thoughts/emotions, and offer support to others through validation, encouragement, and even practical ideas to cope. This group will also explore art as an emotional outlet.

This group is not considered, nor should it be a substitute for traditional group therapy though topics of mental health, emotional wellness, self-advocacy, and healthy relationships will be addressed in a structured and confidential space. Participants may attend as many group meetings as needed. Group norms will be reviewed every week.

Access Information:

Due to high demand for live captioning (CART) and ASL interpretation services during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking participants to submit access requests 2-3 weeks in advance. Please contact bbeck@accessliving.org with requests.

Join Virtually:

Meetings are held via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 817 0946 8819

Passcode: AL2023

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This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a platform for creative disability art and advocacy projects, DCAL uses a peer support and collective care model in which disability community members and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change. Bodies of Work is a part of the Department of Disability and Human Development within the College of Applied Health Sciences at University of Illinois-Chicago. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.