More News Stories

• The Art of Letting Go: Why Detaching from Outcomes Makes You a Better Trauma-Informed Facilitator

  by Christy Turek Rials Training & Outreach Director, A Window Between Worlds Los Angeles, California When AWBW’s founder was asked...[Read more]

• The Power of Art in Healing and Storytelling for Foster Youth, Funders and Beyond

  by Jessi Maurice Development Manager at AWBW Partner, A Greater Hope “A single piece of artwork, created by a client,...[Read more]

• Love, Grief, and the Loss of a Pet: Creating Space to Heal

  by Sherisa Dahlgren, LMFT Windows Program Consultant & Facilitator Diesel, my beloved pup, crossed over the rainbow bridge. Flirting with...[Read more]

• The Arc of Healing: How AWBW Supports Trauma Recovery Through Art

  by Sherisa Dahlgren, LMFT Windows Program Consultant & Facilitator I have known about AWBW for decades. For therapists in Los...[Read more]

• Reclaiming Voices: Healing Trauma Through Art and Connection

  by Aimee Stockenstroom, LCSW Windows Facilitator As a facilitator, expert witness in the courtroom, and someone who brings the science...[Read more]

• Create Circles of Care: How to Build a Support System

  by Fran Sutton-Williams Windows Facilitator I was born in 1950, a lonely, abused only child. In those days there were...[Read more]

• Using Photography to Overcome Compassion Fatigue & Burnout

  by Angela Barrios-Lucero, LMFT, ATR Windows Facilitator, Wellness in the Workplace Toolkit Author Upland, California During COVID, I started tapping...[Read more]

• Protecting Staff from Vicarious Trauma: Strategies for Building Organizational Resilience

  by Christine Manley Martinez Windows Facilitator, Wellness in the Workplace Toolkit Consultant Los Angeles, California When I got the job...[Read more]

• The Safety to Be Soft: Vulnerability, Healing, and Growth Through Art

  by Aaron Mason, LMFT Windows Facilitator Los Angeles, California For queer people and particularly queer people of color, art has...[Read more]

• Rooted in Purpose: Using Art to Stay Grounded in Your Core Values

  by Elizabeth Eastlund Windows Facilitator, Wellness in the Workplace Toolkit Author San Pedro, California I often turn to nature when...[Read more]

• When Caring Runs Out: Understanding & Addressing Compassion Fatigue

  by Sarah King Windows Facilitator Miramar, Florida On a Wednesday evening about ten years into my career in nonprofit, I...[Read more]

• Healing in Community: AWBW Art Facilitators Thriving Together

  by Kelli Prescott and Amy Torchia Windows Facilitators Vermont We have learned through our shared experience serving in the domestic...[Read more]

• The Art of Listening: Skills for Building Deeper Connections Through Presence

  by Kat Mardo AWBW Outreach Coordinator and Windows Facilitator Los Angeles, California Storytelling – the act of sharing a piece...[Read more]

• Storytelling with Story Trees: Building Resilience After Sexual Assault

  by Karen Gonzalez-Torres Windows Facilitator Los Angeles, California Storytelling has long been a powerful tool for expression and healing, allowing...[Read more]

• Fix Your Side of the Feather: Residential School Trauma and Art-Based Reconciliation

  by Nikki Crow Windows Facilitator Los Angeles, California Between 1869 and the 1960s, across the United States and Canada, indigenous...[Read more]

• Letting the Light In: Creative Shadow Work for Self-Acceptance

  by Sharon Brooke Uy, LMFT, ATR-BC Windows Facilitator & Workshop Author Los Angeles, California When I was younger, and forced...[Read more]

• Nurture Your Inner Child: Healing Childhood Trauma Through Art

  by Rose Curtis AWBW Facilitator Phoenix, AZ Through my inner child work I have learned that my inner child is...[Read more]

• Using Free Drawing in Counseling: Supporting LGBTQIA+ Identity Integration With Art

  by Kat Mendoza Recto, AMFT Windows Facilitator Long Beach, CA When it comes to supporting individuals in their healing journey,...[Read more]

• The Gift of Time: Bonding with My Newborn Through Paid Parental Leave

  by Rachel Price AWBW Staff Member and Facilitator Albuquerque, New Mexico When I found out in January of last year...[Read more]

• Waves of Self-Compassion: Creative Tools for Embracing Radical Acceptance

  by Sherisa Dahlgren, LMFT Windows Program Consultant & Facilitator Valencia, California Deep compassion for self comes in waves. I like...[Read more]

• Transforming Hate to Love: Supporting LGBTQ+ and API Communities Through Art and Allyship

  by Stacia Kato AWBW Board Member and Facilitator President of PFLAG San Gabriel Valley Asian Pacific Islander chapter Los Angeles,...[Read more]

• Innocent Invincibility: Tapping Into Childhood Strength to Overcome Fear and Grief

  by Tony Scruggs Empathy Coach (NVC) Windows Facilitator Los Angeles, California Are you able to remember a time when mortality...[Read more]

• Addressing Imposter Syndrome with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Creative Practices

  by Sharon Brooke Uy, LMFT, ATR Windows Facilitator & Workshop Author Los Angeles, California Imposter syndrome can feel like the...[Read more]

• Safety Through A Child’s Eyes: The Role of Art in Helping Process Trauma and Emotions

  by Jenny Barbosa Prevention Specialist WomenShelter of Long Beach (WSLB) Long Beach, California I was first introduced to AWBW many...[Read more]

• Music as a Safe Space: Processing Grief, Trauma, and Anxiety Through Sound

  by Sonara Carter-Barber, PhD Windows Facilitator & Consultant in Music as Medicine Monrovia, California For thousands of years, music has...[Read more]

• The Joy of Journaling: Simple Practices to Support Mental and Emotional Health

  by Sharon B. Uy, LMFT, ATR Windows Facilitator & Workshop Author Los Angeles, California Journaling has been a popular form...[Read more]

• Separation Anxiety and Grief: How Storytelling Helps Us Reconnect with Loved Ones

  Susan Schaefer Bernardo Author & Teacher Windows Facilitator Point Arena, California Hello from one half of the picture-book-creating team of...[Read more]

• Americans of African-Ancestry Month: My Blue, Green & Brown Heart Story

  by Tony Scruggs Empathy Coach (NVC) Windows Facilitator Los Angeles, California My Heart Story begins with the optimism of a...[Read more]

• Money Mindset Reset: Using a Values Inventory for Financial Wellness

  by Janet Hughes Finances Simple Founder Windows Facilitator Ontario, California Now that you’ve decided to turn over a new money...[Read more]

• Art in Education: Healing and Connection within the Los Angeles Unified School District

  by Amy Aguilar, ASW, PPSC Windows Facilitator & Psychiatric Social Worker Los Angeles Unified School District, School Mental Health Working...[Read more]

• Art for Grief During the Holidays: Remembering Those We’ve Lost

  As the holidays approached, I went up to the attic to find the precious boxes that held years of Christmas...[Read more]

• Honoring Grief and Loss With Art on World AIDS Day

  One way to address the trauma of loss and grief is through art. Losing someone to AIDS is often a...[Read more]

• Money Trauma and Creative Healing: Using Art to Shift Your Financial Beliefs

  Do you really have to wait until January 1st to make a change in how you relate to money? Let’s...[Read more]

• Gratitude Is Soul Work (& Art Work)

  Have you ever heard the phrase, “love is oxygen for the soul”? Did you know that psychology is considered the...[Read more]

• Art as Advocacy: Engaging Survivors, Advocates, and Communities Through Art

  Working in the field of human services for over 24 years I learned early on the value of bringing people...[Read more]

• Coping with Race-Based Trauma: Art for Resistance and Renewal

  May 25, 2020, would forever be the day that sparked radical personal growth within me. This was the day that...[Read more]

• Campus-Wide Impact: The Role of Art in Strengthening Student Mental Health

  The Women’s Center at the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC) has had the honor of hosting A Window Between...[Read more]

• Take a Break to Self-Regulate: Creative Ways To Reset Your Nervous System

  Do you need a break from team-humanity heartache? Let’s self-regulate. With all the pain and heaviness in the world right...[Read more]

• 2021 Fellows

• Art That Connects: Building Community Mental Health Through Mosaics

  I am a journalist. It’s a professional identity I’ve struggled with for years because it never seemed to fit. It’s...[Read more]

• Reclaiming Self-Care Through Creativity

  When Covid began, my priorities instantly shifted and I heavily focused on my clinical roles. I joined the rest of...[Read more]

• Inclusive Trauma Recovery: Art as a Healing Tool for LGBTQ+ Survivors of Domestic Violence

  During my twenty years of service in the field of domestic violence, every ounce of my work has given me...[Read more]

• Supporting Student Mental Health: Art + Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in Action

  by Carlos Mares, M.A. PPS/APCC Windows Facilitator & Social Justice Fellow Rialto Unified School District Rialto, CA At Rialto Unified...[Read more]

• Cultural Imposter Syndrome: Embracing Identity When You Feel You’re Not Enough

  I have always self-identified as Filipino. But I’ve only recently recognized that for half my life, I was worried people...[Read more]

• Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A Creative Approach to Build Self-Worth

  Have you ever watched To Catch a Thief? John “The Cat” Robie, a retired jewel thief played by a suave...[Read more]

• Enhancing Trauma-Informed Care Through Creative Expression

  Since the organization’s inception in 1977, Citizens Against Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Abuse (CAPSEA) Inc.’s commitment to providing accessible, confidential...[Read more]

• Handcuffed To Infinity: Exploring Intergenerational Trauma Through Expressive Arts

  A Window Between Worlds trauma-informed art workshop is just that (a workshop that uses art to address trauma, and empathically...[Read more]

• Bilateral Stimulation, Art & Healing: Resource Tapping for Trauma Recovery

  The expressive arts (i.e. visual art, music, and movement) is the language of the mid-brain where our emotions and memories...[Read more]

• Bridging the Divide: Exploring Cultural Identity Through Art and Reflection

  On a fairly regular occasion, I drive by the school I attended when I was in kindergarten. It was the...[Read more]

• The Cycle of Gratitude: Artful Ways to Boost Mood and Mental Health

  While some cycles, like the cycle of violence need to be broken, gratitude is a cycle that when supported, has...[Read more]

• Art Bringing the Brain Online

  The majority of survivors of complex trauma (experiencing more than one event) are not able to verbally express what happened...[Read more]

• The Roots and Symptoms of Racism

  In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report about an unusual outbreak of an illness...[Read more]

• We Stand Up for Justice

  There are many ways we can individually and collectively stand up for justice, equity, and freedom for all. We offer...[Read more]

• How AWBW is Adapting to COVID-19

  In response to the widespread emotional needs arising from the threat of COVID-19, we have adjusted our regular programming to...[Read more]

• 20th annual Art in the Afternoon

  New and longtime supporters of AWBW’s mission gathered to celebrate our 20th annual arts festival, Art in the Afternoon, on...[Read more]

• Art in the Afternoon 2018

  On Saturday, May 12th, A Window Between Worlds’ 19th annual art festival, Art in the Afternoon, took over the Venice Skills...[Read more]

• At the Core Opening Reception

  AWBW program participants, Facilitators, and supporters from across Southern California gathered together on Sunday June 11 to celebrate community and...[Read more]

• ArtWorks for Healing Brings Artists and Community Members Together

  On Thursday, March 2,  2017, AWBW hosted the return of  ArtWorks for Healing, a unique exhibition and art auction. Arena...[Read more]

• Cathy Salser Honored at 25th Anniversary Brunch

  UPDATE: Watch Cathy’s acceptance speech with introduction by her mother, Susan Salser on our YouTube Channel. In the summer of...[Read more]

• Art Transforming Trauma Conference 2016

  A Window Between Worlds held its first ever Art Transforming Trauma Conference on Thursday June 30th at The California Endowment in downtown...[Read more]

• AWBW Receives the Dr. Marjorie Braude Award

  At the Day of Action on October 10, A Window Between Worlds, community members, L.A.P.D. officers and Los Angeles city...[Read more]

• Founder Cathy Salser Receives Karen Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award

  Founder and Executive Director of AWBW, Cathy Salser, was chosen by the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (The Partnership)...[Read more]