by Christy Turek Rials
Training & Outreach Director, A Window Between Worlds
Los Angeles, California
When AWBW’s founder was asked by a friend, “What’s your greatest wish for what you’d like to do with art?” she answered simply, “I want to share art in a way that might make a difference.” I love that she said might. Not, “I want to share art in a way that will make a difference.” Not even, “I want to make a difference with art.” Might.
As service providers, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to help people move toward healing. We come in with expectations, of participation, of progress, of transformation. We want the people we serve to engage in a certain way. And when that does not happen, it can feel discouraging. Like we’re not making a difference.
But what I’ve learned is that when folks do not participate the way we envisioned, it can actually be a good thing. Because it means we created enough safety for them to do what they need, not what we think they need.
When I facilitate, I try to stay grounded in my intention: to offer a space where people can be present, feel into their body, reconnect with themselves, and access their inner wisdom. And at the same time, no matter how hard it can be, I try to detach from the outcome. To let go of any assumptions I may have around what a “successful” workshop looks like, or what I think people should get out of it.
We live in a world focused on outcomes. But as Father Greg Boyle says so brilliantly, “There’s a difference between what works and what helps.” Sure, mandating participation may “work” to fill a room. But does it help?
I say that as someone who was once labeled a “problem teen,” forced into countless therapeutic programs. I got good at pretending they were working, just to get through them. Providers got their checkmarks. But it did not support my healing.
Over the years, I’ve seen again and again: the more I empower people to do what best serves them, the more powerful the experience becomes. Some of the most resistant participants ended up gaining the most. Simply being told, “You can use this time however you’d like, as long as it doesn’t harm you or anyone else,” offers something many people, especially young ones, rarely receive, agency.
And so often, that simple permission opens the door. They may start slow. Pick up a marker. Doodle. Explore. Before you know it, they’re immersed.
We make a lot of assumptions, about impact, about connection, about how “well” something went. But the truth is: we never really know.
One time, I was facilitating a session with a group who’d already been meeting for a while. I came in to facilitate one art workshop. There was a teenage participant who did not create anything. I made up this whole story in my head that what I was doing was not helpful.
Then, during the debrief, her regular facilitator lit up and said, “Did you see? She colored a name tag! She’s never done that before, and she’s been here for weeks!” I went from feeling completely deflated to gleefully proclaiming, “She made a name tag!”
I invite you to hold this truth in your heart: you are making an impact. The ripple effects of what you do go on and on. Trauma informed art workshops are powerful. They help people connect, to themselves, to others, and to their truth. They leave behind tangible reminders of that connection.
Your facilitation is powerful. You help people create their path forward, a path of their choosing, filled with love for self and love for others. We give it and they receive it so that they can then give it to themselves and others. It has an impact so significant it stretches far beyond what we can see.
As someone who had to fake being positively impacted by so many “healing” experiences, I now remind myself: refusing to participate is a form of participation. They’re still in the space, being an O.W. L. They’re Observing. Witnessing. Listening. Those experiences matter.
And the agency we give people to choose what they do with their time, that matters. Practicing radical self-agency in a world that so rarely allows it? That’s liberation. It allows us to reconnect with our inner voice, so it gets louder and louder. So we can hear it and recognize that it is wise and can lead us where we want to go. Leading us in letting go of the past, of what no longer serves us, and claiming our place in the present as creative, powerful beings, with endless possibility.
by Christy Turek Rials
Training & Outreach Director, A Window Between Worlds
Los Angeles, California
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A Window Between Worlds (AWBW) supports hundreds of direct service organizations across the country to incorporate creative expression into their work with trauma survivors. With this blog we uplift the voices of our art workshop facilitators and participants. We invite you to take in this perspective, notice what resonates and explore how it may fit into your life.