by Aaron Mason, LMFT
Windows Facilitator
Los Angeles, California
For queer people and particularly queer people of color, art has always been a space where we could connect with ourselves and community, share our truth, and transmute pain. Vogue and Ballroom, Drag Performance, Poetry, and High Fashion are all ways that our community has stood at the vanguard of making something beautiful out of struggle. This is hard work.
As a therapist, I know that for a community of people who have been hardened by the degree of marginalization they’ve faced in their lives, art can also be a vehicle for releasing judgement of themselves and returning to a place inside themselves where they can be softer.
I was acutely aware of this as I prepared to facilitate AWBW workshops that address vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue for my co-workers. I know first-hand the challenges we face, working with members of a community who reflect to us so many of the challenges we face in our own lives. Therapy can be like a mirror held up to these struggles, and it can be hard to look sometimes. In my work, I have sat across from innumerable queer families who have expressed the familiar pain of a lack of belonging. They have expressed the common pain I’ve also felt of showing up in spaces and feeling as though we must hide parts of ourselves away for fear of rejection. They have expressed the residual feelings of shame I too have experienced, related to a sense that our human design is somehow inherently flawed. This is why a sense of safety and belonging is centered in every session I facilitate.
When I prepare to facilitate, I also consider the quality of presence I’m bringing to the preparation, as I would imagine someone cooking Soul Food intuitively knows that the energy the food is made with will be consumed as an inseparable part of the meal. I took great care preparing the art supplies and curating a playlist of songs I hoped would promote a sense of relaxation, openness, and inspiration. When they walked into the room, I wanted people to feel that I cared enough to make a place for their presence, a safe container for their subconscious to speak. So that they could look inside and access the soft place in themselves that needed attending to.
After they had time to create, I opened space for people to share. As they began to share about their creation process and the significance of the words and images that came through them, I noticed that people were allowing themselves to drop their guards and the functional yet restraining professional personas we all employ. This vulnerability allowed them to connect on a deeper level. It was as if the art had created a portal for people who see each other routinely to connect with one another in a way that the daily grind of work often does not allow.
One individual shared that their art reminded them of their commitment to be an agent of love despite how others may perceive or mistreat them. This person shared that outside of the safe space of our agency, they can sense when people perceive the external markers of their skin and clothing as threatening. Another participant became tearful as they shared about how long it had been since they created the space for themself to simply pick up art supplies and create. Others shared how reflecting on their support system brought to mind people who were no longer physically present but offered a sense of spiritual support and guidance.
As people shared about the deeper, more sensitive layers of themselves, I really became aware of the power of facilitating a sense of safety and the positive implications of giving people time to connect on a deeper level. Walking out of the room, I left feeling inspired by the ways in which people had not only shown up for themselves but had so generously held each other.
I’m incredibly grateful to have shown my community care through these workshops and I look forward to creating more opportunities for us to be soft with one another. As we do the hard work every day of struggling against the marginalization and oppression we face in our own lives and witness in the lives of those we serve, we need spaces where we can be safe to be vulnerable. We need more spaces where we can show our soft white underbellies.
Upon experiencing these workshops with my community, I’m confident that this toolkit can serve as an avenue to process the energy we hold in our bodies that is often evoked by the work we do. Therefore, I invite you to explore how these art workshops can serve you and those you are in partnership with to sustain your efforts towards creating a world where we can all be a little more soft with one another.
by Aaron Mason, LMFT
Windows Facilitator
Los Angeles, California
Create your own Lineage of Love, an art workshop created by the blog author, Aaron Mason!
Want to bring healing art programming to your workplace or community?
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.