Registration open for Winter/Spring session: February – May 2027
Is there a Mythical or storybook character whose story intrigues you?
The Story Within is a group therapy series combining dramatic and other arts based expression with Narrative Psychotherapy. This group therapy series is a multi-part therapeutic process using creative exploration revolving around the story of a mythical or fictional character. Accompany a chosen character on a guided ‘Hero’s Journey’ as a gentle therapeutic method towards discovering your own growth edge and path forward.
A ten session limited session series.
No creative experience needed.
Sessions will be guided experiences.
Participants are prompted in a group therapy session to engage in their own creative process alongside others, are witnessed in brief creative expressions (art/ movement/ sound creation) by others in the group, and take part in reflective exercises which engage them on their own individual journey of personal growth.
How do I know if this group therapy session series is for me?
If it sounds interesting to you and you feel that you might like to get into your creativity, this workshop is for you. In this workshop you will make a mask, costume, music, and engage in short dramatic moments in addition to regular warm-ups, cool-downs and group discussions, and sharing.
If you are interested in this group therapy session series, it is probably for you. If you would like to ask the facilitator any questions or register for the group please contact Venus at thinkjoydramatherapy@gmail.com.
What is the fee for this session series?
ONLINE sessions are $80 per session.
The workshop will be 10 sessions in total so the total cost will be $800. The total cost is payable in advance unless otherwise discussed with the facilitator ahead of the sessions start date. Limited sliding scale available.
Will my insurance cover this?
Check with your extended health provider in order to determine if group psychotherapy is covered by your provider or not. You may need to speak to a provider representative directly to determine that. You will be provided a receipt after payment is completed which you can submit to your provider, we do not direct bill.
How many participants will there be in the group?
Participation will be limited to six individuals so the group session series will generally have 3-6 participants.
Do I need to attend all ten sessions?
It would be best for all participants in the group if you were able to commit to all ten sessions. This helps to demonstrate your commitment to the other group members and ensures that you won’t miss a crucial step in the process. Session payments are taken in advance. No refunds will be given for missed sessions. Emergencies happen, and if you miss 1-2 sessions you would still get a lot out the group experience. Please discuss with the facilitator if you expect to miss 1-2 sessions due to pre-scheduled life events during the session schedule and when possible the session dates may be adjusted or it may be suggested to join a future group series.
The Story Within Process
When we read a story, we may find ourselves drawn to a specific moment a character goes through. We may not have time to know what drew us to that moment.
We may not know the particular set of circumstances of that moment that led us to that glimpse of self-understanding and compassion hidden in a myth.
Was it a line of text, a movement, a sound, the environment or the characters action that resonated with us? Through exploration of the moment over time we begin to understand something about the choice facing the character and how it relates to our own struggle.
By journeying alongside the character in their struggle we begin to heal our own inner wounds.
The Creative Arts Process in a Narrative Psychotherapy Group
“The Story Within” is a Creative Arts Process which will be run as a Psychotherapy Group experience. In this group therapy series, participants will be guided through an uncovering of a moment in a story and a character’s journey which leads them to locate and gently engage with a key moment in their own story.
Alongside others, participants will be able to get curious and find the truth of themselves in a gentle way, supported by others on the same journey of self-discovery and mental wellness.
In this group therapy series, participants will have the chance to choose a story or myth that speaks to them, explore aspects of the story, character and moment, and use this exploration as a parallel to their own life experiences.
In sessions participants will engage with art, dramatic movement and action, sound, literature, journal prompts and group discussions to work through personal issues without pressure to speak directly on the things that gnaw at them. The story details providing some creative distance from the therapeutic material. The reality is, in the healing process, we may not quite know what the ‘issue’ at hand is which may cause us to ‘self-sabotage’ or continue making the same choices which lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, or sadness, and quite often we can find access to unsaid or preverbal things through the creative process.
Individuals who are struggling with addiction, complex PTSD and other trauma based issues, ADHD, Autism (1), borderline personality or other personality disorders, identity, disordered eating, self-worth and more can find that this individualized process held in a group format helps them to gain insight and action towards self-compassion and emotional blocks.
How the Creative Arts Therapies promote healing in group therapy
The Creative Arts Therapies (including Drama Therapy, Poetry Therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Play based therapy and the Expressive Arts Therapies) are a unique mental health discipline which can be viewed through the positionality of Experiential Psychotherapy when facilitated by a trained professional. That means, a Creative Arts Therapist may choose to filter the work through a psychotherapeutic lens.
The Creative Arts Therapies offer individuals an evidence based platform for which to encounter and contemplate new perspectives to their own life experiences in order to build self-compassion for the self and increase empathy for others.
The Creative Arts therapies use the juxtaposition of the arts to the individual and the therapeutic relationship creating a third space, where the exploration of personal challenges can be held at a distance from the inner world of the participant before the knowledge can be reintegrated in a way that is more aligned with the individual. This distancing also provides containment for the client to explore material such as trauma narratives which may be difficult to access safely in other more direct ways.
You do not need to have a background in the arts or be a creative type of person to benefit from the Creative Arts Therapies.
Since the aim of creative engagement is to engage with play or improvisational processes, thereby engaging participants in the activity of flexibility, the focus is not on craft, but on therapeutic goals of emotional expression and potential catharsis.
Creative expression in a group format provides an additional layer of witnessing which supports and validates the struggle that an individual wishes to process in session without the need to name it outright.
