A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  This idea could not be truer for those taking part in the New Beginnings program. 

New Beginnings is designed to help those who are grieving the death of a loved one.  Occurring several times throughout the year, the program is designed to allow those grieving the death of a loved one to define a new life for themselves without their loved one present. 

For the art therapy aspect of the program, participants are asked to draw a picture that represents their feelings on the first evening.  On the last evening, participants are asked to draw a second picture representing their feelings at that point in time.

Over the course of the eight-week program, participants are presented with current theories in grief, and encouraged to discuss them and share their own beliefs if they wish.  Throughout the process, participants begin to heal from their losses and begin to see new possibilities for their lives.  

When Terri lost her younger brother, she and her husband decided to attend the New Beginnings program together.  In comparing the artistic efforts of the group early in the sessions with the last session, she said "it got a lot of things out of our heads.  Even my writing was completely opposite compared with the first time."

Terri says the key was that individuals in the group are supportive of one another.  "I connected with these people.  We understood how each other felt."  Group members learned from each other by sharing experiences and feelings and even examining each other's artwork.

Not everyone grieves at the same pace, so participants see they have progressed to a new leg of their grief journey.  Their lives are not all better again, but they at least have a better understanding of what is happening to them and they have gained some coping skills.  For most, the artwork displays glimmers of hope, new life plans, new attitudes and the acknowledgement that the journey through grief will continue but with renewed hope.

Terri was grateful for the program and appreciative of what it allowed her husband to take away.  "It was very good to have him there with me.  A lot of it helped him and it helped him understand how I felt."

"Originally I thought that nobody in the world could ever feel the way I feel."