We had another great week here at Common Art and Boston Warm! Last Wednesday, we had our first session of the 8-week caretaker group, which I am leading. For anyone who might have missed the musings in which I explained the caretaker group, here’s a recap:  This group is for members who often put aside their own needs to help a family member, a friend, or a partner to an extent that may be harmful to themselves. Over the course of 8 weeks, we will do art activities that promote identity exploration, model self-care techniques, explore and define healthy boundaries, and develop self-regulatory tools. Above all, it’s a time for members to learn about their needs and explore more about who they are as an individual. By learning that prioritizing their own needs is not wrong, they may help them care for others in a more sustainable way.

We had our introductory session last week, which went really well! The focus of this session was to introduce the flow and purpose of the group and to establish “group norms” moving forward. Group norms are essentially agreements about how we would like to be with one another in order to create a safe space for sharing and vulnerability. Together, we came up with 8 norms: mutual respect, speaking kindly, being on time, confidentiality, helping each other out, consistency in words and actions, integrity, and active listening.