“Expressions of Comfort and Joy” will meet from 1 – 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, at The Timbers of Shorewood retirement community, 1100 N. River Rd., Shorewood.
Facilitating the group is Julie Blackburn from Joliet Area Community Hospice. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor and a registered art therapist.
The Comfort and Joy group was created to address the various losses that older adults experience and to build a community of support.
Residents may experience a number of changes that may also bring forward feelings of grief and loss. When someone moves, there may be a loss of the familiar home, friendship in the neighbors and connection to a community. New residents are adjusting to their new home and may feel a sense of isolation or loneliness as they acclimate to their new surroundings.
It’s not uncommon for someone who just changed homes, to revisit other past losses as emotions surface.
This group incorporates an expressive component to explore grief, loss and living. Expressive therapies can be very useful when one is experiencing change, and this group utilizes various forms of expressive arts to explore grief and loss. For example, the group invoked past memories utilizing the sense of smell, a person’s longest lasting memory.
The participants smelled various scents that were donated to Joliet Area Community Hospice from the product line Demeter. There are fragrances that smell like flowers, objects and places that are experienced everyday such as dirt, fireplace, crayons, flowers, ginger ale and suntan lotion.
Then, the group created drawings about those memories. Future groups will discover personal metaphors and create poetry, explore relaxation and rejuvenation through music, and develop awareness around changes and growth through watercolor painting.
The Comfort and Joy group meets from 1-2:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month.
The Timbers of Shorewood is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
The group is free and open to the public. For more information or to reserve a spot in the group, call 815-609-0669.
