Seeds of Healing

Mourning the birth you hoped and planned for, and being grateful for a healthy baby are two different things.

-Emily Allison

 Seeds of Healing
Seeds of Healing is a 6 week, closed group for birthing people who have been through a challenging or traumatic birth and are ready to take steps toward processing and integrating their birth experience. Using mindfulness, art and writing prompts, circle sharing, and more, we will create space where each participant may begin to plant and nurture the seeds for their own healing journey.

This workshop meets online, once a week, with additional interaction in between sessions via  private Facebook group. My hope is that through the course of the 6 weeks, each participant would:
  • Know that they are not alone - connect with other birthing people who can deeply understand what it is like to experience guilt, shame, disappointment, anger, and other complicated emotions about their birth experience.
  • Know that feelings about their birth are real and valid and deserve to be given voice.
  • Begin to acknowledge, honor and accept the parts of the birth experience that are hard to talk about, that haven't been shared before, or that feel most tender.
  • Begin to move toward making peace with this birth experience.
  • Create a shift in the way they think about their birth experience.
  • Have the time/space to intentionally grieve and process the birth experience.
  • Begin to let go of false beliefs that may have developed as a result of the birth experience.
  • Find and embrace the moments of beauty and joy that can be unearthed from each individual birth experience, without feeling the need to sugarcoat any of it.

What participants have to say about Seeds of Healing:

"This course was wonderful and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Crystal's doula background lended itself seamlessly to supporting myself and the others in our group on our journey of healing and I was so fortunate to connect with the other women. It was so helpful to have my thoughts and feelings validated."

***

"This course, and Crystal's guidance, was exactly what I needed to help heal myself from birth trauma. Using art and journaling was a perfect way to uncover things I didn't even know I was feeling. One of my favorite parts was connecting to other women who were feeling very similar to me. "

***

"I definitely feel like it's helped me! Even my husband said he noticed I'm happier and more relaxed and not so on edge. The workshop didn't just help me with the birth trauma. It opened the door for [talking about other things] that I've literally not talked about since....I was 14. And for the first time, I talked. It felt freeing and I'll forever be thankful for this. "

FAQ

Is this an art class?
Nope.  The focus is on self-exploration, curiosity, and gentle inquiry.  You probably will learn some artful tidbits and techniques, and it's likely that if you are an artist, that this may improve or deepen your work, but the focus is NOT on art technique or instruction.

Will we be sharing or listening to birth stories?
We will share and listen to bits and pieces of each other's stories, but telling entire birth stories will not be a focus of our time together.  It can feel triggering to listen to long stories or lots of details, especially when participants have their own challenging experiences.  We will use our time together to share feelings, and to work with parts of these big stories through art and writing.  We will use guidelines that help us create a "brave space" for sharing and listening, with confidentiality and non-judgment.

What if my "baby" is older?  Is it ever too late to process a traumatic birth?
This is for any birthing person at ANY point after their traumatic birth: if you have the time to devote to it, your baby could be 3 months old, or your "baby" might be 3 +years old. It's never too late to begin to take steps toward finding some peace with your birth experience.

Do I have to talk in the group? Do I have to share my art?  I have social anxiety, groups make me nervous.
Nope. Nope. And cool.
Seriously, EVERY part of the spaces I create have a focus on consent and "opting in".  If you don't want to talk, don't.  If you don't want to show your art, you don't have to! If you are a ball of stressy mess just thinking about something like this, please know you are welcome as a stressy mess ball, and we will welcome you EXACTLY as you are.  No judgment, no wishes that you were different.  If you need to show up to group from a blanket fort with a kitty in your lap because it's been a rough day, COOL.  I say often in my groups that ALL of you is welcome, COME AS YOU ARE, and I really, really mean it.

What kinds of supplies will I need?
The very basics are:  some kind of journal/notebook/sketchbook, some arty/crafty supplies of *some* kind (colored pencils, markers, crayons, WHATEVER you have! Grab the overflowing bin that the kids have and find some colorful goodies....those will work just fine!).  You will get more details and discussion on supplies once you're signed up and we're rolling, but I'd say if you've ever crafted ANYTHING or if you have kids, you probably have the bare minimum already.  And if you have bins or a room FULL of art supplies?  Great! ​

What if I can't make it to one of the scheduled groups?  Will they be recorded?
The groups are NOT recorded.  We do some really juicy sharing in our groups and the good stuff is in that live, group dynamic. It's not instruction based, so there isn't really anything to "catch up" on.  We'll miss you, and you'll be able to check in via the Facebook group and bounce back in the next week, no problem.

Upcoming Group Dates

Dates for upcoming Seeds of Healing group will be added soon.  You can be added to the wait list HERE to be notified when the next Seeds of Healing group is open for registration.

​DON'T WANT TO WAIT?  Let's put a group together!  Let me know if you think you can get at least 5 committed folks together and we'll have a look at my schedule.  Who knows what magic we can make happen???

craft magic

out of your tragedies
and use the strength
of your story
to bring you closer to love

not further away from it
Danielle Doby