WHAT WE OFFER

HaGomel is dedicated to healing women through creative community. Our trained facilitators provide free expressive arts programs to survivors of sexual and other trauma through a variety of modalities including:

- Visual Art
- Writing and poetry
- Music
- Yoga, movement and dance
- Meditation and breathwork
- Theater

Our online and in-person workshops offer a safe space to transform pain and shame into possibility and joy.

HaGomel offers programs for the general public and also partners with organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area that provide essential services to women survivors of sexual and other trauma.

HaGomel is in the process of expanding its services to Ventura County. If you are an organization providing services to women who have experienced trauma in Ventura County, we would love to connect with you about our programs.

Learn about Partnerships and join the HaGomel Community Newsletter to stay up to date on future events.

Become a Partner

“At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing
process arise from a single source. When you are an artist,
you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is
the foundation of your work and its integrity.”

Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

5EFBFEFA-47BE-404A-A96B-D8BA784A26C4_1_105_c

TRAUMA-INFORMED FACILITATION

Each art discipline offers a unique sensory experience or modality. For instance, the essential sensory modality of dance is kinesthetic, whereas in music it is auditory.

To write, paint, sculpt, collage, dance, do yoga, make music or engage in theater exercises, one must move one’s body. And in many cases, interact with other people or objects outside oneself.

By working across art disciplines, we use the multi-sensory potential of imagination, and its ability to inform us about our past, our present and our personal stories. By transferring feelings and images between media, transformation and healing are possible on a deeper level.

The HaGomel Community supports survivors, healers, and allies, but please note that our programs are designed for individuals who identify as women.

After #metoo … taking care of YOU

Thanks to the #METOO movement, many women who had never reported or spoken up about their experiences of sexual trauma have felt safer revealing their experiences, at least to friends. Some have reached out for legal and therapeutic resources. Expressive arts programs provide another essential tool for survivors to process and heal from the effects of trauma, including PTSD.

Find Resources

BENEFITS FROM EXPRESSIVE ARTS PROGRAMS

Releases trauma from the body in a way that traditional talk therapy cannot because of programs multi-sensory nature.

Provides essential tools for survivors to process and heal from the effects of trauma, including PTSD.

Allows participants to express their feelings and process memories through self-discovery, trust, experimentation and exploration.

Helps survivors restore what is lost, broken and missing in their lives.

Leads to emotional and psychological healing through the aesthetic experience.

Enables participants to safely access their physical experiences and relearn that their bodies are a safe place by externalizing difficult pieces of their trauma stories through the expressive arts.

Transformation and healing are possible on a deeper level when transferring feelings and images between media.

HaGomel’s expressive arts programs integrate visual arts, dance/movement, music, poetry/creative writing and mindfulness as healing tools. Our trauma-informed programs may be therapeutic, but they are not art therapy. In order to extend the reach of our programs, they are designed to be led by experienced expressive arts facilitators who may or may not have training in psychology.

Nancy Weiss, LCSW, BCD – Board Member & Program Director

Nancy L. Weiss, LCSW, BCD is a psychotherapist, spiritual director, collage artist and poet.

She holds Masters’ degrees in Clinical Social Work and Education. Nancy taught in the Clinical Psychology Program at Antioch University and supervised MFT and LCSW interns for more than 20 years.

Her diverse body of experience and interests includes an extensive private practice, SoulCollage® facilitation, and facilitating groups in the ancient Jewish practice of Mussar. As Coordinator of Manchim, the Facilitator Training Program for The Mussar Institute, she co-created the curriculum and leads online trainings for rabbis and lay leaders.

Nancy developed a SoulCollage® adaptation for children called MeCards4Kids® that she piloted in a multi-age elementary classroom. She is lead author of the book, How to Make MeCards4Kids®: Creative Expression for Children and the Grown-Ups in Their Lives, which won the 2014 Nautilus Silver Medal Book Award in the Parenting/Family category. In addition to helping children access their inner wisdom, the MeCards process is a valuable tool for working with traumatized and special needs populations.

Nancy leads expressive arts workshops and trainings for psychotherapists, educators, families, non-profits serving the underprivileged, and other organizations, including UCLArts & Healing.

She is a co-creator of the Lights of Mussar™ Cards for Creating a Balanced life. Her collage art appears in Midrashic Mirrors, which illustrates the richness of creating art to reflect the essence of each Torah portion.