From Loss to Expression: Creative Arts Therapy for Disenfranchised Grief in Recovery

With Jessie Leete, LCAT, ATR-BC; Marianne Franzese Chasen, LCAT, RDT; Christian Cotumaccio, LCAT; and Nadia M. Rayhan, MS, LCAT, MT-BC

A multidisciplinary creative arts therapy workshop exploring how art, drama, and music therapy can hold space for the grief that often goes unspoken in substance use recovery. Through experiential practice, psychoeducation, and clinical demonstration, participants will gain tools for facilitating disenfranchised grief work with trauma-informed and harm-reduction principles at the center.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the relationship between grief and substance use, including its impact on relapse and recovery

2. Identify forms of grief such as ambiguous, disenfranchised, and cumulative grief

3. Explain the rationale for using creative arts therapies in grief work

4. Practice 2 to 3 creative arts interventions for grief processing

5. Apply trauma-informed and harm-reduction principles in facilitation

6. Create emotionally safe and culturally responsive therapeutic spaces

Workshop Details:

• Format: Single 2-hour session, in-person

• Capacity: Up to 10 participants

• Materials Provided: 8.5x11 letter paper, envelopes, pens, mural paper, markers, grief altar objects, and take-away items

• For students, use code STUDENT25 at checkout for 25% off your order

Available Dates:

• Sunday, May 31, 2026 (6:00 to 9:00 PM)