HOPE Series | Creative Writing for Mental Health: The Power of Metaphor

About the HOPE Series:
Created in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, this free, online series supports the resilience of our global community through social emotional arts. In accordance with our mission, with this series we aim to enhance the innate social-emotional benefits of the arts with supportive practices, such as non-judgmental language and reflection, for self-discovery, connection, and empowerment.
Learn more: bit.ly/42OwdPK
About the Session:
Embark on a journey of self-love and self-discovery through metaphorical creative writing. In this online session, we’ll explore carefully-crafted prompts that spark our imagination and use magical realism as a tool for deeper emotional self-exploration, to identify challenges, and to develop a roadmap for resilience.
This online program is open to all-whether a seasoned writer or a novice interested in learning how writing can be a powerful form of creative expression.
Materials:
Journal or other paper
Something to write with (pen, pencil)
About the Instructor:
Maia Akiva is a professional speaker, trauma-informed trainer, performer, and writer in Los Angeles. Her unique approach encourages audiences to embrace their relationships with their emotions and feelings as a path to success, happiness, freedom, and fulfillment. Originally from Israel, Maia brings basic self-help ideas to everyday people through entertainment-using imagination and humor. She takes her audience through a journey of self-discovery that she herself is inspired to work hard at every day.
A graduate of Arts & Healing Initiative’s Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts, and an active member of Epiphany Space, an artist community in Hollywood, she teaches Heartfulness Meditations at The Den Meditation in Los Angeles and at companies such as Sony PlayStation, Hulu, Burbank Studios, and Deutsch. She also leads workshops for WriteGirl, Models of Pride, and Caltech while upholding her personal mission to empower everyone’s mental health by making friends with our emotions.
To connect with Maia and learn more about her work, visit her at www.maiaakiva.com.
This series is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.