Meghann Perry

Creative expression can be a powerful tool for wellness, and also a pathway of recovery! Improv, storytelling, and embodied games and exercises can support key processes in recovery as well as just be good old fun, which is good for the healing spirit. Many people have found forms of creative expression like theatre, music, storytelling, and more to be an important part of their recovery tapestry. This session will explore the role of creative expression through Embodied Storytelling, a series of activities and games using the voice and body that combine therapeutic theatre and storytelling practices with the principles of Recovery Coaching to provide participants with an opportunity for play, creative expression, a sense of belonging and community, and increased self-awareness and self-expression. It can be used as a foundation for the development of key processes relevant to recovery and healing such as emotional regulation and identity formation, or as a gateway to reintroduce creativity and the arts to those seeking or new to recovery - and those in sustained recovery! Embodied Storytelling can be used across the full spectrum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery and provides the opportunity for participants to also gain leadership skills by facilitating groups of peers themselves without the need for a professional facilitator or hierarchy within the group, inviting more inclusion and equity into the process. In this workshop, participants will learn how and why this program works and have an opportunity to play games and learn how to lead them. In addition, the practical application of Embodied Storytelling as a peer leadership development tool will be discussed and explored so that participants will leave feeling empowered to integrate the exercises into groups within their professional and/or peer roles.

At the end of the session participants will be able to:

Explain the role of creativity and play in the recovery process
Identify three skills developed through peer leadership opportunities
Implement three creative expression exercises in their groups