Therapeutic Expressive Writing
Our Services
​Resilient Voices
If you find yourself in caregiver roles in your job, community, or family; if you are navigating how to stay resilient and grounded while in support of others – this group is for you. Resilient Voices is an adult spoken word poetry writing group centered on support and decompression for educators, therapists, healing practitioners, and others who work in community service. These groups provide space for discussion and community support while providing the tools for folks to write and speak out their stories.
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With Families
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We offer writing groups for families to increase their bonds, support healthy communication, build empathy, heal from past traumas and move through family life cycle transitions. Families with children of all ages are welcome. We include expressive arts methods in these groups to make sure all family members’ communication abilities are met and included (visual arts, music, movement, performance, play). Families are supported to explore and reauthor their shared stories.
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Youth Groups
We offer writing groups for youth and young adults to support normal development and process hardships. We using expressive writing and performance to explore their identities, cope with stress, build active listening skills, and speak out against injustices in their lives. Spoken word poetry is particularly important for adolescents (ages 11-19), as they need creative spaces to explore their identities and develop their voice.
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​System Impacted
We work with youth and families who have been impacted by systems. We provide workshops in youth correctional facilities, with youth on probation, or with youth at risk for system involvement. These workshops are designed to help folks work through traumatic experiences, find positive coping strategies, and increase supportive connections. Spoken word poetry allows system-engaged youth to flip an oppressive script that has framed them as helpless, dangerous and unredeemable; instead asserting a reality where they are powerful speakers, empathetic listeners and full of infinite potential to create a life worth living for themselves.
our team
All facilitators are trained and supervised in this methodology by a licensed mental health professional. While these workshops are therapeutic, they are not a substitute for therapy. Therefore, for participants’ emotional safety, referrals for a needs assessment will be made if therapy is indicated for someone participating in the group.
Mike Taylor teaches spoken word to students of all ages. He has performed on stages from San Francisco to London and he's led national poetry teams in competition. He founded the SPARC Poetry program and continues to create workshops that connect to people from all walks of life.
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Mike Taylor
BAC Executive Director
Teaching Artist
Jamey Williams is a professional spoken word poet, actor, rapper, and educator. He has taught poetry at a multitude of institutions including: college universities, juvenile detention centers, public schools, and community events. He makes sure that students experience a fun and safe community during his lessons.
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Jamey Williams
Patrick Ohslund has been a teaching artist and professional spoken word poet for over ten years. He has toured across the nation as well as internationally and has opened for renowned musical groups such as The Wailers. Patrick currently leads spoken word workshops for students ages five to 25, and is a lecturer at San Francisco State University.
Patrick Ohslund
Jenna Robinson, MA, LMFT a two-time grand slam champion of Hawaii Slam and has performed across the U.S. as a street musician and as a part of 6 national slam poetry teams, taking second place nationally in 2015. She is an Expressive Arts Therapist and works with survivors of all ages of trauma and abuse. She is core faculty in the Master’s of Counseling Psychology programs at the Wright Institute and the Expressive Arts Therapy program at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Jenna Robinson