“It can be harder for men to be vulnerable, but you need to be vulnerable to express yourself,” says Linda Baker, an allied clinical therapist who helped create and coordinate the project. “At first, it can feel like starting at the bottom of a mountain, but the treatment journey moves them toward hope for a better future and a life worth living.”
The original artwork expressed the essence of the patients who created it, and evolved over the weeks to a multimedia, three-dimensional piece using materials like recycled cardboard, newsprint, and acrylic paint. The caulk at the top was added by a patient who works in construction, and a recreation of the Pink Floyd “The Dark Side of the Moon” symbol represented another patient’s desire to get to the other side.
When this group of men completed the program, they participated in a “stone ceremony” that is unique to Moorestown. Each patient received a stone with two words embodying their accomplishments. In turn, they each left a heartfelt note on the mountain for those who would follow in their footsteps.
New patients now do the same, leaving their notes on the mountain at the spot that feels right to them.
"Men in the group have formed strong bonds through their involvement in this project,” adds Baker. “It’s been a powerful experience that participants have really embraced.”
For more information about the Men’s Trauma Program, visit princetonhouse.org/men or call 888.437.1610.
Article as seen in the Summer 2019 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health Today.
