Groups and Events Calendar

Details:

• When: Monday, August 10, 2026; 6:00-7:30 PM
• Where: Zoom

Sight loss, whether abrupt or gradual, can be a traumatic development in a person's life, and can bring with it feelings of despair, terror, depression, anger, total numbness -- or a tangled mess of all of these. In this workshop, you'll learn both practical and creative strategies for managing whichever feelings are burning brightest for you right now.

One incredibly useful and cathartic way to explore and express the things that hurt is writing your way through it. This workshop will also introduce a creative writing element as an effective way to sit with and process your feelings around your experience with vision loss.

The workshop will begin with an introduction to coping strategies with Melanie Marsden, a social worker who works with Balance clients on issues related to disability and sight loss. We'll then move into a short interactive creative writing session with Sophie Kohn, a creative nonfiction writer and instructor who's certified in trauma-informed art therapy.

Sophie will offer a few different creative writing exercises so that participants can choose which one resonates with their particular situation best. There's no pressure or expectation to share anything you've written, and all writing exercises are easily modifiable if you'd prefer to record your thoughts via voice memo.

In this workshop, you can expect to:

• Better understand how the destabilizing and disorienting nature of vision loss can manifest as emotional and even physical distress;
• Learn some strategies for coping with your body's particular response to vision loss;
• Participate in a creative writing session that will help you name, own, feel, and make sense of your emotions;
• Leave with some ideas about how to make creative writing a regular therapeutic practice in your daily life.

Need help registering or joining by phone? Email us at info@balancefba.org or call 416-236-1796 ext. 0.