Patricia Guest Group Facilitates: Mask Making and Identity in New Moms

Today I had the opportunity to be a guest facilitator in one of Nancy Beyda's new moms support group. Nancy leads several support groups throughout Los Angeles and also provides Labor Doula assistance. Today I provided masks and art supplies to the moms and lead them through the activity of mask making, making a mask that represented how they thought others saw them and how they saw themselves. Since being a new mom is such a transition in identity, making masks can shed light on the feelings and thoughts connected to this time of change. By making art, group members also got a chance to ground themselves and take a small mental break from the "on" energy a new child demands. The group was amazingly supportive and open, and it was obvious that they felt safe with each other and used the group as a means of support. The art brought out common experiences: the simultaneous split many moms experience between feeling chaotic and also happy, the difficulty in having space to connect inwards, and the enjoyment of the instinctual mother-child bonding process. I felt grateful to be a part of such an intelligent, open, insightful group of women and hope that what I provided to them today will give them something to consider for the days to come.