Centering Sessions is Michigan’s first Group Clay Art Therapy Program.

We help people
build insight into
who they are and
who they want to be
through…

  • All CS courses include 3 hours of clay instruction with an experienced veteran of the ceramic arts weekly, tailored to help group members

    1. Find their unique artistic voice.

    2. Learn and improve technical skills (throwing / handbuilding / decoration / glazing)

    3. Learn how to leverage skills learned to enhance self-expression and connect inner experiences of thought, feeling, and fantasy to outer self-expression.

  • Group members get access to 1 hour of group therapy per week in addition to their 3 hours of clay instruction. Our therapy sessions cover a broad range of topics, but our Core Goal is always to help people:

    1. Reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

    2. Increase the frequency and quality of experiences of mindfulness, contentment, and self-energy.

    3. Develop positive coping skills to help them live the life they want inside the studio and out in their everyday lives.

    4. Build Self-Awareness, Self-Compassion & Inward Empathy, and Self-Energy.

  • Centering Sessions has become a thriving community of learners in one of Detroit's historic jewels, Pewabic Pottery. We pride ourselves on creating a learning environment that

    1. Builds member self-confidence.

    2. Encourages interpersonal growth.

    3. Provides a haven of safety and comfort within which group members can work towards healing unresolved interpersonal wounds.

    4. Emphasizes community and connection.

ALL FALL GROUPS HAVE FILLED
Centering Sessions is Michigan’s first
Clay Art Therapy Group Program, facilitated by
Kathryn Whitlock, MA, ATR, LLPC, CCTP-II, Clinical Director of New Branch Art Therapy Services, L.L.C.
All Centering Sessions Courses come with
a studio shelf, open studio opportunities,
25 lbs of clay per 8 weeks,
access to three different glaze firings and a wide array of glazes, decorative slips, and underglazes,
access to specially curated Centering Sessions Supplies provided by NBATS,
and one hour of Group Therapy weekly,
all for just $50/week.

Fall 2024 Centering Sessions Groups

  • This IFS-Informed 16-week Clay Art Therapy Group fuses Narrative Art Therapy with surface and decoration-focused clay instruction in order to help group members:

    1.     Build insight and awareness into their inner world and learn how to communicate more effectively with their Inner System.

    2.   Learn and improve technical skills in throwing and hand-building through clay instruction with an experienced veteran of the ceramic arts.

    3.   Find their artistic voice and learn how to leverage surfacing techniques such as Sgraffito/Mishima, Ceramic Lithography, Wax/Latex/Tape Resist, and Graphite Transfers to enhance self-expression and connect inner experiences of thought, feeling, and fantasy to outer self-expression.

    4.   Reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and increase the frequency and quality of experiences of mindfulness, contentment, and self-energy through Mindfulness Skills Training and Self-System Exploration.

  • This course is open ONLY to continuing Centering Sessions students – you must have taken at least 1 Centering Sessions class prior to taking this section.

    In this IFS-Informed 16-week Clay Art Therapy Group, instructional content is decided by a group vote prior to the beginning of the term. Group sessions and instructional material will help group members:

    1.     Build insight and awareness into their inner world and learn how to communicate more effectively with their Inner System.

    2.   Learn and improve technical skills in throwing and hand-building through clay instruction with an experienced veteran of the ceramic arts.

    3.   Find their artistic voice and learn how to leverage skills learned to enhance self-expression and connect inner experiences of thought, feeling, and fantasy to outer self-expression.

    4.   Reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and increase the frequency and quality of experiences of mindfulness, contentment, and self-energy through Mindfulness Skills Training and Self-System Exploration.