Creating Healthy Boundaries

Over the course of one's lifetime, the boundaries of one's home, work and social environments will shift based on the choices one makes personally and professionally.

For a refugee, personal, professional and social boundaries are often out of their control.

A refugee may not be able to decide on the country into which they flee.
Though a refugee may hold an advanced degree in their country of origin, they may not be able to pursue a career in that sector because of the language barrier
Upon arrival, the location of their new home is often determined by the refugee resettlement agency handling their case.
A refugee often experiences the loss of social networks, anxiety regarding the uncertainty of finding new connections and the fear of isolation in the new country.

How does BuildaBridge programming seek to combat these at-risk factors and build protective factors among incoming refugee populations?

By providing culturally specific art therapy and therapeutic art-making groups in the community context for homogeneous and mixed refugee population groups. These programs help refugees identify adjustment strategies based on the strengths of their communities in promoting success, strength, recovery and resiliency in a new culture.

Since 2011, BuildaBridge has provided such art groups to over 170 refugees from four countries, assisting them through the arts in acculturating to their new environment and developing healthy boundaries for their personal and professional lives.

Since June 2014, BuildaBridge has served 61 new refugees participating in five different art groups. BuildaBridge artists, through art-making experiences that focus on academic, social, artistic and character development skills, assist refugees in re-building and creating healthy boundaries in their new environment.

Summer attendance June 2014 to present:
Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience women and children’s group: 15
Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience mixed adults: 6
Congolese refugees: 8
Bhutanese refugee elders: 15
REAP (Refugee Employment and Advancement Program): 17

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Why is art important for refugee children?

For refugee children, art-making experiences within the BuildaBridge Classroom model have helped them identify adjustment strategies, build on their personal strengths and build resiliency in a new culture. S is a 10-year old Bhutanese refugee girl who has been attending BuildaBridge groups since they started in August 2011 with almost near perfect attendance. In the almost three years of her attending groups, through art-making, S has made significant progress in all of the BuildaBridge outcome areas (social, character development, artistic and academic). As an illustration of the development of her social skills, S has improved relations with her younger brother with whom she is often competitive. This has been an ongoing growth area the therapists have been addressing. During the past two years, S has physically participated less in the movement experiences when other girls are not in attendance. During this third year of programming and as an illustration of her increased character...

Japanese Shoji Lanterns

A discussion surrounding the word “rebuild” emerged. Is it to build again with new materials or does it suggest rebuilding again from the pieces that have fallen? On a quiet Sunday afternoon five individuals gathered around a table from four different countries, representing three different languages (4 if you’re counting dialect), and spanning three different generations. Through our partnership with the Nationalities Service Center/Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (NSC/PPR) collaborative, art therapists have facilitated groups for about nine months that explore the past, present, and future for individuals who are immigrants. The past few weeks have been devoted to constructing Japanese Shoji lanterns, with a culminating tea ceremony. Patience, focus, and creative problem solving were just a few virtues challenged by this 3 dimensional project that prompted a lively discussion about selfless rebuilding for the sake of younger generations. The question initially posed about the...

Cocoons of Paper Mache

Check out photos from our latest Bhutanese children's group this past Sunday. Children started working on their cocoons out of paper mache...an extension of the lesson on Monarch butterflies, their transitions from a caterpillar to a butterfly and how we go through changes in life just like the butterflies.

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