SERVICES TO EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY

Painted Brain has a long-standing relationship with Conservation Corps and its Education Corps sites, recently expanding our partnership into Riverside County and Orange County. Painted Brain social work interns provide counseling and individual support to the young adult students of these schools, helping at-risk students begin to recover from trauma, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.

Painted Brain social work interns are vital to the interdisciplinary team working with Project New Start participants. Painted Brain social worker interns provide Project New Start participants with individualized support by offering supplemental clinical counseling and clinical case management. Social work interns take a big role in modeling and fostering social connections through group services. Social worker interns assess each participant and determine if additional mental health treatment beyond that provided by Painted Brain is necessary. 

The Painted Brain OT team, consisting of therapists and fieldwork students, offer individual sessions focusing on barriers and supports to mental health functioning. The OT team conducts assessments and creates specialized, individualized sessions to improve participation in activities of daily living, community involvement, leisure, rest, education, work and social participation.  The OT team also provides group sessions to cover common topics including money management, sensory strategies for mental health symptom management, social skills training, ergonomics, and time management.

Painted Brain’s social workers offer group services to community groups with a common need and interest. An example of is the series of grief support counseling and healing circles offered to the Alliance for Community Empowerment. PB social worker facilitated grief support groups with youthbuild students that had recently lost a beloved teacher and academic counselor.  In collaboration with a peer counselor the students where guided in 10 week workshop learning to using the arts as a tool to self express their grief. The culmination of this group was wonderful art show held in honor of the teacher and leader the ACE community had lost. 

Concerned men comforting another in rehab group at a therapy session[/caption]Painted Brain’s occupational therapists offer group services to work on specific topics with both the adult and pediatric populations. Adult mental health group topics include social skills and loneliness, sensory strategies, money management, sleep routines, routine modification, ergonomics, time management, mindfulness and relaxation techniques. Pediatric groups include support groups for parents and caregivers, social skills training, play groups, “Parent and Me” sensory class, pre-teen mental health group, and more.

Tech training programs at homeless drop in centers.[/caption]Painted Brain knows how to work with people and we would be happy to share our knowledge and skills with your team. We can lead trainings for direct line staff and supervisors.  PB has led dozens of trainings on multiple topics: The Use of Technology in Mental Health, Having Difficult Conversations with Staff, Art Group Leadership, Utilizing One’s Own Life Experiences in Helping Others, Understanding Psychosis, Mental Health 101, Building and Maintaining Healthy Relationships, and Effective Communication Strategies for Community Development.

• Sensory processing and arousal regulation strategies
• executive functioning and cognitive training
• Activities of daily living training to support independent living skills
• community reintegration

Sensory integration

• Fine motor and gross motor development
• Cognitive support and accommodations
• Parent education and home program development
• Sleep hygiene
• School-based therapy

• Lifestyle balance between self-care, sleep/rest, productivity, and play/leisure routines
• Stress and anxiety management
• Social skills
• Sensory processing and arousal regulation
• Support groups for parents and caregivers
• Play groups for children
• “Parent and Me” classes
• Pre-teen mental health group

• Direct services including individualized strategies to improve sensory processing, fine motor development, and social skills
• Presentations and in-services for school staff including information about developmental disorders and strategies to improve accessibility
• Program development, including school-wide resources such as multisensory environments and groups

Painted Brain’s team is available for hire to lead art groups for your agency, clients, events, or treatment centers.  Painted Brain can provide a skilled activity leader in just about any artistic medium, from painting to poetry to music to acting to industrial arts. We can also lead activities at just about any scale from a small group of five people to a room full of hundreds.