Art Therapy Support Group for
IUD Experiences

Navigating your IUD Experience in Community

You’re not alone
in this.

This 6-session art therapy support group is designed to support you through your personal IUD experience. If you’re scared or anxious, feeling overwhelmed, angry, experiencing pain, or navigating uncertainty, this compassionate and creative space can offer you supportive tools to help you move through it in a supportive community.

This support group is a space where you can share your story, process a range of emotions, and explore the layers of your journey. We can recognize that your IUD experience may be complex, political, and intertwined with other challenges in your life.

Through guided therapeutic art-making and meaningful reflection, you’ll have the opportunity to explore your experience and connect with others who truly understand.

JUMP TO:

Group Details

When & Where

Each session is 2-hours
Online via Zoom

New dates will be announced soon.

Capacity

3 participants minimum to run the group
8 participants maximum

Space is limited to ensure a personalized and supportive environment.

  • Week 1


    Sharing My Story Part 1

    Settle in gently and map your journey.

  • Week 2

    Understanding the Layers

    Explore the personal, social, and systemic contexts of IUD experiences.

  • Week 3


    Living in My Body

    Tune into physical sensations and explore the body-mind connection.

  • Week 4

    Kindness to My Body

    Explore self-care, comfort, and strategies for resilience and self-compassion.

  • Week 5

    Sharing My Story Part 2

    Continue your story and build community.

  • Week 6

    Reflection

    Review your personal artwork and integrate insights.

Fear, uncertainty, and stigma are common barriers to IUD experiences, making it vital to find supportive spaces.

(Hunter et al., 2020; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016)

What’s Included?

  • 6 two-hour sessions on zoom, facilitated by a professional art therapist

  • Personalized therapeutic art-making directives designed for self-reflection, increasing resilience, and building community

  • Access to a digital resource hub with slides, handouts, and recommended reading materials

  • An invitation to join a private online moderated community so you can stay engaged between sessions and continue receiving community resources and support after the final session concludes.

  • Psychoeducational content on IUDs and healthcare navigation (note, this group does not offer medical advice and you should always talk to your doctor about your IUD care and decision making.)

Is this group for me?

This group is for you if you are:

  • in need of support to navigate challenges surrounding your IUD experience.

  • navigating an experience around either a hormonal or copper IUD.

  • choosing an IUD to either provide contraception or treat an underlying condition (e.g. heavy menstrual bleeding).

  • in the process of deciding to get an IUD, have an appointment scheduled to place an IUD, or are already adjusting to an IUD.

  • feeling overwhelmed and want a space to feel heard and validated.

  • curious about using art and creativity to process your journey and connect with others.

  • looking for an opportunity to explore and express your experience in a supportive, non-judgmental environment.

  • located anywhere in the world (this is an art-based community support group and not clinical psychotherapy so participation is not limited to specific countries, provinces, or states).

Why does this group exist?

This support group grew out of my graduate thesis, which explored how art therapy can support individuals navigating their IUD experiences. This group is something I needed when I was adjusting to a new IUD a few years ago, facing the process alone.

While excellent doctors and researchers are making strides to improve care, and recent investments by the U.S. and Canadian governments aim to expand research, there is still much progress to be made. Person-centred counselling, effective pain management, and reducing side effects and stigma remain significant areas for improvement.

In 2016, following the U.S. election, long-acting reversible contraception placements (including IUDs) rose by 21%. In 2024, Planned Parenthood reported a staggering 760% increase in IUD appointments on November 6. In Canada, as of October 2024, IUD costs are now covered under Bill C-64, An Act Respecting Pharmacare. With more people choosing IUDs, the need for dedicated support will continue to grow.

Frequently Asked Questions

If your question is not answered below, please contact me.

Questions about preparing for the group

  • You will need a computer, phone, or tablet with a webcam and a microphone. You will also need a good wifi connection.

    It’s important to be in a private space where you feel comfortable to talk and make art.

  • Absolutely not. Art-making is a tool we can use to support and explore visualization, metaphor, sensory exploration, regulation, and non-verbal expression. You don’t need any prior art experience to join this group.

  • Yes, this group will include an art invitation and art-making in all 6 sessions.

  • You can start with whatever paper and art materials you have or would like to work with. I’ll offer support with affordable suggestions and ideas, but there’s no requirement to buy specific supplies.

    For the first session, it will be helpful to have some paper available and mark-making materials (pen, pencil, pastels, markers, paints, etc).

    In the first session, we’ll talk more about materials and for the following 5 sessions, you’ll have time to find an approach that feels right for you.

  • No, I will never interpret or analyze your art. And group members will not analyze or interpret each other’s art. As the facilitator, I’ll guide you to approach your art and art-making process with curiosity.

Questions about therapeutic art groups

  • An Art Psychotherapist will bring specialized training to facilitate group work including:

    • Empirically-based techniques to support therapeutic engagement

    • Art directives that are informed by the Expressive Therapies Continuum and Media Dimension Variables

    • A trauma-informed approach

    • Training to respond in the event a participant requires additional support, regulation, or resources

    • Group facilitation skills and media expertise to:

      • Open and hold space

      • Guide group interactions and personal reflections

      • Lead multi-media art-making

      • Facilitate appropriate closings

    • A sense of ritual can provide psychological safety and promote interpersonal emotional risk taking.

    • Art-making can include the use of metaphor and be non-verbal. This can offer a safe way to express difficult feelings.

    • Creating in community can be an expression of hope.

    • Group art-making creates shared experiences in the present.

    • A group setting can promote positive regard for other members of the group.

    • There can be healing power in the process of being witnessed by others.

    From Moon, B. L. (2016). Art-based group therapy: Theory and practice (Second edition). Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Ltd.

Policies

    • Registration cancelled more than 24 hours before the group begins will be refunded. In the event that participation drops below 3 participants and the group is not able to run, all participants will be fully refunded.

    • Registration cancelled less than 24 hours before the group begins will be charged 50% of the registration fee.

    • Once the group begins, the full fee will be charged. Refunds will not be issued for missed sessions.

  • Mae & You Art Therapy is committed to providing a warm, welcoming, and respectful environment for all participants.

    Mae & You Art Therapy upholds a no-tolerance policy towards harassment.

    Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

    • Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination [related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion].

    • Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following 

    • Photography or recording without consent

    • Sustained disruption of workshops

    • Inappropriate or unwanted physical contact

    • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour

    Mae & You Art Therapy reserves the right to determine if action needs to be taken to maintain a welcoming and respectful space for all participants. This may include issuing a warning or, if necessary, immediate removal from a workshop or online community.

    Harassment definition informed by Geek Feminism Wiki

Art therapy can reduce anxiety and foster emotional regulation.

(Abbing et al., 2018)

Community-based support groups are meant to reduce isolation, gain insight, and improve coping.

(Yalom, 2020)

Art helps us make the invisible, visible.

(O’Neill & Moss, 2015)

Find your community

References

Abbing, A., Ponstein, A., Van Hooren, S., De Sonneville, L., Swaab, H., & Baars, E. (2018). The effectiveness of art therapy for anxiety in adults: A systematic review of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials. PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0208716. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208716

Denault, M., & Mahtani, M. (2024, November 12). Morning-after pill sales spike online after Trump wins election, companies say—CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/morning-after-pills-iud-birth-control-trump-election/

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-64 (44-1)—Royal Assent—Pharmacare Act—Parliament of Canada. (2024, October 11). Retrieved December 13, 2024, from https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/bill/C-64/royal-assent

Hunter, T. A., Sonalkar, S., Schreiber, C. A., Perriera, L. K., Sammel, M. D., & Akers, A. Y. (2020). Anticipated Pain During Intrauterine Device Insertion. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 33(1), 27–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2019.09.007

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.) (Ed.). (2016). Approaches to Reducing Stigma. In Committee on the Science of Changing Behavioral Health Social Norms; Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine., Ending discrimination against people with mental and substance use disorders: The evidence for stigma change (pp. 69–92). The National Academies Press.

O’Neill, A., & Moss, H. (2015). A Community Art Therapy Group for Adults With Chronic Pain. Art Therapy, 32(4), 158–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2015.1091642

Pace, L. E., Dusetzina, S. B., Murray Horwitz, M. E., & Keating, N. L. (2019). Utilization of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives in the United States After vs Before the 2016 US Presidential Election. JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(3), 444–446. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.7111

Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2005). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (5th ed). Basic Books.