Threads of Belonging

Mixed Media and Collage: Exploring Community and Identity
As we become more reliant on technology, we have experienced increased loneliness. Our
experience of belonging is essential to our mental health. For years, we have relied on community
and connection to survive, and although it seems we can do so more independently, it is not
necessarily true. Our body and soul crave connection and the healing that happens in relationships.
This workshop, although held online, aims to highlight topics of connection and invite people to
develop strategies to meet their need for connection and belonging.
After a grounding practice, we will move to a short lecture exploring belonging from an attachment
and transpersonal perspective. We will discuss the impact of authenticity in belonging and explore
emotional regulation through connection. We will finalize with some facts about belonging and
academic and professional success. Then we will move to guided artmaking and journaling. The
workshop will close with sharing time, a healing circle, and a closing ritual.

Group: Early clinicians and psychology students
Date: Saturday, Jan 24, 10:30 am IST
Duration: 90 min
Group size: 12 people max
Materials: large paper, magazines, scissors, glue, other art materials (paints, oil pastels, colors,
markers –as available)

Workshop Purpose
To understand and experience belonging not only as a social-emotional construct but as
a transpersonal experience of connection to self, others, community, culture, nature, and a larger
field of life. To experience how art therapy can support this process.
Participants will:

•  Understand belonging through psychological & transpersonal frameworks.
•  Explore their lived experience of belonging through guided artmaking.
• Learn how authenticity and belonging can be integrated and sacrificed.
•  Awareness of how belonging supports mental health, academic success, and behavior.

About Dr. Natalia
Licensed Psychologist | Transpersonal Psychologist | Board-Certified Art Therapist

With 25+ years of international experience in Bogotá, Chicago, New York, Muscat, and Dubai,
Natalia bridges Western psychology, creative and artistic practices, with Indigenous wisdom, offering
a holistic, deeply personal approach to healing.

Through creativity, art therapy, and transpersonal practices, she helps children, teens, and adults
find healing, integration, and growth—nurturing the connection between mental health, creativity,
and spirituality. Her path is inspired by Jungian analysis, exploration of expanded states of
awareness, sacred medicine, and yoga (300H Jivamukti, India), weaving ancient and modern
practices into transformative care.
Fluent in Spanish & English, Natalia is a lover of art, yoga, and play!