Pathways

Overview

The Pathways workshop is an innovative program dedicated to increasing youth mental well-being and resilience. By utilizing the arts as a natural healing modality, the workshops empower young people to enhance their emotional modulating and cognitive coping skills.

The program is designed to give high school juniors and seniors tangible, creative, and psychological tools to handle stress, understand their minds, and build emotional resilience.

The first iteration of our workshop series focused on five foundational pillars of mental wellness and trauma-informed education:

  • Emotional Literacy: Ensuring 80%  of youth participants can identify at least two basic emotions and understand how they directly connect to thoughts and actions.
  • Trauma and The Brain: Educating students so that 80% can describe how traumatic experiences can negatively impact the brain and psychological functioning.
  • Creative Coping: Equipping 100% of participants with at least one creativity-based coping skill to actively manage negative emotional states.
  • Breaking Cycles: Teaching 100% of youth to recognize and discuss how intergenerational trauma can be transmitted and impact younger generations.
  • Support Networks: Guiding participants to identify and document in their journals at least one trusted adult they can turn to when feeling overwhelmed.

Courses and Events

The Pathways Workshop is actively growing, blending school-based learning with real-world experiential field trips. Looking ahead, our upcoming calendar features two major initiatives designed to deepen student engagement and impact.

  • In mid-July 2026, students specifically interested in neuroscience and brain health careers will head to UCLA for an immersive field trip exploring the intersection of science and mental wellness.
  • Following this experiential trip, we will launch a recurring, monthly workshop series back at Dominguez High School starting in August 2026. These sessions will run for two hours once a month and will feature interactive activities, arts-based healing, and collaborative group discussions.