by Audrey Walls, M.Ed, MFA, with Liza Roesch, MS
Anyone who has been in the room during our Hands on Healing family group can tell you about the impact and magic that gets created between our facilitators, volunteers, children and teens, and their parents and guardians. In 2025, when we made the difficult decision to temporarily pause this cornerstone program, it was not one made lightly. With funding uncertainties, a lack of partnership locations to hold groups, and a move into a new office space on the horizon, we felt it was time to thoughtfully plan our next step.
As we began searching for a new office space, finding a location with ample room to run multiple large groups, including Hands on Healing, was at the top of our must-haves. While working with generous community partners in the past had been a beneficial experience, we wanted to bring Hands on Healing under our own roof and be able to host community events in a way that was not feasible at our previous location on Patterson Avenue. Our new location allowed for just that, with two large conference rooms, larger office spaces, and a dedicated craft room and maker space. A lease signed, we quickly began working behind the scenes with a goal to bring back Hands on Healing in the later part of the year.
With the hiring of our new Family Bereavement Services Manager, Liza Roesch, and a small but dedicated team of returning group leaders – familiar faces like Susan, Jillian, Kiara, and Jennifer – we announced the return of Hands on Healing in the summer. Liza, who joined Full Circle earlier this year, brings a wealth of experience working with youth professionally, and also her own personal experience as a former group participant.
“From my own experience as a past participant in one of Full Circle’s loss support groups, I believe that burdens shared are burdens lessened,” says Liza. “When we are able to connect with other people who are experiencing something similar, we feel seen and validated and less alone, and there is great power in that.”
Registration quickly filled and anticipation built throughout the summer as we worked to bring the next evolution of Hands on Healing to our clients, with new leadership and a new space, while providing the same compassionate care that families have come to expect from Full Circle. “My most consistent reflection over the first few weeks of Hands On Healing has been one of immense gratitude and responsibility. I’m grateful caregivers trust us with their stories, their children, their profound loss, and the grief that accompanies it, ” shares Liza. “With that trust, the HOH group leaders and I feel responsible for providing a program experience that is helpful to participants and that honors their loved ones who died,” Liza adds.
For one of their first family activities, group leader Jennifer facilitated a feelings jar activity, where children and teens and their adult caregivers shared their immediate emotions in the moment and why they were present, using the jar as a visual representation of their collective feelings, all mixed together. “Kids and teens used it as an opportunity to share their pride over a school accomplishment, their excitement about Halloween season, sadness over their deceased loved ones, and more,” shares Liza.
More recently, Liza facilitated an anchor activity, where families discussed and shared what grounds them or gives them strength in challenging times. Group members discuss their resources, strengths, support networks, and personality traits before writing or drawing them on a large anchor-shaped cut out. “Group members brought their anchors home to display as a reminder of what gives them strength after sharing them with the whole group,” Liza explains, making for interesting and personalized reflections.
Teen group leader and long-time Full Circle community member Jillian has also been working creatively with her subgroup within Hands on Healing for youth ages 12 and up. For their sessions, group members have been working on neurographic art activities in the creation of intricate abstract art. This particular method was developed in 2014 by Pavel Piskarev as a structured drawing method, and is often used to support self-regulation, helping individuals work with stress, conflict, and rigidity through lines and forms.
For all of our Hands on Healing staff, seeing families create connections and process emotions after such a long planning period is truly rewarding. “Something particularly special about Hands On Healing is it provides families an opportunity to exchange support with peers and an opportunity to meaningfully connect with one another as a family,” Liza says. “When done with intentionality, in the company of others who can empathize and relate to your experiences, and over the course of several weeks, there is great potential for healing and increased connectedness. Since kids are involved, joy and laughter find their way in, too.”
For more information about our Hands on Healing family groups, or services provided to children, teens, and families experiencing loss, review our resources below or contact us with questions.
Resources
Hands on Healing Family Groups