Community Care Facilitator
What I Do
As a Community Care Facilitator, I support organizations that provide creative programming, residencies, and retreats. I collaborate with leadership to plan, implement, and maintain mentally and emotionally supportive offerings that hold creativity with care and encourage it to expand.
Why This Work Matters
Generating meaningful creative work takes stamina, hope, and a willingness to venture into the unknown. The artistic process, particularly in our current sociopolitical environment, can elicit unexpected emotions and unearth deep vulnerabilities. When these mental and emotional needs aren't fully integrated into programming structure, staff often feel overwhelmed trying to provide support beyond their training and participants can struggle to reach their full creative potential.
More comprehensive support is needed to create a container for the kind of art that changes the world.
That's where I come in.
Who I Am
I’m a therapist, artist, and leader; I bring a unique perspective that allows me to think both systematically and creatively about community care.
I've been making art since I could hold a pencil, practicing as a therapist since 2012, and leading institutional change initiatives since 2007. My background grants me unique insight into the interconnection of human dynamics, artistic processes, and organizational challenges. I grasp complex situations and connect seemingly unrelated variables to identify patterns and possibilities that open new pathways forward.
Leadership Experience:
Founding member of Fabrefaction Theatre Company (2007, Atlanta, GA)
Created and implemented the Community Care Facilitator role for The New Harmony Project to support emotional health and wellness of staff and participants during new play creation/development process (2023-2025)
Community Care Facilitator for Kristiana Rae Colón’s Ascension 2024— 3rd Annual Grief and Healing Retreat
Initiated program reform conversations regarding diversity and cultural competency at Yale Child Study Center; worked in conjunction with Child Study Center Director, Social Work Fellowship Director, and Social Work Fellow to develop a presentation regarding these issues for Center’s training leadership.
Co-facilitator for the inaugural Students of Color process group at the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School
Co-facilitated agency-wide consult groups on race, power, privilege, and oppression at WestCoast Children's Clinic
First LCSW supervisor in WestCoast Children's Clinic's PsyD training program (2017)
Clinical Experience:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2016 (Associate 2012-2016)
Provided Individual and group therapy across multiple settings
Clinical supervisor in outpatient and training program
Private practice owner since 2016
Selected Creative Experience (Past Work):
Finalist, 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2025
Finalist, Irons in the Fire, Fault Line Theatre, 2025
Writer in Residence, The New Harmony Project, 2022
Wrote/performed part of Fire in Rise, a 5-person performance, Queer Cats Productions, 2022
Selected as a mentee for QueerKidsLit Mentorship Program, 2022
kumrads won’t, Overall Excellence Playwriting Award, New York Fringe Festival, 2013
What It Can Look Like
Before:
Leadership consultation to align on goals, values, scope, and boundaries
Review of schedules, housing, and policies to identify and address potential stressors
Development of community values orientation
Customized psychoeducational resources for participants
Action planning for emergency mental health crises
During:
On-site presence for real-time support and intervention
Individual consulting sessions with participants (30-minute confidential, non-clinical support for creative blocks, imposter syndrome, content triggers, anxiety)
Group facilitation (arrival circles, midpoint check-ins, closing integration, conflict resolution support as needed)
Script consultation (feedback on mental health depictions in creative work)
Somatic grounding exercises facilitation
Therapeutically-informed tarot readings for creative exploration
Daily wellness tips and ongoing psychoeducation regarding mental health and the creative process
Ad hoc staff support and consultation on participant needs
Crisis intervention and safety planning if needed
After:
Staff debrief to assess what worked and identify areas of improvement
Participant feedback synthesis and integration recommendations
Follow-up resource connections for ongoing support
Documentation of lessons learned for future programming
How It Came About
In 2022, I was chosen as a writer at The New Harmony Project (NHP), a national arts organization whose mission is to care for writers while they develop new work that "interrogates the complexity of hope." I deeply appreciated the immense care staff showed all participants. I also saw an opportunity that might strengthen the experience: a staff role specifically focused on supporting the emotional wellbeing of both individual participants and the entire community.
A few months later, I approached the Artistic Director with my proposal. She was intrigued and asked me to help create and implement the first iteration of the role for the 2023 residency. Leadership integrated me throughout the entire residency process:
Pre-planning: Participated in planning sessions to develop structural supports and provided feedback on programming decisions
Onsite support: Provided in person, real time support including individual consultations for participants and ad hoc support for staff throughout the conference
Post-event evaluation: Participated in debrief sessions to explore lessons learned for future programming
Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with writers specifically noting how the Community Care role enhanced their experience. The incoming Executive Artistic Director observed the final weekend and, seeing the impact firsthand, invited me to return the following year.
By 2025, we had solidified, improved, and expanded the program significantly. The New Harmony Project now employs multiple Community Care Facilitators, and we continue to deepen our understanding of how to foster creative communities where people genuinely care for each other and themselves.
** Please note that Community Care Facilitation services are supportive and educational in nature and are not therapy or mental health treatment.
“…open and flexible approach to partnering makes room for people to simply speak, think and be - at all stages of idea holding. So that you know that your process and you within it are more than enough, as you are.”
“Working closely with christina michelle as a community care facilitator at the New Harmony Project was truly an honor. In addition to her capacity for warm relational attunement, her integrity and care for the everyone, regardless of identity and behavior, was truly inspiring and remarkable.”
Something else?
Want to hire me, collaborate, or share something else exciting? Feel free to contact me.