Wyndham community members are using art therapy as a tool to treat mental and physical illness.
Don’t worry, be happy runs in fortnightly classes run at the Iramoo Community Centre in Wyndham Vale.
Group leader Kyren Thornwoods said art as a form of therapy has been beneficial in helping attendees cope.
“I suffer from chronic pain syndrome, there are people in the group who have similar illnesses and we have people with depression and anxiety as well,” Mr Thornwoods said.
“The main objective is to help refocus their mind, so they’re not focusing on what they’re going through.”
The program has been running for more than five years and feels more like a family for the people involved.
“They make new friends and they can share with them what they’re going through and quite often they find by talking it out they take a mind off it.
“They give each other advice, ‘how about you try this and how about you try that,’” he said.
Mr Thornwoods said he hopes the group will continue to expand so that others know the are people out there who understand what they’re going through.
“We welcome whoever rocks along in and they can just have a cuppa or come in and sit down and at the end of the day it’s up to them whether they wanna come back, there’s no pressure and it doesn’t cost anything for them to be there, we will look after them.”
“We got each others back, if someone needs help we try and help them and if we can’t we go and seek appropriate help.”
