Roots of Resilience: Creating Spaces of Belonging Through Expressive Arts

“For as long as I can remember, growing up amid violence and tensions in Palestine, my only safe space was my papers and colors, which I used to express my fear, anger, joy, and dreams for the future.”

These words from Amanda AlArja, Psychologist and Expressive Arts Therapist, capture why expressive arts have become such an important part of our Global Trauma Relief work.


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Thanks to your support, Amanda has recently accompanied 40 Palestinians from Gaza and across the diaspora through two online expressive arts programmes. Together, participants explored how creativity, storytelling, embodiment, and collective expression can support resilience in times of uncertainty and upheaval.
The programmes, Roots of Resilience: Collective & Intergenerational Resilience Through Expressive Arts and Roots and Wings: Remembering, Creating, Reimagining, are part of our wider trauma-informed approach that combines psychosocial support, peer connection, resilience-building, and expressive arts. Together, these pathways help people process difficult experiences, strengthen self-regulation, cultivate belonging, and remain connected to one another.

As Amanda shares:
“I feel, as I always have, called to create safe healing spaces for Palestinians using expressive arts—spaces where people can gather, express themselves, reconnect with their bodies and stories, and remember that even in the midst of trauma, healing, spontaneity, community, and creativity remain possible.”




If Amanda's story resonates with you, this Sunday offers a wonderful opportunity to help this work continue. The Pocket Project is participating in the Betterplace Donation Marathon on Sunday, June 28. Every donation made to our Palestine Trauma Relief project that day helps increase our share of a €225,000 bonus funding pool. Your contribution will support trauma-informed care, expressive arts, and community resilience. Together we can unlock additional funding to reach even more people.

With your support, Amanda will continue expanding this work through new programmes in 2026–2027:

Karmel Al Rouh | كرمل الروح – The Vineyard of the Soul will offer a personal growth group and Psychodrama Foundations Training for Palestinian mental health practitioners, integrating psychodrama, trauma-informed practice, embodiment, collective resilience, creativity, role exploration, and community support.
Marsa Al-Rūḥ | مرسى الروح – Harbor of the Soul will offer a personal growth group and Expressive Arts Foundations Training for community leaders in Gaza. A marsa is a harbor—a place where boats come to rest safely. Marsa Al-Rūḥ seeks to offer that same experience: a welcoming creative space where people can arrive exactly as they are, reconnect with themselves and others, and cultivate resilience through expression, creativity, and community.