The Blues Project at CSUN hosted its final Beat the Blues Week event from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday. The event was led by Kaeson Rempel, doctoral intern from Loma Linda University, and focused on learning and engaging with mental health in a creative way.

Specialized in mental health and depression, Rempel guided the attendees through a hands-on activity inspired by kintsugi – the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold lacquer. Students used pieces of broken titles and wrote phrases that represented good or bad things about themselves before gluing the pieces back together with gold-speckled glue.

This caught the attention of Adriana Field, a Blues Project peer educator, who was surprised by the creative format of the workshop and how students engaged with it.

“It seemed like everyone was really open, and they really gave their all and were very vulnerable,” Field said. “I thought it was going to be more like a lecture, so it was cool that we actually got to participate and make it our own thing.”

The Blues Project, one of the University Counseling Services (UCS) peer education programs, is designed to promote mental health awareness and education through their volunteer program. The program has year-round classroom presentations and hosts two major annual events: Beat the Blues Week during the fall and the On Your Journey Matters event in the spring.

Daisy Parra, a peer educator with the UCS JADE peer education program, attended the event to support her sister group’s message.

“I think this was a great way to kind of explore mental health because every time we think of mental health, it’s always some type of lecture,” Parra said. “I really liked how it was hands-on, and it really taught me something on how to reflect on yourself.”

As the art activity came to a close, Rempel opened up the room for discussion, encouraging those who were willing to reflect on the activity and share what it meant to them. Many described the activity as unique compared to other mental health workshops, saying it allowed them to embrace all parts of themselves, even things they might be ashamed of.

Avean Kallgren, an attendee of the event, aligned with this outcome and said the activity resonated with him.

“I always heard that writing down the way that you feel makes for solving the problem or it makes for a better solution,” Kallgren said. “I think it generally just made me feel better about who I am as a person.”

More information about The Blues Project and their upcoming mental health events can be found on their Instagram or website.