THE VILLAGE
The Village is a monthly, donation-based gathering for all female-identifying people looking for a space to relax, connect, vent, listen, and relate.
First conceptualized as a therapy group “for angry women”, creators Lisa Kays and Paula D. Atkinson, both psychotherapists, were inspired to create a casual and open space for women to be whatever they are.
After countless months in this pandemic, what Lisa and Paula continue to observe in their female-identifying clients is exhaustion, isolation, separation, and debilitating expectations of themselves.
The Village is intended to be just that, a village of women connecting to combat the messages of our patriarchal, individualistic and capitalist culture that divides women, has us competing with each other and denying support. We are meant to gather, to hold each other, to exist in harmony and loving support of each other. The Village is meant to be a salve for the injuries inflicted by the culture, and a revolutionary return to women’s inherent abilities to love and be loved.
Please bring a notebook to write in for some journaling at the beginning. And please feel free to wear a mask if you feel more comfortable wearing one.
No RSVP necessary. You can send to donations via Venmo to @TheVillageDC:
Ground Rules:
Please speak from your own experience with an understanding that others’ readiness for help is not fully known when they share. You are welcome to piggy back off of someone else’s remarks, or be inspired by them, but please avoid offering advice or suggestions to others so that your own attention and offering may privilege your own needs.
Silence can be a sign that someone is preparing to speak. If you have already spoken once, please allow at least 30 seconds of silence to pass before speaking again.
If someone moved you or said something you related to or connected with, please let them know after the formal portion of the meeting. This will facilitate relationship-building as well as potentially help dispel shame that occurs when we think we may be alone in our thoughts or feelings.
Say whatever the hell you want, as long as it does not impart harm on others through racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other tool of white supremacy or the patriarchy aimed at keeping us separate and shamed. If it feels hard to say, say it more.
