Creating New Performances of Growing Older: A Short-Term Group led by Helen Abel and Rochelle Schwartz

Join Helen Abel and Rochelle Schwartz for a short-term social therapeutic group exploring and supporting the creation of new performances of growing older. This diverse group will include people of all ages, including those living with dementia, acute or chronic illness, as well as care partners, family and friends. Together we will create conversations where we listen to and learn from each other as we improvise playful ways of experiencing the passage of time, the significance of illness and physical changes, caring and being cared for - and our shared capacity for lifelong development.

The group is open to everyone interested in transforming the aging experience from loss, fear and stigma to joy and growth.

Sessions held virtually, on Zoom, on Saturdays, March 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd (at 1PM Eastern US Time - click dates for times in your part of the world)

PLEASE NOTE: There is a time change (UTC-5 to UTC-4) in the middle of this series. The sessions on March 15th and 22nd will be one hour earlier than the sessions on March 1st and March 8th in many parts of the world. Please click on the dates above to see times in your part of the world for each session.

Leader Biographies

Helen Abel loves to help people create new ways of dealing with the challenges of everyday living, including growing older. Her 40 years of experience as a social worker and social therapeutic life performance coach ground her work at Life Performance Coaching. Helen is an active member of Reimagining Dementia. She has come to believe that she can most effectively help people develop by supporting them to use their capacity to create, perform, and play.

Rochelle (Shelley) Schwartz has worked as a therapist, specializing in mental health and community wellness through creative group modalities. She is an Associate of the East Side Institute where she earned a certificate in group facilitation. Rochelle is also an Executive Administrator with experience supporting leadership teams in the natural products industry, tech startups, and nonprofits. She is passionate about working with entrepreneurial teams aligned with wellness-focused missions. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Writing from NYU and a Master’s in Creativity Development from the Pratt Institute. In her free time, she enjoys biking, gardening, hiking, yoga, and creative pursuits involving clay, writing, and cooking.