For the 11th time, Mental Health Art Week is happening all over Finland – and we’re excited to be part of it again!
Art, culture and movement can have a huge positive impact on mental health, and even more so when getting creative together with other people. Join one of our free workshops and experience how painting, singing or other techniques contribute to your wellbeing.
Mental Health Art Week is organized by MIELI. You can find out more about it here.
Please note: All our workshops are free of charge and open to everyone but require registration beforehand to allow for proper planning. Registration will be open mid-April.
What?
Express feelings through pouring colors into canvas!
Join us for a special hands-on art workshop designed to connect with your emotions in a deeply creative and nonverbal way. Expression Through Colors workshop invites women to explore and express their inner world and feelings such as love, fears, hopes, joy or sorrow and personal challenges through the flowing movement of paint on canvas. You will discover how art becomes a universal language, helping you process emotions without needing to say a word. This workshop is about allowing your feelings to flow freely through color, creating from a place of authenticity and emotion. No painting experience is needed—just a willingness to feel, flow, and create.
This workshop is for women interested to explore art and mental health!
When?
Tuesday, 20.5.2025
10.00-12.30
Where?
Yhteisötalo
Teveyskuja 2B
02770 Espoo
Who?
I am Jeti, an art life coach and a member of the Neighborhood Mothers in Espoo Finland.
I will facilitate an art workshop entitled Expression through colors on 20 May 2025 as part of Mental Health Art Week. In this workshop, I will guide the ladies participants to express their feelings, love, fears, challenges… without words, through the pouring of colors into canvas.
Art is the universal language of the 🌏 and one of the best coping skills to express and release inner emotions. Welcome✨
Partners: Neighbourhood Mothers, Wahva Nainen
What?
Job searching in Finland—especially as a migrant—can be a demoralizing and an isolating experience. Despite attending networking events, CV clinics, LinkedIn workshops, and job coaching sessions, many job seekers still face constant rejections without clear feedback or progress.
In Helsinki, the unemployment rate continues to rise—reaching 12.9% as of February 2025 (kaupunkitieto.hel.fi). In a time marked by uncertainty and helplessness, this is a moment to reclaim agency—by taking control where we so often feel we cannot
This creative, community-based workshop offers a unique way to channel the emotional toll of repeated job denial into something both artistic and cathartic. Participants are invited to bring printed copies of their job rejection emails and transform them into paper mâché art. Together, we’ll construct piñatas from these rejections—symbols of the frustration, invisibility, and resilience experienced in the job-seeking process.
In a follow-up event, we’ll break the piñatas as a collective act of release, resistance, and solidarity.
Materials needed
- Printed job rejections – printing is available at most public libraries. NOTE: Please blur or blot out any personal information in the printed emails to protect the confidentiality of you and the sender.
- You can also upload your job rejections in the google forms for me to print below – Upload your job rejections here
- Apron or clothes you can get dirty
Participants: The workshop is open to all, however, the target group is those who have been struggling with chronic unemployment.
When?
Tuesday, 20.5.2025
11.00-14.00
Where?
Tallipääty
Lapinlahdenpolku 8
00180 Helsinki
Who?
Hi! My name is Hope and I am originally from New Mexico, USA, but I have been living in Finland for the last 8 years. I am a licensed social worker (sosionomi) and have been struggling to find work, on-and-off for the last 4 years.
I was passionate about founding MIELI Without Borders because of how the integration process negatively impacted my mental health and well-being. I was unable to find adequate resources during my integration process and wanted to prevent others from experiencing the same thing. Additionally, I saw little to no coverage about how immigration, joblessness, and mental health intersect and wanted to bring attention to the issue.
I have been on the board for the last 3 years and am passionate about community action and spreading awareness about the impacts of immigration and unemployment on mental health and well-being.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn!
What?
This interactive and reflective workshop invites participants on a creative journey of self-awareness, storytelling, and positive reframing using vibrant photo cards as visual support. Through intuitive image selection, guided sharing, and reflective conversation, participants will uncover personal memories, reflect on their experiences and reimagine their narratives in empowering ways.
With a focus on mindfulness, emotional awareness, and storytelling, this workshop helps participants develop practical tools for coping, resilience, and self-growth.
About positive reframing: Positive reframing is a psychological technique that involves changing your perspective on a situation, event, or experience by focusing on the positive aspects, potential benefits, or opportunities for growth.
Our thoughts and interpretations shape our emotions and actions. Positive reframing acknowledges that while we can’t always control what happens, we can control how we interpret it. By choosing to focus on the positive, we can manage stress, build resilience, and find meaning in difficult experiences
What more is: Positive reframing can support habit formation by helping you overcome setbacks, challenge limiting beliefs, and focus on progress. It can support manifestation by helping you shift your beliefs, cultivate a positive mindset, enhance visualization, and increase gratitude. By integrating positive reframing into your approach to habits and manifestation, you can create a more empowering and effective path towards your goals.
When?
Thursday, 22.5.2025
17:30-20.00
Where?
VIP Lounge
Kauppamiehentie 6
Tapiola, Espoo
Who?
Hi everyone, I’m Minh! Join me for a positive reframing workshop where through the stories we tell, we’ll practice shifting our perspectives. My promise to you is a helpful and engaging experience filled with laughter, creativity, and the freedom to be completely authentic. Let’s unlock new perspectives and connect through our stories!
Follow me here: http://mywiseneighbor.com
Partners: HyTe
What?
This reflective workshop is designed to explore coping through creativity, and it offers participants practical tools to navigate the emotional challenges we face every day. No artistic background is required—just a willingness to explore, express, and connect.
In this workshop, we will explore the Cognitive Triangle, a concept that highlights the interconnected relationship between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We will examine how our thoughts influence our emotions, how those emotions shape our actions, and how our actions, in turn, reinforce our thoughts— creating a continuous cycle that can be shifted through awareness and intention. We will try different breathing techniques for intervention, focusing on ways to avoid the repetition of processes. Besides this, we will focus on how to become aware of our own thoughts and recognize them in order to prevent the repetition of processes. In addition, we will discuss the simple artistic technic that everyone can create with materials from nature and emphasize how through art we can become more aware of our thoughts.
When?
Friday, 23.5.2025
17:30-19:30
Where?
Tallipääty
Lapinlahdenpolku 8
00180 Helsinki
Who?
I’m Banafshe, a professional in psychology and education with years of experience in community support. I deeply believe that in our fast-paced world, we all need space, guidance, and connection to thrive and live more fully. Through the Mind and Nature workshop, I aim to create a supportive and enriching environment where we can come together, learn from one another, and reconnect—with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. This workshop is a space to slow down, reflect, and grow—together.
Mahsa Khoshnejad is in her final year of social services studies. With a strong background in art and creativity, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Art and, has led many art workshops for groups like MIELI Without Borders and other community organizations.
For over 12 years, Mahsa worked as a nursery nurse in an English-language daycare, where she enjoyed doing art and craft projects with the kids, helping them express themselves and have fun.
Last summer, she volunteered with a London charity that runs art courses for adults with mental health challenges. Through this experience, Mahsa saw firsthand how creative activities can help people feel more connected and supported.
What?
Join us for a creative and reflective workshop where we use photography to connect with our surroundings on a deeper, emotional level. In the unique environment of Lapinlahden Lähde — a former mental health hospital turned wellbeing center — we will explore how different places make us feel and create an emotional map of the area together.
Through guided activities, discussion, and photo-taking, this workshop invites you to slow down, tune into your feelings, and engage with the environment in a new, meaningful way. No photography experience is needed — your camera or phone is simply a tool to help you notice and reflect.
We’ll begin with a warm-up and short sharing session to get to know one another, then head out to explore the area individually or in pairs. At the end, we’ll come back together to share some of the images and experiences and reflect on what we’ve discovered — about the space, and about ourselves.
What to Bring:
- A cell phone or camera (any type – quality doesn’t matter)
- Comfortable clothing for walking outdoors
- Curiosity and openness
- Optional: a notebook or app for jotting down thoughts
Why Join?
- Reconnect with your emotions through creative self-expression
- Experience familiar places with fresh eyes
- Share stories and perspectives with others
- Take part in an artistic and mindful exploration of space
If you have any questions or access needs, feel free to reach out before the event. We look forward to exploring with you!
When?
Saturday, 24.5.2025
13:30-15:30
Where?
Avoin tila
Lapinlahdenpolku 8
00180 Helsinki
What?
Have you ever wanted to beat the crap out of your job rejections? Well, now you can!
A group of job seekers and I in a series of workshops have created piñatas from paper maché out of our printed job rejections. In this event, our creations are on display for all to see–until we smash them.
We warmly invite you to come to our Piñata Wrecking Party to help us smash our job rejections as a bold statement on mental health and unemployment in Finland
Context
Being a job seeker can be consuming and negatively impact your mental health and well-being and I would like to change the way we see job seekers. As Noemí Gutiérrez Valdés puts it, “This redefines the power of rejection, which often feels overwhelming when we let it define us. Instead of allowing rejection to wreck us, we take control—wrecking the piñata made of job rejections, turning it into an act of self-preservation and even a bit of fun!”
As the unemployment rate hovers around 13% in Helsinki (kaupunkitieto.hel.fi), the uncertainty and helplessness of job seekers is palpable. Students from outside the EU que in bread lines and desperately searching for part-time work. However, the reality is nothing but as many arrived with expectations of easy access to part-time work, but are finding the Finnish job market difficult to enter. Not to mention, the number of unemployed young people increased by 33% from a year ago, unemployed people over 50 years old increased by 13% and the number of unemployed people aged 25–49 increased by 18% from a year ago. The number of long-term unemployed people increased by 19% from a year ago while there were 30% fewer job vacancies than a year earlier.
As the situation continues to worsen and the list of things we can’t control grows longer, this piñata wrecking party is my way of adding something to the list of what we CAN control.
Event schedule
16:00 – 17:00 – Exhibit of the piñatas. Walk around and read and see what was created
17:00 – Introduce the exhibition and the creators of the piñatas
17:15 – Smashing of the piñata’s begins
18:00 – 20:00 – Socialize, mingle, and be merry
Additional info
- Some non-alcoholic drinks will be provided, but if you want something else, BYOB
- A DJ will be playing throughout the party
- This event supports ‘safer space’ practices which means it is free of discrimination and harassment of of any kind
If you have any questions or want to offer to help organize the event, please contact me at hope.makara@mieliwithoutborders.fi
When?
Saturday, 24.5.2025
16:00-20:00
Where?
Lapinlahden Lähde
Tallipääty 1krs.
Lapinlahdenpolku 8
00180 Helsinki
What?
In the Mindful Movements workshop we will practice somatic exercises. Somatic exercises focus on the mind-body connection and help you become more aware of your physical sensations and release tension stored in the muscles.
We will learn movements from diverse ancient BodyMind traditions like Yoga and Qigong but also Mobility and Strength exercises, nervous system relaxation exercises, Self Massage, BreathWork and Meditation. This workshop will give you access to a bag full of tools to integrate healthy habits and beneficial practices in your daily life.
Come as you are, into a safe, accepting space where we will be able to exercise compassion and loving kindness towards ourselves and others.
Please wear comfortable clothes! 😊
When?
Sunday, 25.5.2025
10:30-13:00
Where?
Wanha Labra
Lapinlahdenpolku 8
00180 Helsinki
Who?
Lay Wascher is a certified Yoga and Fitness Instructor with over 35 years experience in group fitness training. She graduated in Media Sciences in her hometown Rio de Janeiro in the end of the 80’s, then relocated to Germany and began to work exclusively with her biggest passion: body movement. After over 30 years in Germany, she relocated once more, this time to Finland. She started her own healing and recovery process when chronic stress manifested in her body.
Since 2020, she has been using BodyMind practices for stress reduction and overall health, somatic practices to help us to connect to our bodies and trauma informed methods to enhance nervous system regulation.
She creates an atmosphere of safety, acceptance and loving kindness and is always searching for new tools to share with her customers. Lay works with energy, enthusiasm, creativity and passion.
Follow Lay on Instagram
What?
Join us into The Village, a hands-on creative workshop where clay becomes a tool for expression, connection, and healing. In this workshop, the participants will be guided through creative exercises using clay, in individual and groups task to explore their inner world and build a shared creative space.
Working with clay offers a unique sensory experience that supports emotional well-being. Through mindful shaping and molding, participants will tap into powerful coping tools such as:
- Mindfulness – Shaping clay encourages presence and calm.
- Non-verbal expression – Working with clay allows the expression of complex emotions without words.
- Stress relief – Kneading and molding clay can help release physical tension.
- Self-reflection – Creating with clay can offer insight into emotions and thoughts.
- Creative flow – The act of working with clay can help participants lose themselves in a calming, focused activity.
- Connection – Sharing the creative process with others fosters a sense of community and reduces isolation.
No prior experience in working with clay is needed—just a willingness to get your hands messy and your creativity flowing. This workshop is open to anyone seeking to explore themselves and connect with others through art.
When?
Sunday, 25.5.2025
14.00-16.00
Where?
Avoin tila
Lapinlahdenpolku 8
00180 Helsinki
Who?
Giulia Lepori
I am an Italian sociologist with a background in mental health studies and research. About 10 years ago, I spent a year studying and deepening the techniques of art therapy, where colours, materials, and symbols become tools of transformation. Since then, I have become more and more passionate about creativity and the ways in which art can support emotional well-being, organizing when possible, creative workshops.
Mahsa Khoshnejad is in her final year of social services studies. With a strong background in art and creativity, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Art and, has led many art workshops for groups like MIELI Without Borders and other community organizations.
For over 12 years, Mahsa worked as a nursery nurse in an English-language daycare, where she enjoyed doing art and craft projects with the kids, helping them express themselves and have fun.
Last summer, she volunteered with a London charity that runs art courses for adults with mental health challenges. Through this experience, Mahsa saw firsthand how creative activities can help people feel more connected and supported.
