Lullabies
A Iris Collective and Thistle & Bee Partnership
Thistle & Bee and Iris Collective are committed to survivor-centered, trauma-informed healing that honors the voice, creativity, and lived experience of women in recovery. Through a shared training in Carnegie Hall’s nationally recognized Lullaby Project, the two organizations developed a collaborative approach that integrates music, expressive arts, and therapeutic practice into Thistle & Bee’s Intensive Outpatient and residential programming.
Our Story
Through this partnership, Iris Collective brings its artistic and community-based expertise alongside Thistle & Bee’s clinical treatment model, allowing expressive arts to be intentionally embedded within trauma-informed therapy rather than offered as a stand-alone activity.
Within this integrated framework, women are invited to explore songwriting as a way to express safety, hope, grief, resilience, and identity. Guided by clinicians and trained facilitators, participants create lullabies and musical reflections that allow difficult experiences to be explored in a non-verbal, supportive way.
The Results
The women wrote lullabies for their children, loved ones, their inner child, and even one for a beloved pet. Each choice reflected autonomy, safety and deeply personal meaning. In addition to individual expression, a powerful collective moment emerged when the women chose to write and create a song together, honoring their shared journey and the feelings that come with healing within a supportive community.
As the women heard their words brought to life, emotions that are often difficult to verbalize became accessible and embodied. Oftentimes, participants chose to sing together rather than alone. This closely parallels their recovery journeys and reflects the reality that healing does not have to happen in isolation.
The experience culminated in recording the lullabies and preserving them in a bound book, affirming the value of each woman’s story, voice and life. Together, Iris Collective and Thistle & Bee created a healing space where women are not defined by their trauma, but by their creativity, strength, and capacity for growth.