After 20 years of successful, proven implementation in public school settings in both Akron and Cleveland, Ohio, in 2023, Alchemy brought this proven intervention to New York City.
The goal: To replicate and expand this award-winning program so that many more urban youth would thrive and heal through the messages and hero journeys embedded in timeless mythological tales.
In academic year 2023-24, Alchemy began implementation of four pilot mentoring groups in two New York City schools. Two groups of students in grade 6 and two groups in grade 8 participated in the supportive in-school “circles”, modeled after Alchemy’s award-winning format delivered in Akron Public Schools.
Founder and Executive Director Dr. Kwame Scruggs facilitated the pilot groups, and the NYC response – from school leadership and students alike – has exceeded expectations. 100% student participation for both grade levels quickly fostered a strong sense of connection and support among the mentees/peers, and both schools wanted to see the program continue for the full, three-year pilot. Due to funding, only George Jackson Academy (GJA) was able to continue with the program, with the students remaining with Dr. Scruggs from their 6th grade to 8th grade years.
Alchemy Institute Training
The Alchemy Method™
Myths and fairy tales are more than timeless stories. They are maps of the human experience—stories that help us make sense of challenge, transformation, identity, relationships, and our search for meaning and purpose.
Across cultures and generations, myth has provided a framework for navigating life’s most difficult questions. These stories illuminate patterns of struggle and growth, helping us understand not only the world around us, but also ourselves.
At the heart of many myths is the search for the Boon—something useful, healing, transformative, or life-giving that the hero discovers through the journey. The Alchemy Method™ invites participants into that same process of discovery: using myth, dialogue, reflection, and emotional exploration to deepen Knowledge of Self and strengthen our capacity to support others.
Become a Certified Facilitator of the Alchemy Method™
The Alchemy Facilitator Training is an immersive experience that prepares participants to use mythological stories as catalysts for reflection, conversation, connection, and personal growth. Participants who successfully complete the program will earn a Level One Certificate as a Facilitator of the Alchemy Method™, preparing them to facilitate the Method with others.
Throughout the course, participants will engage myth through both heart and mind, exploring how stories reflect issues that remain central to social work and the human experience—including identity, trauma, resilience, belonging, relationships, morality, decision-making and transformation.
Participants will experience myths and story-telling as tools for developing insight, emotional awareness, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the patterns that shape our lives and our work with others.
Through the Alchemy Method™, participants will:
Use myth as a mirror to recognize recurring patterns in life and create a shared language for understanding complex experiences.
Strengthen critical thinking by questioning assumptions and identifying cognitive and emotional patterns, biases, and limiting beliefs.
Develop emotional thinking skills by learning to identify, tolerate, explore, understand, and express emotions in healthy ways.
Integrate critical and emotional thinking to examine the personal values, experiences, and biases that may influence relationships with clients and communities.
Deepen self-awareness and reflective practice, strengthening the ability to understand one's own reactions while remaining present with others.
Strengthen social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, including empathy, emotional regulation, reflection, and self-awareness.
Recognize signs of emotional and cognitive overwhelm and identify opportunities for meaningful self-care.
Explore myth as a resource for resilience, discovering how story, reflection, and connection can help sustain practitioners and reduce the risk of burnout.
The Training Experience
The Alchemy Facilitator Training is designed to be experiential, reflective, and highly interactive. Participants will experience the Method and learn how to create that experience for others.
The program includes:
50 hours of training in the Alchemy Method™
Annotated myths with facilitated questions, reflections, commentary, and selected quotations
Curated literature and learning resources
Participant evaluation and feedback
Social Work Continuing Education Units (CEUs pending approval)
Level One Certificate: Facilitator of the Alchemy Method™
Access to an online community of practice for continued learning and sharing after the training
Scheduled post-training check-ins with instructors to support continued growth and application
The Journey
Alchemy is ultimately about transformation. It asks participants to encounter stories, examine their own assumptions and emotions, listen deeply to the experiences of others, and discover new ways of understanding themselves and the people they serve.
East Harlem Initiative
Bring the Alchemy Method to East Harlem
We have started training social workers, counselors, and educators in the Alchemy Method. We have been teaching it at the Silberman School of Social Work in East Harlem, working with the professionals who are on the front lines with vulnerable people. East Harlem community activists have participated in Alchemy sessions and are interested and working to making Alchemy available to the East Harlem community. Same drum, same myths, same circle — just pointed at the people who carry the ‘weight’.
We are presently in the early stages of collaborating with Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, to create an institutional home in East Harlem, allowing us to train others in our method, with the intent of making generational changes in the lives of their clientele.
NYC 2025 Training
Summary
In 2025, Alchemy conducted a 50-hour pilot training in NYC at Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College. We met with a cohort of 17 individuals for five hours, once a month for ten months. The following are just a few testimonials from our time together
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“Training provided what I’d hoped for, in particular, the Alchemy method provides a softer, more generous and patient vehicle for awakening intrapsychic awareness than that to which I’m accustomed.”
“The content aligned with both my professional and personal goals; however, I received more alignment (and benefit) regarding my personal goals. The content helped me to deal with my inner work in a meaningful way.”
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“The training content aligned completely with my personal development goals: I know that myth is my path, myth is the way to heal and serve. I don't know with whom yet, but it was beautiful to be instructed in how to work with myth.”
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“I also have a renewed acceptance of the perspective of those older and younger than I am. I rarely get to have such a range in one place, for several hours. I have only one or two friends in the +20 or -20 years more/less, so this was a real gift.”
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“I identified some fears I have that inform why I have a difficult time with certain people in my life and feel more equipped to navigate those relationships effectively. I am more aware of my own agency in navigating life's ups and downs. I am more grounded and have more awareness and respect for other people's lived experience and perspectives.”
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“Thank you for offering the training and please offer more! I am eager to stay in touch and continue to develop as an Alchemy facilitator.”
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“The Alchemy training workshops have been a tremendous blessing. I looked forward to coming to each class, and I walked away from each class with not only meaningful insights but also meaningful questions that continued resonating within me between classes.
Also, having a small group of people (individuals who clearly wanted to be there each month) to share the experience with was powerful.
The process has helped me to recognize things that needed to come to the surface for me to heal and grow from.
Focusing on listening and working on my internal self through this training program has been invaluable.”
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In-School programming at George Jackson Academy
The following are responses to the question of how the group sessions, through myths, quotes, or discussions, helped students understand a situation or experience that happened in their past or present, or how they might assist them in the future:
“I learned how to be more responsible.”
“For both the present and future, I learned that despite hardships, I need to do what I have to do.”
“Something I’ve learned that I believe is incredible enough to take note of is that some people will never or rarely, see the opportunities they have going for them.”
“I have learned that everybody may experience different things differently. For example, where people have different opinions on what may have happen(ed) further in the myth. This teaches me to have an open mind when speaking to people.”
“Talking about emotions with other people.“
“The Zen quote ‘The way you do anything is the way you do everything.’“
“Something that I learned and will help me is the discussion hearing others’ point of view from other classmates can alter my way of thinking. [I realized] The myths give me a chance to slow down and reflect.”
“I learned to put into everything no matter how small it is cause the way you do anything is the way you do everything.“
“Always be honest.“
“Something that I learned is that if you change your view/perspective of how you look at things you can have a change of mind about it.”
“I learned to respect, never judge someone on matter how large or how small and most importantly how to appreciate each other.”
“Can’t let the past haunt you. Things aren’t always as they seem on the surface.“
“Talking about my relationship with my dad helps me. I was a bit confused on how I felt about him because he gives me a lot but we don’t “receive” much. To say things aloud helped me think more. This was after our last and most recent myth about the kid who became a giant.”
“I have been with you Kwame for three years. Something I learned that will help me in the future is to think about my actions. I remember in 6th grade you told a quote and it was “Life is simple it is living that is hard.” I am to think about ‘what’ I am doing now and doing everything right like being a nice person, helping people out, doing what I need to do, and all of the above. I have gotten better at journal about my thoughts and share out my feelings.”
“I learned that absolutely nobody is the same even though they may go through the same thing.”
“One quote that stuck to me was: “The way you do anything is the way you do everything” – this quote has a lot of meaning and I hope I don’t forget about it because as I get older I might find the quote even more useful than it already is.”
“Honestly, these myths that you gave me shaped my imagination, the one that is adventurous and curious. Also, it helped me to try new things and be brave like the people in the myths. THANKS A LOT!!!”
In-School programming at De La Salle Academy
What ideas or themes do you remember from the myths?
The majority of the youth reported remembering ideas or themes.
“Kindness goes a long way. Patience is key. Get help when needed”
“Patience, Don’t be greedy”
“Some of the qualities that I remember being taught of are selflessness, care, sacrifice, integrity, and friendship.”
“Patience is key. Be kind to everyone. Ask for help when you need it. Be content with what you have.”
“It is okay to ask for help, It is okay for boys to cry, Don't be greedy.”
“Life is too short, make the best of it. Think about the small things. Never get too greedy, but always be selfless.”
“Never misjudge someone.”
“Don't take things for granted.”
“Think about the first priority and not useless things.”
Please provide a brief example of how you made connections between the themes in the myths and the themes or situations in your life.
The youth responded:
“Like about the myth about needing help I had kind of avoided asking for help and after that I started asking for help more.”
“In the city where people are mended, I learned to make connections with myself because throughout my course at DLSA, I mended myself and changed my behavior a lot.”
“We've talked about the challenges that we're facing and how they connect with the challenges the characters in the myths are facing and most of the time, we find solutions in a cool way to take those challenges head on.”
“There was a time where I really needed to ask for help with my academics, but I did not really reach out to those around me and my grades suffered because of that.”
“After learning that it is okay to ask for help, I started to apply that idea into my life.”
“These myths helped me get my academic stuff together, and I began to lock in.”
“Like when the 3 boys were crying because they were sad that their Dad was sick, so then the old man told them how to make their Dad not sick. I chose this because if you don't show your feelings, then no one can help you.”
“A connection I made was in the myth "the water of life"(I forgot the exact name). The king's son were crying on the stairs because it was ok for the boys to cry. Society has set a bar that says boys should not cry so that is how I connected to the text.”
“If you have the opportunity to do something don't breeze over it and enjoy it.”
“I've made connections to how things may not be as they seem.”
“In the story, the land where people are mended, the bad mother focused on food instead of the broken son. I can resonate with this because this happens to me in real life.”
Participants responded that the myths helped them in the following ways:
“Ask for help when you need it.”
“Never be guilty, I taught myself that some people will always have less than you, so the least you could be is grateful.”
“Something I learned from one of the myths was to not give into harmful temptations. In one of the myths there was a boy on a mission but he was almost turned to stone in a castle because he decided to lay around when he saw a giant comfy bed.”
“Like when you do not understand something or are struggling with anything in life, go to your most trusted person and then they could help you find a way to solve your problems with you.”
“Life has just enough time to make the best quality of it.”
“Family matters”
“Never be greedy. In the myth "The city where people are mended" the Mom who killed her child to mend him better than he was before was extremely greedy. She thought mending her son would improve him but it made him worse.”
“Don't be overconfident like the older brothers with their sick Dad.”
“Kindness goes a long way. Being a follower isn't always the best option for you.”
“Be the hero in your story, in the water of life, the little boy persevered and got his father well.”