Integrating Yoga into Mental Health Care - Event 4/26

The worlds of yoga and mental health continue to overlap. Yoga is being used as an adjunctive treatment for anxiety, depression, and eating disorders as well as an overall wellness and stress management practice. Trauma-sensitive yoga is currently being offered at Womencare Counseling Center. To learn more about trauma-sensitive yoga and other ways yoga is being used as mental health treatment, come to this event sponsored by the Socially Engaged Yoga Network (SEYN).

Integrating Yoga into Mental Health Care
Date: April 26th, 2014
Time: 5pm-8pm

Please join us at the home of Marty Clemons, 1101 N. Damen Ave., Chicago (773-680-7778) for a potluck dinner, networking, and discussion of "Integrating Yoga Into Mental Health Care" featuring SEYN members Livia Budrys, Rachel Sherron, and Alissa Catiis.

Please bring a dish to share, as well as business cards (or the equivalent) for efficient networking. RSVP to Marty at sagmarty@yahoo.com or via SEYN's Facebook Page Invite.  Please share this invitation with interested friends & colleagues.

You do not need to be a yoga teacher or practitioner to attend - all welcome!

Image Credits: Naz.Edu

Tools for Moving from Surviving to Thriving

Sexual violence is an abuse of power and control. It is a violation of the body, mind and soul. It renders a person powerless.

Sometimes, there is a single act of abuse, but often the horror is repeated over and over. Compounding this horror, the perpetrator is rarely the stranger lurking on the street but a person who is supposed to love us, take care of us… or just be able to respect our integrity as human beings.

Sexual abuse crosses all ages, gender, ethnic, religious and socio-economic lines.

We at Womencare are dedicated to understanding and supporting survivors on their journey to heal the wounds of abuse. We also acknowledge the flaws in our larger society, which often times makes survivors of abuse feel voiceless, shattered and somehow at fault.

Womencare has a series of workshops aimed at helping survivors give voice to what has happened to them.

These one-day, small group workshops educate, provide community, and offer a place for survivors to deepen their understanding of the impact of abuse.

I am honored to facilitate two of these workshops, one for women and one for men. Tools for Moving from Surviving to Thriving is designed to provide just that… in a safe environment where survivors of sexual, physical and emotional trauma can come together, be heard and work on the impact of the trauma in a concrete way.

I believe that awareness, understanding and education equal transformation.

-Judith Ierulli, MSW, LCSW, specializes in working with adolescent and adult survivors of sexual, physical and emotional trauma. Click here to read her bio on WomencareCounseling.com.

Please click here to read more about workshops at Womencare

Free Event: When Families are Special: Working with Families with Special Needs

As part of our foray into the blog world, we would like to increase your awareness of events that staff members from Womencare Counseling Center are involved in or speaking at. Please take a look at this event, When Families are Special: Working with Families with Special Needs, which is happening at the end of this week. We'd love for you to see Ellen speak!

When a family has a child or children with special needs, they face unique challenges both out in the world and in their relationships. The reverberations of these challenges can wreak havoc within the family system, or open it up to new possibilities. This workshop will explore the multi-systemic impact of having a child with special needs. Participants will be offered suggestions and tools in assisting families to make their own healthy meaning.

This event is presented by Ellen Lonnquist, a staff member at Womencare Counseling. Ellen is a marital and family therapist who graduated from the Family Institute at NU in 1999. From then until 2004, she worked in community mental health in Washington State and Chicago. At Womencare, she counsels individuals, couples, and families. Her specialization is in understanding and helping families with special needs.

Event Details

When Families are Special: Working with Families with Special Needs

Date and Time: Friday, February 14th, 9:00am-12:00pm

Location:  St. Vincent De Paul Center, 2145 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL, 60614

Presented by: Ellen Lonnquist

Cost: Free, with food provided

Register: To register, please visit StarNet and fill out the form on their website.

Celebrating 15 Years of the Natalie Haimowitz Postgraduate Fellowship Program

Are you a clinician with one to five years of experience?  Are you interested in deepening your clinical skills and learning more about trauma treatment and the feminist relational perspective?  Are you ready to grow and join a community of supportive therapists?

I was part of this engaging professional training program from 2010 to 2013.  I interviewed some of the therapists in the program with me to hear more about their experiences.  Here is what they shared:

“I learned so much during the program.   Besides learning a lot about working with survivors and feeling like I deepened my skills as a therapist with this population, I also learned how to be in community with other therapists and what a benefit that is for my work.  In fact, I am no longer able to go it alone.  I can't imagine doing this work without support and consultation.  Womencare embraced me as a community and the support has been a lifesaver to me professionally,” shared Tovah Means.  Tovah Means is the founder of Watch Hill Therapy.

Anna Horvath, who trained as an art therapist, currently works at a hospital's psychiatric emergency room assessing patients who are either hospitalized or referred for outpatient psychiatric care and/or psychotherapy.  Anna shared, “I loved my relationships and contact with my mentors Judith and Ellen.  I learned a lot from their exemplary, empathic attitude toward clients.  As their student, I could experience their compassionate concern and thoughtful contribution to my learning process.  I could sense their wish to understand the nature of my concerns and to assist in resolving difficulties."

Check out what some of my other fellow postgrads are up to now:

Kathleen Brennan

Rachel Wright

*This blog post was written by Alissa Catiis, Staff Therapist and Yoga Teacher at Womencare Counseling Center.