The Self-Helper
Summer/Fall
2006
News and Notes from
the Self-Help Center
Mark Your Calendar:
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Self-Help Conference:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The
theme of this year’s conference is Changing
Families in a Changing World: How Support Groups Help Us Meet Challenges. This conference is being held at the
University of Illinois in order to introduce the community to a new resource,
the Doris Kelley Christopher Hall. This
facility is home to The Pampered Chef Family Resiliency Program based in the
Department of Human and Community Development at the University of
Illinois. The program is dedicated to
enriching child, individual, and family well-being in the context of
communities. The center supports
innovative research, education, and public engagement outreach activities that
hold potential for strengthening families’ ability to be resilient in the face
of life stressors and to successfully navigate the competing demands of work
and family. The conference this year
will include Latin American music and storytelling at The Spurlock Museum in
order for the entire family to participate.
Our keynote speaker, Barbara Schwartz, from the Illinois Department on
Aging will provide information on resources available for families through the
State of Illinois. Registration
materials will be mailed by early September.
Additional information and a poster to distribute is enclosed in this
newsletter. For additional information
contact the Self-Help Center. We hope to
see you at this interactive conference.
The Art of Healing
Workshops: A Successful Community Collaboration
The Self-Help Center of Family Service
along with the Mills Breast Cancer Institute of Carle Foundation Hospital and
the American Cancer Society welcomed approximately 100 professionals, support
group leaders, caregivers and persons diagnosed with cancer to two days of
interactive programs which focused on artistic therapies to aid in the healing
process. Author Sharon Bray of San
Francisco provided an excellent overview of the history, process and benefits
of therapeutic writing in a group setting at the Friday workshop. Participants were provided several
opportunities throughout the day to try their hand at this type of writing and
group sharing. The participants
responded by sharing a range of writing from poetic to profound and moving. Some of the comments after the program
included appreciation for the day: “I appreciated learning important writing
techniques for personal growth.” “The
day was a gift of respite for me.” “The
best conference I have attended in 20 years of my counseling practice.” The Saturday workshop included artists who
demonstrated Qigong meditation, dance and movement, art, poetry as well as
writing in groups. The participants
responded enthusiastically to the various art forms and expressed how the
sessions were rejuvenating, awesome, and a time of self-discovery to help them
with the healing process. As a result of
these two workshops, a writing group formed and has been named Tuesday’s with the Healing Harmonics Writing
Group. A poem written by Char Pekoz is included in this newsletter; it captures the power
of a support group to provide healing and hope to the members. We hope to continue to offer collaborative
programs such as this event in the future.
The writing technique demonstrated in these workshops can also be
applied in a variety of support groups and can be accessed in the forthcoming
book of Sharon Bray’s When Words Heal
which should be available in early fall 2006.
For more information about the writing group or how to apply this
process in groups contact the Self-Help Center.
Announcements
·
The eleventh addition of the Support Group Directory
will be available in mid October 2006. The updated version is also available on line at www.prairienet.org/selfhelp. Call the Self-Help Center to request a
copy(s) when available.
·
Revised Specialized Lists on Addictions, Caregiving, Disability, Grief, Health, Mental Health,
Parenting, Physical and Emotional Abuse, Teens and Youth and Sexual Orientation
groups will also be available this
fall. Call the Center to order copies;
no charge if you arrange to pick them up.
·
Stronger Roots Stronger Branches is a conference that will be held at the Holiday Inn
in Naperville, IL on September 28 and 29, 2006. The conference is sponsored by
Prevention First and celebrates diverse
traditions and cultures in prevention programs.
For more information on the conference program and registration visit www.prevention.org and click on
Conferences.
·
Small Group Ministry Network is a valuable resource to support small group
ministry and related shared ministry models through the development of new
resources, networking and training opportunities. For more information about this program and
membership visit the website www.smallgroupministry.net.
·
Mowrer Award –
Nominations being Accepted - See page
three of this newsletter and the insert.
We will present these awards at the Fall Self-Help Conference on October
21st.
The
following is an impromptu poem written in the Tuesday’s with the Healing Harmonics Writing Group which formed
after the April Art of Healing workshops:
I
LOVE IT HERE!!
The
sounds and rhythms
Of
Being
Of
Laughter
And
Tears
The
Re-Freshing
Breezes
of our
Multiplied
Authenticity
We
Walk
The
Shores
Of
Our
Life’s Experience’s
Of
Love
Of
Loss
We
Air
Discovering
Alone
and
In
Pairs
We’re
Finding Those
Shells
of Being
Most
common
And
Most
rare
As
boldly we share
I
LOVE IT HERE!!
THIS
AIR IS
Purest
Most
precious
Clear
As
we pass each other
Sharing
Our Treasures
By
Describing
our
Double
Sun Rise Lives
We
laugh
We
cry
We
simplify
I
LOVE IT HERE!!
I’m
coming back
Again
And
again
‘cause
this is where
MY
heart’s
In
tune
Carle’s
Physician
Conference
Room
Char
(Pekoz) 23 May 2006
Thank You
RSVP Volunteers
Elizabeth Easley and Joan Lathrap for their
ongoing assistance with clerical projects and updating group information in
preparation for the eleventh edition of the Support Group Directory.
Ted Kappes, Prairienet Community Networking Initiative, for his
ongoing assistance with updating Self-Help Center information on the website.
David Gordon, Urbana
Adult Education, for his generous assistance with the layout and production
of this edition of The Self-Helper newsletter.
Aarthi Jayanth, UIUC undergraduate student
who provided clerical assistance at the Self-Help Center during the Spring 2006
semester.
Sue Kozlowski who
helped with the updating process for the next edition of the Support Group
Directory
Staff
Sheryl Bautch, Executive Director
of Family Service
Annie Clay, Program Director
Sharon Monday-Dorsey, Coordinator
Elizabeth Easley, Joan Lathrap;
Volunteers
The Self-Helper
published by The Self-Help Center
A Program of Family Service
405 South State Street
Champaign, IL 61820
217-352-0099
e-mail:
selfhelp@prairienet.org
Web: www.prairienet.org/selfhelp/
A program of Family Service
funded by:
Member:
