Nonprofit Resource Network

APRIL 7, 7:00 pm KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: "It's All About Me:" Perspectives in Self-Experience

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: STEPHANIE VAN DEUSEN, PhD, LPC

Yes, it’s true!  Those of us in the business of caring for others often do not take the time to care for ourselves.  But what does self-care event mean?  What parts of us do we need to take care of?  Keynote speaker, Stephanie L. Van Deusen, PhD, LPC will kick off the Self-Care U Conference by discussing the various domains of self-experience including: somatic self, emotional self, representational self, reflective self and mindful self.  This presentation will answer the question: Who am I today within the context of where I work, live and/or volunteer?

In this session, you will:

• Better understand the definition of self in relation to care
• Increase your knowledge about various domains of self-experience
• Assess status of personal wellbeing within the context of work, volunteer and/or home life

APRIL 8, 8:00 AM: MORNING COFFEE PRESENTATION: Caring for Me: How Is It Different Than Caring for Them?

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: STEPHANIE VAN DEUSEN, PhD, LPC

We know what it means to care for others, whether than be our clients, our staff, our volunteers, our boards of directors. But what does “care” mean when it applies to us?  Do we know how to put self-care into language that we can use to assess our own levels of compassion fatigue or burnout?  Over morning coffee, Stephanie L. Van Deusen, PhD, LPCwill discuss the language  and resulting actions that we can take to care for ourselves.    

In this session, you will:

• Increase your knowledge about caring for self vs. caring for others
• Alter your language for assessing personal levels of burnout and compassion fatigue
• Identify how these linguistic changes can lead to profound transformation
  

MORNING WORKSHOPS (Sessions A-H)

Session A: Preventing Burnout w. Nutrition and Lifestyle Choices

Facilitator: Renee Awad, ND

Did you know that simple dietary changes can help you prevent burnout? Even better, did you know that these foods and herbs are easily accessible for the average home kitchen?   And food is only part of the picture. Learn how simple lifestyle modificationscan have you feeling more relaxed and less stressed.

In this session, you will:

• Understand the basic guidelines of a healthy diet
• Identify foods and herbs that help support the adrenal glands
• Learn how simple lifestyle modifications can support the parasympathetic nervous system

Session A Bibliography and Take Home Tools

Session B: Laughing Your Stress Away

Elaine Boltz, CEAP

Achieving wellness goals and stress reduction is serious business!  “Lightening up” can provide the resilience needed to overcome the many obstacles that block good intentions.  Research shows that laughter strengthens the immune system; improves breathing, arterial blood flow, digestion, and sleep; relaxes muscles, burns calories, reduces pain; and, yes, helps people get along together better! Come learn how laughter, which has no cultural boundaries, enhances relationships and builds trust. Discover the physical benefits of including humor in life and how to unlock your “humor potential” for life enrichment!

In this session, you will:

• Learn how to use humor to reduce stress
• Assess appropriate vs. inappropriate humor
• Understand health benefits of humor/laughter
• Gain insight into the principles of Good Hearted Living
• Have fun experiencing the joy of laughing without jokes or comedy during a Laughter Club session

Session B Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session C: Embodying Yoga and Breathing for Health

Carolyn Whitt, MS

Breathing for health means  slowing down, relaxing in the present moment as we inhale and exhale.  Being present to our own  heart beat and pace.  This workshop  offer  rejuvenating exercises through breath work, gentle yoga postures and a short meditation practice.  These exercises will aid participants in strengthen their body awareness as they relax to cultivate a greater awareness of health and well being.

In this session, you will:

• Recognize breathing techniques that support a relax state of mind
• Learn how our pace in life impacts our ability to make healthy choices.
• Be encouraged to practice at least 3 techniques from session to create a personal daily practice.

Session C Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session D: Wellness 101: Starting a Wellness Program

Donna Reinford, MS

Would you like to implement a culture of wellness at your workplace, but you have no idea how to get started? Perhaps you want to expand the wellness program that already exists.  If so this workshop is for you!  Not only will you gain the information you need to promote wellness to both your boss and your fellow employees, you will also learn the first steps you need to take.  This session will address: how to form a wellness committee, assess other employee’ needs and interests, identify resources, plan for both implementation and measures of success.  You will discover how to create a supportive culture of wellness!

In this session, you will:

• List the key building blocks for a successful wellness program
• Define ways to promote a culture of health within YOUR company
• Identify tools to measure success

Session D Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session E: Circle of Life™ Experiential Workshop

Linda Crockett

Circle of Life™ coaching teaches participants a “fail-safe” approach to clarify and set goals, schedule realistic action steps, review their own process, set up accountability, and engage in an effective method to create and sustain a change they want to make in their lives.  Stress reduction practices such as mindful movement, regulation of breath, visualization and other techniques drawn from QiGong and Tai Chi are built into this unique coaching process.

In this introductory session, you will:

• Evaluate twelve areas of your life ranging from nutrition and exercise to life purpose and self-esteem, then select one area on which to focus
• Assess your “readiness” for change
• Determine 1-2 “action steps” you will take in the next week
• Learn self-care practices for calming, grounding, focusing & stress reduction

Session E Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session F: Relaxing & Releasing: Slowing Down to Stretch

Barbara Searles, CMT, NCTMB

Take a deep breath and STRETCH!  Discover various gentle stretches for typical trouble spots related to stress-induced tension.  You will also learn how to use small 4" balls to gently relax and release a variety of muscles and muscle groups throughout the body. These techniques can be applied in a variety of settings and require no special level of physical fitness.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify general relaxation & self-care reminders
• Discover 4 to 5 gentle stretching techniques
• Explore 4 to 5 ways to use a small ball to relax muscles
• Learn benefits of regular therapeutic massage

Session F Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session G: Spirituality & Self-Care

Stephanie Van Deusen, PhD, LPC

Spirituality is about connection, affiliation with a supportive community and care for the soul.  How do you care for your soul?  Do you allow yourself to connect with other people?  Has your exposure to so much hurt and tragedy affected your sense of a benevolent God?   This workshop will explore these issues and create a connection with other participants that provides you an opportunity to place your pain or difficult questions into the hands of another.  You will discover the metaphors and rituals you can use as a helper of others.

In this session, you will:

• Define spirituality
• Explore your own level of hope and despair and how your sense of spirituality has changed as a result being a professional caregiver
• Challenge yourself  to greater awareness of spirituality as a key player in creating personal resilience
• Develop a self-care plan

Session G Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session H: Rhythm & Recovery

Mark Seaman

Did you know that you can create a community using sound and rhythm? With an array of drums and percussion instruments, Earth Rhythms will teach you skills in community building, listening, communicating in new ways and using rhythm as a metaphor for creating positive relationships. Discover and experience the healing power of drumming and rhythm. This workshop also includes aGuided global sound meditation that will help you develop a new level of self-awareness.Thesacred space created in this workshop will bring you into balance with your own inner rhythms, and will provide you with tools for integrating relaxation skills into everyday life.

In this session, you will:

• Learn basic drum techniques
• Discover the rationale for using rhythms and movement to interact with the clients you serve
• Learn the skills needed adapt rhythm-based music to first your own needs and then those of your clients

• Understand the group dynamics of drumming and basic group facilitation skills

Session H Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Personal Transformation: The "Me" Commitment

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: STEPHANIE VAN DEUSEN, PhD, LPC

Now that we have interacted with the concepts of self and care, how do make the commitment to transforming ourselves into more healthy practitioners?  Over lunch, Stephanie L. Van Deusen, PhD, LPC

will talk about aspects of personal transformation and discuss the steps we need to take to make that commitment.                   

In this session, you will:

• Learn about various aspects of personal transformation
• Integrate the concepts of self and care into a plan for personal transformation
• Make an ongoing commitment to caring for self as provider of services to others

AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS (Sessions I-P)

Session I: Survival of the Stressed: What Your Body Does & How You Can Adapt

Andrew P. Ashton, DC

Do you understand what your body views as stressors? Do you know that “normal” feels like? In this session, you will explore the impact that stress can have on your physiology, sleep patterns, dietary “needs” and social interactions and discover the positive benefits of self-care opportunities available through chiropractic treatment, yoga, meditation, dietary cleanses, massage, colon hydrotherapy and more.

In this session, you will:

• Better understand your body’s response to stress
• Identify various stress preventers and treatments
• Begin to assimilate lifestyle changes into an already stressful life through journaling, priority-setting and need-identification

Session I Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session J: Five Element Acupunture for Balance & Wellness

Beverly Fornoff, RRT MAc

You, along with the natural world, are composed of the five elements water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.  When all five elements are in harmony, the earth thrives and you flourish!  The Five Element Acupuncturist seeks to balance a person’s energy, or “chi”, by harmonizing the five elements.  Come discover how acupuncture supports wellness and learn practical tips on how to use the principles of the five elements to find balance for body, mind and spirit without using needles.

In this session, you will:

• Understand the importance of opening the senses and being an observer.
• Gain basic knowledge of the associations of the five elements and how they relate to health and wellness.
• Learn how acupuncture works to support and maintain balance and health.
• Come away with practical suggestions for maintaining your own health using the principles of the five elements.

Session J Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session K: A Toolbox of Stress Management Techniques

Carol J. Gingerich, MSW, LCSW

Lin Roussel, BA, LPN, NCTM,CWC

Have you noticed that stress can be detected by the use of your five senses?  And do you know that simple tools can be used to manage day-after-day tensions and stress?  This workshop introduces a “toolbox” of stress management techniques, which use all five of your senses as methods for as avenues to handle stress and to introduce healthy relaxation into daily living.   Come experience this holistic approach which addresses the vital roles that mind, body, emotions and spirit play in living life and in relieving stress.  Techniques will include aromatherapy, self-massage, visual imagery, music and more.

In this session, you will:

• Gain an awareness of why stress management is so important in living out our daily lives.
• Recognize ways in which one’s own body, senses, and mind can not only experience tension and stress, but can also be used as avenues to find and experience healthy ways to cope with them.
• Practice a variety of techniques/tools for managing stress that can be drawn from and used when encountering the tensions and stress of daily living.

Session K Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session L: Tai Chi Easy™

Holly Miller,RN, BS, COHN-S, HN-BC

Tai Chi Easy™selects a few of the most profound and gentle Tai Chi movements and simplifies them into aneasy to learn and doset of movements.  Discover how easy, beneficial and fun Tai Chi can be from the very beginning!  You will NOT have to devote years to  learning the traditional 108 movement form to enjoy the calming emotional and health benefits ofTai Chi and, in fact, may feel your Qi or internal life force the very first time. Research confirms that Tai Chi and Qigong, Chinese wellness practices for Mind-Body health, prevent and heal disease. Join the over 100 million people who practice Qigong and Tai Chi inChinadaily to maximize well-being and inner peace, and support active aging and vibrant longevity.

In this session, you will:

• Discover theVitality Enhancement movements.
• Identify three intentful corrections/mindful adjustments.
• Observe and practice the 5 movements of Tai Chi Easy.

Session L Bibliography and Take Home Tools

Session M: Metabolic Correction: The Answer to Excess Body Fat

Dawn C. Heistand, CSCS

Does it seem as though you gain weight by simply LOOKING at a piece of cake, much less eating it?  Would you like understand at least one root cause of obesity?  Even better, would you like to know how to “reset” your own system so that your glands function more normally? Come learn more about hormones and how one God-given protective hormone given can misfire so dramatically. Find out how to reverse this problem!

In this session, you will:

• Better understand obesity and slow metabolism
• Learn the connection between hormones and excess weight
• Discover practical tips for balancing your body with nutrition, hormones and specific stress management techniques
• You will explore how to apply your new knowledge to lose weight and to correct your metabolism FOREVER!

Session M Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session N: How Writing Heals

Melissa Greene

Are you able to best express your feelings and thoughts on paper?  Or would you like to explore how to better use this venue to reduce your stress?  Join this workshop to learn more about writing as a means of hope and increased self-esteem.  Together, with other participants, you will experience the art of play and how it sparks the courage, passion and confidence to create. Bring a pad, pencil and your enthusiasm for life.

In this session, you will:

• Learn to trust your ideas
• Listen to your intuition
• Take a break from perfectionism
• Laugh and release tension
• Bond with other creative souls

Session N Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session O: Compassion Wellness: Burning w. Passion or Burning OUT?

Patti Homan Anewalt, PhD, LPC, FT

Have you ever felt drained, overwhelmed, or worn out at the end of the work day? Did you find yourself counting the days left until next weekend; perhaps you were wondering how much longer you could keep up the pace? If so, you are not alone. Addressing what contributes s to physical and emotional exhaustion, this session will explore stress management techniques you can employ to effectively offset the stress you experience when caring for others!

In this session, you will:

• Define the differences between compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion wellness
• Assess your personal level of compassion fatigue or burnout
• Identify three stress management techniques to promote your own compassion wellness

Session O Bibiliography and Take Home Tools

Session P: 10 Mindfulness-Based Strategies to Energize and Empower

Susan Atkins,PhD

Did you know that your neuron system (MNS) connects you with others?  It is the brain area that activates empathy and creates the foundation for compassion.  Mirror neurons are working when a baby smiles in an effort to connect; the MNS produces neuronal activity when you see others who are in pain. However, if you don’t care for yourself, your MNS can overwhelm you.  This workshop will provide ten strategies to provide immediate first aid to those suffering compassion fatigue. Some techniques can be implemented in seconds, some work better as a regular practice. Come see which techniques you can use to build a better you!

In this session, you will:

• Discover how mirror neurons operate to create a sense of compassion and joy or…exhaustion
• Practice 10 mindfulness-based techniques
• Learn about the latest research from the National Institute of Health on deep restorative rest
• Develop a plan to seamlessly add one or more of these techniques to their daily schedule

Session P Bibiliography and Take Home Tools