October 2011 Newsletter
October 20, 2011
AA A— ?
Cheryle Jones Andrews
No, AAA does not equal the Automobile Association of America! Rather AAA stands for three steps that individuals can use to support and sustain greater mental health.
Simply put, AAA means:
Step 1: Acknowledge feelings.
Step 2: Accept that they just are.
Step 3: Act in response to feelings.
We are blessed with the neurological wiring to experience feelings that will guide us to make healthy choices in life’s circumstances. Pia Mellody, author of Facing Codependence, identifies very specific benefits or gifts that result when we attend to our feelings and use them to forge our lives. Too often we avoid or stuff feelings and end up feeling paralyzed on our life journeys.
The problem for most folks struggling with depression or anxiety is that the ability to tolerate a wide range of feelings has become limited, in part because adult caregivers in their lives did not model or perhaps even know how to handle their own feelings. Such parents did not know how to encourage and support their children to feel and to learn the language of feelings. Ultimately they limited their children’s ability to experience the richness of life. So, Step 1 is to simply notice and acknowledge feelings, basically notice the physical sensations.
Acceptance, Step 2, is to remember that all feelings have purpose and to accept that feelings are just a part of life. Acceptance does mean withholding judgment and not dismissing them as good or bad—it simply means to take an attitude of curiosity about why these feelings are occurring at this time.
Acceptance then makes room for Step 3: Act. We are empowered to choose how we want to act on our feelings through acceptance of them. The choice may be anything from doing something to doing nothing. Consider the feeling anger, a feeling that leaves many squeamish. However, anger can be on a continuum from mild irritation to rage. If we can acknowledge anger and the sensations we experience in our bodies, if we can accept that it’s OK to feel anger, then we can act on the reasons for feeling anger that curiosity reveals.
Mellody identifies energy, strength and assertiveness as the gifts of anger. Whether we choose to state our anger and our wants or we re-evaluate the thinking behind our anger and let it go or we simply explore it further, we are acting on our feelings. Only through acknowledgement and acceptance of our feelings can we be intentional about acting on our own behalf.
When we ignore our feelings, they burrow into our being, like worms into our computers. They don’t go away but cause undue stress that complicates our health, relationships and lives. Not only is it OK to feel our feelings, it’s the healthy, proactive thing to do. AAA takes practice and patience with ourselves, but it works!
Partners of Sex Addicts Support Group for Women
October 2, 2011
Title: Partners of Sex Addicts Support Group for Women
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: October 3 – Partners of Sex Addicts Support Group for Women
Workshop presented by Cheryle Jones Andrews, LCPC, LMFT
Mondays, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, October 3 – December 19
Registration cost: $75 per session, payable in three secured installments.
Partners of sex addicts are burdened with feelings of betrayal, isolation, anger and mistrust because of their partner’s addiction. Partners learn immediately that they are not alone and that they do not need to suffer silently. Members will learn about sex addiction, its impact on relationships and family, and how to deal with the guilt, shame, and embarrassment their partner’s addiction has caused. Partners can heal from the effects of the infidelity and betrayal and build a renewed sense of themselves. Many have walked this path before you, and you will learn that you are not alone. Interested women must complete a complimentary informational interview with Cheryle prior to joining. Call 385-0888 to arrange an appointment.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-10-03
Do I Need a Pill to Be Happy? A Psychiatrist Looks at Mind-Body-Spirit
October 2, 2011
Title: Do I Need a Pill to Be Happy? A Psychiatrist Looks at Mind-Body-Spirit
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: October 6 – Do I Need a Pill to Be Happy? A Psychiatrist Looks at Mind-Body-Spirit
Free workshop presented by Dr. Jolene Starr
Thursday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Learn how modern research in neurophysiology is supporting many ancient healing techniques used in Eastern Medicine for thousands of years. Bring home with you some simple, practical ways which you can incorporate mind-body/energy medicine techniques into your mental health practice.
Jolene Starr, M.D. Trained in traditional psychiatric medicine, Dr. Starr also appreciates the value of herbs, supplements, and energy medicine techniques in treatment. Prior to opening her private practice at Foothills Psychiatry, she work at the Boise VA Medical Center with veterans and soldiers returning from Afghanistan and the Iraq war.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-10-06
Toward a Better Understanding of Addiction
October 2, 2011
Title: Toward a Better Understanding of Addiction
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: October 13 – Toward a Better Understanding of Addiction
Free workshop presented by Ben Seymour, BRI-II
Thursday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
If you are dealing with addiction in any capacity, this presentation is for you- from the layperson, family member or parent to the professional. Ben will lay out the basics of addiction, the brain, and how trauma is related to it all.
Benjamin Seymour, BRI-II began working with addicted clients in 199 at Michael’s House in Palm Springs California. Upon moving to Idaho in 2005, he co-founded Intervention 180, a company providing intervention services all over North America. Benjamin has been featured within the national media and does regular speaking within the national addiction conference unit. He is now focused on bringing quality addiction care to the Treasure Valley. In 2009 Benjamin founded Ashwood Recovery in Meridian Idaho and continues to help families in crisis as a result of addiction.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-10-13
Avoiding the Zingers of Unhappy Relationships
October 2, 2011
Title: Avoiding the Zingers of Unhappy Relationships
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: October 17 – Avoiding the Zingers of Unhappy Relationships
Free workshop presented by Timothy J. Furness, LCPC, LMFT
Monday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Changing the pattern of criticism and defensiveness in your relationship is essential to its long-term stability and success. While empathy and understanding go a long way toward maintaining a healthy connection with your partner, it is the zingers, the negative behaviors, which are truly destructive. Tim will explore some of the negative ways many couples inadvertently use to communicate with each other and find healthier, more useful ways of communicating to help insure the long-term stability and success of your relationship.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-10-17
Stressed and Worried…2nd Grade
October 2, 2011
Title: Stressed and Worried…2nd Grade
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: October 20 – Stressed and Worried…2nd Grade
Free workshop presented by Lorn Adkins, LCPC, LMFT
Thursday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Research is showing that an increasing number of our children experience debilitating anxiety at increasingly younger ages. Schools have become more stressful and the populations of children in the schools have become more transient and challenging. It is not surprising that children as young as six or seven are experiencing symptoms of very real fear and anxiety. In this workshop, learn the social causes for the increase and what we can do as parents to help our children manage early-on-set anxiety.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-10-20
Families that Play Together Stay Together
October 2, 2011
Title: Families that Play Together Stay Together
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: October 24 – Families that Play Together Stay Together
Free workshop presented by Shirley O’Neil, M.Ed., LPC, Certified School Counselor
Monday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Spending quality time together as a family is easier and more fun than you think. This talk will focus on new research on the value of play as well as ideas for family interactions.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-10-24
Choosing to Forgive
October 2, 2011
Title: Choosing to Forgive
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: November 7 – Choosing to Forgive
Free workshop presented by Cheryle Jones Andrews, LCPC, LMFT
Monday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Choosing to forgive seems impossible when we have been deeply hurt by another and are caught in anger, depression and resentment. Choosing not to forgive compounds our anxiety and depression and saddles us with hopelessness. Forgiveness does not mean accepting continued abuse or reconciliation with an offender. Forgiveness lets us release our pain in order to regain our lives we benefit more than the one we choose to forgive. Learn the process of forgiveness and find greater peace. Note: This seminar is a repeat due to interest.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-11-07
The Write Way Through the Holidays
October 2, 2011
Title: The Write Way Through the Holidays
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: November 8 – The Write Way Through the Holidays
Workshop presented by Susan Reuling Furness
Tuesday, 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Registration cost: $49 before November 1. $65 after November 1.
The greatest gift you can give yourself and your family is a relaxed, clear-thinking self. Take time now to prepare yourself for more joy, less stress. We will consider the thoughts of the poets and shine the light on what truly matters to you. Everyone is welcomed. *Registration fee includes a light snack.
Start Time: 05:30pm
Date: 2011-11-08
When Consequences Don’t Work
October 2, 2011
Title: When Consequences Don’t Work
Location: Jefferson Street Counseling & Consulting
Description: November 10 – When Consequences Don’t Work
Free workshop presented by Lorn Adkins, LCPC, LMFT
Thursday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
What is the best consequence for not coming home on time? What happens when you’ve tried every consequence and nothing seems to work? Come and explore what is behind a consequence and how to make them meaningful. Consequences don’t have to be painful to work; they just need to be effective. We need effective parenting and effecting consequences.
Start Time: 07:00pm
Date: 2011-11-10