Reasonable Hope: Making Sense of the Current Moment

Migrant Clinicians Network and the Witness to Witness Program are pleased to present this three-part online seminar series that addresses how to manage the multiple stressors impacting service providers and those they serve.  The series will present a model of the helper as witness that provides concrete suggestions as to how the provider can shift from feeling ineffective to feeling effective and competent.  Participants will learn ways of activating resilience, creating a self-care toolbox and managing grief and loss. 

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Part I - Understanding & Coping with the Effects of Overexposure to Stories of Hardship and Trauma

July 8, 2021 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm PST

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At this moment in time, service providers are overexposed to stories of hardship. Fortunately, we are also honored to learn about examples of adaptation and courage. However, regardless of whether the stories providers hear are challenging or uplifting, being a witness takes a toll. 

The premise of this online seminar is that the helpers need help to manage the distress that comes with the role of witness and helper. Sometimes the distress comes from the stories providers are told by the people they work with or interactions they directly observe. Sometimes the distress comes from the people who administer the policies and procedures that affect the people they serve. And often the distress derives from both sources. Providers may also have their own challenging histories. Current situations may trigger memories of difficult personal experiences, making it harder to cope with contemporary stress. 

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Part II - Managing Stress During Uncertain Times

July 15, 2021 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm PST

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This online seminar will provide a general understanding of common emotional responses to the pandemic – worry, anxiety, demoralization, moral distress – and provide efficient strategies to deal with them. A focus will be on the witnessing model, developed by presenter Kaethe Weingarten, PhD, that describes four different witness positions that affect people in their daily lives. Ways of moving into the only effective position will be suggested. Dr. Weingarten will describe concrete ideas for remaining in one’s resilient zone – not stuck too high, not stuck too low. She will also share an approach for preventing the development of PTSD.

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Part III - Grief in the Time of COVID-19: Loss, Connection, & Hope

July 22, 2021 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm PST

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As the losses mount with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, people are feeling a range of emotions. Confusion, fear, anger, and sadness are strong, as is grief. Grief usually takes shared public forms, but during the pandemic, there are constraints. In this online seminar, Kaethe Weingarten, PhD, presents materials about grief in general and grief in the circumstances of the pandemic. We discuss the particular challenges of grief following estrangement or ambiguous loss. We look at ways to support others – clients, friends, colleagues, family members – without becoming overburdened ourselves, so that we may avoid empathic pitfalls while offering support. Throughout the online seminar, we create ways for participants to share their experiences and form a felt sense of community. We need to balance despair with hope, and hope is something best done with others. For 90 minutes, we become your community.

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About the Facilitator 

Kaethe Weingarten, Ph.D., directs the Witness to Witness Program (W2W) whose goal is to help the helpers, primarily serving health care workers, attorneys, domestic violence advocates and journalists working with vulnerable populations.  She was an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry from 1981-2017 and a faculty member of the Family Institute of Cambridge where she founded and directed the Program in Families, Trauma and Resilience.  She has published six books and over 100 articles and essays. 

Starts: Jul. 8, 2021 2:00 pm
Ends: Jul. 22, 2021 3:30 pm
Timezone:
US/Pacific
Registration Deadline
July 21, 2021
Register
Event Type
Webinar/Virtual Training
Hosted by
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