Chair Massage Flier

Happy Holidays!

Chair Massage Clinic for Clients

In January we will begin offering a monthly chair massage clinic at each of our two locations. Clients will be able to sign-up for a 15-minute chair massage with a skilled LMT. In her practice, the massage therapist states that she "meets each individual with presence and compassion, giving her/him a session that responds to their unique needs and offering him/her tools to support positive shifts in their lives outside of the session." The massage therapist practices nurturing relaxation massage, mindful deep tissue massage, and energy work. She draws upon her experience with meditation, Yoga, and ayurveda.

Massage is thought to be especially beneficial for clients with mental illness. In a 2005 pilot study using interview data before and self-report instruments after completing a brief program of complementary therapy accompany ongoing pyshcotherapy, the study found that the integration of complementary therapies into community mental health practice holds promise for enhancing mental health outcomes and improving quality of life for long-term users of mental health services (J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Jun;11(3):569-74).

Personal Journal/ Reflection for the New Year

Today's art therapy activity was designed to enable clients to create their own lunch bag journal in which to put reflections for the new year. They created their journals using four paper lunch bags folded in half. Clients were encouraged to decorate them using any materials that are provided, including handmade paper, ribbons, tiny envelopes, washi tape, markers, pencils, stencils, collage, etc.

Clients were reminded that this is the time of year when people usually make annual resolutions. They were encouraged to reflect on challenges they may have had this year and what they would like to make as goals for the upcoming year. Below please find images of the journals created during today's art therapy class.

 

 

 

2013 Christmas Tree Decorated by Clients

Chronic Disease Self-Management Series

Choosing a Yoga Instructor

While we already have one Yoga instructor who is delightful and offers perfect practice for our clients, Health & Wellness is presently expanding its Yoga offerings to another site. So, we are in the process of interviewing candidates to fill the new Yoga instructor postion. We've made some observations during this process that we thought we would share with readers who may also be expanding programming for their behavioral health clients.

Most important to the Health & Wellness team is that the new Yoga instructor be skillful at his/her craft. The instructor should be well-versed in providing Yoga practice to all ages and ability levels. Further, the instructor must be sensitive to the individual clients' abilities and needs. For instance, the instructor ought to be able to teach both floor and chair Yoga simultaneously as many of our clients are older and may lack the flexibility and coordination needed for floor Yoga.

Another important feature of our new Yoga instructor, we've decided, is that he/she should not practice only Yin Yoga, or a style that is largely cerebral--or too much in the head. We've found that this style when offered exclusively can exacerbate psychiatric symptoms. Our clients do better when there is nearly constant movement and physical activity rather than only mental processing.

And finally, our clients need music! Some interviewees have stated that they offer a chant in the beginning of class but provide no other music during their practices. We've found that our clients respond well to music, which, again, enables them to focus on being grounded, present and responsive to their surroundings.  Music protects against perseveration of psychiatric symptomology as well.

So for what it's worth, we offer these observations on choosing a Yoga practitioner for an integrated services program.   

Writing Retreat

The inaugural Health & Wellness writing retreat was held Saturday December 7. Ten clients participated in the retreat. Poems about faces and masks were read and clients wrote poems and prose about the same. Clients began the afternoon with a warm up exercise, writing in a free-association style. Then clients were provided prompts including tangible masks to touch and use as inspiration for two free writing exercises. Most clients shared their writing with the group by reading their poems and prose aloud. Below please find one participant's writing:

 

"Many faces have I. Sometimes I feel happy and wear a smiling face with a gaping grin and teeth aglow. Other times I feel sad and wear a frowning face with terse lips and sagging ends. Perhaps my most well-worn face, however, is the puzzler with a concentrated gaze and a near smerk."

December 1-7 | National Handwashing Awareness Week

With the flu season upon us, it is more important than ever that we practice good hand hygiene. The Centers for Disease Control say that handwashing is the single most effective way to prevent the transmission of disease. Below please find the four principles of hand awareness:

The 4 Principles of Hand Awareness

1. Wash your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating
2. DO NOT cough into your hands
3. DO NOT sneeze into your hands
4. Above all, DO NOT put your fingers into your eyes, nose or mouth

(Source: http://www.henrythehand.com/healthful-tips/weekly-healthful-tips/comprehensive-flu-prevention-campaign/)