This program series* is now full. Please email carla@smithcenter.org to be added to the waitlist.

*Participants MUST be located in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland or North Carolina. Registration will be closed at 8 participants. Before registering, be sure that you can commit to attending at least 7 of the 8 sessions.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Erin Price, LICSW, OSW-C and Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA

Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Survivors

Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Survivors Group*

Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy is largely based on the work of existential psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl and was developed for those facing illness. Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy aims to decrease feelings of sadness and increase hope by teaching participants how to focus on creating, experiencing, and keeping a sense of meaning in life. Research shows that MCP is very helpful to those who have experienced cancer. During this 8-session weekly group, participants will learn:

  • To cope better by finding and creating a sense of meaning and purpose in life.
  • How sources of meaning can be used to help you during hard times. 
  • New ways to face and overcome the challenges caused by your illness. 

 

MCP is meant to help participants look for meaning in their past, present, future and everyday life through teaching, answering questions together, doing homework assignments, and discussions with the group. MCP helps participants use meaning in life to gain a greater sense of purpose. 

 

This group is meant for Cancer Survivors finished with their main treatments or those living with metastatic disease and is offered in partnership with MedStar Washington Hospital Center.


Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Survivors* will be offered as a closed group program from May 2nd – July 11th, 2022 via Zoom.

*Participants MUST be located in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland or North Carolina. Registration will be closed at 8 participants. Before registering, be sure that you can commit to attending at least 7 of the 8 sessions.

Program Dates:

  • May 2, 16 & 23
  • June 6, 13, 20 & 27
  • July 11

About Erin Price, MSW, LICSW, OSW-C

Erin Price

Erin serves as Smith Center’s Director of Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Programs. She is trained in Integrative Patient Navigation, a Project LEAD graduate, and holds a Masters in Social Work. A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Erin is passionate about providing support and community to other cancer survivors, especially young adults. She works with Smith Center’s DC Young Adult Cancer Community and is also actively involved in the cancer community through Young Survival Coalition, Critical Mass, the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the DC Cancer Action Partnership.

About Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA

Mindy Brodsky

Mindy Brodsky specializes in trauma-informed, strengths-based counseling with a passion for integrative health and healing. Mindy honors her clients as the experts of their lives, and she strives to provide a supportive and safe environment.

PART 4/4. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. If you missed the first sessions, please email carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Jodi Kanter, PhD

Your Body's Story - Cancer Body Image

Body image may shift in cancer patients due to the presence of a tumor, breast asymmetry and size related to treatment and surgical intervention, changes in weight, or alterations of the skin. “Your Body’s Story” is a place to explore your relationship with your body in the past, present and future.

 

Our exploration will utilize a variety of creative media: improvisational movement, improvisational conversation, writing, and visual art.

Our goal will be to achieve a more integrated sense of our somatic experiences as they have changed and will continue to change throughout cancer survivorship.

 

Most research into trauma-informed approaches to wellness suggests that processing the trauma is central to healing. Expressive arts therapies provide aesthetic distance from trauma, even as they encourage representation of the trauma.

In particular, drama therapy allows us to intervene in our traumatic experiences in ways that were impossible at the time of its occurrence. Drama therapy also enables us to actively project into and thereby shape our experience of trauma moving forward.


Your Body’s Story is open to female-identifying cancer patients and survivors at any stage in their journey. The series will be offered as a 4-part program series on:

  • Fridays, April 1, 8, 22 & 29, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm EST

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend all sessions.

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series


About Jodi Kanter

Jodi Kanter

Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois.  She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007). Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.

PART 3/4. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. If you missed the first sessions, please email carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Jodi Kanter, PhD

Your Body's Story - Cancer Body Image

Body image may shift in cancer patients due to the presence of a tumor, breast asymmetry and size related to treatment and surgical intervention, changes in weight, or alterations of the skin. “Your Body’s Story” is a place to explore your relationship with your body in the past, present and future.

 

Our exploration will utilize a variety of creative media: improvisational movement, improvisational conversation, writing, and visual art.

Our goal will be to achieve a more integrated sense of our somatic experiences as they have changed and will continue to change throughout cancer survivorship.

 

Most research into trauma-informed approaches to wellness suggests that processing the trauma is central to healing. Expressive arts therapies provide aesthetic distance from trauma, even as they encourage representation of the trauma.

In particular, drama therapy allows us to intervene in our traumatic experiences in ways that were impossible at the time of its occurrence. Drama therapy also enables us to actively project into and thereby shape our experience of trauma moving forward.


Your Body’s Story is open to female-identifying cancer patients and survivors at any stage in their journey. The series will be offered as a 4-part program series on:

  • Fridays, April 1, 8, 22 & 29, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm EST

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend all sessions.

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series


About Jodi Kanter

Jodi Kanter

Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois.  She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007). Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.

PART 2/4. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. If you missed the first session, please email carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Jodi Kanter, PhD

Your Body's Story - Cancer Body Image

Body image may shift in cancer patients due to the presence of a tumor, breast asymmetry and size related to treatment and surgical intervention, changes in weight, or alterations of the skin. “Your Body’s Story” is a place to explore your relationship with your body in the past, present and future.

 

Our exploration will utilize a variety of creative media: improvisational movement, improvisational conversation, writing, and visual art.

Our goal will be to achieve a more integrated sense of our somatic experiences as they have changed and will continue to change throughout cancer survivorship.

 

Most research into trauma-informed approaches to wellness suggests that processing the trauma is central to healing. Expressive arts therapies provide aesthetic distance from trauma, even as they encourage representation of the trauma.

In particular, drama therapy allows us to intervene in our traumatic experiences in ways that were impossible at the time of its occurrence. Drama therapy also enables us to actively project into and thereby shape our experience of trauma moving forward.


Your Body’s Story is open to female-identifying cancer patients and survivors at any stage in their journey. The series will be offered as a 4-part program series on:

  • Fridays, April 1, 8, 22 & 29, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm EST

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend all sessions.

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series


About Jodi Kanter

Jodi Kanter

Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois.  She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007). Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Lauren Trosch, PT, DPT, OCS

How to Support Your Pelvic Floor

Problems with your pelvic floor can contribute to urinary leaking, difficulty going to the bathroom, and pain with intimacy. You can experience pelvic floor problems throughout your lifetime, from childhood through adulthood. Illness, medications, and surgeries may also contribute to embarrassing pelvic floor issues.

 

To better understand and manage your pelvic floor problems, join us for our talk!

 

What we’ll talk about:

  • Common pelvic floor problems like urinary and bowel incontinence, constipation, and painful sex
  • Why are they happening?
  • What can you do to help with these embarrassing issues

About Lauren Trosch, PT, DPT, OCS

Lauren Trosch

Lauren is a pelvic floor physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist who helps those with pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, and bowel and bladder dysfunction in the DC Metro region.
She is very active in the local and international pelvic health community, and serves as the Multimedia Education Manager for the Academy of Pelvic Health. She helps to educate pelvic floor providers through the Academy of Pelvic Health, International Pelvic Pain Society, and the international pelvic floor education platform – My Pelvic Floor Muscles. She also hosts a local scientific journal club for DMV pelvic floor providers.

This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Jodi Kanter, PhD

Your Body's Story - Cancer Body Image

Body image may shift in cancer patients due to the presence of a tumor, breast asymmetry and size related to treatment and surgical intervention, changes in weight, or alterations of the skin. “Your Body’s Story” is a place to explore your relationship with your body in the past, present and future.

 

Our exploration will utilize a variety of creative media: improvisational movement, improvisational conversation, writing, and visual art.

Our goal will be to achieve a more integrated sense of our somatic experiences as they have changed and will continue to change throughout cancer survivorship.

 

Most research into trauma-informed approaches to wellness suggests that processing the trauma is central to healing. Expressive arts therapies provide aesthetic distance from trauma, even as they encourage representation of the trauma.

In particular, drama therapy allows us to intervene in our traumatic experiences in ways that were impossible at the time of its occurrence. Drama therapy also enables us to actively project into and thereby shape our experience of trauma moving forward.


Your Body’s Story is open to female-identifying cancer patients and survivors at any stage in their journey. The series will be offered as a 4-part program series on:

  • Fridays, April 1, 8, 22 & 29, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm EST

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend all sessions.

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series


About Jodi Kanter

Jodi Kanter

Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois.  She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007). Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.

This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Anna Rashkover, Kai Wasson, Kiersten Gallagher, Nia Holden and Olivia Gonyea

Photovoice

Join us for a 2-part program where we will explore the personal and socially constructed forces that shape our experiences. We will identify and reflect on community needs and engage in critical dialogue with others in a safe, collaborative environment.

 

This 2-part program will be based on Photovoice methodology. Photovoice involves the use of photography to visually represent and narrate everyday experiences from personal perspectives. It can help us generate new insights into our socially constructed realities.

 

Photovoice is a humanistic and compassionate way to reflect and communicate with others as we represent ourselves, expose challenges we face, and ignite social change.

 

Activities will include mindfulness practices, personal presentations of photography, and group discussion.

Participants do not need to own a professional camera to participate and may use whatever methods they would like to take photographs. No photography experience is required. Participants are encouraged to attend both sessions as we aim to foster community and a safe, open environment for sharing.

This program is open to everyone, including caregivers.


Through My Eyes: A Photovoice Experience will be offered as a 2-part series on Saturdays, April 2 & 9, 2022 from 10 – 11:30 AM EST. Participants are encouraged to attend both sessions. Please let us know ahead of time if you are unable to attend both sessions.

Suggested Donation: $20 (series)


About Anna Rashkover

Anna Rashkover

Anna Rashkover is an American University student studying Public Health. Anna is interested in studying health communication and social and behavioral sciences to help create effective public health campaigns which address complex issues plaguing the United States and other countries.

About Kai Wasson

Kai Wasson

Kai Wasson is a senior Public Health major at American University. He will be attending a MA in Sociology program next year and is interested in occupational health and safety.

About Kiersten Gallagher

Kiersten Gallagher

As the Cancer Support Program Director, Kiersten fully believes that through the arts we can expand our perspectives and explore new fulfilling ways of being. She invites you to make our space your own refuge, to circumvent your daily routine to spark creativity, to take time for introspection, and draw outside the lines.

About Nia Holden

Nia Holden

Nia Holden is an American University student studying Public Health and Health Promotion. Nia is interested in studying nutrition and working with vulnerable populations.

About Olivia Gonyea

Olivia Gonyea

Olivia Gonyea is an American University student studying Public Health and International Studies. Olivia is interested in studying disease prevention and control and working in health program planning.

This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Anna Rashkover, Kai Wasson, Kiersten Gallagher, Nia Holden and Olivia Gonyea

Photovoice

Join us for a 2-part program where we will explore the personal and socially constructed forces that shape our experiences. We will identify and reflect on community needs and engage in critical dialogue with others in a safe, collaborative environment.

 

This 2-part program will be based on Photovoice methodology. Photovoice involves the use of photography to visually represent and narrate everyday experiences from personal perspectives. It can help us generate new insights into our socially constructed realities.

 

Photovoice is a humanistic and compassionate way to reflect and communicate with others as we represent ourselves, expose challenges we face, and ignite social change.

 

Activities will include mindfulness practices, personal presentations of photography, and group discussion.

Participants do not need to own a professional camera to participate and may use whatever methods they would like to take photographs. No photography experience is required. Participants are encouraged to attend both sessions as we aim to foster community and a safe, open environment for sharing.

This program is open to everyone, including caregivers.


Through My Eyes: A Photovoice Experience will be offered as a 2-part series on Saturdays, April 2 & 9, 2022 from 10 – 11:30 AM EST. Participants are encouraged to attend both sessions. Please let us know ahead of time if you are unable to attend both sessions.

Suggested Donation: $20 (series)


About Anna Rashkover

Anna Rashkover

Anna Rashkover is an American University student studying Public Health. Anna is interested in studying health communication and social and behavioral sciences to help create effective public health campaigns which address complex issues plaguing the United States and other countries.

About Kai Wasson

Kai Wasson

Kai Wasson is a senior Public Health major at American University. He will be attending a MA in Sociology program next year and is interested in occupational health and safety.

About Kiersten Gallagher

Kiersten Gallagher

As the Cancer Support Program Director, Kiersten fully believes that through the arts we can expand our perspectives and explore new fulfilling ways of being. She invites you to make our space your own refuge, to circumvent your daily routine to spark creativity, to take time for introspection, and draw outside the lines.

About Nia Holden

Nia Holden

Nia Holden is an American University student studying Public Health and Health Promotion. Nia is interested in studying nutrition and working with vulnerable populations.

About Olivia Gonyea

Olivia Gonyea

Olivia Gonyea is an American University student studying Public Health and International Studies. Olivia is interested in studying disease prevention and control and working in health program planning.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Mikhail Hogan, MD, ABIOM, RCST, and Rabbi James Kahn

Medical Marijuana for Oncology Patients

Cannabis is becoming more widely available as a medicine in the United States as well as throughout the world. Although its medicinal use dates back thousands of years, health care providers trained in modern times during cannabis prohibition and stigmatization have very little knowledge regarding the pharmacology, benefits and risks, and dosing recommendations. Oncology patients are increasingly relying on on-line testimonials or advice from cannabis dispensaries to determine if cannabis may be useful for them.

 

Recent surveys have shown that at least 50% of oncologist would like to have their patients try medical cannabis but only few actively prescribe mostly due to lack of education on the topic.

 

This session will outline the basics of the system of cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids, review clinical situations where cannabis may be a useful intervention and discuss and demonstrate some of the currently available delivery systems.


Objectives:

  • Enumerate the clinical situations which have the best evidence to support the use of medicinal cannabis as it relates to oncology patients.
  • Discuss the effects obtained from different strains and modes of delivery of medicinal cannabis.
  • Understand basics of the process of obtaining medical cannabis in DC area.

About Mikhail Hogan, MD, ABIOM, RCST

Mikhail Hogan

Dr Kogan is a leader in the newly-established field of Integrative Geriatrics. He is the chief editor of the first definitive textbook of the field entitled “Integrative Geriatric Medicine”, published by Oxford University Press as part of Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library series and is frequent speaker at  a variety of international conferences on the topics of Integrative Medicine, Geriatrics, healthy aging, as well as  medical cannabis. While Dr Kogan’s main medical cannabis expertise is in treating older patients and palliating symptoms at end of life he also treats wide arrange of internal medicine problems from chronic GI problems to cancers where use of medical cannabis can be very beneficial. In October 2021 Dr Kogan in collaboration with Dr. Joan Liebmann-Smith and Pinguin Random Publishing House published Medical Marijuana, Dr Kogan’s Evidence-Based guide to the health benefits of cannabis and CBD.

Dr. Kogan currently serves as medical director of the GW Center for Integrative Medicine, associate professor of medicine in division of Geriatric and Palliative Care, and associate director of the Geriatrics and Integrative Medicine Fellowship Programs and director of Integrative Medicine Track program at the George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine.

Dr Kogan is also the founder and the executive director of AIM Health Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that provides integrative medicine services to low-income and terminally ill patients regardless of their ability to pay.

About Rabbi James Kahn

Rabbi James Kahn

Rabbi James Kahn is the Executive Director of Liberty Cannabis Cares (LCC), the social impact and corporate responsibility team at Holistic Industries, one of the largest, privately held, multi-state cannabis operators in the U.S.  Rabbi James, as he’s known to colleagues and friends, has been with Holistic since its earliest days – opening the very first Liberty dispensary in 2019 before transitioning to a national position as Director of Community Outreach. He is a passionate cannabis activist and educator, with more than a decade of experience in the industry. His work at Holistic is focused around four key pillars: social equity, diversity, education, and community engagement. James’ career in cannabis began in 2011, when he and his family opened Takoma Wellness Center, Washington, D.C.’s oldest (and largest) medical cannabis dispensary. James continues to serve Takoma as a strategic business advisor.  As an ordained rabbi, James has served in a range of positions, including Senior Jewish Educator at the University of Maryland Hillel, Director of Chaplaincy at JSSA (a large social service agency serving the DMV area), Rabbinic Director for D.C.’s Hebrew Free Burial Society and the Washington Board of Rabbis. He currently serves on numerous boards, including the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, the International Jewish Cannabis Association, and the United States Veterans Chamber of CommerceHis unique blend of cannabis experience and community service inspires Holistic’s values as a company and improves the industry as a whole.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Theresa Walker

Seeing with the Heart - A Cinquain Writing Practice

Gather some photographs, magazine images, or your own art work… work that inspires joy or gratitude.

 

We will select an image of our own and write a poem — a cinquain, under the guidance of the facilitator. A cinquain is a 5-line poem with a specific form that’s easy to follow. The poem is meant to “express the heart of an experience in just a few words.”

 

We will share our poems, images, and gratitude for life experiences. We will begin the workshop with a short period of silence and body meditation for relaxation.

Suggested Donation: $10


About Theresa Walker

Theresa Walker is a registered SoulCollage® facilitator and has led groups since 2011. She is a certified expressive arts facilitator, trained at Salve Regina University in writing and visual arts, and she is a graduate of Shalem’s Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups program. She finds that SoulCollage®, especially in a Group setting, offers participants a unique experience of playfulness, insight, and creativity.