with Kiersten Gallagher and Paul Puccinelli
Please join us in a series Healing Circles for Grief “to discover the extent and limits of what is lost, what is left and what is possible.” – John Schneider
If you have lost a loved one, this is an opportunity to share what is on your heart and mind right now, to listen and be listened to deeply and generously. Together we create a safe space for listening to messages from our inner experience.
Our healing circles are a safe and supportive space to walk with each other through these times. Each circle is a blend of sharing and silence, compassion, and curiosity. Our agreements ensure acceptance and confidentiality. We honor our own unique paths to healing and respect the choices of others.
Some Assumptions about Grief
- The experience of grief is unique for each individual. While we can make some general assumptions, there is no template that describes the experience for all people.
- Grief is cumulative. That is, each time loss is grieved, the grief encompasses the lifetime of loss and the remnants of each experience.
- Grief following a significant loss is most often a lifelong process, with each pivotal point in life bringing the grief back up to be processed from a new perspective.
- Grief, loss and suffering fundamentally changes and reshapes the individual.
- Grief is not about forgetting or disconnecting. Rather, healthy grief is about remembering the parts of self that get lost amidst the experience and reorienting the individual in their relationship with self, the world and others.
- Grief is a whole body experience: emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual. Each have a wide range of expression which can cue us that grief is present.
- While grief and trauma are often intertwined there are significant differences between them. Trauma should be addressed with trauma specific interventions that often go beyond what is possible in circles.
Adapted from Khris Ford
Grieving Together Healing Circle will meet Weekly on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:30pm EST for 6 weeks.
Grief Circle Dates:
- October 6, 13, 20 & 27
- November 3 & 10
About Kiersten Gallagher
Kiersten has served as the Cancer Support Program Director for Smith Center since 2014. Before coming to Smith Center, she had the privilege to serve individuals and families living with cancer at Wellness House of Annapolis. Kiersten aims to offer programs to reduce stress and help participants to see the world we live in from different perspectives. She thoroughly enjoys teaching yoga and creativity classes at SmithCenter and encourages gentle movement and creativity in the healing process. Kiersten is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance and also has her YCAT (Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness) Professional Certification through the Integral Yoga Academy. She has completed Patient Navigation training through Smith Center’s Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation and has also completed the Commonweal Healing Circles: Advanced Cancer Support Training. Kiersten is also certified in CLIMB®(Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery) a program that aims to build upon the strengths of children and increase his/her ability to cope with stress associated with a parent’s illness. She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. In her spare time, you may find Kiersten laughing with friends, cycling, taking art classes, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband Shane, son Liam, and dogs Hooper and Pablo.
with Kiersten Gallagher and Paul Puccinelli
Please join us in a series Healing Circles for Grief “to discover the extent and limits of what is lost, what is left and what is possible.” – John Schneider
If you have lost a loved one, this is an opportunity to share what is on your heart and mind right now, to listen and be listened to deeply and generously. Together we create a safe space for listening to messages from our inner experience.
Our healing circles are a safe and supportive space to walk with each other through these times. Each circle is a blend of sharing and silence, compassion, and curiosity. Our agreements ensure acceptance and confidentiality. We honor our own unique paths to healing and respect the choices of others.
Some Assumptions about Grief
- The experience of grief is unique for each individual. While we can make some general assumptions, there is no template that describes the experience for all people.
- Grief is cumulative. That is, each time loss is grieved, the grief encompasses the lifetime of loss and the remnants of each experience.
- Grief following a significant loss is most often a lifelong process, with each pivotal point in life bringing the grief back up to be processed from a new perspective.
- Grief, loss and suffering fundamentally changes and reshapes the individual.
- Grief is not about forgetting or disconnecting. Rather, healthy grief is about remembering the parts of self that get lost amidst the experience and reorienting the individual in their relationship with self, the world and others.
- Grief is a whole body experience: emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual. Each have a wide range of expression which can cue us that grief is present.
- While grief and trauma are often intertwined there are significant differences between them. Trauma should be addressed with trauma specific interventions that often go beyond what is possible in circles.
Adapted from Khris Ford
Grieving Together Healing Circle will meet Weekly on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:30pm EST for 6 weeks.
Grief Circle Dates:
- October 6, 13, 20 & 27
- November 3 & 10
About Kiersten Gallagher
Kiersten has served as the Cancer Support Program Director for Smith Center since 2014. Before coming to Smith Center, she had the privilege to serve individuals and families living with cancer at Wellness House of Annapolis. Kiersten aims to offer programs to reduce stress and help participants to see the world we live in from different perspectives. She thoroughly enjoys teaching yoga and creativity classes at SmithCenter and encourages gentle movement and creativity in the healing process. Kiersten is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance and also has her YCAT (Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness) Professional Certification through the Integral Yoga Academy. She has completed Patient Navigation training through Smith Center’s Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation and has also completed the Commonweal Healing Circles: Advanced Cancer Support Training. Kiersten is also certified in CLIMB®(Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery) a program that aims to build upon the strengths of children and increase his/her ability to cope with stress associated with a parent’s illness. She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. In her spare time, you may find Kiersten laughing with friends, cycling, taking art classes, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband Shane, son Liam, and dogs Hooper and Pablo.
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 Kathleen O’Toole
Writing Through the Seasons
Spirit and Shadow in Autumn
Between the fall equinox and Samhain (Halloween), we’ll tune into the changing colors and light of autumn, the migratory birds and shifts in our imagination and dreams that this season brings. Autumn can be a time of melancholy and letting go, or whimsy and ghost stories.
Bring a notebook, sketchbook and any autumn memories that are special to you.
Kathleen O’Toole is a poet whose work with haiku and other short poetic forms is deeply rooted in attention to the natural world. These three workshops will guide participants through poetry forms and writing practices that invite us to explore the ways season changes bring special opportunities for healing and creativity. The ancient Celts celebrated cross-quarter days as moments of magic and openings to spirit and ritual; we’ll mark our own seasonal awareness.
Writing Through the Seasons will be offered as a program series, spread over the seasons, beginning in Fall 2021.
Program Dates:
- Saturday, October 9th, 10:00-11:30am ET
- Saturday, February 5th, 10:00-11:30am ET
- Saturday, May 14th, 10:00-11:30am ET
Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series
About Kathleen O’Toole
Takoma Park Poet Laureate Kathleen O’Toole is the author of 4 books of poetry (find her at https://kathleenotoolepoetry.com). She has taught writing at Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Institute College of Art. As evident in her longer work, she often seeks inspiration and consolation in nature. For more than thirty years she has been writing haiku as a spiritual practice of attention, and to deepen her experience of the natural world.
This program series has been postponed. Please check back for future dates.
with Bobbie Marchand
In the midst of Cancer’s wake, what if you could:
- Cultivate practices of self-care that align with your highest values that are nurturing and healing
- Manage the feelings and energies of anxiety/fear/sadness/confusion/frustration that inevitably arise
- Discover empowering ways to communicate with your circles of support and Medical Team
- Know yourself in a deeper, more connected way that prepares you for the journey ahead and within
As a two-time Survivor and the Daughter of a four-time Survivor, Cancer has been a part of my life for decades. It is my hope in this series to share with you, ways we have coped, dealt and healed along the way. Every journey is deeply personal, these tools are universal; for everyone, to take and shape to fit your own unique circumstances. Registrants should bring with them:
- A new, fresh journal that’s only for this work
- Pen and pencil
- Wear clothes that are comfortable
Tools for Living Authentically with Cancer will be offered as a 2-part program series to cancer patients/survivors at any point in their journey.
Program Series Dates:
- Saturday, October 30th, 10:00-11:15am ET
- Saturday, November 6th, 10:00-11:15am ET
Participants are expected to attend both sessions in the 2-part series.
Suggested Donation: $25/series
About Bobbie Marchand
In addition to being a two-time Breast Cancer Survivor (BRCA1+), she is a dedicated Mom, accomplished Yoga Instructor, avid Cook and Wellness Advocate. As a former Professional Dancer, Bobbie has always leaned into life through the lens of Movement and the Healing Arts; helping her make sense of the un-sensical, finding a sense of purpose in the many twists and turns experienced along the way. She is passionate about uncovering the ways in which Cancer can inform, rather than define our lives as patients; how such a disease has the potential to clear a path to live more fully, humbly and in deeper connection to ourselves and what we truly value in life.
This Healing Circle has been cancelled until further notice. Please check back in 2022 for an update on this circle.
with Lisa Greaves and Stephanie Young
The journey from the decision to start a family to holding your little one/s in your arms is not always straightforward and could take much longer than anticipated. This healing circle is meant to provide support, fellowship, and knowledge exchange while you are traversing this road in whatever form it may take.
What is a Healing Circle?
Healing Circles bring together small numbers of people impacted by a condition or circumstance to share experiences and harvest collective wisdom. Healing Circles is a peer-led process by which people support each other through deep listening and shared learning. When working at its best, this collaborative conversation model leads to authentic and deep connectivity and can create wisdom and healing for participants.
Fertility Journey Healing Circle will be hosted Monthly on the 2nd Monday from 6:30-7:30pm ET.
Upcoming Dates:
About Lisa Greaves
I am a lifelong Washington, D.C., resident who works as the Division Director of Educational Meetings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). I am a long-term survivor of aggressive breast cancer (diagnosed at 31), and I’m passionate about supporting the patient experience where and how I can. I am excited to help facilitate the Fertility Journal Healing Circle as a unique opportunity to participate in a community of trust, sharing, and listening with open hearts.
About Stephanie Young
I live in Washington D.C. with my husband, children, and pitbull rescue. I am a clinical social worker and have worked in a variety of settings, including international community health organizations, urban hospitals, and schools. I have a passion for supporting individuals and families as they negotiate all manner of life transitions, and I look forward to joining with others through the fertility healing circle experience.
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 Lisa Greaves and Stephanie Young
The journey from the decision to start a family to holding your little one/s in your arms is not always straightforward and could take much longer than anticipated. This healing circle is meant to provide support, fellowship, and knowledge exchange while you are traversing this road in whatever form it may take.
What is a Healing Circle?
Healing Circles bring together small numbers of people impacted by a condition or circumstance to share experiences and harvest collective wisdom. Healing Circles is a peer-led process by which people support each other through deep listening and shared learning. When working at its best, this collaborative conversation model leads to authentic and deep connectivity and can create wisdom and healing for participants.
Fertility Journey Healing Circle will be hosted Monthly on the 2nd Monday from 6:30-7:30pm ET.
Upcoming Dates:
- October 11
- November 8
- December 13
About Lisa Greaves
I am a lifelong Washington, D.C., resident who works as the Division Director of Educational Meetings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). I am a long-term survivor of aggressive breast cancer (diagnosed at 31), and I’m passionate about supporting the patient experience where and how I can. I am excited to help facilitate the Fertility Journal Healing Circle as a unique opportunity to participate in a community of trust, sharing, and listening with open hearts.
About Stephanie Young
I live in Washington D.C. with my husband, children, and pitbull rescue. I am a clinical social worker and have worked in a variety of settings, including international community health organizations, urban hospitals, and schools. I have a passion for supporting individuals and families as they negotiate all manner of life transitions, and I look forward to joining with others through the fertility healing circle experience.
