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 programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with artist & sculptor Liz Lescault

Stress Release and Finding Ease

Finding Ease through Mindfulness, Movement and Story

Breathe It Out; Move It Out; Talk It Out

In this program, we will focus on our mind-body connection and explore ways to  have more ease in our lives. With this intention, we will share our personal stories, move and engage with each other in playful ways.

This program is based in affirmation and looking for the good. Our shared, safe space will encourage us to explore our own creativity, find our own answers, and explore practices that enhance our life experience.

Creative movement forms can happen standing and moving within a small space or from a sitting position. Movement can also happen with our videos on or off. You are encouraged to take care of yourself and only participate at your comfort level. All are welcome.


Finding Ease through Mindfulness, Movement and Story will be offered monthly on the 3rd Thursday from 5:30 – 7:00pm ET.

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any monthly session. Limited to 12 participants.

Upcoming Dates: 

  • August 18 (CANCELLED)
  • September 15
  • October 20
  • November 17
  • December 15

Suggested Donation: $15


About Liz Lescault

Liz Lesault

About Liz Lescault

Liz Lescault, a visual artist and sculptor, has practiced and taught art for over 40 years. Liz is also a Coordinator of the DC InterPlay Metro Region, is a certified leader and a member of the DC InterPlay Board. She leads Open Gathering days for InterPlay DC, and organizes and leads workshops regionally and nationally online and in person.

Liz has been leading Art Lab for Smith Center for the Healing Arts, for the Phillips Collection and for InterPlay internationally. Formerly, Liz, was a hotline crisis counselor, for various suicide prevention lifelines and The Trevor Project providing help for LGBTQ youth in crisis and the Prince Georges County Homeless Hotline. Liz has also led InterPlay for elders with chronic illness and cognitive disabilities at Iona Senior Center in Washington DC.

Liz melds her art, teaching, guidance and personal philosophy with InterPlay wisdom, tools and forms.

B.S., Psychology, Drew University, Madison, NJ

M.Ed., University of Massachusetts at Amherst, British Techniques of Open Education

Studied watercolor at WICE, an international arts and cultural association in Paris, France

https://www.lizlescault.com/home

A short video of my current work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZeEG09qJgfacebook.com/LizLescaultSculpture

www.facebook.com/LizLescault (personal page)

 

 

This event will be held in-person at Hope Connections for Cancer Support in Bethesda, MD. Please register below to attend.

In Partnership with Hope Connections for Cancer Support, Life with Cancer and Smith Center for Healing and the Arts

YACS

Join other young adult cancer survivors for an in-person meet up.

Hope Connections, Life with Cancer, and Smith Center are hosting an in-person get-together for young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer. This gathering is an opportunity to connect with your peers who truly get this experience. Come for good conversations, fun, and light refreshments. 

REGISTER HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5Q3JgwMjt8HxAnDvfvUHhI6mYioW_QLgwA8CBAB-tjJS9VQ/viewform


Social Distance and Mask Policy

For this event, we will be outside the entire time and encourage participants to maintain adequate physical distance during the program. We encourage those who are unvaccinated to wear a mask while participating. For those that are vaccinated, masks are optional based on your comfort level.

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 programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with Allie Giza, LGSW

This monthly support group is designed for adults diagnosed with cancer who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The group will be facilitated by culturally competent social workers, who will provide a safe space to connect with others and explore your own unique experience with cancer.


The LGBTQ+ Cancer Support Group meets monthly on the 4th Wednesday from 6:00-7:00pm ET.

Upcoming Sessions:

  • September 28
  • October 26
  • November 23
  • December 21

About Allie Giza, LGSW

Allie Giza
Allie is a licensed graduate social worker (LGSW) with focus on young adults with cancer, survivors, and caregivers, with emphasis on holistic methods of mental health care. Allie uses eclectic modalities focused on trauma-informed and strengths-based care with her clients. Her passion for this work began as a result of her own medical issues and experience with the healthcare system. This led her to begin volunteering with children with cancer and subsequently pursuing a master’s in social work. 

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  programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with Allie Giza, LGSW

This monthly support group is designed for adults diagnosed with cancer who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The group will be facilitated by culturally competent social workers, who will provide a safe space to connect with others and explore your own unique experience with cancer.


The LGBTQ+ Cancer Support Group meets monthly on the 4th Wednesday from 6:00-7:00pm ET.

Upcoming Sessions:

  • August 24
  • September 28

About Allie Giza, LGSW

Allie Giza
Allie is a licensed graduate social worker (LGSW) with focus on young adults with cancer, survivors, and caregivers, with emphasis on holistic methods of mental health care. Allie uses eclectic modalities focused on trauma-informed and strengths-based care with her clients. Her passion for this work began as a result of her own medical issues and experience with the healthcare system. This led her to begin volunteering with children with cancer and subsequently pursuing a master’s in social work. 

Part 3/3. If you would like to join this program series, please email programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with Elizabeth Belanger

Life Soundtrack

A cancer diagnosis can completely turn your life upside down and leave you trying to understand who you are and what is important. Join us on a three-part creative venture to help narrate and make sense of your cancer experience.

 

During this program, we will discover how to choose music that represents your life or cancer experience and that looks towards the next steps in your journey. You can expect sessions to assist in creatively processing the emotional and physical tolls that cancer can take on every aspect of your life. Each session will provide space to share in community and think about how to express your experience.

 

In our first session, we will discuss key moments and feelings in our journeys. Then, each of us will individually be tasked with creating a collection of 7-14 songs (an album) of our journey from diagnosis into the future of survivorship.

In our second session, we will get our creative juices flowing by developing album art that represents our albums. And finally, in session three, we will come together as a group and share in art and story.

 

Come ready with a passion for music and art and some self-reflective time for out-of-group activities. Everyone with a story to tell is welcome!


Life Soundtrack will be hosted in three parts. Participants are encouraged to attend all three sessions to get the most out of the program series.

Program series dates:

  • July 19 & 26, 3:00-4:30pm ET
  • August 2, 3:00-4:30pm ET

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series


About Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth Belanger is a social work intern for Smith Center while she is getting her Masters of Social Work at Simmons University. Elizabeth has previously worked with survivors of domestic violence and youth in Ward 8, providing strengths-based and trauma-informed care. After graduating, Elizabeth looks forward to working as a clinical social worker here in DC providing accessible mental health services to those who have experienced trauma. 

Part 2/3. If you would like to join this program series, please email programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with Elizabeth Belanger

Life Soundtrack

A cancer diagnosis can completely turn your life upside down and leave you trying to understand who you are and what is important. Join us on a three-part creative venture to help narrate and make sense of your cancer experience.

 

During this program, we will discover how to choose music that represents your life or cancer experience and that looks towards the next steps in your journey. You can expect sessions to assist in creatively processing the emotional and physical tolls that cancer can take on every aspect of your life. Each session will provide space to share in community and think about how to express your experience.

 

In our first session, we will discuss key moments and feelings in our journeys. Then, each of us will individually be tasked with creating a collection of 7-14 songs (an album) of our journey from diagnosis into the future of survivorship.

In our second session, we will get our creative juices flowing by developing album art that represents our albums. And finally, in session three, we will come together as a group and share in art and story.

 

Come ready with a passion for music and art and some self-reflective time for out-of-group activities. Everyone with a story to tell is welcome!


Life Soundtrack will be hosted in three parts. Participants are encouraged to attend all three sessions to get the most out of the program series.

Program series dates:

  • July 19 & 26, 3:00-4:30pm ET
  • August 2, 3:00-4:30pm ET

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series


About Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth Belanger is a social work intern for Smith Center while she is getting her Masters of Social Work at Simmons University. Elizabeth has previously worked with survivors of domestic violence and youth in Ward 8, providing strengths-based and trauma-informed care. After graduating, Elizabeth looks forward to working as a clinical social worker here in DC providing accessible mental health services to those who have experienced trauma. 

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 programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with Melanie Edwards

Musical Mending with Melanie Edwards

Singer, songwriter and musician, Melanie Edwards, recently launched Musical Mending Workshops which can be curated for any specific healing modality, be it collectively or individually. The workshops help with memory, cognition, expression, general wellbeing and are just plain fun for participants.

 

In addition, the classes focus on teaching techniques to manage grief, anxiety, depression and many more ailments by administering sonic techniques to relieve stress, help find inner peace and express authenticity. She often uses different instruments & singing skills to activate relaxation, calm the mind and nourish the soul. This is not about performing or being a professional singer, but rather a shared experience of collective sound healing in the present moment for the whole family.

 

Participants are free to join or simply observe in shared space, as well as bring their own mantras, words or poems to self-reflect and express via musical mending.

Suggested Donation: $10


About Melanie Edwards

Melanie Edwards

Melanie Edwards is an award-winning singer, songwriter, pianist, violinist, music practitioner and tv/film composer. She holds a master’s degree in music from The Savannah College of Art and Design and was awarded the Artistic Achievement Fellowship to secure her MFA in Musical Theater – Performing Arts at SCAD. Furthermore, she was a Morehead Scholar Nominee at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she secured a BA in broadcast journalism, furthering her news career as a Carolina Week Reporter and later becoming a weather anchor for local news in eastern North Carolina. Likewise, she was the NCSU’s Department of Nuclear Engineering Investigators’ Program Award Recipient in Nuclear Technology at North Carolina State University where she focused on nuclear engineering and physics. Additionally, she holds a BA in Spanish from Universidad de España, in Sevilla, Spain. Melanie is certified in Mental Health First Aid USA by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and has 27 years experience as a performing artist and expressive, musical healer with several partner charities and organizations, such as: National Theatre DC and Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. She recently started a healing arts business providing “Musical Mending” workshops and services to nursing homes, assisted living quarters, hospices, hospitals and many underprivileged communities. In addition, she is the resident pianist for Clyde’s Restaurant and has performed at Gypsy Sally’s, The Henley Park Hotel, Beacon Bar and Grill and Peruvian Ambassador Castilla’s Residence in Washington, DC. She is also a regular performer at Rockwood Music Hall, in New York City.

https://www.melanieedwardslabs.com/

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 Elizabeth Belanger

Life Soundtrack

A cancer diagnosis can completely turn your life upside down and leave you trying to understand who you are and what is important. Join us on a three-part creative venture to help narrate and make sense of your cancer experience.

 

During this program, we will discover how to choose music that represents your life or cancer experience and that looks towards the next steps in your journey. You can expect sessions to assist in creatively processing the emotional and physical tolls that cancer can take on every aspect of your life. Each session will provide space to share in community and think about how to express your experience.

 

In our first session, we will discuss key moments and feelings in our journeys. Then, each of us will individually be tasked with creating a collection of 7-14 songs (an album) of our journey from diagnosis into the future of survivorship.

In our second session, we will get our creative juices flowing by developing album art that represents our albums. And finally, in session three, we will come together as a group and share in art and story.

 

Come ready with a passion for music and art and some self-reflective time for out-of-group activities. Everyone with a story to tell is welcome!


Life Soundtrack will be hosted in three parts. Participants are encouraged to attend all three sessions to get the most out of the program series.

Program series dates:

  • July 19 & 26, 3:00-4:30pm ET
  • August 2, 3:00-4:30pm ET

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series


About Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth Belanger is a social work intern for Smith Center while she is getting her Masters of Social Work at Simmons University. Elizabeth has previously worked with survivors of domestic violence and youth in Ward 8, providing strengths-based and trauma-informed care. After graduating, Elizabeth looks forward to working as a clinical social worker here in DC providing accessible mental health services to those who have experienced trauma. 

Part 3/3. If you would like to join this program series, please email programs@smithcenter.org.

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

with Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA

Give Your Voice Life After Death: An Ethical Will Writing Workshop

A typical legal will is about property and assets you will leave behind. But what about the intangible parts of you that you hope your loved ones will remember?

Join us for a program where you will create your own “ethical will,” also known as a legacy letter, love will, or life letter. Share wisdom and feelings with your next of kin, chosen family, or community in writing or any creative medium that speaks to you. These are nonlegal letters to people important to you that reflect your voice, your experiences, your personality and your values. We all experience thinking about and preparing for death in different ways. The ancient practice of crafting an ethical will can be a gift not only for the recipient(s) in the future, but also for you in the present in that it can provide sacred gifts of meaning and spirit.

This three-part workshop series aspires to create a safe space for you to gain confidence in your ability to share your values with loved ones in meaningful ways. Activities will include writing exercises, group discussion, reflective practices, and practical information to help ensure you complete the workshop with a beautiful product that will give your voice life long after death.

Participation is appropriate for adults of all states of health, ages, and faiths. You don’t have to consider yourself a “writer” to participate! Our activities will be fun, simple, and supportive.


Give Your Voice Life After Death: An Ethical Will Writing Workshop will be hosted in three parts. Participants must attend the first session and are encouraged to attend all three sessions. Upon completion of the three parts, participants will have developed a working ethical will. Program limited to 14 participants.
Program dates:
  • July 12, 19 & 26

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series


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.
After a career in social justice advocacy and her own challenging health journey, Mindy aspires to meet her clients where they are to help them achieve their goals.

Part 2/3. If you would like to join this program series, please email carla@smithcenter.org.

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

with Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA

Give Your Voice Life After Death: An Ethical Will Writing Workshop

A typical legal will is about property and assets you will leave behind. But what about the intangible parts of you that you hope your loved ones will remember?

Join us for a program where you will create your own “ethical will,” also known as a legacy letter, love will, or life letter. Share wisdom and feelings with your next of kin, chosen family, or community in writing or any creative medium that speaks to you. These are nonlegal letters to people important to you that reflect your voice, your experiences, your personality and your values. We all experience thinking about and preparing for death in different ways. The ancient practice of crafting an ethical will can be a gift not only for the recipient(s) in the future, but also for you in the present in that it can provide sacred gifts of meaning and spirit.

This three-part workshop series aspires to create a safe space for you to gain confidence in your ability to share your values with loved ones in meaningful ways. Activities will include writing exercises, group discussion, reflective practices, and practical information to help ensure you complete the workshop with a beautiful product that will give your voice life long after death.

Participation is appropriate for adults of all states of health, ages, and faiths. You don’t have to consider yourself a “writer” to participate! Our activities will be fun, simple, and supportive.


Give Your Voice Life After Death: An Ethical Will Writing Workshop will be hosted in three parts. Participants must attend the first session and are encouraged to attend all three sessions. Upon completion of the three parts, participants will have developed a working ethical will. Program limited to 14 participants.
Program dates:
  • July 12, 19 & 26

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series


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.
After a career in social justice advocacy and her own challenging health journey, Mindy aspires to meet her clients where they are to help them achieve their goals.