Tag: Life with Cancer

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

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

with Jodi Kanter

“[D]rama as therapy sets a stage in which truths are revealed, deeper levels of communication and understanding are attained, and the personal reverberates toward the universal.”

– Renée Emunah, Drama Therapist

 

Psychiatrists and social workers have been using drama for therapeutic purposes for at least the last 100 years. Today, the principal objectives of dramatherapy are:

  • strengthening of observational and relational skills,
  • greater access to emotional expression (and emotional containment), and
  • the expansion of the many roles we play in everyday life.

 

We’ll explore a range of tools and methods including role methods, psychodrama, sociodrama and forum theater. We’ll also dip into other expressive therapies including movement, writing, music, and visual arts. 

 

Healing Through Drama will be offered as a 4-part workshop series, with each week building on the next. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions to get the most out of the group, dramatherapy tools and practices.

Healing Through Drama is a 4-part program series hosted on Fridays from 1:00 – 3:00pm ET, beginning on January 14th, 2022.

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions to get the most out of the program. By registering above, you will be registered for all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you will not be able to attend all four sessions.

Program Sessions: 

  • Fridays, January 14th, 21st & 28th, 1:00 – 3:00pm
  • Friday, February 4th, 1:00 – 3:00pm

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/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. If you missed the first sessions, please email carla@smithcenter.org to register.

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

with Jodi Kanter

“[D]rama as therapy sets a stage in which truths are revealed, deeper levels of communication and understanding are attained, and the personal reverberates toward the universal.”

– Renée Emunah, Drama Therapist

 

Psychiatrists and social workers have been using drama for therapeutic purposes for at least the last 100 years. Today, the principal objectives of dramatherapy are:

  • strengthening of observational and relational skills,
  • greater access to emotional expression (and emotional containment), and
  • the expansion of the many roles we play in everyday life.

 

We’ll explore a range of tools and methods including role methods, psychodrama, sociodrama and forum theater. We’ll also dip into other expressive therapies including movement, writing, music, and visual arts. 

 

Healing Through Drama will be offered as a 4-part workshop series, with each week building on the next. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions to get the most out of the group, dramatherapy tools and practices.

Healing Through Drama is a 4-part program series hosted on Fridays from 1:00 – 3:00pm ET, beginning on January 14th, 2022.

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions to get the most out of the program. By registering above, you will be registered for all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you will not be able to attend all four sessions.

Program Sessions: 

  • Fridays, January 14th, 21st & 28th, 1:00 – 3:00pm
  • Friday, February 4th, 1:00 – 3:00pm

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/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. If you missed the first session, please email carla@smithcenter.org to register.

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

with Jodi Kanter

“[D]rama as therapy sets a stage in which truths are revealed, deeper levels of communication and understanding are attained, and the personal reverberates toward the universal.”

– Renée Emunah, Drama Therapist

 

Psychiatrists and social workers have been using drama for therapeutic purposes for at least the last 100 years. Today, the principal objectives of dramatherapy are:

  • strengthening of observational and relational skills,
  • greater access to emotional expression (and emotional containment), and
  • the expansion of the many roles we play in everyday life.

 

We’ll explore a range of tools and methods including role methods, psychodrama, sociodrama and forum theater. We’ll also dip into other expressive therapies including movement, writing, music, and visual arts. 

 

Healing Through Drama will be offered as a 4-part workshop series, with each week building on the next. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions to get the most out of the group, dramatherapy tools and practices.

Healing Through Drama is a 4-part program series hosted on Fridays from 1:00 – 3:00pm ET, beginning on January 14th, 2022.

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions to get the most out of the program. By registering above, you will be registered for all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you will not be able to attend all four sessions.

Program Sessions: 

  • Fridays, January 14th, 21st & 28th, 1:00 – 3:00pm
  • Friday, February 4th, 1:00 – 3:00pm

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/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 Jodi Kanter

“[D]rama as therapy sets a stage in which truths are revealed, deeper levels of communication and understanding are attained, and the personal reverberates toward the universal.”

– Renée Emunah, Drama Therapist

 

Psychiatrists and social workers have been using drama for therapeutic purposes for at least the last 100 years. Today, the principal objectives of dramatherapy are:

  • strengthening of observational and relational skills,
  • greater access to emotional expression (and emotional containment), and
  • the expansion of the many roles we play in everyday life.

 

We’ll explore a range of tools and methods including role methods, psychodrama, sociodrama and forum theater. We’ll also dip into other expressive therapies including movement, writing, music, and visual arts. 

 

Healing Through Drama will be offered as a 4-part workshop series, with each week building on the next. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions to get the most out of the group, dramatherapy tools and practices.

Healing Through Drama is a 4-part program series hosted on Fridays from 1:00 – 3:00pm ET, beginning on January 14th, 2022.

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions to get the most out of the program. By registering above, you will be registered for all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you will not be able to attend all four sessions.

Program Sessions: 

  • Fridays, January 14th, 21st & 28th, 1:00 – 3:00pm
  • Friday, February 4th, 1:00 – 3:00pm

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/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 Jodi Kanter

Exploring Improvisation through Theater Games for YACS
PC: https://spolingamesonline.org/

If you sometimes feel…
…like you’re in this alone…
…like you want to have more fun…
…like you’re working without a script…

 

Join Smith Center’s Young Adult Cancer Survivors for “Exploring Improvisation,” a new offering from dramatherapy intern Jodi Kanter. This group will meet monthly for 90-minute sessions based on the classic theater exercises of Viola Spolin.

 

Our improvisation activities will be different than popular styles of improv, which are designed to entertain an audience.

These simple, structured group activities will strengthen participants’ skills in the following ways:

  • collaboration (connecting with others),
  • spontaneity (finding joy), and
  • experimentation (creating new stories).

 

We will apply these skills to storytelling in addition to our individual healing journeys. No previous experience needed.

Exploring Improvisation will be hosted Monthly on Sundays from 5:00-6:30pm ET. 

Upcoming Dates:

  • January 30
  • February 20
  • March 20

Suggested Donation: $10

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 Carolina Ruiz, MSW, LCSW, Vashta Thompson, LCSW-C, and Nicole Ramos, MSW, LCSW

VA Caregiver Support

We invite you to join us for an interactive talk about Caregiver Burnout and Self-Care. Given the natural stress and strain that accompany the day-to-day demands of a Caregiver, we are all at risk of experiencing burnout.

 

Have you or someone you know ever experienced burnout?
What did you (or they) do to start feeling back on track?

 

Our aim is to introduce strategies that can sustain you in feeling confident, capable and supported in your caregiving role.
By the end of this presentation you will be able to:

  • Identify 4 Self-Care/Mindfulness Activities
  • Learn Ways To Make Social Connections
  • Learn How To Ask For Help
  • Practice Ways To Show Self-Love

All are welcome to participate.

About VHAWAS

What is the Caregiver Support Program? The Caregiver Support Program (CSP) is essentially two programs under one umbrella: Program of General Caregiver Support Services and Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.


What is the Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS)?
The Caregiver Support Program’s (CSP) PGCSS provides services to caregivers of Veterans of all eras enrolled in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare. PGCSS offers a wide array of services to family and friends who care for Veterans, including peer support mentoring, skills training, coaching, telephone support and online programs.


What is the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC)? The Caregiver Support Program’s (CSP) PCAFC is for eligible Veterans who have incurred or aggravated a serious injury in the line of duty on or before May 7, 1975 or on or after September 11, 2001. This program provides resources, education, support, a financial stipend, and health insurance (if eligible), beneficiary travel (if eligible), to caregivers of eligible Veterans.

Need Help?
Call the DC Caregiver Support Line (CSL) at 202-745-8000 x55926. E-mail: vhawas.generalcaregiversupport@va.gov
Your local Caregiver Support Coordinator is a licensed professional who can support you. They can match you with services for which you are eligible and provide you with valuable information about resources that can help you stay smart, strong and organized as you care for the Veteran you love.

About Carolina Ruiz, MSW, LCSW

Carolina Ruiz graduated with a Masters in Social Work in 2014 from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Carolina spent 7 years working through the Inova Health System in Northern Virginia as a Social Worker/Case Manager helping patients and families with discharge planning and coordinating their care.

She has worked with a multitude of families and caregivers facing challenging needs and guiding them through difficult situations. She understands how demanding and difficult it is to be a caregiver and is honored to be given the opportunity to help support these amazing individuals through the Caregiver Support Program at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Carolina is a native of Northern Virginia and her favorite form of self-care is binge watching Netflix documentary series.

About Nicole Ramos, MSW, LCSW

Nicole Ramos graduated with a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Fordham University in New York in 2006.

She currently works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the Washington DC VA Medical Center’s Caregiver Support Program. She has been working with Veterans, their family members and Caregivers since 2014.

During a second year Social Work Internship her Supervisor emphasized the important role Social Workers have to Educate, Empower and Elevate others.
This really resonated with Nicole and over the last 15 years working with children, adolescents, adults, the Geriatric population and now Veterans and Caregivers, she continues to take on this mission. Nicole views working with Caregivers as a privilege and she is humbled and appreciative of the opportunity to work with Caregivers and be of service to others.

If you were to look in her Self-Care Toolbox, you would see that Nicole enjoys spending time with family including her 25 lb. Beagle named “Cash”, reading, watching Crime shows set in the United Kingdom, and being physically active.

About Vashta Thompson, LCSW-C

Vashta Thompson is a Caregiver Support Coordinator for the Program of General Caregiver Support Services at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DCVAMC). Ms. Thompson has worked in various departments at the DCVAMC over the last 7 years including inpatient medicine and outpatient clinics. Ms. Thompson has also supported the VA Homemaker Home health Aide Program, Suicide Prevention Program and Integrated Ethics committee.

In addition to serving veterans, Ms. Thompson has previously worked with several home care agencies to provide medical social work support to Medicare and DC-Medicaid recipients. She also currently provides clinical supervision to two journeyman social workers supporting students in DC Public Schools. Originally from a small suburb of Chicago, IL, Ms. Thompson completed her MSW studies at Howard University School of Social Work with a clinical concentration in direct practice mental health.

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.

Vegan Meal Planning

Start out the new year on a healthy note! Join Chef Kara to learn tips that will make your weekly meal planning easier to incorporate delicious vegan dishes.

 

We will discuss how to ensure you are getting enough protein from plant-based meals. Furthermore, we will learn how to reduce our time in the kitchen with simple make-ahead and easy-to-reheat meals.

 

Chef Kara will provide tools to assist with the following:

  • planning your weekly meals,
  • writing your grocery lists,
  • and prepping your meals in advance.

In addition, you will leave the class with new recipes and a grocery list for four meals that are customizable for diet restrictions, portion sizes, and flavor preferences.

 

Menu: 

  • Vegetable Pot Pie
  • Tuscan Kale Stew
  • Mexi-Cali Quinoa Bowl
  • Smoky Sweet Potato Cakes with Corn Salad
Shopping List: 
  • Sweet Potatoes (4 large)
  • Corn (3 ears fresh or 1 10-oz bag frozen)
  • Carrots (3 large)
  • Kale (2 bunches or 1 bag pre-chopped)
  • Avocado (2)
  • Yellow onion (1 large)
  • Grape or cherry tomatoes (1 pint)
  • Scallions (2 bunches)
  • Red Bell Pepper (2 medium)
  • Garlic (6 cloves)
  • Parsley (1 bunch)
  • Cilantro (1 bunch)
  • Limes (2)
  • Diced tomatoes (1 28-oz can, fire-roasted preferred)
  • White Beans (1 cup dry, or 2 15-oz cans)
  • Quinoa (white or red, 2 cups dry)
  • Raw cashews (1/2 cup, can use pumpkin seeds if nut-free)
  • Vegetable stock (4 cups)
  • Frozen Puff Pastry (or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup coconut oil for homemade pie crust)
Pantry Items: 
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Italian Seasoning (or any combination of dried oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil)
  • Smoked Paprika
Materials Needed: 
  • Large baking sheet
  • Parchment paper 
  • Large rimmed sauté pan with lid
  • Small saucepan
  • Dutch oven or large soup pot 
  • Baking dish or 4 ramekins for pot pie
  • Blender or Vitamix
  • Small skillet 
  • Cutting board & knife
  • Mixing bowls
  • Measuring cups & spoons

Suggested Donation: $15

About Kara Garrett

Kara Garrett

Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.

Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

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 Victoria Tripp, LGSW, GW Cancer Center 

This monthly support group is designed for adult patients/survivors diagnosed with Head and Neck cancers and their caregivers. The group will incorporate education lectures coupled with emotional support and is hosted by and offered in partnership with the GW Cancer Center.

GW Cancer Center Head and Neck Cancer Support Group

The Head & Neck Cancer Support Group meets monthly on the 1st Tuesday from 12:30-1:30pm ET.

Upcoming Sessions:

  • March 1
  • April 5
  • May 3

About Victoria Tripp, LGSW

Victoria is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker here in Washington, DC. She graduated with her Masters in Social Work with a focus on clinical and medical social work from the National Catholic School of Social Service at Catholic University. During graduate school, Victoria interned at the GW Cancer Center where she later accepted a full time position. She has completed training through the Enriching Communication Skills for Health Professionals in Oncofertility (ECHO) program from Moffitt Cancer Center and Sensitive Practice Training through Mount Sinai. Victoria has a special interest in supporting patients and families through difficult decision making, grief, and spiritual distress that often arise during end-of-life.

Click here to apply now!

Contact Julia Rowland (julia@smithcenter.org) or Carla Stillwagon (carla@smithcenter.org) for more information and to apply.

 

An Invitation to Healing

A 6-week online, small group experience in Self-Care

The staff of Smith Center for Healing and the Arts invite you to participate in a new program they have designed and are calling: An Invitation to Healing. The program is designed for cancer patients/survivors at any point in their cancer journey, who wish to explore what it means to heal, and experience practices that have been shown to promote physical, social, emotional and spiritual well-being.

An Invitation to Healing is a 6-week, small group online program that creates a unique space for conversations about the meaning of healing, pathways to health, and defining personal well-being.

Participants will be able to experience evidence-based healing practices.

Practices will include moving more, eating well, managing stress, sleeping better, sharing support, and using written and visual arts to express oneself.

 

The program is offered virtually twice a week for six weeks: one 2-hour educational session on Tuesdays, and a second 2-hour session on Thursdays that includes 30 minutes of yoga/tai chi/qigong and 2 hours of group therapy each week (see attached program content and schedule).

Click here to review the Program Schedule.

Click here for more details on the Who/What/Where/When of the program.

Program calendar

Program Details: 

  • Group is limited to 7 participants

  • The cost of the 6-week program is $600. We have limited partial scholarship funding available on a first come, first served basis. So, if you are interested, we encourage you to apply early.

To maximize sharing, learning and the power of group support, participants are expected to attend the full program.

Click here to submit an application to attend An Invitation to Healing.

About An Invitation to Healing Staff

About Carla Stillwagon – Logistics & Tech Support

Carla serves as the Cancer Support Program & Retreat Coordinator at Smith Center. During her time at the center, Carla has been inspired to further develop her commitment to the arts and their invaluable role in healing and community. She has completed Compassion Cultivation Training™, an 8-week program, developed at Stanford University, with insights and techniques from psychology, neuroscience, and contemplative practice, as well as a professional training in Mind-Body Medicine with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC.

About Carole O’Toole – Session Leader

Carole O'Toole

Smith Center’s Spiritual Companion, Carole O’Toole, was called to companion others following her cancer experience that led her to explore how illness offers opportunities for spiritual growth. Since 2006 Carole has served in many roles at Smith Center, including Director of Residential Retreats, Director of the Institute of Integrative Oncology Navigation, Director of Smith Center’s Integrative Navigation Training Program, and as a member of and mentor for our integrative navigation team. Carole has completed her training in Spiritual Direction from The Haden Institute, with a particular focus on grief and loss and the spiritual challenges of living with cancer.

About Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT – Movement Facilitator

Chef Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and teacher, Ayurveda specialist, and professional chef- whole foods cooking and nutrition instructor. She shares those skills with private clients through her own Well-Being, founded in 2012, and is on staff with Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Masters in Nutrition degree program. At Smith Center, Cathryn teaches cooking and nutrition classes, gentle yoga, and contributes to Smith Center’s wonderful  integrative cancer support retreats as chef and yoga therapist. She has decades of experience in diverse culinary settings, practicing/teaching yoga from a therapeutic perspective, meditation, and the study of Ayurveda, diverse spiritual  and philosophical traditions, and Oriental healing/martial arts. Cathryn shares the intention of nourishing well-being for us individually and as a collective with yoga, meditation and food-as-medicine, by cultivating the healing power of balance, optimal nutrition that supports our vitality, and compassionate presence that nurtures us all.

About Deborah Steele, ATR – Creativity Facilitator

Deb Steele, M.Ed., ATR, is a registered art therapist who has worked with cancer patients and their caregivers since receiving her Master’s degree in art therapy at the University of New Mexico. 

She herself is a survivor of two different breast cancers at ages 37 and 65.

Deb developed and managed the Patient and Family Support Services Program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cancer Center for 15 years before her retirement. Deb also worked with oncologists and palliative care staff to identify and initiate complementary therapies that would benefit the well-being of patients and their family members/caregivers. She has led many cancer-related support groups and retreats. Deb is currently leading creativity groups for survivors of domestic abuse and therapeutic art groups for women in Lebanon, NH.

About Jennifer Bires, MSW, LICSW, OSW-C – Group Leader

Jennifer Bires

Jennifer Bires is the Executive Director of Life with Cancer and Patient Experience for the Inova Schar Cancer Institute. She previously served as the Executive Director at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC after almost a decade of experience as an oncology social worker in the DC area. Jennifer has a passion for improving access to psychosocial services for those impacted by cancer. She specializes in working with Young Adults who have been diagnosed with cancer, end of life concerns and issues and sexual health. She was awarded the 2017 Oncology Social Worker of the Year award from the Association of Oncology Social Workers.

About Julia Rowland, PhD – Program Outreach & Support

Julia Rowland

Julia Rowland, PhD, who joined Smith Center in October 2017, comes to this position as a long-time clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of psychosocial aspects of cancer. She has worked with and conducted competitively funded research among both pediatric and adult cancer survivors and their families, and published broadly in psycho-oncology, including co-editing, along with Dr. Jimmie Holland, the ground-breaking text, Handbook of Psychooncology.  She has also been a frequent speaker on cancer survivorship, or life after cancer, for both professional and lay audiences.

Julia received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in psychosocial oncology. While at MSKCC, where she held joint appointments in pediatrics and neurology, Julia helped to develop and was the first Director of the Post-Treatment Resource Program, one of the first non-medical survivorship care programs to be offered by a major cancer center in the U.S. In 1990 she moved with her husband and two young children to Washington, DC to become founding Director of the Psycho-Oncology Program at Georgetown University and the Lombardi Cancer Center. There she helped expand services to meet the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and families, launched some of the first quality of life clinical trials, and also introduced a program to enable first year medical students to learn the art of caring for those living through and beyond cancer from survivors themselves and Lombardi faculty. Nine years later, in September of 1999, she was recruited to the National Cancer Institute to become the first, full-time Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship, a position in which she served for 18 years, championing the growth of survivorship research and care, before stepping down in September 2017 to assume her new role at Smith Center. Although new to the team, Julia is no stranger to Smith Center. She knew Smith Center’s founder, Barbara Smith Coleman, and has volunteered her expertise across the years as a speaker, group leader and staff member for both the 1-day and weeklong residential retreats. Julia brings to her new role a passion to translate what research has taught us about healing in the context of cancer to the broader community, in essence, taking the science of survivorship from the lab bench to the park bench.

About Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef – Nutrition & Music Facilitator

Laura Pole

Laura, Director of Smith Center’s Nourishment Education Programs, has served as the head retreat chef and nurse consultant since 1997. She is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Integrative Oncology Navigator with over 40 years experience in caring for people with serious illness. She is also a Certified Health Supportive Chef, professional musician and Nia body-mind fitness instructor. Her popular cooking classes are centered on culinary translation: that is, helping  participants translate a diet prescription to a plate of nourishing delicious food. Laura is the founder of “Eating for a Lifetime,” a consulting business dedicated to teaching individuals and professionals about health supportive eating and food preparation. In addition to Laura’s work with nourishment, she is the co-coordinator of Smith Center’s Patient Navigation Training in Integrative Cancer Care. Laura also serves as coordinator of the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv.

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 Jodi Kanter

Exploring Improvisation through Theater Games
PC: https://spolingamesonline.org/

“Improvising is openness to contact with the environment and each other and willingness to play.”

— Viola Spolin

 

Take a break from your Monday and get in touch with your sense of play through theater games. Very different from “improv” shows designed for entertainment, these simple, structured improvisation sessions will lead us through building environments, creating characters, making images, moving and inventing new languages using nothing but our bodies and our virtually shared space.

 

The foundation of this workshop will be the theater games and explorations of Viola Spolin, author of the classic Improvisation for the Theatre. These games focus on a wide range of core acting skills including nonverbal communication, concentration, listening, observation, character, relationship, and sensory awareness.

 

Actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner attested that the principles behind Spolin’s games “have formed the basis of all the work I’ve done.” Elsewhere, another writer described them as “structures designed to almost fool spontaneity into being.” Spolin’s work is taught all over the world to children and adults, professional actors, educators, and community members.

 

We will apply these skills to storytelling and our individual healing journeys. No previous theater experience required.

Exploring Improvisation will be hosted Weekly on Mondays from 2:00-3:15pm ET. 

Registration is required for each session of this program. The program must have at least 4 registered participants to be held. You will be notified in advance whether each particular session will occur. Please register as early as possible.

*No session on 12/27

Suggested Donation: $10

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.