Proposal Title
Together through Loss: A Partnership with Cambridge Community Center, Lesley and HEARTplay
Abstract
This panel presentation will discuss the partnership between Lesley University faculty and students, Cambridge Community Center and Mount Auburn Hospital’s hospice-based children's bereavement program, HEARTplaysm. Through this partnership, a weekly program is offered to children ages 6-8 who have experienced various life losses including a death in the family, and challenges due to housing, incarceration, addiction and divorce. Through best practices in Expressive Therapy/Dance Movement Therapy, Mental Health Counseling and trauma-informed work, we strive to promote emotional literacy, resiliency, coping skills, community pride and awareness of self and others. Staff from Cambridge Community Center, HEARTplay and Lesley will speak to this collaborative effort. As a training site for graduate students in Mental Health Counseling/Dance Movement Therapy, our interns had opportunities to practice program planning and development, group leadership, self-advocacy as well as clinical skills in their chosen field. We will focus on the challenges and rewards of responsive leadership and advocacy of our programs, and the importance of flexibility and mutual respect as we strive to provide compassionate and creative programming for the participants. The importance of the establishment of trust, maintaining a consistent presence, engagement with staff and the provision of reciprocal opportunities for mentorship and training will be presented. We will focus on leadership platforms for staff, student interns and participants, as we seek to provide a foundation for growth, empowerment, and multicultural awareness.
Start Date
28-3-2018 5:40 PM
End Date
28-3-2018 6:30 PM
Presentation Type
Panel
Disciplines
Counseling Psychology | Dance Movement Therapy | Other Mental and Social Health
Together through Loss: A Partnership with Cambridge Community Center, Lesley and HEARTplay
U-Hall 3-098
This panel presentation will discuss the partnership between Lesley University faculty and students, Cambridge Community Center and Mount Auburn Hospital’s hospice-based children's bereavement program, HEARTplaysm. Through this partnership, a weekly program is offered to children ages 6-8 who have experienced various life losses including a death in the family, and challenges due to housing, incarceration, addiction and divorce. Through best practices in Expressive Therapy/Dance Movement Therapy, Mental Health Counseling and trauma-informed work, we strive to promote emotional literacy, resiliency, coping skills, community pride and awareness of self and others. Staff from Cambridge Community Center, HEARTplay and Lesley will speak to this collaborative effort. As a training site for graduate students in Mental Health Counseling/Dance Movement Therapy, our interns had opportunities to practice program planning and development, group leadership, self-advocacy as well as clinical skills in their chosen field. We will focus on the challenges and rewards of responsive leadership and advocacy of our programs, and the importance of flexibility and mutual respect as we strive to provide compassionate and creative programming for the participants. The importance of the establishment of trust, maintaining a consistent presence, engagement with staff and the provision of reciprocal opportunities for mentorship and training will be presented. We will focus on leadership platforms for staff, student interns and participants, as we seek to provide a foundation for growth, empowerment, and multicultural awareness.
