Beyond Pride Month
Read the article that appeared in the July 2022 edition of the Front Porch magazine:
Every June, members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community celebrate Pride Month. Pride often increases community awareness about the mental health challenges that many LGBTQ+ folks experience.
But after Pride Month, how can we work together to create informed and affirming environments where LGBTQ+ people can thrive? How can we foster a community that embraces self-care and mental wellness for ALL people?
This is another story in the series in which I delve into what authentic self-care is by having conversations with local mental health professionals listed in Mental Health America of Fredericksburg’s HELPLINE resource.
For this month’s article, I spoke with Carmen Greiner, Director of Lighthouse Counseling. Carmen and her team of counselors at Lighthouse have been supporters of Mental Health America of Fredericksburg for years. You can learn more about their counseling practice at lighthousefredericksburg.com.
Carmen defines self-care as “paying attention to one’s physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.” Rather than what commercialist ideas of self-care lead us to believe, she says that real self-care involves a “component of meaning-making” that can come in many different forms, such as religion or spending time in nature.
For all of us, “self-care is about combating isolation,” according to Carmen. The recent years of the COVID pandemic have showed us just how damaging isolation can be to our mental health. In order to thrive, humans need social connection and a sense of belonging.
For those who are LGBTQ+, finding social connection and belonging can be extra challenging due to the restrictions of our society and the reality that for many of these folks, it is not safe to come out. To help people combat isolation, Carmen often starts by asking her clients: “What are some situations where you can be authentically you?” and encouraging them to be in those spaces more.
The Fredericksburg region is fortunate to have so many mental health providers, businesses, and other organizations who are LGBTQ+ affirming. Lighthouse Counseling is one of many local organizations who have created a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ folks. In April 2022, they launched a support group for adolescents who identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
For anyone seeking mental health services, it is important to find a provider who is a good fit based on what you want to get out of therapy. If having a therapist who specializes in working with LGBTQ+ clients is important to you, Carmen recommends asking them directly about their experience in the initial consultation. Finding spaces where you can have a voice and be your authentic self is a critical piece of self-care.
MHAfred maintains an extensive list of local mental health providers that we call the HELPLINE. We keep track of the services offered in the area, insurances accepted, and new client availability. If you are looking for a local mental health provider or want to learn more about MHAfred’s programs, call Mental Health America of Fredericksburg at (540) 371-2704 or visit our website at mhafred.org.
Anne-Tillery Melson is the Suicide Prevention Education Coordinator at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
Friendship and Mindfulness
Check out MHAfred’s articles in the June 2022 edition of Front Porch Magazine!
An excerpt from “Importance of Friendship”:
Senior Visitors benefits the volunteers and the seniors in equal measure. Learning about each other’s history, backgrounds, and cultures, helps to enrich our lives. This program has brought someone into my life that has helped me see the bigger picture. – Steve
An excerpt from “Mindfulness as a Tool for Self-Care”:
Mindfulness is a valuable practice that teaches us self-love and acceptance. Alison explains: “Mindfulness allows you to acknowledge what you’re feeling and regulate those feelings so they don’t prevent you from going where you want to go.”
Importance of Friendship
Read the article that appeared in the June 2022 edition of Front Porch Magazine:
Each month I try to share with you a glimpse into the friendships being formed through Mental Health America of Fredericksburg’s Senior Visitors Program. In the past 20+ years the Senior Visitors Program has worked to alleviate the loneliness and isolation too many seniors experience by connecting them with a volunteer visitor. Having friends and connections within our community is so important to our overall well-being and resiliency.
In April the Senior Visitors Program hosted a luncheon to honor our volunteers who have individually given over 500 hours of service. Many of these volunteers have been with the program since its early years. Their dedication says a lot about them – but also about the important work of the Senior Visitors Program.
In their own words, here’s why they feel the Senior Visitors Program is important:
The Senior Visitors Program is important because if fills a gap between the random friend or relation who may or may not be available at regular times and the professional whose work is not free, will be much less regularly available, [and is] certainly not just [there] to say hello and spend some quality time. Like most volunteer service, both the server and the served benefit. – Dan
The program is important because there are so many lonely and disconnected older people in our community. It’s amazing how much encouragement a hug or phone call brings. – Joyce
Senior Visitors benefits the volunteers and the seniors in equal measure. Learning about each other’s history, backgrounds, and cultures, helps to enrich our lives. This program has brought someone into my life that has helped me see the bigger picture. – Steve
We need each other – to keep involved, informed, and feeling needed. Senior Visitors Program allows us to give of ourselves and help others at the same time. – Judy
The Senior Visitors program creates a lifeline for a senior population who for various reasons, has reached a point in their lives where they are disconnected and perhaps lonely. The socialization and affirmation we volunteers offer, help to normalize their lives and make living more pleasant. – Laura
The program is so important because it brings human contact to people who cannot get out or have no one. It is also very satisfying to the volunteer. It is not always easy, [yet] it is very rewarding emotionally. – Maria
I shall pass through this world but once, therefore, any kindness that I can do, I do now. I am “needed” and it’s my pleasure too. Everybody needs somebody and Joyce and I have each other now. – Barbara
I’ve met some wonderful people. – Richard
The thing that is important about this program [is] friendship, caring, and giving. – Pat
When asked why the senior visitor program is important my mind went directly to a Beatles lyric: “All the lonely people, where do they all come from?” In a world overcrowded with people, it seems a tragedy that anyone should be lonely. Since seniors have difficulty reaching out to others, they desperately need someone to come to them. In reaching out to help another, I found a friend and a purpose. How rewarding! – Lisa
I wish a whole lot more people could experience this and see through the eyes of a senior. – Janice
Laurie Black is the Senior Visitors Program Coordinator at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
If you know a senior who could benefit from having a weekly, friendly visit or if you would like to volunteer to visit a senior, call the Senior Visitors Program at (540) 371-2704 or visit our website at mhafred.org to download volunteer or senior applications. The Senior Visitors Program is a free community service program of Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
Mindfulness as a Tool for Self-Care
Read the article that appeared in the June 2022 edition of Front Porch Magazine:
Nowadays, we often think of self-care as doing something for ourselves that feels comfortable and easy – like lighting an expensive candle, putting on our coziest sweatpants, and settling into bed to watch Netflix. But true self-care isn’t always that simple.
Truly caring for ourselves is not just a having a chill night in – it’s more than that. And dare I say that self-care is even, at times, difficult, uncomfortable, and challenging?
This is the second story of a series in which I delve into what authentic self-care is by having conversations with local mental health professionals listed in Mental Health America of Fredericksburg’s HELPLINE resource.
Recently I spoke with Alison Sullivan, LCSW, one of the local therapists listed in Mental Health America of Fredericksburg’s HELPLINE resource. She is the owner of Alison Sullivan & Associates, an integrative mental health practice located on Lafayette Blvd in Fredericksburg.
When I asked Alison to define self-care, she replied: “Self-care from a mental health perspective is related to actions and activities that cultivate and nurture a harmonic sense of wellbeing – whether that’s physical, emotional, relational, psychological, financial, etc.”
Alison believes that self-care involves both comfort and challenge. She says that self-care involves “actively taking a risk on behalf of what you need.” Not all self-care feels comfortable in the moment. For example, it can be difficult to have a hard conversation with a loved one, but that form of emotional and relational self-care is ultimately nurturing when we lean into that discomfort.
Self-care can take many forms. Mindfulness is a valuable practice that teaches us self-love and acceptance. Alison explains: “Mindfulness allows you to acknowledge what you’re feeling and regulate those feelings so they don’t prevent you from going where you want to go.”
At its core, mindfulness is simple. For people who want to try this practice as part of their self-care routine, Alison suggests starting with this: “Be with yourself in the moment and connect with your breath.” For anyone interested in exploring mindfulness in more depth, Alison created an online course called Mindfulness 101, which you can find on her website, alisonsintegrativehealth.org.
MHAfred maintains an extensive list of local mental health providers that we call the HELPLINE. We keep track of the services offered in the area, insurances accepted, and new client availability. If you are looking for a local mental health provider or want to learn more about MHAfred’s programs, call Mental Health America of Fredericksburg at (540) 371-2704 or visit our website at mhafred.org.
Anne-Tillery Melson is the Suicide Prevention Education Coordinator at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
Self-Care & Baseball Games
Check out MHAfred’s articles in the May 2022 edition of Front Porch Magazine!
An excerpt from “Authentic Self-Care”:
Dr. Jerome defines self-care using her background in attachment: “I think of self-care as the caretaking relationship we have with ourselves. As kids, we have a caregiver; but as adults, we are our own caregiver. I think [self-care] is about my relationship with myself as a caregiver.”
An excerpt from “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”:
Steve said of his volunteer service, “It’s all about giving of yourself to another person. We all need “a buddy”. It is nice to have someone to give time to and I have time to give. I get a lot of satisfaction out of volunteering. I learn a lot from Tim and Tim has a lot to share.”