Beyond The Brain: Soul Exhaustion and Soul Care

SpeakUp ReachOut is the suicide prevention coalition of Eagle County.  Our mission is to prevent suicide in Eagle County through training, awareness and HOPE!

SpeakUp ReachOut

Presented by Sarah Gaer, MA
Intermediate Audience | FREE- Register Today | Two (2) CE

Colorado Mountain College

This event is virtual and free to professionals for CE credits AND to community members seeking information around the topic.Abstract: Throughout the history of humanity and within every known culture has been the concept of the Soul and yet over the last century or so, its value has lost much ground. For many people the idea of the soul, the essence of "who" they are resonates deeply and yet has been significantly diminished by the medical model of mental health and addiction. This presentation will bring the concept of the soul back to the forefront of discussion in how we conceptualize ourselves and others as well as the concept of Soul Exhaustion. Soul Exhaustion takes a deeper exploration of life circumstances such as poverty, adverse childhood experiences, racism, trauma and loss, and burnout and the holistic impact it has on the "who" we are. When looking through the lens of Soul exhaustion, we also must shift our thoughts on solutions to address the soul, spirit or essence of "who" we are. Therefore, Soul Care, which has emphasis on non-clinical resources, goes deeper into understanding the ways in which we care for the "who". This presentation also explores how the concept of Soul Exhaustion and Soul Care can work in harmony with the medical model of mental health, substance use disorders and suicide prevention. Learning Objectives:At the conclusion of this session:Participants will be able to define the concepts of the Soul, Soul Exhaustion and Soul CareParticipants will be able to list three existential experiences that have deep impact on mental health/soul health and the essence of one’s sense of self Participants will be able to identify and explain three components of Soul Care Agenda:11:00-11:30: Understanding the Soul11:30-12:00: Soul Exhaustion 12-12:45: Soul Care12:45-1:00: Recovery Presenter Bio: Sarah Gaer holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University New England and has 25 years’ experience in the field of mental health care. Her early career was started working with children in residential programs, therapeutic schools, and therapeutic outreach. She also worked in a therapeutic community substance use treatment facility both as a counselor and an intake coordinator. Sarah focused her graduate degree work on military veterans and trauma. She was an outpatient clinician, crisis clinician and member of the trauma response team in Springfield Massachusetts for 5 years. Sarah then spent 9 years as a Suicide Prevention Specialist focused on men in the middle years and first responders with Riverside Trauma Center. She has trained over 1000 first responders in Massachusetts and is a QPR (Question, Persuade &amp; Refer) Master Trainer for the QPR Institute. Sarah was also a member of the Riverside Trauma Center trauma team for 9 years and has responded to suicides, homicides, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks. Sarah was the Senior Team Leader for MassSupport Network, the FEMA funded Crisis Counseling Program responding to Covid19 in Massachusetts and was the Team Leader for the CCP in 2011 responding to the tornadoes that impacted Western &amp; Central Massachusetts. Sarah most recently completed a contract as trauma recovery consultant and spearheaded long term recovery efforts at Holyoke Soldier’s Home, which experienced a mass causality event during Covid-19. Sarah also holds a contract with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health creating and providing training for Law Enforcement on topics such as suicide prevention, toxic stress and resilience building. Sarah currently continues to be a consultant specializing in trauma recovery and suicide prevention. Sarah has presented her work at National and International Suicide Prevention conferences and her writings have been published by SAMHSA and the Good Men Project. She authored the novel “The Price” which chronicles the suicide death of a police officer as well as co-authoring Guts, Grit &amp; The Grind, which is an anthology series about Men’s Mental Health. Sarah has also published a children’s book, Good Night Grace, which assists families and caregivers in talking with children about their parents’ substance use disorder. Citations:Clancy, S., Lord, B. (2018) Making Meaning After the Death of a Child. Child &amp; Adolescent Clinics. https://www.childpsych.theclinics.com/article/S1056-4993(18)30646-1/fulltextKravchuk, S., (2021) The Relationship Between Resilience &amp; Tendency to Forgiveness. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/df3f/bee54f1548af74886f76b0625682e180e6ad.pdfMoncrieff, J., Cooper, R., Stockman, T., et al. (2022) The Serotonin Theory of Depression: A systemic Umbrella Review of Evidence. Molecular Psychiatry. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0.pdf“This program includes 2.0 CE. The University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GSPP maintains responsibility for this program and its content.”I understand that by registering for this event, my email address will be added to the SpeakUp ReachOut email distribution list, if not already included. I may opt out of email communications at any time.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}