Blog
Holiday Wish Lists for CHRIS 180 Youth and Families
Wish List for Toys and Presents We offer parents in our community the opportunity to shop for presents for their children. Often during the holidays, parents stress about how they will provide a special experience for their kids while also keeping up with the normal...
Steering Through Vicarious Trauma
“The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it, is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet.” Rachel Naomi Remen Screeching tires. Smell of burnt rubber. Windows breaking and metal...
Cultivating Friendships
Since early spring, many of us feel disconnected from our friends and family because we have been unable to spend time with them. And while it is important for us to practice social distancing, the price is high when it comes to the connection many of us crave. This...
Finding a Sense of Control Amidst the Uncontrollable
If this year has taught me anything, it is that there is a lot of stuff I cannot change. That realization has brought on frequent feelings of powerlessness, helplessness and frustration. It has also sometimes brought about anger, sadness and a downright desire to just...
Recognizing the Need and Ways to Help
“A child is not looking for a perfect parent, but to feel loved and understood. We are blessed to be a step along the journey in the growth of a new family” -Emily Thompson, VP of Community Programs CHRIS 180 Happy National Adoption Month! While the month of November...
Taking Care of Yourself to Take Care of Others
Many women can often feel like we have the world on our shoulders. We often carry not only our stress but the stress of our loved ones and those closest to us. Often, women can feel isolated, unsupported, and even depressed because of various challenges. Over time,...
How I Disconnected to Reconnect
Lately, I have found myself in a place that I have not been in a very long time and I am not sure how to take it all in. In this place, I am more consistently prioritizing myself and my needs. In this place, I am not obsessing over every detail and I am resisting my...
Season of Change
The cool breeze in the mornings lets us know that autumn is around the corner. I have not always been ready for this newness because I love the summer months and do not want to say goodbye to the warmth of the sun, the flowers, butterflies, lightning bugs, BBQs, late...
Is my teen ‘on something?’ Teen Substance misuse during COVID-19
It’s not news the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about changes to all our lives, and teens are no exception. All at once they were ripped away from their friends, sports, church groups, school clubs, jobs and other social supports. Although school has resumed, life is...
Chaplains bring calm during times of uncertainty
Recognizing that healing from trauma and facing difficulties sometimes has a powerful spiritual component, at the beginning of 2020 CHRIS 180 expanded its services to form the Institute for Spiritual Health and Wellness. In addition to placing Clinical Pastoral...
The Pandemic P.A.R.E.N.T. – Virtual School Edition
Parenting school-aged children, circa 2020, has required parents to juggle (in new ways) their profession with their parenting responsibilities, and to strike the right balance between their kids’ happiness and their health. Now that virtual school has started across...
To Connect or Disconnect: Steps to Connect and Change
My African American mother, aunts and uncle lived through the Jim Crow laws and experienced racial violence throughout much of their childhood. My Congolese father and aunts experienced the trauma of war in DRC. The recent killings have touched trauma wounds in some...
To Connect or Disconnect: Part 1
“We’re hardwired for connection.” This is one of my favorite quotes from a shero in our field, Brené Brown. Through her work on shame and vulnerability, we are able to get a closer look at aspects of the human condition that are often overlooked. Her quote reminds me...
Uncertainty
My client said, “I’m bored and agitated. It isn’t a good combination because it makes me reckless.” His thoughtful insight rings true: The country’s foundation is defined by COVID-19 with recommendations for social and physical distancing, combined with little sense...
Working through a pandemic as a mental health professional
Working as a mental health professional can be described as rewarding, exuberating, encouraging and self-satisfying. It can be described as mind-blowing as the picture above illustrates, but also tedious, exhausting and overwhelming. I wanted to write this blog post...
Finding Balance
Around the age of 12, I lifted my hands from the handlebars of my bike for the first time and rode down the street behind my friends who also rode with “no hands”. It was quite the accomplishment at that time. We rode everywhere on our bikes -- to friends’ houses,...
History Is Watching
It’s times like this when I miss morning coffee with friends the most. We all feel so stressed from working during a pandemic, worrying about the health of our families and the people we serve. We fear for our health, our finances, and our lives – worst of all we feel...
Supporting Our Scholars
Back to School. Usually this likely makes you think of picking out an outfit for your first day or packing your backpack with supplies. This year, depending on where you live, it looks more like checking Zoom to make sure you have the latest updates installed and a...
What’s Your Story?
Stories tell us something about ourselves, others, and our experiences. Our therapists have the pleasure to sit with all kinds of people at different stages of their life and hear their stories. One approach CHRIS 180 clinicians often take with clients is to listen to...
Disconnected Connection
“It’s easier being in each other’s presence, or in each other’s absence, than in the constant presence of each other’s absence.”–Gianpiero Petriglieri Yes, Zoom Exhaustion is real. As we continue to work from home, visit family and friends on the screen, or go to...
Attitude Of Gratitude
One of my favorite meditations is a short guided one by Deepak Chopra. In the middle of this meditation he asks repeatedly in his soothing voice, “What am I grateful for?” I hear his hypnotic tone sometimes in my head when I need a good, positive reminder. We are...
