4-Week Virtual Parenting Workshop
Participants will learn how to connect and support their child(ren) and family by gaining a basic understanding of attachment patterns, stress/trauma responses, and implementing parenting strategies. You will leave armed with tools, knowledge, and new ideas to implement in your home. This training is meant for any parent that has a child that struggles with behavioral outbursts and non-compliance while enhancing the parent-child relationship.
Curriculum is based on The Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) Introduction and Overview Class Series, an introduction to principles that enhance your understanding about how to interpret behavior and respond appropriately. At this training, you will learn and practice:
- Empowering Principles to address physical needs
- Connecting Principles for attachment needs
- Correcting Principles to disarm fear-based behaviors
WHEN: Tuesdays, February 8, 2022 - March 1, 2022 from 5:30 - 7:00 pm
COST: $50/week for individuals, $75/week for couples (strongly encouraged in 2-parent homes)
- payment plans and/or discount available based on need
- includes a workbook
- workshop is kept small to assist in personalizing interventions
WHERE: Virtual, link will be sent to participants
REGISTER: Call 512-451-7337, option 8 or email frontoffice@samaritan-center.org
Registration Deadline: February 2, 2022 due to required check-in with group leader prior to start
WHAT IS TBRI®?
TBRI® offers practical tools for parents, caregivers, teachers, or anyone who works with children, to see the “whole child” in their care and help that child reach his highest potential. TBRI® is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of children.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR – Kamini Verma, LCSW-S, RPT-S
Kamini Verma, LCSW-S, RPT-S completed the TBRI® Practitioner and Educator training in 2014 and for the past 10 years has specialized in working with children and adolescents. See Kamini’s full bio here.
Veterans Helping Veterans: Community Wellness & Resilience Group
This 8-week group provides peer support for veterans during our difficult times. The group will define and discuss wellness and its eight dimensions. The focus is on cultivating deep, self-awareness so we may improve in these dimensions to better the quality of our lives.
Each week will focus on a different topic:
Week 1 - Make community - Meet your community and facilitator. Set expectations and intentions.
Week 2 - Build community - Continue to build community by telling our stories.
Week 3 - Environmental dimension - Build an environment to foster our growth and wellness.
Week 4 - Vocational and financial dimension - Discuss ways for occupational, educational, and/or vocational dimensions to serve us instead of us serving them.
Week 5 - Emotional and intellectual dimension - Define and discuss the value of emotional wellbeing and how to use intellectual wellness to support our growth.
Week 6 - Social dimension - Discuss the value of a positive support system to facilitate our growth in wellness.
Week 7 - Spiritual dimension - Define and discuss what spirituality is and its importance to our wellness.
Week 8 - Physical dimension - Assess our current state of health and discuss healthy adjustments to support physical wellness.
WHEN: Wednesdays, February 9 – March 30, 2022, 6:30 – 7:30 pm for 8 weeks
WHO: Veterans, Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserves from all military branches
WHERE: Virtual, link will be sent to participants
COST: Free with proof of military service - DD214, Texas Driver’s License with Veteran annotation, VA Benefit Letter, etc.
REGISTER: Call 512-451-7337, option 4 or email manny@Samaritan-Center.org
Facilitator:
Manny Gonzalez is an OIF/OEF Marine veteran. He has provided peer support to veterans in the Austin and Greater Houston communities for over five years in jails, transition houses, and halfway houses. He currently helps run the Veteran’s Re-Entry Dorm for TDCJ at the Travis State Jail which helps prepare veterans for their release through clinical and peer services. When he’s not helping veterans, Manny trains for ultra-distance races. His longest completed distance is 100 miles and he is currently preparing for the Caballo Ultra 50 Miler in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Veteran Peer Process Group
The Veteran Peer team at the Samaritan Center is here to provide a safe space for those veterans that would like to spend some time with other veterans. Those that served could be struggling with a variety of thoughts and feelings related to their service.
WHO: Veterans, Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserves from all Military Branches
WHEN: Mondays, 6:00 - 7:30pm
WHERE: Virtual, link will be sent to participants
COST: Free
REGISTER: Call 512-451-7337, opt 8 or email blake@samaritan-center.org
Co-facilitators:
Blake Holbrook, Mental Health Peer Specialist: Blake served in the United States Army Infantry from 2002 to 2005. With the 2nd Infantry Division, Blake was stationed on the DMZ between North and South Korea from 2003-2004. With the 1st Cavalry, he was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and was stationed in Baghdad from 2004 to 2005. In his service, Blake was the recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge, the Purple Heart, Paratrooper Wings, National Defense Ribbon and the Iraq Campaign Medal. Currently, Blake is the supervisor of the Travis State Jail Veterans Dorm, a 13-week program for incarcerated veterans from across the state of Texas that educates participants about PTSD, Substance Abuse, and Life Skills.
James Lambert, MVPN Travis County Peer Coordinator: James served in the United States Army as a Forward Observer from 1996 to 2000. He was stationed out of Fort Carson, Colorado with the 4th Infantry Division. After medically chaptering out of the military, James worked a variety of jobs. His difficulty transitioning out of the military led him to a calling of helping other veterans. James holds both a Bachelors and Masters in Social Work from Texas State University. Helping to develop programs for veterans while a student there, James is now the lead Peer Service Coordinator for Travis County.
Military Sexual Trauma Survivors Group
Research has shown that trauma has profound effects on the lives of survivors. These effects include not only damage to the survivor’s mental health, but also to her/his physical health. This support group will address both of these areas. Peter Levine’s book, Healing Trauma, uses his somatic experiencing exercises to reconnect with the body and release the trauma energy stored there. The group will learn and experience a new exercise each week. Additionally, group members will participate in group review and discussions guided by a workbook entitled, Help End Abusive Relationship Tendencies (HEART), that focuses on issues survivors deal with after the occurrence of personal violence. The group is designed to offer survivors opportunities for personal growth as they work toward healing their trauma(s).
WHEN: Wednesdays, 4:30 - 5:30 pm
WHO: Any military-connected individual with proof of eligibility including veterans, service members, and family members
WHERE: Virtual, link will be sent to participants
COST: Free
REGISTER: Call 512-451-7337, option 8 or email frontoffice@samaritan-center.org
Co-facilitators:
Delia (Dee) Esparza, PhD, LMFT, PMHCNS-BC: Dee is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. She has more than forty years of experience as a therapist. Twenty- three of those years were spent treating veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder due to a theatre of war trauma or military sexual trauma. She is proud of her dear husband, a Vietnam Marine veteran, and has a deep respect for all the women and men who have served in the military forces.
Rochelle Pearce, LPC: Rochelle is a Licensed Professional Counselor with extensive experience working with survivors of abuse and sexual assault and the associated judicial process. She strives to instill hope and understanding of the meaning in our experiences and the purpose to our lives. She is a proud wife of a US Army veteran and has a passion for supporting those who have so bravely served in the line of duty to maintain the freedoms of our country.
Veteran PTSD Support Group
Coping with PTSD is a lifelong effort. This support group offers a space for relaxed sharing about your PTSD symptoms in the company and support of your brother and sister veterans who share your courage to confront this challenging illness. The group will meet for 10 weeks and will focus on the disruptive symptoms that frequently accompany PTSD. The group facilitators will use the Seeking Safety Workbook and the lived experiences of group members to guide these discussions. Group members need not feel obligated to share any of their life experiences, but sharing in a supportive environment can be one of our greatest tools to release the burden of PTSD.
WHEN: Tuesdays, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
COST: Free
WHO: Veterans, Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserves from all Military Branches
WHERE: Virtual, link will be sent to participants
REGISTER: Call 512-451-7337, option 8 or email frontoffice@samaritan-center.org
Co-facilitators:
Delia (Dee) Esparza, PhD, LMFT, PMHCNS-BC: Dee is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. She has more than forty years of experience as a therapist. Twenty- three of those years were spent treating veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder related to a theatre of war trauma or military sexual trauma. She is proud of her dear husband, a Vietnam Marine veteran, and has a deep respect for all the women and men who have served in the military forces.
Manny Gonzalez, Mental Health Peer Specialist: Manny is an OIF/OEF Marine Infantry Veteran with Service-Connected PTSD and Childhood PTSD. With support from the VA, the Austin Running and Yoga community, the Samaritan Center, and through his own means, Manny applies all the positive coping skills and tools he's learned to live a fulfilling life with PTSD. Now, he pays it forward by helping other Veterans with PTSD or other service-connected disorders find ways to positively manage their lives. Manny has served our Veteran community for over five years in the Greater Austin and Houston communities.
Angela M McCree, M Ed, MFT: Angela is a therapist at Samaritan Center. She is a disabled Navy veteran that served as a shipboard electrician aboard the USS Dixon, a sub-tender, out of Point Loma, CA. She was on board the night a group of sailors, afraid to deploy to the Gulf for Desert Storm, set a pile of mattresses on fire in the berthing. Therefore, PTSD is in her DNA. She is a natural born encourager who believes that we all possess the power of choice and change. She sees her role as that of one who encourages, supports, and embraces everything about you.
Parent Support Group
Monthly parenting support group for parents of the Samaritan Center. This group provides a space and time for parents to receive support, give support and have a knowledgeable and compassionate child therapist as a resource. Topics will vary based on what the parents bring to the group. Group is provided virtually via Zoom at this time.
WHEN: 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
COST: $20 for individuals, $25 for couples, sliding scale available based on need
WHO: Open to all parents and caregivers who are clients of Samaritan Center
WHERE: Virtual, link will be sent to participants
REGISTER: Call 512-451-7337, option 8 or email frontoffice@samaritan-center.org
Facilitator:
Nelda Carpenter, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been with Samaritan since 1998. She has many years of experience working with diverse populations of children, teens and adults in various professional settings. Years of volunteer experience with children, teens and families related to spiritual development magnified for her the importance of addressing the totality of mind-body-spirit in her professional work and she feels goals are best met when physical, emotional and spiritual aspects are considered in the therapeutic process.
Nelda draws from a variety of counseling theories in her practice. She works with many issues including grief and loss, trauma, abuse, marital issues, anxiety, depression, bipolar, and healing from divorce or personal hurts in families and churches. She utilizes hypnosis and EMDR to address many issues and she uses play therapy with children as young as two years of age. She recognizes the importance of laughter in healing and, when appropriate, introduces fun into therapy.
Nelda has served on the state board of Texas Association of Play Therapy. She has also spoken at retreats and presented psychoeducational workshops in the community and continues to welcome those opportunities.