Concurrent Sessions 3 | October 19, 2024 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Concurrent Session 3A | Sheltering from the Storm: Therapeutic Horticulture for Families Impacted by Climate Disasters
Description
Practitioners will learn interventions for family systems coping with two major forms of climate disaster: climate change & limited access to water, food, and safe housing due to political and natural disasters.
Speakers
Brendan Yukins
Brendan Yukins (he/his) is a social worker in Chicago, IL. He practices relational therapy at The Expansive Group, a queer sex therapy practice. With a background in crisis work, he now helps survivors of intimate partner violence enjoy sex and intimacy again with their loved ones. Brendan is pursuing his PhD in Couple and Family Therapy at Adler University. He has served as president of Chase Park Community Garden and as a Board Member for the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Brendan gardens bonsai on his back porch and is a loving father of a calico cat and pitbull puppy.
Marsha Vaughn, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Marsha Vaughn, LMFT (she/her), is a Professor at Adler University and a practicing psychotherapist with the Counseling Center of Arlington Heights. She holds a master’s and PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy from Abilene Christian University (TX) and Texas Tech University, respectively. She completed a hospital chaplaincy residency and the Certificate in Horticultural Therapy from the Horticultural Therapy Institute (CO). Her research and clinical interests lie in the areas of religious trauma and nature-based therapies. She is also an AAMFT-Approved Supervisor and serves on the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture editorial board.
Concurrent Session 3B | Grief Gardening: Social Work Perspectives of Horticultural Therapy and Grief
Description
This lecture and interactive session focuses on HT/TH with people who are grieving a loss. Participants learn about needs of grievers, program themes and activities, and hear stories of personal resilience and growth.
Speakers
Betty H. Guise
Betty Guise, MSW, LSW, and HT, has worked in various roles in social services. Her interest in Horticultural Therapy began when she attended a Grief Gardening program following the death of her husband in 2016. After researching HT, she enrolled in the Delaware Valley University HT certificate program in 2017 and completed the program in 2018. Betty created HT activities for people whose spouse or life partner had died. She has contracted with Hospice of Central Pennsylvania since 2022 for her program, "A New Leaf," to explore "how nature helps us heal and find a way forward." Using plants, flowers, and the study of nature, group work focuses on identifying strengths, self-care, journaling, gratitude, and sharing stories. Betty currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network
Carrie McCann, MSW, RYT
Carrie McCann (she/her), is a death & grief companion, educator, community gardener, and wellness consultant with 15 years of experience in supporting people through life’s biggest transitions and changes. She strives to hold exploratory, accessible, and gentle space for people to honor endings and difficult moments, acknowledge death, and be with grief. Drawing on her background in social work, breath and movement practices, and therapeutic horticulture approaches, Carrie offers practical, emotional, and spiritual support for dying, grief and loss of all kinds to individuals, communities, and organizations. Carrie is passionate about helping people experience more moments of care and connection and explores the many ways this can look through her work as the founder of Moonset & Co.
Concurrent Session 3C | Mindful Horticultural Therapy to Promote Well-being
Description
Drawing from mindfulness and other contemplative practices like compassion to improve self-regulation and promote altruism and generosity. Along with nurturing positive emotions, as an integral part of positive psychology, the session will introduce Mindful Horticultural Therapy to promote well-being.
Speakers
Eva Creus
Eva Creus has professional training in HT. She is currently interning at University of Florida Wilmot Gardens & UF Therapeutic Horticulture Certificate Program activities. Eva has several degrees (DVM-PhD), and a Master’s degree in Mindfulness (University of Zaragoza). Eva is a private contractor practitioner who runs STH programs in Spain, mainly for older adults and people living with dementia, through her company Plants for life ( Plantas para la vida). She is also cofounder of the Spanish Association in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture (Asociación Española de Horticultura y Jardinería Social y Terapéutica, AEHJST).
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