Hello Spring! 

Wow. This winter has been a wild ride. I don't know about you, but I am ready for a little bit of sunshine. And in alignment with spring, Orenda and its' partners have some big news + lots of happenings!

First of all, thank you to all of those who attended our free course on Trauma Coaching: The Basics on 3.17.23. We had over 400 registrants for this course! In the event you were unable to attend, it is available on our YouTube channel @theorendaproject. You can also go to our channel by clicking the link below. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_UFaL21EhgV-4jzv518C0Q

Guess What?!

We are announcing several retreat-style international learning opportunities with four fabulous locations!

So where are we going, you ask? 

Italy: Fall 2023

South Africa: TBA

Vietnam: Spring 2024

Kenya: February 2024

You might wonder why we offer our trainings in this format...

The reason goes beyond providing a unique + culturally rich learning opportunity. Our Trauma Coaching course was designed to help bridge the global gap in access to mental health supports on a global scale. 

When we travel to these locations, we also share the content with trusted local partners. Mental health providers in low and middle-income countries receive the training alongside our travelers. This allows our colleagues in high-barrier countries to adapt the content to their cultural needs while increasing trauma-specific supports directly to their communities. 

When you travel with us, you also contribute to the greater good. 

We are looking forward to our next adventure! Please note that we limit the maximum number of participants per delegation, so it is strongly recommended that you reserve your spot sooner than later. We will have official registration for each location launched soon. 

If you are interested in being added to an interest list for any of our delegations, please email us here: [email protected]. 

If you want to learn more about our last delegation to Rwanda (which was AMAZING), here is a link to our blog post that chronicles the trip: https://www.theorendaproject.org/blog/rwanda-chronicled

Student Spotlight!

Lexi Sheehan

Lexi has completed her course curriculum and is now prepared to serve as a Trauma Coach @ Integrative Trauma Treatment Center (www.traumacenternw.com)! Congratulations, Lexi!

Here is more about Lexi:

Lexi always carried an innate sense that her larger purpose was in humanitarian work but it wasn’t until reading The Body Keeps the Score that her outlook shifted to the importance of learning about the effects of trauma and becoming an advocate for those looking for a way out of existing in survival mode. With the help of alternative therapies and work with a sobriety coach in her own journey, she knew she wanted to walk alongside others as they took on the work to better their mental, spiritual, physical and emotional health.

From there, a series of synchronicities and open doors led her to take a leap of faith to move across the country from North Carolina to Oregon to pursue work in the art of healing. She found work with a mental health agency with a focus on processing trauma where she felt her professional experience and passion for holistic health and healing come to a head.

In February, Lexi finished Orenda’s Trauma Coaching Program and has started working with clients towards her practice hours. Implementing Orenda’s educative and compassionate approach allows her to cultivate a safe space to meet people where they are in order for them to feel into, listen and trust their own presence again, or even for the first time. She believes in the power of unrelenting faith, kindness and beauty as touchstones in the healing process.

Along with being an Orenda Certified Trauma-Coach, Lexi is a Usui/Holy Fire III Reiki I/II practitioner, Certified Tarot/Oracle Card Reader and owner of spiritual community Violet Peaks. She draws upon her years of experience in corporate retail to remain creative and resourceful. A dedicated life-long learner, she is excited to continue her studies in mystical and scientific arts to diversify her offerings as a coach.

While she’s finally managed to blend her work with her passions, her “out of office” time includes more reading and writing, volunteering at Oregon’s first and only homeless shelter featuring trauma-informed design and exploring the natural setting of her new coast with her German Shepherd, Wylie.

She is thrilled to be a part of Orenda’s community that can help guide, support and empower those who feel called to do this work and provide accessibility to trauma-informed care not only locally, but on a global scale. This is just the beginning.

Congratulations Dr. Andrea Bell + Laura Oakes, MA on Completing your course curriculum!

These two amazing people are preparing to launch their Trauma Coaching Practice. It has been an absolute delight learning alongside both of them! Here is their contact information in the event you know someone who is looking for a Trauma Coach!

Laura Oakes, MA

www.renewanewyou.com (coming soon!)

Instagram: @renew_anewyou.

Email: [email protected].

Dr. Andrea Bell

Founder, Write On! Trauma Coaching 

website coming soon!

Practice Description:

"As Clients of Andrea Bell, Ph.D. (“Write On! [Through to the Other Side]”), you will benefit from the gifts that earned Andrea the Distinguished Faculty Award and thousands of letters from students attesting to her vital role in their deep personal transformation in her job as Literature and Writing Professor. Andrea will help you to discover and to honor your own unique capacities on your journey towards creating the life you desire, a life lived fully, with passion, depth, authenticity, love, and success, however you define the term. Andrea will show you how to use writing to transform the hard-earned strength and wisdom that enabled you to survive trauma into the power to realize your most deeply held hopes and dreams."

Contact Info: [email protected]

Our Trauma Hub communities are up and running!

We have launched our membership communities! We have some new members and we are hoping to continue to cultivate connection, professional development, and build expertise in the areas of trauma + dissociative disorders! 

We have two membership communities. Both include a monthly live Q + A with Athena along with lots of content, opportunities to engage, a book club, self-care corner, and more.

The Trauma Hub for Therapists is for those who want to build their expertise in complex trauma and dissociative disorders.

The Trauma Hub for Coaches is for those who want to specialize in trauma and build community. 

https://www.theorendaproject.org/communities

Did You Know?

by Athena Phillips, LCSW

Did you know that suicide rates often peak during the spring? This may seem surprising because for many it can be experienced as a hopeful and bright time of year. 

Unfortunately, sometimes the spring can highlight hopelessness for those who have struggled through the winter months. There are a variety of theories attempting to explain this pattern, some of which include changes in behavior associated with increased daylight or the possibility that sunlight activates serotonin in our bodies. Serotonin has been theorized to influence suicidal behavior in some people. Below are three studies that evaluated this phenomena. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032706000589

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.4.793

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010440X11001374

So what should you do if there is someone you are concerned about? 

1. Don't be afraid to talk about it. If you are concerned about someone's depression and ability to stay safe, ask them about it directly. You will not cause someone to become suicidal by inquiring about it. Ask if they have a suicide plan. 

2. Know your local mental health resources and share them with the person you are concerned about. 

3. If they will allow you to, put 988 (The United State's national suicide hotline) into their list of contacts. We want it to be as easy possible to reach out for help. 

4. Listen without talking. 

5. Help connect them to a therapist. 

6. Remove dangerous things from their possessions. 

7. You can view our resource page @ https://www.theorendaproject.org/resource for more resources. If you have others you would like us to add, we are happy to! Send us an email @ [email protected]

If you are someone you know is in distress and is expressing suicidal thoughts, please go directly to the nearest emergency room. 

Thank you all for your interest and your commitment to making this world of ours a more connected and compassionate place! 

~Athena