Island Therapies of Suffolk, L.L.P.

				*Events* ♦ SEPTEMBER 2010 ♦ Exciting new event is coming to Island Therapies! - SIBSHOPS™ *SIBSHOPS™* are best described as opportunities for brothers and sisters of children with special health and developmental needs to obtain peer support within a recreational context. We believe that the issues of one child in a family will typically affect the lives of all family members. Consequently, we want to increase the peer support and information opportunities for brothers and sisters of people with special needs and to increase parents' and providers' understanding of sibling issues. *SIBSHOPS™* are best described as events. *SIBSHOPS™* are lively celebrations of the many contributions made by brothers and sisters of kids with special needs. *SIBSHOPS™* acknowledge that being the brother or sister of a person with special needs is for some a good thing, others a not-so good thing, and for many somewhere in between. They reflect a belief that brothers and sisters have much to offer one another -- if they are given a chance. The *SIBSHOPS™* model intersperses information and discussion activities with new games (designed to be unique, off-beat, and appealing to a wide ability range). The activities are often a combination of crafts, gross motor fun, silly, zany games, and snack time. *SIBSHOPS™* provide siblings with opportunities for peer support. Because *SIBSHOPS™* are designed (primarily) for school-age children, peer support is provided within a lively, recreational context that emphasizes a kids-eye-view. More information about *SIBSHOPS™* can be found on the website www.siblingsupport.org. Island Therapies is hosting a *SIBSHOPS™* Event. It will be run by Ann Winter, a pediatric Occupational Therapist. Who Should Attend: Siblings of children with special health and developmental needs. Siblings should be between the ages of 5 and 10 years, but call us for possible exceptions should you have siblings who are interested beyond this age group. Siblings can bring close friends or cousins who have close contact with the family as well. Group size will be kept between 5 - 10 children. When: Events will be held once per month on Fridays at 5PM-7PM on the following dates: 2010: October 22^nd, November 19^th, December 17^th 2011: January 21^st Dates after January 2011 will be announced, but they will continue to be once per month, possibly the third Friday each month. Cost: Each 2-hour session is $50, which includes art materials and snacks. *****You may sign up a child one session at a time, but if you sign up for all four sessions at once, Island Therapies offers a great introductory rate of only $180 per child.* Payment Options: Payments are to be made by check payable to "Island Therapies" prior to the session(s) and can be brought in person or mailed to our office at 1 Brandywine Drive, Deer Park, NY 11729. (However, if necessary, Visa or Mastercard payments can be processed over the phone by calling Island Therapies at (631)392-0081.) If you are interested in signing up a child for a *SIBSHOPS™* event, please e-mail our office at info@islandtherapies.org or call us at (631)392-0081 as quickly as possible. ♦ AUGUST 2010 ♦ Saturday Sensory Gym Program Island Therapies is happy to announce the Fall 2010 dates for the Saturday Sensory Gym Program. Please click on Saturday Sensory Gym Program to find out the dates, the cost, and how you can sign up your child for the program. Be sure to sign up as soon as possible; spots fill up quickly! Island Therapies Conference - "Mindfulness" CANCELLED Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Techniques: Tools you can use! Are you feeling tired and overwhelmed? Have decreased reimbursements and increased paperwork got you down? Burned out, trouble focusing? Worried about whether you will ever be able to retire? This daylong workshop will provide you with tools that you can use – throughout your day – to help you cope with the stresses of life. There will be an opportunity to explore ways to integrate mindfulness into our daily professional lives. » What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a way of being present in our lives. It is paying attention to what is happening around us and within us, from moment to moment. It is cultivating the ability to meet our experience with intentionality, curiosity, and kindness. » What does mindfulness have to do with stress? Mark Twain once said, “Some of the worst things in my life never actually happened.” As we begin to pay attention, we notice how difficult it is to stay present with what is actually happening without catastrophizing or fantasizing about the future, remembering, replaying, rehashing the past, or turning to distraction. And so, we miss the one moment we actually have to be alive. » Who can benefit from participating? People participate for reasons as diverse as... • Stress - job, family or financial • Chronic pain and illness • Anxiety and panic • GI distress • Sleep disturbances • Fatigue • High blood pressure • Headaches » Learn tools to help you: • Work more effectively with stress, anxiety and illness. • Take better care of yourself. • Increase your ability to work with situations that may not change • Decrease your reactivity • Increase empathy and self compassion » Format • Guided instructions in formal mindfulness practices o Body Scan o Breath meditation o Working with physical discomfort • Gentle, mindful stretching and Yoga • Group dialogue and inquiry to enhance every-day awareness. • Review of current research on mindfulness • CDs or mp3s with guided instruction » Testimonials I can only relate what my patients have said about your MBSR workshop: "The course has been a life changing experience..." "One of the best investments of time I have ever made" "Elaine Retholtz is a remarkable and unforgettable teacher..." Martin Ehrlich M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director, Beth Israel Continuum Center for Health and Healing "Using the tools I learned in the MBSR program, I'm more effective as a clinician. I don't feel as burned out by the many stresses of working with challenging patient populations. I'm able to employ strategies to slow myself down in a chaotic moment and not react to a situation emotionally... The program has helped me to take better care of myself as well as the patients I care for.” Christine Donovan, RD Clinical HIV/AIDS Dietitian "I use the skills and tools I learned from Elaine all the time in work settings. I feel that I have a calmer and more balanced approach to difficult situations or people. Things that would have rattled me or set me off before I can approach with a little more perspective and distance by being calm and patient. I think MBSR is an incredibly useful tool in the workplace." Mario J. Palumbo Jr., Partner, Millennium Partners Elaine Retholtz Graduated Tri-State College of Acupuncture in 1992 and entered private practice. In addition to her practice, she worked until recently as Coordinator of Complementary Care Services at Rivington House Health Care Facility (part of Village Care of New York), a residential facility for people with AIDS. Elaine undertook training in MBSR as a way to share the benefits of mindfulness with her clients, providing them with tools for coping with the stress, pain and illness that brought them to her for treatment. Elaine completed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Practicum and the Teacher Development Intensive at the Center for Mindfulness in Worcester Massachusetts. She is also a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders Program (a meditation teacher training program). In addition to teaching the traditional 8-week MBSR program, she adapted the MBSR program into a 3-day model suitable for use in institutions. At Tri-State College of Acupuncture she teaches this format of MBSR to first year students, guiding students in cultivating mindfulness of their experience of learning to be acupuncturists and taking on the identity of healers. At Rivington House, she initiated a staff stress reduction initiative using her adapted MBSR model. Pre and post measures of participating staff showed significant decreases in perceived stress and emotional exhaustion, and increases in self-compassion. Contact: Margaret Spring at peggyspring@islandtherapies.org Location: Island Therapies 1 Brandywine Drive Deer Park, NY 11729 Date: ~~Saturday, October 16, 2010~~ CANCELLED Time: 8:30AM to 5:00PM Registration Information: Register early as enrollment is limited. Mail form (linked below) with check made out to Margaret Spring. Registration will not be accepted without check or money order. Mail to: Margaret Spring P.O. Box 333 Babylon, NY 11702 Fee: $195.00 Early Bird: $180.00 received on or before September 17, 2010 Group Rate: $160.00 for 3 or more people received on or before September 17, 2010 Refunds: Refunds will be issued, minus $20.00 per person, if received by October 2, 2010. No refunds after October 2, 2010. To print out a flyer and registration form for our "Mindfulness" conference, please download the following document: Island Therapies Conference - "Mindfulness" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (To view events posted from 2009, click here: 2009 Events)