The Center For You

As helping professionals, it can be so easy to get caught up in pursuing further trainings and certifications, and to lose sight of who we are becoming. Sure, pursuing knowledge is important, but so is intentionally developing personhood.
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What ways do I intentionally shape who I’m becoming?

At the Center for You, we want to join in your process of moving toward self care. Check out our website for information on upcoming retreats. Link in bio.

There are many ways to live a good life, as many ways as there are people on the planet. A huge part of self care is figuring out who we are, with our strengths and foibles, and then offering ourselves acceptance and compassion.

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What does “being as life creates you” mean to me?

When we love ourselves well and learn to understand and prioritize our needs, we become wholer, healthier people who can more fully care for others in our community. Self care is not selfishness and self love is not pride. Instead self attunement and nurturing are the preliminary steps required to love others well.

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What ways can you “join the revolution” and take care of yourself today?

Helping professionals are often sensitive, caring people who attune well to the needs of others. We so appreciate the work of helping professionals in our community. During our upcoming retreat, the Center For You will provide a space for helpers to come together and receive self-care.
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To learn more about our 9/6/19 retreat, check out our website. Link in bio.

If you’re a helping professional (we’re looking at you, Social Workers, Doctors, Nurses, Chiropractors, Counselors, Therapists, Acupuncturists, Occupational and Physical Therapists, and Medical Staff!), please join us for a morning of renewal. We recognize the care and investment that you offer patients and clients, and in turn, we want to provide a morning of care to you.

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Self-Care focused breakout sessions featuring: Krista List- Leinberger, LMSW, RYT 200 • Julie Schillim, LPC, LLP • Heather Miller-Edwardson, LPC.

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Come in comfortable clothing. Light snacks, coffee, tea, and water will be provided. More info on website. Link in bio.

Our first retreat is in the books! THANK YOU to everyone who came out and participated. We are so grateful to root down and grow deep with you. A special thank you to Krista List-Leinberger MSW RYT 200 for leading yoga and Mercedes Saurbaugh LMSW for leading sand tray.
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Check out our website to learn more about upcoming retreats. Link in Bio. @ Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

After we’ve figured out what we need (more connection? more rest? time to play? or simply be?), it takes courage to act on this knowledge. As humans, we‘re hardwired against change, and so it takes a lot of energy to get out of the normal and into something new, even if the new thing is better.
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As you identify your needs, what‘s a next step for seeking resources or support?

In our culture, there’s an emphasis on being strong and independent. It takes a lot of courage and vulnerability to name our needs and take care of ourselves, to say it’s not possible to be 100% okay all of the time. In part, the Center For You is creating retreats for helping professionals so we can cast aside the pressure to be “fine” and instead come together in a safe space to address our needs.
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What needs do you notice going unmet in your life?

At the core of Brene Brown’s research is the fact that courage requires vulnerability. That’s right. An action is only courageous if there’s something at stake. At the Center For You, we’re reflecting on how it takes a whole lot of courage to start new.
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What next step are you cultivating the courage to take?

Beginnings have inherent vulnerability. Whether it’s the vulnerability of hosting self care retreats for the first time, or the vulnerability of attendees choosing to try something new, it takes courage to move out of our comfort zones.
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How have you stretched yourself recently?

Partner Spotlight: “Another core assumption of IFS is that all people have a core Self and this core Self cannot be diminished or hurt by life experiences. The eight Cs of Self leadership are: curiosity, compassion, confidence, creativity, connectedness, courage, calmness and clarity. A helpful image often referenced at IFS trainings is that the Self is like the sun and parts are like clouds. Clouds may cover the sun, but the sun never truly goes away.” Elizabeth Droppers, LMFT
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Read more about Elizabeth on the Community Partners page of our website. Link in bio.

Partner Spotlight: “In IFS parts can be organized into two categories: protectors and protected. Protectors either proactively try to prevent the vulnerable pain-laden parts from getting activated, or they reactively douse the pain of a vulnerable part after it’s triggered. Protected parts carry painful memories, such as being rejected by peers as a child, and beliefs, such as I'm not good enough or no one likes me. The system of protectors arranges around the protected in order to prevent and soothe pain.” Elizabeth Droppers, LMFT
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Read more about Elizabeth on the Community Partners page of our website. Link in bio.

Partner Spotlight: “A core assumption of Internal Family Systems is the multiplicity of the mind, meaning that all people have parts. One side of me feels nervous, while another side is excited. One part of me thinks I should go running while another part wants to stay on the couch. Multiplicity is normal and adaptive, and acknowledging multiplicity often gives people a sense of freedom to express thoughts and emotions that are complex, contradictory or perhaps shame-inducing. It can be a major relief to say a part of me carries an extreme emotion, not all of me. For example, a part of me panics, but I am not only my panicking part.” Elizabeth Droppers, LMFT
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Read more about Elizabeth on the Community Partners page of our website. Link in bio.

Partner Spotlight: “As I get further into Internal Family Systems training, I keep coming back to the question: what does that part of me need? When a part does something that we don’t like, it’s natural for our internal systems to develop counter parts that want the “problem” to hit the road. Maybe a part of me says something too critical to my husband or I find myself obsessively checking Instagram. Regardless of the behavior, IFS is leading me past irritation and into a new way of relating. After noticing a “problem” behavior, I can ask the part connected to that behavior what it needs. I find this simple shift in posture, from critical to curious, brings tangible relief.” Elizabeth Droppers, LMFT
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Read more about Elizabeth on the Community Partners page of our website. Link in bio.

As helpers, it is so easy and natural to attune to the needs of others. We’ve literally been trained to notice others’ needs and offer aid. At times, it can feel way more challenging to slow down and listen to ourselves, to shift our energy inward and discover what we need.
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When you take the time to listen to yourself, what have you found?
What benefits have you experienced from tuning in?

For helping professionals, self care is essential to sustainability. Self care for a therapist might look like joining a consultation group to have regular, meaningful connection with peers, or it might look like taking work emails off of cellphones and mentally leaving the office on weekends. Self care might be doing acupuncture, attending therapy, or prioritizing sleep. The list goes on!
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What’s on your list of tried and true self care practices?

The Center For You retreat on August 23rd is an experiential dive into self care practices for mental health professionals. We’ll spend the morning embodying self care through mindfulness exercises, yoga and sand tray activities. If you’re feeling worn thin and want a safe space to refill, or if you’re feeling full and want to expand your self care practices, please join us. Check out our website for more information. Link in bio.

As an embodied practice, self care requires intentional, regular space, but it comes in many forms and can shift over seasons. At its heart, self care is an opportunity to lean in to discover and meet our own needs, and the avenues for practicing self care are as varied and unique as the people who engage them.
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What self care practices do you find most fruitful during this season of your life?

Follow along for a series on self care as we gear up for our August retreat. Be good to you because you matter!

Beginnings require a whole lot of support. Friends, colleagues, family members, other entrepreneurs and professionals all came together to give us the support, guidance and love we needed to take the next step. The Center For You exists because of the multitude of community members who have and continue to pour into us. Why go alone when we can go together? Thank you for being in our corner!
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Who are your key supporters? Whose “you’ve got this” or “go for it” helped you pursue your dreams?

Beginnings are a spectrum. We’ve been reflecting on beginnings through the lens of starting a new business, but smaller beginnings are important too. Every day in each new moment, we have potential for shift and change. Beginnings start in the present with intention, courage, support and choice.
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What subtle beginnings are you moving toward in your life?

Beginnings are messy. Dreams touch earth and get muddy. There have been so many details to pin down: clarifying our vision, setting up an LLC, naming our business, building a website. The list goes on... But we’ve found that we’d rather be wrestling the details and building something new than staying clean on the sidelines.
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What challenges have you faced while staring something new? Any pro tips for overcoming obstacles?

One of the most enjoyable stages in beginning the Center For You was dreaming of ways we could better our community. Helping helpers became our focus because doing so indirectly supports the entire community. By building up therapists, teachers, nurses, social workers, medical professionals, and counselors, a ripple effect extends to the multitudes of people they help—way more people than we could ever reach one-on-one. Simply put: when helpers are well cared for, they can care for others well.
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As a helper, what sort of supports do you wish you had? What gets in the way of self care?

Beginnings are both-and moments: both thrilling and anxiety provoking. They require courage and clarity to step forward in a new direction while at the same time they can create vulnerability and uncertainty.
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What both-and feelings have you experienced during new beginnings in your life?

As we move toward hosting our first self care retreat, we’re spending some time reflecting on beginnings and want to share those reflections with you. Join the conversation!

"How do you take care of yourself in order to avoid burnout and avoid compassion fatigue for those who care for others by profession?"

Such an important question that this Psychology Today article explores.

This is why we created The Center For You. To offer real opportunities for helping professionals to practice self- care together!

Self Care 101 10 ways to take better care of you

There's still time to sign up for our upcoming workshops! Counselors, Therapists, and Healthcare Professionals, check- out our upcoming self-care retreats. www.thecenterforyougr.com

Calling all counselors and therapists! Please join us for our upcoming event on August 23rd at Frederik Meijer Gardens. Let us take care of you for a morning of rejuvenation!

Register at www.thecenterforyougr.com

The Center For You Looking to rejuvenate, renew, and recenter? We get it and we are here for you. The Center For You offers workshops and retreats specifically designed for helping professionals.