By Deborah Schroder
At Southwestern we believe that therapists should be grounded by their own connection to their spirituality. And we hold a wide view of what those spiritual practices and beliefs might be. Walking in nature, meditating, singing, being part of a faith community, so many varieties are represented in our diverse community.
…
Continue reading
Finding My Inner Strength, March 2121
Inner strength is this magical power we all have yet often forget it’s there. When you tap into it you can achieve great things. When I think of times in the past when I had to be strong, I envision instinctual animalistic power. I don’t think about what I…
Continue reading
Dark Night © by Ross W. B. Putnam
Dark soul in the night
Not sleeping again
I rattle through the hallways of
Where I’ve been,
What I knew
What I used to do, …
Continue reading
Ceremony is inside of us
Sprinkled with stardust from galaxies that made us
Ceremony is inside of us
Walking in harmony with the mother’s beat
Hand within its wisdom’s dirt
Ceremony is inside of us
A sun dance of sunlight drumming tapestry
Ceremony is inside of us
Exchanging breath blessing with vision…
Continue reading
This quarter I’m teaching two sections of one of my favorite courses – Family Art Therapy. As we’ve been exploring many aspects of intergenerational trauma and historical intergenerational trauma, it’s occurred to me that this pandemic we’re in will be reflected in genograms. How will that look, what will therapists see?
So many families’…
Continue reading
TIME CRYSTAL
After W.S. Merwin
I see that I will be lying
in a patch of shriveled Juniper berries
all skin and seed
their life has fled like dead stars
their juice glimmers elsewhere
their juice glimmers in me
as I remember, piney and sweet
desert pearls embedded…
Continue reading
Rising Hope:
At first,
I see the road ahead,
to be long, and
treacherous.
The mountains I see,
as steep,
and unforgiving.
I feared,
challenges unknown,
and obstacles well-placed ahead of me.
At times,
I stumbled,
from the weight of all I carry.
But,
I feel my spirit,
ignited once more,
rising above the…
Continue reading
An Allegiance to Gratitude for Southwestern: Inspired by the Onondaga Thanksgiving Address
Today we are gathered to celebrate our graduation from Southwestern college. We look upon the virtual faces around us and we see that the cycle of life continues. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other…
Continue reading
Courageous Compassion at the Crossroads of Conflict is a talk President Ann Filemyr gave to Unity Santa Fe on the morning of Sunday, September 13. It is an invitation to consider what we can bring to the conflicts within and around us at this time of social unrest and global pandemic. She shares an old story…
Continue reading
This is part of a series of conversations hosted by Southwestern College and held via zoom to invite sharing on pressing social topics. This conversation led by Ann Filemyr, Southwestern College President and Director of the Ecotherapy Certificate, on August 16 focused on investigating how we have been shaped by ‘colonial mind’ and how we…
Continue reading
This conversation between SWC President Ann Filemyr, Ph.D., who also serves as Director of the Ecotherapy Certificate, and alumna MelindaJoy Pattison explores the benefits of Ecotherapy, especially during the pandemic with the higher levels of stress we are all experiencing. Simple ways to access nature, even on a city street or in a backyard, and…
Continue reading
By Deborah Schroder
So Scruff and I have become pretty close during the pandemic. He doesn’t share his face on social media but he let me use a stand-in so you could see where he lives. He lives around and under the pretty little bridge in the back of campus. I walk out that way…
Continue reading
President Ann Filemyr discusses the purpose and power of naming and living our values, especially during times of stress and change. She shares the five values of Southwestern College: service, mindfulness, empowerment, partnership and love, and how these values have been translated into actions and decisions by the college leadership team during the pandemic. Talk…
Continue reading
During the pandemic and time of social unrest, similarly to many of us, reflections have been occupying most of my time. I have been ruminating on my role as a therapist and the path that led me here. My journey is nothing unique; however, during this time of transition I feel inclined to put my…
Continue reading
I asked her permission to write this. It’s more her story than mine, but she doesn’t have time to write anything, being a mom of three small ones.
My daughter stopped in to pick up treats I’d made for my grandson who’s struggling. It seemed like time to check in with her about more…
Continue reading
By Laura Lansrud-Lopez
At the beginning of March 2020, New Mexico experienced a statewide and rapid shift to physical distancing and stay-home requirements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and global health crisis. Even with so much unknown, the leadership team at Tierra Nueva quickly recognized the impact this might have on our clients. The…
Continue reading
Photo of Whitney Tressel, taken by Adria Malcolm.
Welcome to Southwestern Soundbites! In this episode, Courtney Shackelford talks to Whitney Tressel; current Art Therapy and Counseling student, graduate assistant, travel photographer, and all around amazing human. Whitney talks about going to grad school, how the pandemic clarified her path, and the power of getting still.…
Continue reading
Creativity & Healing
Social distancing does not have to limit our creativity. Are you dancing in the living room? Playing the ukulele in bed? Singing in the shower? Penning poetry by the window? Perhaps this time apart has offered you an opportunity to express yourself. What are you longing to say in this moment? So…
Continue reading
Hello, and welcome to Southwestern Soundbites. In this episode, Dru Phoenix talks about her experience as someone who already had a Master's degree and later decided to pursue another Master's degree in Art Therapy. She also discusses the power of art and what led to her decision to go in this direction. Tune in for…
Continue reading
By Diane Chavez
I finished grad school at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2015. I never thought grad school was possible. I went to the emergency room in 2003 with a migraine. That migraine lasted ten years. That was in addition to my MS symptoms which had started 10 years earlier. This…
Continue reading
As I write this, I am completing my final doctoral externship at a VA medical center in New York. My last day in the office was Friday, March 13th, after discovering three people I had direct contact with tested positive for Covid-19. I moved my caseload to telehealth the following Monday, and since then…
Continue reading
Welcome to Southwestern Soundbites– quick audio clips featuring current students, staff, and faculty discussing SWC’s various certificate programs and happenings at Southwestern. This episode features Courtney Shackelford, current student in the Art Therapy and Counseling program and also admissions staff, and Dru Phoenix, alum of the Art Therapy and Counseling program and Director of Enrollment…
Continue reading
By Val Valentine
Wow, what a difference a month can make! I went from a full private practice with between 25-30 face to face clients a week, to 15-20 clients per week with every session either on-line or by phone; some clients ready and discharged and some needing to take a break during this time…
Continue reading
Photo by Carie King, taken on a road trip to Grand Junction, CO. Carie grew up in Maine with a wildlife biologist / photographer, so her appreciate of Earth’s beauty is life-long. Colorado’s lakes and mountains rival Maine’s.
Message from Carie:
I think I’ve been experiencing “stages of grief” … (I’ve definitely gone through…
Continue reading
Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM