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.
…
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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…
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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, …
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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…
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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’…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Cover image: "Rebirth" by Sarah Carter
SWC's Wild Heart Gallery has gone online!
Experience SWC community's heart and soul.
Internal process.
Thinking, feeling and doing.
Creations of self-care so as to be present during this time.
Sharing with Community.
Art as a platform for social justice as advocates and change agents.
…
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In Art & Creativity, Southwestern College alumnus Anne Lebednik explores the value of integrating creativity and artmaking as a practice in our lives. Anne explains how we can approach this mindfully and why it is important to cultivate, especially now. This talk was filmed on June 14, 2020 for the Awakening Heart Community of Mindful…
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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…
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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…
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My heart has been heavy this past week as yet another African American man was brutally murdered by a white police officer. The brutality has once again sparked outrage, grief, shock and demand for change. The persistent legacy of institutionalized racism, combined with the lack of national leadership condemning such overtly racist acts, leaves…
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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…
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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…
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By Ruth Dennis
Years ago, I saw a line that art can save your life. At the time, I just thought it was another artist being arrogant. The art world seemed disappointing and trivial when looking at the problems that I saw everyday in the neighborhood I was living in at the time, homelessness, addiction,…
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By Deborah Schroder
A tiny flash of yellow, right outside my window, caught my eye today. A precious little yellow bird was clinging to the branch of a pine tree. The usual New Mexican spring wind was blowing and the branch was really moving around. The tiny bird seemed to be just fine, riding the…
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On April 6, President Ann Filemyr joined alumna MelindaJoy Pattison on her weekly radio talk show. Since graduating, she has established herself as a mental health advocate sharing news and information with her listeners on a regular basis. She is also in private practice. As one of our ‘second act’ alumni, she used her SWC…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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Contributors: Emilah DeToro, Magdalena Karlick, Seren Morris, Virginia Padilla-Vigil, and April Vogel
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our faculty at Southwestern College had to quickly mobilize to transition courses from face-to-face to online synchronous delivery. This, of course, created numerous challenges, the most significant being, how to maintain the spirit of transformational…
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