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Care for Caregivers Support Group | Online Only
THIRD THURSDAY EVENING OF THE MONTH | MARCH – AUGUST 2024
Image: Joshua Bright
A support group and workshop for professionals and non-professionals coping with the complexity and stress of caring for others.
Taking care of someone can be an act of love, it can also be a difficult and isolating burden. It can be overwhelming and fraught with complex emotions of frustration guilt and sorrow.
This workshop will address the caregiver’s unique and challenging experience while providing ongoing community and support.
During this safe and experiential support group workshop, we will utilize various tools such as sharing our experience, writing, poetry, and ritual. This group will provide an opportunity to gain perspective and engage with our caregiving responsibilities in new ways.
Throughout the series participants will:
- Explore the complex emotions such as anger, guilt, exhaustion, ambivalence and responsibility
- Experience how this support group can become a stabilizing influence in their lives
- Practice how to suspend judgment long enough to create space around thoughts or experiences that feel daunting or isolating
- Express and awaken their capacity for inspiration, engagement and aliveness
- Make meaning from their experiences as they engage their inner voice as they witness their capacity for resilience and wisdom
MEETING DATES
The group will meet on the third Thursday of each month from 6:00–7:30 pm ET online via Zoom on the following dates:
- March 21 | April 18 | May 16 | June 20 | July 18 | August 15
REGISTRATION
In order to attend the six-part workshop, you will need to register on the next page at a sliding scale level that works for your financial situation. We appreciate your generosity as we rely on it for the well-being of the center.
ABOUT THE TEACHERS
Chodo Robert Campbell Sensei is a Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, grief counselor and a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying, aging, and sobriety. The educational non-profit he co-founded, the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, touches thousands of lives every year through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices. Chodo has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets.
In 2016, one year after the passing of her husband of 23 years, Alexandra Vassilaros pivoted from writing for the theater and founded the Make Meaning Workshop. Her work as a playwright is extensive. She was a co-finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2004 for the play Omnium Gatherum. In 2016 she founded the Make Meaning Workshop. She has led workshops for many notable community organizations, including NYC’s The Bowery Mission, New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, ARTYARD, The Brooklyn VA, Harlem Wellness Center, and Bevival. Alexandra continues to work with hundreds of women and men facing the challenges that loss, crisis, and grief inevitably bring. She is a widow and the mother of 3 wonderful young men.
