Evelyn’s Story
Week after week, Evelyn exercised courage to show up. She had determined that no matter what was happening in her personal and professional life that she would attend the group on Monday evenings. Her commitment was not only to herself but also the other women she had met. It became easier to show up as she heard other group members share. Evelyn started to feel less alone and isolated. Often she thought, “I am not alone in my experiences and my feelings.”
Throughout the group sessions, she listened to other women openly speak about what was going on in their lives and the steps they were taking in their own journey toward healing. Though all the women were different ages and from various backgrounds, Evelyn connected with them because they were going through similar situations and were feeling similar emotions. She enjoyed how Dr. Candyce Auguste-Burke facilitated discussions in a stimulating way. Dr. Candyce had fostered a space where they all could share authentically. Evelyn felt like her feelings were validated. Monday evenings gave her just what she needed for the week. She left the group feeling lighter, relaxed, and refreshed.
Evelyn also found the group sessions very helpful because of the skills she could apply to her own life. She said that when faced with stress and anxiety, breathing helps “recenter [her] and gives [her] time to be present [to] feel what [she’s] feeling.” She learned how to recognize unhealthy thinking patterns and behaviors. Instead of ruminating on thoughts, she began to use tools to help her reframe them. Evelyn also grew more confident in identifying her feelings and speaking out in order to advocate for herself. She started to ask for help rather than doing things all by herself and began setting clearer boundaries. By the end of the six weeks, Evelyn had a better understanding of herself, felt more confident, and had a number of resources to help her along her journey.
*The preceding story is from our Things We Carry Women’s Group. All identifying information has been changed to respect confidentiality and maintain anonymity. The included pictures are stock photos.
Community Highlights
This Fall, we held two financial workshops focused on the experiences of caregivers. In October, we partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association and Paine Senior Services for “Managing Money: A Caregiver’s Guide to Finances.” In November, Lois Sandiford Thornhill, a retired supervisory estate tax attorney, facilitated our workshop, “Estate and Gift Tax: Knowledge Essentials & Estate Health Prep.”
Each of these workshops contained a wealth of information that was much needed. Participants left ready to take action and eager for more workshops.
If you missed it, here are some things we learned in our “Estate and Gift Tax Workshop”:
Estate is a term used to broadly describe all of your assets.
It is important to identify a Durable Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Proxy. A Power of Attorney document gives an individual the power to handle your personal affairs, while a Healthcare Proxy document appoints an individual to enact your medical decisions, if you become incapacitated.
Do you know the difference between a Power of Attorney and an Executor? A Power of Attorney's role ends at death, while an Executor's starts at death.
In Massachusetts, the Medical Orders Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) Form is a legal document that indicates an individual’s desires and wishes regarding life support, life sustaining treatments, such as CPR, and other medical treatments, such as dialysis.
Upcoming Events
We are excited to continue to provide our free virtual groups that help remove some of the roadblocks to receiving therapy. In January, we will offer our Things We Carry Men’s Group! Mark your calendars:
The Things We Carry Men's Group (FREE) 7:30 pm
The seven week group provides a virtual space where Black and Brown men (18+) can process their overall day-to-day experiences, struggles, and successes. It is facilitated by a licensed therapist, John Granger II, LCSW.
If you are interested in mailing a check, you can send it to: 211 Columbia Street, Cambridge, MA 02139.
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