Take Care of Your Heart: Sparking Healing from Within
Creating Thriving Communities Through Professional Growth
At Thriving Together NCW, we believe that access to Meaningful Work and Wealth is a vital part of creating resilient communities. By equipping our partners with the tools and resources they need for professional growth, we can help foster adaptive communities and ensure that individuals can achieve and sustain their professional objectives.
One way Thriving Together NCW is working to build up this vital condition is by hosting and sponsoring webinars, workshops, and skill-based trainings that are tailored to the needs of our region. This November, we partnered with Emerging Wisdom to bring Take Care of Your Heart to North Central Washington, offering an opportunity for recovery coaches and certified peer counselors to focus on their own healing while continuing to support others.
A Retreat for Healing and Renewal
This retreat was designed with a simple yet profound goal: to strengthen participants at every level—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. As recovery coaches and peer counselors, participants are not only on personal healing journeys but also shoulder the responsibility of supporting others through the challenges of addiction. Recognizing the toll this work can take, the retreat offered a safe and restorative space to practice self-care, address compassion fatigue, and spark healing from within. A few highlights from the retreat include:
Learning strategies to address compassion fatigue and the effects of trauma
Deep breathing and mindfulness exercises
Utilizing sound healing as a way of navigating grief
Uncovering the power of your mind and memory
Developing an "Inner Gym" practice for before/after difficult situations
A few of the exercises that resonated most with attendees were the breathing exercises, which provided a simple yet powerful way to center and release stress, and a mask-making portion. During this activity, each person decorated a mask to symbolize the societal and personal pressure to "wear a mask" and appear strong, even when they may be struggling internally. This exercise highlighted the value of practicing of self-compassion and the acknowledgment that it is okay to not always feel okay—an important reminder for those who devote themselves to helping others heal.
“I would recommend this training to a colleague because most of us are dealing with really heavy things at work and don’t always give ourselves the self-care that we need. This provided me with a safe space to do that.”
Meet the Trainers
With a dedication to fostering healthy and resilient communities, Teresa Posakony brought invaluable insights into neuroscience and its application to healing. She led participants through engaging, restorative practices that offered insight on how to manage stress, grief, and fear in day-to-day life.
A native of Grant County, Washington, Joseph Hunter shared his journey of transformation and resilience after overcoming addiction in 2016. As a project manager specializing in prevention, recovery, and advocacy, Joseph’s lived experience inspired participants to tap into their own strengths and dreams.
“The trainers created a really safe, tranquil space that allowed me to feel like I could open up.”
Supporting Our Communities
This retreat is just one example of our commitment to building capacity in North Central Washington. By investing in the wellbeing of those who support others, we create a ripple effect that strengthens our communities as a whole. To everyone who participated and contributed to this event, thank you for your dedication to healing and thriving together.
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