We are happy to feature Jill Penaloza, co-founder and executive director of 2XL Concepts and faculty member of The Ferentz Institute. With over 20 years of experience as an art psychotherapist and executive advisor, Jill has helped CEOs and teams embrace heart-based leadership to create healthier, more sustainable workplaces. Certified in Sheng Zhen Meditation, she combines creative therapy and mindfulness to support healing and well-being. We’re delighted to share Jill's valuable insights in the following blog post.
Change is all around us and it seems to be happening faster than ever. As mental health professionals we are in the unique position of being change experts. Every day we have the privilege of helping clients identify, appreciate, and change old patterns of thinking and behaving so that they can experience the emergence of new, more flexible, healthier, and happier worlds.
Supporting clients as they move through the change process can be both rewarding and challenging. We need to be self-aware and patient while providing caring connection and wise guidance so clients have time to develop and strengthen their capacity to stay present with sometimes difficult feeling states that may be experienced on the journey to new ways of being.
Overlaid on this, are major societal changes. We are living in a time when cultural norms and patterns are being dismantled so that new patterns, based in sustainability, a recognition of our shared humanity, and more earth-friendly ways of living, can emerge. One of the most challenging aspects of this transition is that people who hold different ideologies are feeling cut off from each other, and in many instances even traditional support systems, like families, no longer feel safe.
So, as mental health providers, we are tasked with providing expert care to our clients while navigating a world of increased speed of change, shifting cultural norms, and support system decline, all on top of sky-rocketing anxiety and depression in part due to COVID and loneliness.
“When patterns are broken new worlds emerge.” –Tuli Kupferberg.
Needless to say, being a mental health treatment provider in today’s world is a herculean task. It shouldn’t surprise us that statistics are showing that burn-out and empathy fatigue rates among mental health workers are somewhere between 40% to 95%, with community mental health professionals being the most impacted. These numbers are a clear indicator that we have some changing to do so that a new, healthier, world for mental health providers can emerge.
Well, we’re trained change agents so we know that change starts with us. I’ve begun a list, and you are welcome to add to it:
- Consider ways that, individually and collectively, I/we are living out old patterns that minimize my/our wellbeing.
- Identify what is need to support the emergence of new patterns that will motivate me/us to prioritize self-care…then implement these.
- Focus on filling my/our personal toolbox so it’s overflowing with easy and nourishing practices that restore vitality and boost wellbeing.
From a systems perspective, as mental health professionals we know that once we are living this change in the world, old patterns in our workplaces and in organizational structures will begin to change. An example of this is the afternoon snack and raffle for a self-care gift that Lisa and her team hand out at Ferentz Institute workshops and classes. When we receive these bags we are reminded that we are appreciated and celebrated in this space of learning. I’ve heard that this simple act of giving has inspired similar acts of giving in our wider mental health community. Change happens one small step at a time!
Looking ahead, we’ll be learning tools for change and expansion at my NEW in person workshop "Loving Presence: Opening the Frame of the Window of Tolerance," on Monday, September 16. In the workshop, together we'll learn about and engage with practice activities that restore states of loving presence and expand the window of tolerance so that we, and our clients, can live healthier and happier lives. I hope you'll join me!
Learn more about and register for "Loving Presence: Opening the Frame of the Window of Tolerance" here.
In Person
Monday, September 16
8:45 - 4:15 PM (ET)