Five County May 2015 Newsletter

Five County May 2015 Newsletter

Submitted by Nicky Chavez on Fri, 05/08/2015 - 11:12am

Staff of the Quarter

We always like to honor our staff that go above and beyond. This quarter we want to recognize our head education staff Greta Lenz. She is a big reason we have so many graduates in our program. She works hard to assist our residents in reaching their full potential, whether it is earning their HSE, GED, High School Diploma or College Classes. Greta has been teaching 33 years total and has been running our education program at the Center for  5 years. She is greatly appreciated by the staff and residents at Five County! We also would like to honor our runner ups: Jean Wolfe, Connie Evans and Kori Orme. Their hard work does not go unnoticed!

Christmas Celebrations!

Christmas is a big deal and we make sure it is a big deal at the Center. The residents made gingerbread houses to start the day out right. They then had a feast of roasted turkey, candied yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade rolls, green bean casserole, vegetable tray, fruit tray, chocolate cream pie and pumpkin pie with whip cream. Everyone was full and a great time was had by all. Also present for the celebration was Santa Claus and makes sure that he makes a visit to the Center on his rounds to encourage our residents to be "good" boys and girls!

Service Project:

This quarter was a really fun project. Residents went to the local nursing home and read children's Christmas books to them. They also led the elderly singing Christmas carols. It is always great for our residents to experience giving back and making others smile. Many have never had that opportunity in their lives and it is a very rich experience. We are not sure who had the biggest smiles on their faces, the nursing home participants or our residents.  

DBT Skills Corner:

Relationships are an important part of our lives. One of the DBT Relationship Effectiveness Skills is using GIVE. When having a conversation with someone, especially when it can be a tense discussion, this is a skill that can help you communicate effectively.

 (be) GENTLE

(act) Interested

Validate

(use an) Easy Manner

(be) Gentle: Be courteous and temperate in your approach. No verbal or physical attacks. No hitting or clenching of fists. Express anger directly. No "manipulative" statements and no hidden threats. No I'll kill myself if you...."Tolerate a no to your requests. Stay in the discussion even if it gets painful and exit gracefully. No moralizing. No "If you were a good person, you would....." and especially no "you should..." and "You shouldn't" statements,

(act) Interested: Listen and be interested in the other person. Listen to the other person's point of view, their opinion, reasons for saying no, or reasons for making a request of you. Don't interrupt, talk over them, ect. Be sensitive to the person's desire to have the discussion at a later time. Be patient.

Validate: Acknowledge the other person's feelings, wants, difficulties and opinions about the situation. Be non judge mental out loud. For example "I can understand how you feel, but....""I realize this is hard for you, but...." and I see that you are busy, and ..." These statements can go a long way.

(Use an) Easy Manner: Use a little humor. Smile! Ease the person along. Be light-hearted. Use a "soft sell" over a :hard sell". be political.

This skill takes practice, but you will be astonished at the outcomes of your tense conversations when you put this skill to use. Give it a try for yourself!

New Training and Curriculum for our Gender Specific Group!

Two employees, Gina Jensen and Taryn Ivie had the privilege of attending a great training in Jackson Wyoming! The training was conducted by Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD. She is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist, school Consultant, author and speaker. She maintains a private practice in Massachusetts, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an associate psychologist at McLean Hospital, and speaks worldwide to numerous audiences, including educators, health professionals, PTAs, religious groups, corporations and nonprofit organizations. her book "The Big Disconnects"addresses protecting childhood and family relationships in the digital age. Her Gender Specific Manual, written with Lisa Sjostrom, titled "Full of Ourselves" is a wellness program to advance girl power, health, and leadership. We are so excited to implement this new curriculum with our girls group at the Center!