Renew & Restore Event
River's Edge Counselling Centre was proud to host an invigorating day of talks, workshops, self-care practices, and connection with other helping professionals in the community. With deep appreciation for the commitment and care that they offer to the St. Albert community, we created a relaxing, rejuvenating, and fun retreat from their daily routine.
keynote address
when you are looking after others, who is looking after you?
Georgette Reed, OLY, ChPC, MA, BPE, CSCS TSAC-F
Georgette will discuss the synergy between physical and mental health. Many of us are in positions to help others and spend a lot of time and effort doing so…but when we are helping others who is helping us.
Georgette’s presentation discusses some of the pitfalls we all come across leading busy lives and she discusses ways in which participants can make and create a more balanced approach to being of service.
Georgette Reed has had a keen interest in Sport, Fitness, Health and Wellness all of her life. A certified track and field and strength and conditioning, coach with 43 years of competitive experience under her belt in the sports of athletics, bobsleigh, swimming and water polo, Georgette now puts all of the knowledge and expertise to good use as the Health and Wellness Coordinator for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services and Mental Health First Aid, Psychological First Aid and R2MR (first responder) instructor for the City of Edmonton.
During her athletic career, Georgette represented Canada in the Olympic Games, the World Athletics Championships, The World Bobsleigh Championships, The Pan American Games, The Commonwealth Games and many other international events. As a competitor, Georgette won 17 national titles (15 in the shot put and two discus titles). Upon retiring from competing, Georgette was the head cross country, track and field coach for the U of A for 10 years, and helped develop champions at the provincial, national and international levels and was a mentor/coach for Special Olympics Athletics athletes and coaches in Alberta.
ted-style talks
burnout: why the risk is real, and finding your own path towards healing
Jasmine Fulks
the courage of innovation
Petal Murti
the process of becoming vulnerable
Petrina Runke
splashing in the fountain of hope
With Special Guest, Wendy Edey
Wendy Edey is a counselling psychologist whose favourite tools are hope, humour and storytelling. All three of these have unfailingly fostered healthy connections between work and her personal life. In recent years she has developed hope and strengths groups for people with chronic pain and Parkinson’s disease. She helps train family care partners at the Alzheimer Society of Edmonton. Wendy is a Practice affiliate with Hope Studies Central at the University of Alberta.
workshops
the gift of self-compassion:
learning to soothe yourself with love and kindness
Facilitator: Grant Wardlow
When navigating the road of life we are often faced with confronting the less desirable parts of ourselves, including our personal failures and shameful behaviour, among other inadequacies. This often comes at a cost to our self-worth, as we become governed by the belief that we are unworthy of life’s pleasures, or of love and respect.
Our reaction when faced with these parts of our being is to either go to war with ourselves, or to lash out at others, or to turn to alcohol, or drugs, or food, in an attempt to help soothe our pain and suffering. However, instead of continuing down the same path of destruction, the mindfulness practice of self-compassion offers us the opportunity to respond to ourselves with kindness rather than harsh self-judgement, recognizing that imperfection is part of our shared human experience.
Please join me in learning about the mindfulness gift that is self-compassion, where you will learn to soothe yourself with love and tenderness. This workshop includes a guided self-compassion meditation.
contemplation and connection through art making
Mary Norton & Janet Stalenhoef
AM Workshop: Follow the ebb and flow of watercolour
PM Workshop: Moving breath into modelling clay
Step out of day to day busyness and into some time for quiet contemplation and renewal. These workshops will invite you to connect with your creative self as you engage with materials. You may also gain insights about the possibilities of art-making for self-care and creative exploration for yourself. All materials provided. No experience necessary.
Mary Norton values art making as a pathway to serious play and as a way to address life challenges and imagine possibilities for change. Mary is engaged in community-based and private practice as a professional Art Therapist, Expressive Arts Facilitator, and Certified Hakomi Therapist.
Janet Stalenhoef came to her interest in art therapy as a result of her experiences as an artist. She has a Masters in psychotherapy from St. Stephen’s with specialization in art therapy. Her practice is also informed by her studies in expressive arts therapy. Janet is certified with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association and has advanced training in Self Regulation Therapy (SRT). She currently works private practice in Edmonton.
satisfied or stressed: thriving in hectic times
Personal and work-related stress is at an all-time high. We’ve had to adapt to relentless change and ever increasing demands on our time. E-mails, cell phones and PDA’s have moved us to instant response and 24-7 expectations. Although some stress in our lives is inevitable, feeling consistently “stressed out” and miserable is not. This seminar will increase your knowledge and your ability to mitigate and manage the stressors in your life. It will give you the facts about stress as energy. You will understand the impact of stress overload and how to offset that by increasing satisfaction. Learning Objectives include: To explore the effects of increased demands on your work/life To recognize warning signs of distress To assess current personal wellness and create a vision for peak wellness To comprehend the concept of stress as energy To realize the impact of stress overload on personal wellbeing To understand the difference between stress overload and burnout.
Kathleen Johnston, Career Strategist, is a Professional Certified Coach, Canadian Certified Counselling Therapist and Certified Stress Consultant. Her enthusiasm and energy for career development supports and inspires individuals to be successful in their careers without compromising their health and well-being.
communicating your boundaries: learning how to say “no”
Facilitators: Laura Byrtus
It’s important, but often difficult to keep your self-care sacred. Establishing boundaries can help us make space for self-care. This workshop is designed to provide practical strategies to develop and communicate healthy boundaries in both personal and professional lives.
stress busters
River’s Edge Counselling Centre team
In this workshop, therapists from the team will share with you some of our favourite tools, tips and techniques to manage stress and anxiety. You will come away with practical resources for a more relaxed, stress free life!
music
a live concert with ann vriend
Ann Vriend is known most for her soaring, evocative, Aretha-eque vocals, as well as her abilities as a songwriter, both lyrically and melodically. With a compelling combination of defiant resilience and heartfelt vulnerability she delivers her unique brand of gritty, inner-city soul-- and sometimes quite the funky old-school dance party.
Coming from a humble background on Edmonton’s east side, and for the past decade calling Edmonton’s troubled and somewhat notorious inner city neighborhood of McCauley home Vriend does not shy away from difficult social issues. Instead, she contributes her own Canadian brand of RnB in the rich tradition of soul artists who have delivered stunning recordings and performances that are both contagiously fun AND socially thought provoking, while never preachy or simplistic.
Often compared to her vocal hero, Aretha Franklin, Ann Vriend also kills it live, having sold 18,000 albums off the stage independently. We are thrilled to have Ann, an award award-winning performer and songwriter, perform for us at this event!
Clara Hughes Event
River's Edge Counselling Centre was proud to host Olympian Clara Hughes in our community on October 14th, 2016. She shared her inspiring story with over 800 kids at Leo Nickerson Elementary and 300 students at Paul Kane High School.
She then spoke at the Arden Theatre, sharing her personal journey through mental and physical pain, to a life where love and understanding can thrive. She was so moved by the work of the local organizations the event was supporting - SAIF, BAM, and OutLoud, that she donated 1000.00 from her book sales to those groups.
Clara stayed until well after midnight, signing books and connecting with people who stayed to experience her authentic and compassionate presence.
We hope the continued legacy of Clara's visit will be ongoing support for mental health organizations in our community and a deeper understanding for the challenges that people suffering with mental illness face every day. Her passionate challenge to us is to continue to fight stigma related to mental health and to advocate for increased access to mental health services in Alberta
local mental health initiatives that received support from this event:
SAIF (Stop Abuse in Families)
To provide free counselling services to those experiencing domestic violence.
BAM (Building Assets & Memories)
To support the Caelin Porter Mental Health Awareness Walk. Caelin was a St. Albert youth who brought light and love to his family, friends and many other people in our community through his warm, caring presence and music.St. Albert youth have organized this yearly walk following his suicide to bring support to other youth who struggle with mental illness. They donate all proceeds from the walk to the CMHA and SickNotWeak.
To support the 4UBYUS Conference (a one-day event run by youth, for adults who work with youth in our community, with a focus on mental health and wellness).
OutLoud
To support programs and activities for LGBTQ youth in St. Albert (ages 13-24), in a safe, supportive and fun environment.
