therapy Archives - Our Front Porch

Insights from OFP Interns: Ashleigh Cherry, Walden University MSW Intern

June 4, 2021/in Denver, disaster, disaster stress, fire, healing, house fire, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, support system, therapy, trauma /by Heather Korth

What is it like working with home fire survivors?

I have come with no background in trauma recovery, so coming into Our Front Porch has been a great experience to see what ways support can be given to those in my community. This experience has been eye-opening and has shown that this is an area where many need support. Losing one’s home to a fire is more common than I had thought and many people never think it will happen to them. This is a problem that should have more public light than it does. Everyone has their own experience, but many barriers that come up are finding personal identification lost in the fire, receiving clothes or food, finding somewhere to stay, or financial support. Working with someone who has experience locating these resources can save time and relieve some of the anxiety people feel.

Trauma affects us all differently and I have learned that while working one on one with each individual. A lot of the time people just need someone to support them and aid in their progress, and talking it out helps move forward. It is often said that we need to meet people where they are at and this is very true and is something I have learned in general about this work. We can lay out steps and ways to get back on track but something simple to someone like helping hang up pictures or go through boxes of items saved from a fire is what someone really needs.

Interview with Susan Mertz, OFP 2020 Intern

May 24, 2020/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, fire, house fire, intern, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, therapy, trauma /by Heather Korth

Susan Mertz, DU International Disaster Psychology Intern

What was the most beneficial experience for you at OFP?

I think my most beneficial experience has been working with Maggie and Heather. A lot of times, people see problems and do nothing about them. The fact that OFP started in order to address a gap in services is amazing and a great learning experience. It’s actually really inspiring!

What surprised you about the recovery of home fire survivors?

What surprised me most was how few resources there really are for people recovering from house fires. Initially, I thought the Red Cross did a lot more to help out, but their assistance only last so long.

What are your next steps after graduation?

Hopefully, a job in Program Evaluation! I want to help design and monitor international programs that focus on mental health initiatives.

What was it like working at OFP?

I really enjoyed it! I like how welcoming everyone was and even though I was only there for a short time, I felt incredibly supported by everyone.

How has OFP helped you grow as a clinician?

It has definitely exposed me to new populations. I had a lot of training and classroom knowledge about people surviving disasters, but I had never directly worked with the populations. Also, any experience interacting with and helping others is something that helps you grow as a clinician. Having a wide range of diverse clients really helps expand your knowledge as a clinician.

What was your biggest take away from this internship?

I think my biggest takeaway has been the importance of social work. Don’t get me wrong, I always thought it was important, but people in the field of psychology have a tendency to look down a bit on it. Why? Probably because they are jealous 😉 After working with amazing social workers, I can see that the skills social work brings to a situation are so incredibly important. I also got to learn a few of those skills, which will be great for my clients and own personal development for years to come!

What did you learn most from the clients at OFP?

From the clients at OFP, I learned a lot about resilience. Most of them suffered one of the worst things of their entire lives, and yet they still keep on keeping on. I think a lot of people could completely shutdown after a traumatic experience, and yet the OFP clients continually strive to better their lives and work towards recovery.

Interview with Nicole Dryanski, OFP 2019 – 2021 Intern

May 24, 2020/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, house fire, intern, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, therapy, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Heather Korth

What was the most beneficial experience for you at OFP?

Nicole Dryanski, DU Masters of Social Work Intern

The most beneficial experience for me was having this field placement becoming an opportunity with so many roles and duties I took on as an intern. The experience itself helped me grow, especially being able to work with this particular population of home fire survivors and wanting to become more evolved in this work. Thus, I would like to thank Sheila Babyak for telling Maggie to call me back for an interview.

What surprised you about the recovery of home fire survivors?

Even though everyone might be different, every survivor shares the same struggles and barriers to overcome.

What are your next steps after graduation?

To move to the city of Chicago and officially be a working member of society.

What was it like working at OFP?

Through all of the madness, it was such a perfect joy. I loved working with Maggie and Heather; I was more excited for my internship days than school.

How has OFP helped you grow as a clinician?

I don’t think I could thank OFP enough for how much they have helped me grow as a person, leader, and social worker. During my time at OFP, I was everything from a maintenance worker to a case manager. Overall, I was very fortunate that OFP allowed me to work on interpersonal, case management, leadership, and non-profit management skills.

What was your biggest take away from this internship?

That this population is so overwhelmingly underserved and overlooked, and unfortunately, I don’t think people understand the impact a disaster can have on a family or individual, and the lack of services being provided to them.

What did you learn most from the clients at OFP?

That we all are pretty simple people, and we all want the same thing: shelter, connection, and security in our lives.

Favorite quote

“If Heather and I ever had a baby, it would be you!” – Maggie

Sympathy is a Garbage Emotion

May 23, 2018/3 Comments/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, homeless, house fire, job, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, rebuilding, social enterprise, startup, support system, therapy, trauma, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

While working at Our Front Porch I have been able to hone some really useful skills, but one thing seems to stick out the most. Our Front Porch has given me an outlet to truly understand the difference between sympathy and empathy. Some people see these words as synonyms, but they are quite different. There are four words that I would consider to be related, but distinguishable: pity, sympathy, empathy, and compassion. Sympathy and empathy tend to be the two ideas that are intertwined the most. I would argue that empathy includes a component of connection and emotional intelligence that only comes from practice.

Hurricane Harvey Hits Close to Home – Part 1

October 19, 2017/in disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, hurricane, hurricane harvey, mental health, support system, trauma, volunteering /by Heather Korth

In this next blog, Kim, a friend of Our Front Porch who lives near Houston, Texas shares her experience of Hurricane Harvey and how it impacted her day-to-day life, her family and her community.

A home in Spring, TX during Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: David J. Phillip, AP.

Compassionately Listening

January 11, 2017/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster stress, fire, healing, house fire, mental health, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Listening with compassion sounds pretty straightforward, but it is often more challenging than you think. I have had lots of practice, especially when I’m working with disaster survivors, and I still have plenty of room for improvement. I have often gone back to this Dalai Lama quote as I think it so well describes how to truly be compassionate:

“Usually, our concept of compassion or love refers to the feeling of closeness we have with our friends and loved ones. Sometimes compassion also carries a sense of pity. This is wrong. Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other is not genuine compassion. To be genuine, compassion must be based on respect for the other, and on the realization that others have the right to be happy and overcome suffering, just as much as you. On this basis, since you can see that others are suffering, you develop a genuine sense of concern for them.”

~ The XIVth Dalai Lama

Heather responding to a disaster as part of the Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team.

Mindful Eating While Stressed Out: Part 2

August 25, 2016/1 Comment/in colorado, Denver, disaster stress, eating healthy, healing, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, yoga /by Heather Korth

Here’s more from our guest blogger, Paige E. Butkus, Nourished to the Core, LLC – Holistic Nutritionist & Yoga Teacher, on how to stay healthy when dealing with stress.

Work on keeping a healthy gut flora.

In order to combat stress we need all of our defenses strong including our gut bacteria. The microscopic bacteria that live inside of our digestional tract help us with more than you may know. Scientists have labeled the stomach our “second brain” for a reason. As much as our mind influences our body, our gut influence our mind. When our healthy bacteria are out of whack:

Our immune system is compromised.
Our digestion is weakened.
Our mental state and mood is negatively affected.
Our energy levels are reduced.
Our oral health is affected
Our craving for unhealthy food increases.
Women’s vaginal health is affected.

Image Credit: Creative Commons

Yoga: A Healing Practice – Part 1

July 11, 2016/2 Comments/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster stress, healing, healing yoga practice, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, yoga /by Our Front Porch

Guest Blogger: Nora Josephson, MA, LPCC, RYT-200

“Try to do everything in the world with a mind that lets go. If you let go a little you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom. Your struggles with the world will have come to an end”. –Achaan Chah

At this point in time, most people in the Western world have become familiar with the term “yoga”, however, there seem to be many varying ideas about the practice. People may often think of comfy yoga pants, or someone who is limber and flexible or possibly a monk sitting cross-legged, chanting “Om”. The truth is that anyone can do yoga! Many of you might be hesitant to try it out, or believe that you could in fact be a “yogi”, but if you can breathe…you can do yoga! “Once you rest your attention on your breath, everything else begins to open up with ease” (Stiles, 2012).

Photo Credit: Erin Stotts

Why I Volunteer with Our Front Porch

April 21, 2016/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, healing, mental health, our front porch, support system, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Our Front Porch

Guest Blogger: Erin Stotts, MA, LPCC

Being a volunteer for Our Front Porch is something I do with passion and purpose. It aligns with who I am as a person, a community member, and as a clinician. This adventure that started about two years ago has been everything I had hoped it would be, and much more. Yes, Our Front Porch is an outstanding start up, but the reason I highly value it goes deeper than just being part of something new.

Catch Them Being Good: How to Help Kids During Stressful Times

April 11, 2016/2 Comments/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, hardship, healing, job, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma /by Our Front Porch

As a follow up to our last blog, Guest Blogger and Behavior Analyst Kristen Stine, M.ED provides some helpful strategies and tactics for parents to use with kids dealing with trauma and stress after a disaster.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons

Posts

What is it like working with home fire survivors?