Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative

APPLY HERE

Course Information

The traumatic events of the North Bay wildfires have profoundly affected our individual emotional and physical health, our social functioning, our overall well-being, and the health and security of our community. Unresolved, this distress can damage our health and limit our potential for rebuilding a strong community.

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine and The Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative have been working closely to train community members affected by the wildfires and are looking forward to expanding our programs and reach throughout 2019.

Join diverse Sonoma County community members in this dynamic train-the-trainer program where you will practice evidence-based self-care tools for effectively addressing personal and team stress after the fires, network with peers, and learn about an evidence-based model to rebuild a resilient, self-healing, and inclusive Sonoma County.

 

Background

The Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative [link to FAQ] is working in partnership across our community and with The Center for Mind Body Medicine, whose curriculum is the foundation for the program. The vision for the Collaborative, which has been endorsed and adopted as a part of Sonoma County Health Action, is to develop our local capacity for healing, empower lay people with comprehensive tools, build the social connections that are the number one predictor of community resilience, and prevent the progression of stress and trauma into more serious social, mental, physical, and social impacts.

 

Background on The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Over the last 27 years, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine [link to FAQ] (CMBM) has developed and implemented what may well be the world’s largest, most effective program for healing population-wide psychological trauma and stress. This program is led by CMBM’s Founder and Executive Director, James S. Gordon, MD, a Georgetown Medical School Professor and former Chairman of The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. Faculty will include distinguished US and international clinicians who have, for many years, successfully used the CMBM model to address population-wide trauma and stress.

 

Passion and Commitment

The first round of training began with a 4-day initial Training Program on October 31- November 3, 2018. 112 attendees learned the comprehensive foundation for CMBM’s approach – the biology and psychology of stress and trauma and the research supporting it – and experienced mind-body techniques in both small and large group formats.

Participants will return for a 4-day Advanced Training on January 9-12, 2019. Here, they will learn how to lead small Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) as well as Mind-Body Skills Workshops (MBSWs) with members of their community. They will have the opportunity to put their knowledge to practice – leading groups and teaching the techniques with their peers and with support and guidance from senior CMBM faculty.

 

Looking Ahead…

Thanks to the enthusiasm of Sonoma County community members, the commitment of The Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative, and the generous support of program funders, the Center for Mind Body-Medicine will host another round of trainings in June and July 2019. For those interested in participating please see details and expectations below:

 

What’s Involved for Participants:

This is a two-part professional training program and full attendance is required for both programs. Thanks to generous support from funders, the training is free of charge. Your investment is a commitment to 100% attendance at the 4-day (June 2019) Initial Training Program, as well as the 4-day Advanced Training Program (July 2019). The training days will last from about 8 AM – 6:00 PM.

By applying, you also commit to running at least one workshop and one, 8-week, mind-body skills group during the year under the supervision of Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) faculty. See more details on the full time commitment here. [link to FAQ]

 

Who Should Apply

All Sonoma County community members, first responders, educators, clinicians, non-profit workers, faith leaders, and other community leaders are welcome to apply. The training materials will be offered in Spanish. Our vision is to reach all walks of life across our county. We have developed the following guidelines [link to FAQ] to identify a diverse group of applicants who will be best positioned to work with local communities, institutions, organizations, or underrepresented populations in Sonoma County.

 

Learning Objectives

 

What You Will Learn

In large group lectures, you will learn the science of meditation, guided imagery, biofeedback, and autogenic training, and of self-expression in words, drawings, and movement. In CMBM’s groundbreaking Mind-Body Skills Groups, led by senior CMBM faculty, you will use these tools and share your experience with other trainees. You’ll also learn how to deliver Mind-Body Skills Groups in your personal and professional communities and receive ongoing coaching from CMBM faculty.

This evidence-based program gives you the tools you need to understand and successfully address the issues and challenges from which all of us learn and to help others do the same. It has often been described by CMBM’s 6000 trainees as “life changing.”

Apply Now

June 2019 Initial Training Program – AND-

July 2019 Advanced Training Program

We’ve experienced so much trauma, especially the Latino community that has the dual trauma of immigration and the DACA students and then dealing with the firestorm and losing their jobs, their homes…This is part of the solution that I see needs to happen here in Sonoma County.
— Wanda Tapia, former ED, Latino Service Providers

Want more information?

 Many questions about our programs can be answered in the Frequently Asked Questions page. If you have additional questions, complete the contact form and we will be in touch with you.