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| CONTACT Latasha Matthews 678-585-1966 O 404-914-2521C 1840 Old Norcross Road, Suite 200 Lawrenceville, GA 30044 latasha@illuminationcc.com
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| July 2014
Welcome to the July 2014 edition of The Family Playroom. This space has been designed to offer guidance and tips that will illuminate and ignite hope, laughter and purposeful living.
Here at the family Play Room each month we feature articles to help you navigate through the difficult times in your life. Check out this month's article on grief below.
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| | Grieving the loss of a loved one is a difficult process for anyone, but especially for children. When a child experiences a loss, it can have an effect on their lives forever. Children may also experience grief from an incarceration, tragic event or physical trauma. Children express grief in a different way than adults. Children express their grief through their behavior, emotions, physical reactions and thoughts.
Children may respond to grief through their behavior, which varies at different ages. Crying, nightmares, sighing, and withdrawal are common behaviors amongst children. Your child may also experience regression in potty training, bedwetting, mood changes, learning styles, organization or relationships. Older children may begin to take on adult mannerisms and responsibilities or seek negative attention. Seek professional help from a therapist or a grief support group for your child if their behavior threatens the child or family’s well-being.
Children may also respond to grief through their emotions such as fear, anger, sadness and guilt. They are reacting to the changes that are taking place in their current life. Their reaction shows their ability to understand the situation. Children may respond to grief with physical methods such as loss of appetite, fatigue, stomach pains, headaches, or become sensitive to light and/or noise. Furthermore, children may also respond to grief with thoughts of feeling lonely, worrisome, helplessness, shock, turmoil or confusion. A sense of abandonment is common amongst adult and children. It is not uncommon for the child to experience a sense of relief if they witnessed their loved one suffer or go through a difficult situation for an extended time.
Here are some ways to help a child with the healing process.
Children are concrete thinkers: You must use the words death, dying, and dead to give meaning to the experience. They will ask questions repeatedly, in search of answers. An adult must be willing to listen and support them through their time of healing. However, children should be offered choices in the way they choose to memorialize the person who died. Such as going to the hospital or hospice facility, viewing the body or attending the funeral. Children should view how their loved ones deal with grief. Give children a place to go when feeling down such as a memorial tree or gravesite. Additionally adults can also share their past experience of how they dealt with the loss of a loved one. Most importantly, children enjoy expressing themselves through creativity. Suggested creative activities are drawing, writing, arts & crafts, music, playing games, creating a memory box, or writing a letter to the deceased loved one.
Death is a difficult process that causes disruption in a child’s life, therefore, routines and expectations should be maintained. A grieving child must be reassured by feeling a sense of security and support to begin the healing process. As children become older, they will grasp the concept of death. Patience and acceptance are imperative to the grieving process. As a child makes progress in healing, their behavior, emotions, physical reactions and thoughts will begin to subside and return to a state of normalcy.
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| | Community Partner Spotlight |
| | In our effort to increase the well-being of our community we support various organizations that empower, enlighten, and elevate our communities at large; this month we highlight The HUDDLE Group Inc.
The HUDDLE (Health, Unity, Dedication, Determination, Leadership, Education) Group is a non-profit organization located in Gwinnett County. This group was birthed by Lawrence & Kinitra Williams, and Willie & Phyllis Miller while they were working in the youth ministry of the church they attend. These couples were involved with the youth ministry and decided that they need to help children outside of the church as well as those who regularly participated in their ministry. They believe that "God gave us the vision to go beyond the church walls and we obeyed".
The HUDDLE Group operates out of Gwinnett county but will assist any youth who are willing to participate in their program. Their program is designed for middle and high school youth. They meet once a month on the 2nd Saturday usually at the Five Fork Library.
Their Mission and vision is as follows:
Mission: We seek to revitalize, empower, and encourage youth to assist them in becoming productive leaders in our communities.
To give our youth the tools to foster HEALTHY mental and physical habits.
To ensure that our youth UNITED despite differences in culture and background.
To inspire our youth to be Dedicated and Determined to being great in every endeavor.
To model and teach a moral and value system that builds LEADERSHIP qualities that benefits them as well as members of their respective communities.
To ensure that our youth are EDUCATED about all the opportunities available to them.
The HUDDLE Group offers 6 programs and they are all FREE to the public. They rely on Donations, Fundraisers and volunteers to support and operate this effort. They are trying to help the “WHOLE BEING” one child at a time.
They have and upcoming fundraiser on Saturday, July 26th which is a yard sale and solicit your support.
We encourage you to Support this organization via attending one of their fundraisers, volunteering to assist with a program or sowing into their organization with a donation.
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| | | | Here at IllumiNATION Counseling & Coaching, LLC we are excited that we have an all new social media presence. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook (http://tiny.cc/illuminationcc), Twitter (@illumiNATIONcc), and Pinterest (@illumiNATIONcc) for daily inspiration, motivation and tips. Every week we present a new topic whereby you can gain valuable information to help you lead a healthy and a vibrant life. We’d love for you to comment and interact with us on our page on Facebook as well as share your favorite posts with friends. If you have any burning questions or topics that you’d like to see discussed, feel free to send us a message or post it on our page for a group discussion. We welcome your input and look forward to hearing from you! |
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| | Illuminating Pathways Illumination C&C, LLC on the move about town |
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COMING UP SOON!!
Come learn new skills to work with couples considering marriage or couples wanting to enrich their marriage. During this interactive training you will learn to facilitate the Prepare-Enrich program through small group activities, insightful conversations and DVD/lecture format.
The training is scheduled for July 26th. In addition to becoming a facilitator, you will learn valuable information to facilitate groups and retreats for couples and you will gain unique marketing tips to obtain referrals for couples. LPC's are eligible for 7 CEU's for an additional fee of $20 (This fee is paid directly to Prepare-Enrich). MFT's, psychologist and LCSW's must check with the licensing board regarding CEU eligibility. Registration FEE $175.00. Registration Deadline July 18, 2014. Discounts offered for current students.
We offer onsite training to meet your staff needs.
*On July 12th Latasha Matthews led an insightful segment on Forgiveness for the Kitchen Table Radio Show
Latasha give a lot of good insight and advice regarding forgiveness. See some tips below:
1. Forgiveness is a choice, and you have to choose to forgive.
2. Assertiveness- Be courageous and bold enough to share with the person you have grievance with. Give them an opportunity to hear you.
3. Empty Chair Technique- Position the chair and release your emotions. Once you verbalize it frees you up.
Please be on the lookout for future radio and talk show appearance that you listen in on. –If you have any questions about this radio show or the content discussed, reach out to us and we’ll be delighted to assist you.
*On July 8th Illumination C&C, LLC facilitated a corporate workshop: ‘Balancing Work and Life.’
This workshop focused on the art of obtaining a healthy balance between your work life and your personal life. This workshop was well received by the company and we will be offering more workshops as requested. If your company or organization would like a workshop on either of these topics or a topic tailored to your situation, schedule a meeting with us and we’d love nothing more than to assess your needs and create something just for you.
*On August 5th we will host our monthly private-practice building calls "Foundational Excellence in Private Practice"
This teleseminar is geared towards counselors, social workers, psychologists, marriage/family therapists, registered play therapists, coaches and mental health professionals that aspire to gain understanding of the important foundational aspects in developing a successful practice. These calls will take place on the 1st Tuesdays of each month. Check out our website at http://www.illuminationcc.com/FoundationalExcellence.en.html or reach out to us for information on how to sign up.
*On August 31st we will begin our weekly mastermind group "Foundation KEYS to Practicing in EXCELLence MasterMind Coaching Group"
This will be a six week session on Thursdays from 7pm -8:30pm that will cover different topics from strategic planning to addressing business ownership concerns to building your presence in the community. SPACE IS LIMITED for this awesome session. Contact us directly for more information.
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