West Virginia University WELL WVU is hosting a resilience workshop designed to help health care professionals learn new ways to help their patients.

The workshop will be held on Tuesday (May 10) from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Erickson Alumni Center.

“Pathways to Resilience,” created by Dr. Henry Emmons, is an integrative workshop that brings together interventions for body, mind and spirit in a comprehensive way to help individuals address problems of anxiety, depression and stress-related conditions.

The workshop functions on the idea that the most powerful approach to regaining resilience is to first recognize that everyone is unified and that we have many entry points for toxins that deplete our natural resiliency and we also have many pathways back to resiliency.

“Dr. Emmons is a nationally-recognized integrative psychiatrist who offers an alternative way of approaching the steady increase of anxiety and depression disorders that are being diagnosed increasingly in young adults,” Catherine Yura, assistant vice president of WELL WVU.

As an integrative psychiatrist, Dr. Emmons will outline the historical and current factors that undermine resilience, and survey the scientific discoveries that provide hope even to those who have dealt with years of illness. The workshop will discuss the core factors in resilience, their scientific basis and how they can help one achieve greater vitality, equanimity, openness and connection.

Those in attendance will learn about the “The Seven Roots of Resilience” and the assessment tools to identify the aspects of resilience that are already strong in a person. Health professionals will learn physical, psychological and spiritual practices that enhance resilience and learn how to develop a Resilience Plan.

At the end of the workshop, those in attendance should be able to: list at least six underlying causes of depression and anxiety; describe distinct patterns for anxiety and depression, as well as the chemical imbalances and brain areas involved; understand the roots of resilience; identify specific nutrients, exercises and self-management skills for anxiety and depression; describe how psychological and spiritual practices can enhance personal resilience; and develop a plan to integrate this program into the offerings at WELL WVU or their place of employment.

Emmons uses mind-body and natural therapies, mindfulness and Buddhist teachings and compassion and insight in his clinical work. The Resilience Training Program is currently offered at the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, and is based upon the ideas developed in his books “The Chemistry of Joy” and “The Chemistry of Calm.”

The workshop is intended for physicians, mental health providers including psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed professional counselors, social workers and other interested healthcare professionals.

The cost is $50 for individuals not employed by WELL WVU. It is of no cost to those employed by the department.

To register, or for information regarding continuing education, call 304-293-4847.

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cd/04/06/11

CONTACT: Colleen Harshbarger, WELL WVU
304-293-5054, Colleen.Harshbarger@mail.wvu.edu