Laura Mengar MSW, LCSW, CSAC, from Healing in Rhythm, will explore some of the differences between approaches to horses and equine therapies, including ethical and safety considerations. She will demonstrate a few ways of being with horses that can offer support, insight, healing, and growth to participants.

Join Colleen Condon in exploring ancient embodiment practices, with deep ancestral lineages, designed to uplift the mind, open the heart and create access to inner joy. Ecstatic Dance (free-form movement to music) is found in cultures throughout the world, throughout time. It can also be found in the present moment when we allow our body to move (or not move) organically to a rhythm, sound, vibration, feeling, or experience.

Jess Dallman, LPC will facilitate four to six community members through a structured dialogue about self-harm, suicidal ideation, and losses from suicide. The panel will bring this often-taboo topic out from the shadows. We hope that hosting a community conversation will make it easier to talk about how common these feelings and impulses are and how to get appropriate help when needed. If you or someone you love is struggling, you are not alone. If you want to understand this complex topic better, come and listen to these stories with an open heart and learn how you can be most supportive to others in our community.

Storytelling is our way of making sense of the world. We use it not only to recount events but to learn from them. As Lisa Krone put it, we are “wired” for storytelling, and can use stories not only to entertain, but to teach, advocate for ourselves, and even grow personally. Join Madison storyteller Zach Shea for a presentation on how to find and shape your own stories.

Through facilitated activities, participants will explore tools to increase awareness of the body's messages about power, place, belonging, culture, lineage, and identity. Considering sensation, thought, and emotion, participants may expand their understanding of how they may develop more choicefulness in responding to experiences and interactions in various cultural contexts.

Acupuncture is an effective and efficient way to help regulate the nervous system and can have an effect on sensations of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and other emotional and physical signs of stress. Acupuncture can be integrated into comprehensive treatment plans, such as counseling and / or medications. In this group setting participants will receive acupressure stimulating points on the ear to stimulate relaxation while seated in chairs for 15-30 minutes.