Welcome to The WELLS Healing Center and our monthly newsletter. We're so happy to have you.
From Dr. Della's Desk:
Hey good people,
I hope this message finds you well amidst the whirlwind of life’s challenges and triumphs. A while ago, I made a post on my Instagram that read: “I’ve been looking for joy, I’ve been finding joy 🔁” This process of seeking and finding joy is important to me — and I’d love to share a piece of it with you in hopes that you can get closer to joy as well.
I co-hosted a Joy Circle recently. It was a beautiful gathering where we intentionally cultivated joy in the midst of life’s complexities. I’d like to give a huge shoutout to Dr. Helen Neville, a visionary leader who decided that her powerful presidential initiative for the Society of Counseling Psychology would be focused on healing through justice and joy. Her bold vision gave us the space to bring this joy circle dream to life.
Since that joy circle, I’ve continued to reflect on the fact that it’s absolutely essential to carve out time to focus on joy, especially in a world where pain, suffering, and grief often dominate the narrative. Our Joy Circle, co-facilitated by the ultra-talented healer and facilitator Jasiah McCalla, was a testament to this necessity. Together, we explored how joy has the power to uplift and sustain us, even in the face of oppression and suffering.
As we bear witness to the violence unfolding locally and globally, it becomes increasingly crucial to prioritize our wellness. The terror being enacted in Gaza, Sudan, the Congo, and beyond remind us of the importance of resistance, hope, and community support.
In light of this, it brings me some joy to share that we are offering a facilitation guide for hosting your own Joy Circle, available for free here. Whether you choose to follow our blueprint or use it to craft your own, the goal remains the same: to intentionally cultivate joy within/among your community.
Reflecting on the beautiful turnout and deep connections forged during our recent event, I’m reminded of the power we hold to create joy wherever we go. Whether it’s through organized gatherings or spontaneous moments of connection, let’s continue to center joy where and when we can in our lives and communities.
Thank you for being a part of our journey towards healing and liberation. We get free together.
In solidarity and joy, Dr. Della
GET CONNECTED WITH WELLS + FRIENDS:
Support WELLS Collective Members + reach out if you're in need: We're so excited to announce our new initiative to help get folks connected to the resources they need - Filling Their WELLS. If you're in need of some support, you can fill out this Google Form letting us know how we can help. And if you're looking to help others, check out this page of our site with current campaigns. We'll keep this page updated with the information from anyone who fills out our form, and we'll keep you all posted in our monthly newsletters.
You're invited! We're so excited to introduce you to a new newsletter from Dr. Della's heart/business: Blafemme Healing! This isn't your ordinary newsletter. It's a safe haven crafted for folks who want to explore Black feminist healing gems and learn more about how we're healing and breaking free in every season. Subscribers get exclusive access to free healing tools and intimate offerings led by Dr. Della - subscribe here to receive personal invitations to new offerings coming soon.
Join the waitlist - Blafemme Healing Sanctuary: A Virtual Black Feminist Healing Group. We're diving deeper into healing with group sessions fostering community and growth, resources tailored to your journey, and lots of support + intimacy. We start the next cohort in August 2024!
Sign up for WELLS groups starting in the Fall! We have two groups that are opening again in the Fall: our Healing and Wellness Grad Group for Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender Diverse Black, Indigenous, Students of Color and our Black Grad Student Mentoring and Community Care Group. To learn more about either of these groups, check out our offerings page on our site.
Joy circle facilitation guide - Dr. Della recently facilitated a Joy Circle and wanted to share this free resource for creating your own joy circles with your own communities of beloveds. If you use the resource, feel free to share how it went with Dr. Della on Instagram!
Dr. Della's upcoming virtual presentation! Dr. Della will present the closing keynote speech at the National Convening on the State of Mental Health in STEM on Friday, May 17th at 3pm EST. Please join us as we elevate the discourse about mental health within STEM and seed the implementation of transformative changes that advance the health and wellness of STEM students, post-docs, faculty, and staff. You can learn more and sign up for the event HERE.
WELLNESS TIP - spiritual wellness
We invite you to reimagine solitude as a pathway to your spiritual wellness. Within the next month, we encourage you to spend some time in solitude. Feel free to share your reflections with us on Instagram: @wellshealing
“And yet it is in the stillness that we also learn how to be with ourselves in a spirit of acceptance and peace. Then when we re-enter community, we are able to extend this acceptance to others. Without knowing how to be alone, we cannot know how to be with others and sustain the necessary autonomy.” - bell hooks, Sisters of the Yam
While solitude is often underrated, it is necessary for our wellness. In solitude, we may uncover our deepest desires and greatest dreams. What might you dream of, if you had a moment of self-intimacy to dream it?
We also recognize that solitude is a privilege, as many of us may be in positions where we are the providers of our family’s financial income, or are the caretakers of grandparents, parents, siblings, niblings, aunties, uncles, and cousins.
In holding down our chosen families, we may find that we trade solitude to care for community. How might we consider reframing and shuffling these tasks and obligations, so that we may rest in solitude? Is there a support network that might be willing to step in?
Protecting time and space for solitude could look like:
practicing body mindfulness and recognizing when it is time for solitude;
putting a name and voice to feelings of burnout and exhaustion, and asking for support;
being open to creative solutions that may offer pathways to solitude if we are unable to step away from responsibilities;
intentionally scheduling protected time for solitude
As a gentle reminder, we do not need to wait till the brink of exhaustion to have our needs met. Our needs are sacred, and should be honored at our pacing. We invite you to have open conversations with your support system, and collaboratively look at ways you all can be well together and separately.
(Re)connecting with our bodies is one way to recognize when we’re ready for solitude, and engaging in somatic (body-focused) mindfulness exercises may offer insight into how we’re feeling.
We invite you to sit within your body and take slow, deep breaths. Notice what feelings may arise, and where they may be located. What do these feelings and their locations tell you?
As you continue your journey towards wellness and attune to your body (at your pace), we invite you to check-in with yourself as a ritual in recognizing the need for solitude.
“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.” - Audre Lorde
STAY CONNECTED - SOCIALS:
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And if you liked the wellness tip above, be sure to check out our sister brand Blafemme for more gems like this.
Thank you for being a part of our community, The WELLS Healing Center Team
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