By Kimberly Pistone
For the Sidney Daily News
WAPAKONETA — The first Trauma and Mental Health Conference, hosted by Beautiful Flawed Warrior Coaching, will be held May 18 in Wapakoneta. The goal of the conference is to bring greater awareness of the mental health crisis in the local community and to bring hope, encouragement and empowerment to everyone who attends.
Gina Fox, of Beautiful Flawed Warrior Coaching, wanted to bring this conference to the local area to highlight the neuroscience behind PTSD and its relation to mental health.
“A lot of people don’t realize childhood trauma and mental health are connected and that the root cause for mental health can be childhood trauma, Fox said”
Fox said science is showing that traditional talk therapy and coaching alone aren’t enough. She utilizes the side door approach, which includes things like somatic movement, art or music to help build new neural plasticity and rewire new brain patterns for healing.
The conference includes eight speakers, all of whom are trauma survivors. Each will speak on a different topic related to trauma. Fox stressed that this conference will be a place of peace where attendees can feel free to move around and even step out of the room if they need.
Speakers include a Ph.D., licensed social workers, certified trauma coaches, board certified mental health coaches, and trauma survivors, including two war veterans with PTSD who will be speaking about how they have used art and music to help recover.
Topics will highlight cognitive distortions/complex trauma, somatic movements, cognitive distortion restructuring and women of color, survivor’s speak/suicide awareness, how to take up space effectively, how illness can impact your mental health, addictions and recreational therapy.
More information can be found at https://wearethevoice.org. Pre-registration is required. Cost is $69 for attendees who want continuing education credits and $39 for general audience members.
