SOUTH PORTLAND

Healing Circle

an in-person therapeutic support group for women who have survived trauma and traumatic loss

Has this been your struggle?

→ You feel edgy or irritable, anxious, depressed, even panicky or numb without always knowing why.

→You struggle with feelings of shame or worthlessness, emotional overwhelm, hopelessness. You have trouble sleeping.

→ You have chronic pain, headaches or stomach issues.

→ You sometimes wonder if you’ll ever feel “normal.”

→Trusting people can be a problem.

→ You have found ways of coping that can be self-destructive with food, substances, sex, shopping, or self-harm.

→ You find it difficult to make even small, everyday decisions and to commit to activities, relationships or jobs.

→ You have difficulty being in the here and now because it feels like some part of you is preoccupied with danger, fear, loneliness or anger.

What if the bad things that happened took up way less head space?

It might be hard to believe now, but is possible that you can begin to think, feel, and relate differently to the traumatic experiences and losses of your life. It is possible to feel like you have choices as to how to care for yourself when your nervous system gets activated. It might not seem like it now, but who you are is so much bigger than the hard things that have happened to you. You, not the bad thing, should get to say what your survival says about who you are and who you want to be. Healing Circle gives you the skills, support, science, and space to begin to figure out how to begin to gently forge a new way of being with the parts of you that are sad, mad, scared and numb. Healing Circle helps you open up the narrative of your life allowing for more stories of sweetness, courage, and strength.

Next Healing Circle starts January 14th, 2025

Tuesdays 5:15pm -7pm

Heart Stone Counseling ~ Carriage House

967 Broadway South Portland, ME

Healing Circle

IN-PERSON SUPPORT AND PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL GROUP FOR WOMEN IN SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE

Each week, Healing Circle draws from a theme of the workbook, Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma by Janina Fisher Ph.D., renowned trauma expert. This workbook provides some of the structure and content of our weekly sessions and is available for purchase on Amazon or from Heart Stone at a discounted price of 20.00.

In addition to the workbook, Healing Circle may incorporate poetry, gentle movement and visualizing into each session. Each session is similarly structured while leaving room for each participant to share successes, set-backs, and breakthroughs.

What to expect

  • Healing Circle is offered in six week commitments. The groups are held on Tuesday evenings from 5:15p- 7pm. The dates for the upcoming Healing Circle are: 1/14/25, 1/21/25, 1/28/25, 2/11/25, 2/18/25, 2/25/25

  • Emily Van Cannon LCPC, LADC, CCS is the main facilitator of Healing Circle. She has facilitated groups for girls and women throughout her 24 year career in a wide variety of settings including inpatient and outpatient, jails, and community settings. In addition to her clinical training, Emily draws from her experience and education as a Transformative Language Artist and from her five years as an actor with Portland Playback Theatre to create safe, dynamic spaces for healing and growth.

  • A variety of grounding and mindfulness skills are practiced in the group setting including using sensory anchors, Vergence technique, visualization, somatic approaches to connecting to the body.

  • The group is open to cis, queer, trans women who have experienced trauma and traumatic loss. The group runs with a number of participants between 4-8 people.

  • Healing Circle provides basic material needed every week. You are encouraged to purchase the workbook, Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma. Participants are also encouraged to have your own notebook.

$45

Option 1: Pay weekly

You will be charged $45.00 after each session for six weeks.

You may also purchase the Transforming the Living Legacy workbook from Heart Stone for 20.00

Save $15

$255

Option 2: Pay in advance

Save by paying for all six sessions in advance.

You may also purchase the Transforming the Living Legacy workbook from Heart Stone for 20.00

Themes we cover

Relating to your symptoms differently

Often trauma survivors blame themselves for being not okay. When you start to see how some of the problematic symptoms you experience may be your mind and body’s way of adapting to threat and danger, there can be more room for compassion and less reason for shame.

Activation and Triggers

Triggered. It’s a word that gets used a lot. But what exactly does that mean and what can you do about it? We take time to understand what is happening physiologically when you experience activation or shutdown.

Window of Tolerance

This model helps you visually understand how your nervous system is responding to perceived threat. By demystifying the experience of hyper and hypo arousal, you can begin to increase your tolerance for distress and eventually feel more okay not being okay.

Body Memories

It can be confusing and painful when you feel activated, scared or panicked, but you don’t know why. You may doubt yourself or your intuition. We learn of the different ways your body remembers trauma even when there isn’t a narrative to recall.

Traumatic Attachment Patterns

Early attachment is the result of hundreds of physical and emotional experiences that prime your nervous system to either feel safe or unsafe with the closeness or distance of others. We start to unpack the signs of traumatic attachment patterns and how to begin to take care of “little you.”

Regulating your Nervous System

We practice new ways of bringing regulation to your nervous system during every group so that when you get triggered outside of group grounding yourself feels more within reach.

Noticing Brain vs. Thinking Brain

You can spend years thinking about past events, worrying about the past and dreading the future, all the while not noticing the moment-to-moment experiences in our lives that are actually safe and even satisfying. We practice engaging our “noticing” mind to reduce a sense of dread and fear.

Breaking the Cycle of Self-Destructive Patterns of Coping

Addiction or reliance on a behavior to be okay, to feel or to not feel can be a hard cycle to break. We start by bringing awareness to the abstinence/ relapse cycle, perceived safety and symptoms of PTSD.

Testimonials

  • “I began my therapeutic relationship with Emily when she led the women’s group. It was an amazing experience and extremely helpful. Since that group I’ve been lucky enough to work with Emily one on one. She is by far the best, kindest, wisest therapist I have known. She has provided me with insight, healing and inspiration. I am blessed to work with her and I believe all her clients feel the same..”

    — Linda B.

  • Participating in the Women's Healing Circle for survivors of trauma has been a transformative experience. The road to healing from childhood trauma can be a lonely one. Deeply connecting to others that are also on this path has been powerful and illuminating. The shared experiences, the witnessing of our collective pain, and the insight and clarity that comes to light has given me hope for a future beyond the past that has so deeply impacted how I move through the world. I'm learning to carry my trauma with grace and honesty through this group experience. The shame no longer has a hold over me.

    —Ang G.

Get Started

  • Inquire

    Fill out the form below to express interest in the Healing Circle. You can also call us at 207-613-2470. We will send you a questionnaire and schedule a time and date for your screening to be in the group.

  • Screening

    Before joining Healing Circle, we schedule a 15 minute video consult with the group facilitator to determine good fit and answer questions you might have.

  • Register

    Once you are accepted into the group, you will pay the fee and we will send you a welcome letter and the start date for your group.

.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We can accept HSA/ FSA, debit, credit and checks. We are not using insurance for groups.

  • Depending on where you are in your healing process, this group might not be a good fit for you if you are inclined towards certain types of self-harm or suicidal ideation when feeling emotionally activated. If you experience internal stimuli such as voices or hallucinations, this group won’t be a good fit. If you struggle to notice others’ emotional experience or group dynamics, individual therapy might be a better fit.

  • Ideally, you would be able to commit to the six scheduled dates. We understand that things come up. You will not be refunded for missed sessions.

  • The minimum number of participants is four and the maximum number is eight.

  • This is a personal decision. Some people are interested in spacing out (i.e., going from weekly to biweekly) individual therapy while participating in the group. Some people want to continue to do both. Some people take a pause of their individual sessions altogether while attending group.

Testimonials