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Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM



Yearly Archive 2020

Courageous Compassion at the Crossroads of Conflict

Courageous Compassion at the Crossroads of Conflict is a talk President Ann Filemyr gave to Unity Santa Fe on the morning of Sunday, September 13. It is an invitation to consider what we can bring to the conflicts within and around us at this time of social unrest and global pandemic. She shares an old story…
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Courageous Community Conversation on Decolonial Practices

This is part of a series of conversations hosted by Southwestern College and held via zoom to invite sharing on pressing social topics. This conversation led by Ann Filemyr, Southwestern College President and Director of the Ecotherapy Certificate, on August 16 focused on investigating how we have been shaped by ‘colonial mind’ and how we…
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Ecotherapy, Self Care and Nature

This conversation between SWC President Ann Filemyr, Ph.D., who also serves as Director of the Ecotherapy Certificate, and alumna MelindaJoy Pattison explores the benefits of Ecotherapy, especially during the pandemic with the higher levels of stress we are all experiencing. Simple ways to access nature, even on a city street or in a backyard, and…
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Wild Heart Gallery: Spring Reflections 2020

Cover image: "Rebirth" by Sarah Carter     SWC's Wild Heart Gallery has gone online!    Experience SWC community's heart and soul. Internal process. Thinking, feeling and doing. Creations of self-care so as to be present during this time. Sharing with Community. Art as a platform for social justice as advocates and change agents.   …
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Alum Anne Lebednik Video on Art & Creativity

In Art & Creativity, Southwestern College alumnus Anne Lebednik explores the value of integrating creativity and artmaking as a practice in our lives.  Anne explains how we can approach this mindfully and why it is important to cultivate, especially now. This talk was filmed on June 14, 2020 for the Awakening Heart Community of Mindful…
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The Five Values of Southwestern College

President Ann Filemyr discusses the purpose and power of naming and living our values, especially during times of stress and change. She shares the five values of Southwestern College: service, mindfulness, empowerment, partnership and love, and how these values have been translated into actions and decisions by the college leadership team during the pandemic. Talk…
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Ann Filemyr, College President on “Racial Justice” with painting by Onde Chymes

   My heart has been heavy this past week as yet another African American man was brutally murdered by a white police officer. The brutality has once again sparked outrage, grief, shock and demand for change. The persistent legacy of institutionalized racism, combined with the lack of national leadership condemning such overtly racist acts, leaves…
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Conversations I Never Had with My Daughter, By Deborah Schroder, Program Chair MA in Art Therapy/Counseling

  I asked her permission to write this. It’s more her story than mine, but she doesn’t have time to write anything, being a mom of three small ones. My daughter stopped in to pick up treats I’d made for my grandson who’s struggling. It seemed like time to check in with her about more…
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Distance Art Therapy in the Time of COVID-19

By Laura Lansrud-Lopez At the beginning of March 2020, New Mexico experienced a statewide and rapid shift to physical distancing and stay-home requirements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and global health crisis. Even with so much unknown, the leadership team at Tierra Nueva quickly recognized the impact this might have on our clients. The…
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Holding On

By Deborah Schroder A tiny flash of yellow, right outside my window, caught my eye today. A precious little yellow bird was clinging to the branch of a pine tree. The usual New Mexican spring wind was blowing and the branch was really moving around. The tiny bird seemed to be just fine, riding the…
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Radio Interview of President Ann Filemyr by Alum Melinda Joy Pattison

On April 6, President Ann Filemyr joined alumna MelindaJoy Pattison on her weekly radio talk show. Since graduating, she has established herself as a mental health advocate sharing news and information with her listeners on a regular basis. She is also in private practice. As one of our ‘second act’ alumni, she used her SWC…
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Southwestern Soundbites: Whitney Tressel on Certainty in Uncertain Times

Photo of Whitney Tressel, taken by Adria Malcolm. Welcome to Southwestern Soundbites! In this episode, Courtney Shackelford talks to Whitney Tressel; current Art Therapy and Counseling student, graduate assistant, travel photographer, and all around amazing human. Whitney talks about going to grad school, how the pandemic clarified her path, and the power of getting still.…
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Creativity & Healing and an invite to “SWC Creative Commons” by President Ann Filemyr

Creativity & Healing Social distancing does not have to limit our creativity. Are you dancing in the living room? Playing the ukulele in bed? Singing in the shower? Penning poetry by the window? Perhaps this time apart has offered you an opportunity to express yourself. What are you longing to say in this moment? So…
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Southwestern Soundbites: A Second Master’s Degree and Art Therapy

Hello, and welcome to Southwestern Soundbites. In this episode, Dru Phoenix talks about her experience as someone who already had a Master's degree and later decided to pursue another Master's degree in Art Therapy. She also discusses the power of art and what led to her decision to go in this direction. Tune in for…
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Creative Conversations: Navigating a New Landscape of Synchronous Teaching & Learning

Contributors: Emilah DeToro, Magdalena Karlick, Seren Morris, Virginia Padilla-Vigil, and April Vogel In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our faculty at Southwestern College had to quickly mobilize to transition courses from face-to-face to online synchronous delivery.  This, of course, created numerous challenges, the most significant being, how to maintain the spirit of transformational…
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A Therapist in Times of Covid-19 : by alum Allegra Borghese

            As I write this, I am completing my final doctoral externship at a VA medical center in New York. My last day in the office was Friday, March 13th, after discovering three people I had direct contact with tested positive for Covid-19. I moved my caseload to telehealth the following Monday, and since then…
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Southwestern Soundbites: Trauma Theory

Welcome to Southwestern Soundbites– quick audio clips featuring current students, staff, and faculty discussing SWC’s various certificate programs and happenings at Southwestern. This episode features Courtney Shackelford, current student in the Art Therapy and Counseling program and also admissions staff, and Dru Phoenix, alum of the Art Therapy and Counseling program and Director of Enrollment…
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Some Reflections on Providing Therapeutic Services in the Changing Times of COVID19

By Val Valentine Wow, what a difference a month can make!  I went from a full private practice with between 25-30 face to face clients a week, to 15-20 clients per week with every session either on-line or by phone; some clients ready and discharged and some needing to take a break during this time…
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Message from Alum Carie King during the Pandemic

Photo by Carie King, taken on a road trip to Grand Junction, CO.  Carie grew up in Maine with a wildlife biologist / photographer, so her appreciate of Earth’s beauty is life-long. Colorado’s lakes and mountains rival Maine’s. Message from Carie:  I think I’ve been experiencing “stages of grief” … (I’ve definitely gone through…
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An Alum Updates us during the Pandemic

Aloha my Southwestern colleagues!  My name is Tess Yong Kim, and I am a graduate of 11/10/2018.  I began my clinical practice on 2/6/2019 as an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor).  I’ve been working throughout this COVID-19 pandemic. I Just ended my weekly, “Substance Abuse Group Therapy,” with 8 clients through the Zoom video at…
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