LAUNCHING THE SERIES

of our brains, i.e., the ability to adapt in the face of adversity, and address injuries or changes in the environment. From a treatment perspective, the work of Dr. Shawn Ginwright has moved practitioners from trauma-informed care to healing-centered engagement. A more complete approach that is less clinical and more culturally grounded, healing-centered engagement is asset driven and focused on wellbeing, rather than suppressing symptoms. Further discussion about the skills that are needed for resiliency, including effective communication, demonstrating empathy, eliciting support from others, instilling optimism, and facilitating success (among others) was the perfect segue way for the next arts-based workshop.

Nicholas Rodriguez, dancer and artistic director of the Inner City Ensemble, invited participants to consider the ways that we use movement and our bodies to communicate verbally and non-verbally and to build community. He outlined the importance of setting the physical parameters of the playing space for emotional safety and demonstrated warm-ups and movement modifications to prevent injuries.