Dr. Jen Clifden
Educator | Researcher | Burnout Preventionist
The Light You Cast™
IN-PERSON
The Light You Cast™ IN-PERSON experience is the signature (8) module curriculum engaged on-site and in community.
Together, we engage research-based MENTAL HEALTH and adult social emotional WELL-BEING strategies, practices, and routines proven to treat, heal, and prevent burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury while strengthening RELATIONAL HEALTH capacities that create the foundation for connection and impact in the work we do in the world.
Stress is ubiquitous, but burning out because of it doesn't have to be. The work of burning balanced is to make your light INEXTINGUISHABLE.
TLYC | Signature Curriculum Series
The Light You Cast™ experience is a strategically crafted curriculum of 4 or 8 sequential IN-PERSON experiences designed to support the cultivation and development of the (5) core competencies of MENTAL HEALTH and social emotional WELL-BEING through the stress that is innate to human-service work.
We come together to learn, heal, and grow in our health and well-being by creating space and providing targeted support for human-service professionals to:
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Thrive through community and connection with peers.
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Learn about the science behind stress, trauma, hope, resilience, burnout, mental health, joy, healing, and social emotional well-being while exploring how these elements impact our professional Presence and capacity to form healthy, resonant relationships that allow those that we serve to thrive without losing our selves in the process.
| 3 |
Engage trauma-responsive, cognitive-behavioral practices that can be used in the immediacy of a stressful moment to regain composure in the body, reclaim clear seeing, and revitalize the self and situation with the healing awarenesses of compassion and curiosity.
| 4 |
Practice brain and body-based mindful movements that facilitate immediate healing in the body by "re-fining" the nervous system, developing interoception (internal body awareness), strengthen the immune system, calming the mind, and elevating the mood.
In every session, participants explore and engage trauma-responsive strategies to strategically strengthen their core MENTAL HEALTH capacities
* PHYSICAL HEALTH *
Regulated nervous system, strong immune response, mind-body connection, neuroception (how your nervous system scans the environment for safety)
* COGNITIVE HEALTH *
Self-awareness, clear thinking, thought awareness, meaning making, responsible decision making
* EMOTIONAL HEALTH *
Hope, courage, joy, enthusiasm, calm
* SELF/SOUL HEALTH *
Self-knowledge, self-trust, self-confidence, self-efficacy
*RELATIONAL HEALTH *
Social awareness, perspective taking, compassion, empathy, unconditional positive regard
As a cohort, together, we will:
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VALIDATE and acknowledge the invisible and invaluable assets you effortlessly embody in your work that are impossible to evaluate,
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MAGNIFY your innate psychological strengths of hope, joy, enthusiasm, compassion, and purpose (especially in moments of pain, uncertainty, and anxiety),
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REDUCE stress in your body, release physical tension, improve healthy sleep, alleviate anxiety, and enhance mood boosting endorphins,
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ESTABLISH boundaries that support healthy work/life balancing, protect against over-caregiving, and prevent compassion fatigue,
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RAISE AWARENESS of the symptoms, stages, and manifestations of burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary-traumatic stress, and moral injury (in yourself and others),
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EXPLORE the science and symptoms of safe stress, toxic stress, and traumatic stress, the 7 primary stressors that drive burnout, and how to compassionate manage your trauma triggers,
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DISCOVER how your nervous system "reads" stress, what your most common physiological and psychological responses to stress are, and how to instantly soothe a stress reaction the moment it begins,
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METABOLIZE stress efficiently and effectively as a source of healing, insight, and post-traumatic wisdom that fuels your sense of self and self-efficacy,
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BUILD your trauma-responsive stress management “tool kit”of mind-body practices that you can use to ground the flight, flight, freeze, and fawn response and enable a calm, resilient response that is in balance with your strengths and core values,
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EXPERIENCE and embody the (3) manifestations of Burning Balanced, mental health, and social emotional freedom and well-being,
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STRENGTHEN relational health competencies that create resonance (feeling in-tune with others), protect against over-identifying with another’s emotions, and deepen restorative relationship practices,
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REVITALIZE your energy while your Presence becomes your greatest instrument of impact on others.
Burning Balanced
Being healthy and well and bringing the force of your well-being into your work does not happen by accident. Those called to human-service professions are more likely to be seriously impacted by stress, depression, and psychological fatigue. So how you do you burn balanced and bright vs. burnout when stress is all around -- professionally and personally?
Working in relationship-based callings where emotional labor is prevalent, without preventative practices and protective strategies, emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue can quickly take root and further catalyze low self-efficacy (feeling ineffective) and depersonalization (feeling numb and cut off from others).
The Light You Cast™ curriculum walks you through brain-based, trauma-responsive processes for magnifying your mental health capacities while you balance metabolizing stress and trauma triggers into energetic fuel that stokes your light and allows you to embody and express more of yourself in the midst of stress.
As your Presence, your light, becomes brighter, you enhance your ability to naturally create spaces of emotional safety and create connections with those you serve that resonate with respect, reverence, and unconditional positive regard.
"These meetings were a place for me to not just do inner work, but also connect with my peers who could relate and affirm every single feeling I had. I felt seen, heard, and validated every time I had the chance to engage in the coursework and with the group.”
Hight School Counselor
TLYC Mental Health & Well-Being
Pillars of Practice
In every single IN-PESON session, you will engage, experience, and embody the (3) core pillars of MENTAL HEALTH and WELL-BEING that are the foundation to resonant and RESTORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS and are proven to heal, treat, and prevent burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury:
REST
BODY
Regulate Nervous System
Engage trauma-informed, mindfulness-based body-centered practices that harmonize, soothe, and regulate the nervous system and strengthen physical health.
RESTORATION
MIND
Making Meaning | Integration
Consciously metabolize
mental and emotional stress through our signature Burn BalancedTM cognitive - behavioral process to strengthen asset-based perspective taking, clear thinking, emotional intelligence, and positive behavioral patterns that align with core values.
REVITALIZATION
RELATIONSHIPS
Connection with Others
Cultivate social intelligence and relationship health skills to see, sense and respond (not personally react) to another's behavioral cues in order to create resonate relationships where others feel valued and visible in your presence.
IN-PERSON Components
RESTORATIVE
MOVEMENT PRACTICES
We begin and end every session with the body using gentle, somatic practices designed to melt tension, reduce cortisol levels, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, soothe an overactive mind, and elevate the mood while strengthening the physical body.
We will also integrate specific movemindfully® practices by Kathy Flaminio to expand your tool kit of strategies to metabolize stress and trauma reactions in your own body, and you can take these practices forward and use with your students, clients, or patients.
CURRENT RESEARCH and BEST PRACTICE
Learn the most up-to-date science-backed, brain-based perspectives, practices, and exercises that are based on current research in mental health in work place, Social Emotional Well-Being, restorative practice, trauma-responsive interactions, and burnout and compassion fatigue prevention.
"PUT INTO PRACTICE"
HANDOUTS
that detail concrete, transformational tools and reflective practices with beautiful illustrations by Minneapolis-based artist, Jinjer Markley, that can be immediately implemented and applied to one's professional and personal context.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
This is the most important nutrient to the IN-PERSON experience-- community and peer support.
"These groups served as a nurturing space of mutual support. Our sessions equipped me with practical tools to navigate the challenges of teaching and also instilled within me a profound sense of purpose and interconnectedness."
Middle School Teacher
IN-PERSON Offering
Formats
Immediate and Immersive
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One Time Event | All-Day Retreat | 6 Clock Hours
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Two Time Event | (2) 3 hr Retreat | 6 Clock Hours
Sustained and On-Going
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Monthly or Weekly | (8) 1.5 Hour Sessions | 12 Clock Hours
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Monthly or Weekly | (4) 2 Hour Sessions | 8 Clock Hours
Core Topics
01
The 3 Basics of Banishing Burnout
Breath, Balance, Boundaries
02
Taking Time Stress Off the Table
Managing your energy -- not time
03
Essential Mental Health Buoys
The science behind the reason hope and joy help so much when stressed
04
Detoxing Toxic Stress
Health is not the absence of illness, and resilience is not the absence of stress
05
Compassion - The Ultimate Antidote
Self-compassion cures shame and compassion fatigue and transforms your connections with those in your care
06
Your Innate Healing Capacities
How pain and personal trauma create wisdom, insight, and courage and your capacity to create safe spaces of compassionate care for others
07
Your Mental Health is Contagious
Cultivating communal health through individual well-being
with Dr. Nuhu Sims
08
The Light You Cast
YOU are light that fills the cracks of broken systems - why your calling is as personal as it is professional
Because of this training, I am more patient with myself and others. I notice more openly and frequently, and I feel more connected to myself than I have before.
Special Education Paraprofessional
Certificate of Completion
Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion for up to 12 hours
of professional learning for submission to one's accrediting body for Continuing Education Credit consideration.
Testimonials
We listened. We learned.
Integrated and sustained workplace wellness matters!
“I strongly believe that our profession is very consuming and if we don't get in a routine and build our tools to take care of our selves we won't do it. Please continue the classes so we can build our resilience to be better teachers.”
“I found the training to be calming, centering, and hopeful."
“ The mindful movement was very accessible— it was very doable, especially for a novice like me.”
“This training really helped me to understand why compassion and joy are my foundation for teaching (and all of life), and why they need to stay my foundation. The training helped me to understand that this is why my students thrive - why we are connected and engaged even in these very difficult times.”
“With this past year being the most stressful of my career, I needed to to change my thinking and focus on my own mental health. Through this I realized that I need to be healthy in order to better serve those in my care.”
“This training, while it address the very personal needs of avoiding burnout and coping with stress, finds its way into improving our relationships with everyone we encounter on our mission to serve others. Self-love as the cornerstone of social justice seems simple, cutting edge, and essential all at once."
“I've heard all the SEL 'stuff' before but this was presented in a unique and personal way. Jen was wonderful. I love her way of interacting and positive perspective.”
