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Saybrook’s Mind-Body Wellness Fair 2022 Emphasizes the Importance of Holistic Approaches to Health and Wellness

23 June 2022
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“Wellness can be defined many ways, but it is a global issue. And it applies not only to us individually but our communities, our nations, and our planets.”

These were the words Luann Fortune, Ph.D., LMT, faculty at Saybrook University and specialization coordinator in the Mind-Body Medicine department, chose to kick off her presentation at Saybrook’s 2022 Mind-Body Wellness Fair. As the first presentation of the fair, these words summarized Dr. Fortune’s own points and set the tone for what attendees could expect from the rest of the festival.

Held annually, the Mind-Body Wellness Fair speaks to the core values of Saybrook University. It provides the opportunity for faculty and students to share their academic knowledge and experienced wisdom regarding overall health and wellness with the greater community, further extending the important work happening at Saybrook every day.

Saybrook’s holistic perspective, based on a belief in the inherent interconnection of all things, was one of the main themes of the fair—held May 20-21—not only as a part of each presentation, but as a driving force behind the festival itself. Though organized in categories, every subject taught at Saybrook is interconnected through an overall mission to pursue a socially just, sustainable world.

Throughout the 2022 Mind-Body Wellness Fair, presenters from each department at Saybrook were able to share their perspectives on health and wellness, providing a comprehensive view of the multifaceted concept we call health. Attendees had opportunities to participate in guided meditations, ponder reflective questions, and share their personal experiences, gaining new insights into their own health and its connection to the earth and greater universe.

Fittingly, Dr. Fortune’s opening presentation provided an overview of mindfulness and how it can positively contribute to mind-body wellness. She reviewed her work in self-care and wellness and the model she has developed to aid clients in her own practice, identifying the key sources of human health and how they can be further developed and strengthened to support wellness. Dr. Fortune concluded her presentation with a guided love and kindness meditation that repeated three simple wishes for listeners: “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be free.

Re-learning how to see ourselves in nature

Cynthia Kerson, Ph.D., faculty and specialization coordinator in the psychophysiology department, took the floor next to present about the field of psychophysiology and its various attributes and uses, including biofeedback.

“As clinicians, we’re teaching people how to communicate with their bodies on a physiological level,” Dr. Kerson explained of the preventative nature of biofeedback. “What we teach you in biofeedback is how to recognize physiological responses before it becomes too late.” The practice is used to help clients with a number of issues, including panic attacks and chronic pain.

Lindsay Fauntleroy, a licensed acupuncturist and Ph.D. student in the Mind-Body Medicine program at Saybrook, presented “Magic Is Medicine,” a dive into her work with flower essence therapy. Her organization, The Spirit Seed, helps train professionals and aspiring practitioners to integrate flower essence therapy into their practices. Fauntleroy highlighted the uses and benefits of this therapeutic aid, as well the deeply rooted beliefs among the African diaspora and Indigenous cultures about the importance of humanity’s relationship to nature. “Our health and our humanity is intricately, intimately interconnected with nature and the cosmos,” she explained. “As much as the training is about flower essence therapy, it’s also relearning how to see ourselves, our humanity, in connection with nature.”

Tune in

Venturing further into the world of meditation, Aparna Ramaswamy, Ed.D., Ph.D., LCPC, ACS, faculty in the Department of Counseling, encouraged her audience to “Tune in to the quietness.” She focused her presentation on the knowledge and study behind chakras and chakra meditation. These energy pools within humans cover different domains of being, and when they can flow clearly and smoothly, stress and disease can be reduced. Meditative activities can be used to help keep chakras clear, and to end her session, Dr. Ramaswamy led her group in a guided chakra meditation to demonstrate its powerful effects.

To conclude the first day of presentations, Gina Belton, Ph.D., faculty and specializations coordinator in the Mind-Body Medicine program, addressed the process of aging and the importance of practicing self-compassion as one ages. To reflect on the importance of mindfulness with aging, Dr. Belton invited attendees to think of activities that felt different with age. She shared her experience with not being able to go on runs the way she used to but still finding solace in walking her same routes. “On those pathways where I used to run and now walk, I can still enjoy connecting with nature, being present with the eternal … and experiencing my body in a different way,” she reflected.

Connecting to the world around us

Presentations on the following day included “Leadership Tools for Balance in Chaos” by Megan Ratcliffe, Ph.D., faculty in business administration department, Mary K. Chess, Ph.D., department chair of Leadership and Management, Stacey Heiligenthaler, Ph.D., Patty Neil, Ph.D., Petural (PJ) Shelton, Ph.D., and Magda Capellao Kaspary, a doctoral student at Saybrook. “We are delighted to be sharing with you what we think is a smart, useful, and heart-centered approach to dealing with some of the chaos that is emerging in any and all of our environments,” Dr. Ratcliffe began. The group shared their experiences meeting and conferring to help navigate the post-COVID-19 chaos in their professional lives. Their findings resulted in a strategy called PAUSE (patience, action, understanding, sustaining, engaging), designed to help with healthier leadership interactions going forward.

Finally, Joel Federman, Ph.D., program director and department chair of Transformative Social Change, and Joy Meeker, Ph.D., faculty and specialization coordinator for Transformative Social Change, brought the overall perspective back to the big picture by discussing systemic crises and how to navigate them. “People in general tend to think of health as something very individual, but in Transformative Social Change, we think of it as a social issue as well,” Dr. Federman said. The presenters reviewed the biggest stressors of the current global landscape, including climate change and systemic racism, and the challenges posed by these issues. But ultimately, hope for humanity—as the Transformative Social Change department sees it—lies in community and social policy change at every level, encouraged by liberatory models of learning like those practiced within the Transformative Social Change department at Saybrook.

From the individual level to the higher systemic level, the health of each person and the planet we all inhabit are all interconnected. Attendees at this year’s Mind-Body Wellness Fair got an extensive look at many of the different factors affecting their health and strategies they might use to improve their wellness going forward. Keep an eye out for next year’s Mind-Body Wellness Fair to see what new insights the Saybrook community may have in 2023.

To learn more about academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below.

The Clouded Contours of Change

29 April 2022
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The lingering pandemic exposed divisions in our society that are still trying our notions of the American way of life and have some believing that the country is in a state of irreversible decline. Faced with this climate of vexation, angst, and national self-doubt, we must ask ourselves how we got to this point and what can we do to shift both perception and reality.

Two members of the Saybrook University community are undertaking research that will help to map the contours of our societal landscape and, in doing so, may be offering a way forward. Tom Hayashi, Ph.D., Department Chair in Saybrook University’s Department of Leadership and Management, and Nancy Pearson, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Transformational Change at Saybrook, have examined the origins and impact of persistent phenomena that are contributing to our state of pessimism.

Dr. Hayashi is studying the effects of the pandemic on single women of color who are heads of households in the Los Angeles area, while Pearson is drawing upon her experience as a public official to trace the origins of public meetings and how they are structured to serve those in power.

The impact is plain

During the lockdown of 2020, women of color were hit with a one-two punch. According to the bureau of labor statistics unemployment among Hispanic or Latina women more than tripled from 4% to 18%, and as they were losing their jobs, they found themselves with their children at home because of the closing of schools, and therefore in need of childcare just when childcare providers were closing down as well.

It is no wonder that former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis says, “This pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women, people of color, and households with lower incomes.” The reasons are apparent. As Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor, says in a recent interview with Bloomberg News, “Because we lacked a care infrastructure heading in, everything was worse for women and women’s labor force participation.”

In order to better grasp the scope of the crisis facing low-income communities, the California-based policy group New Economics for Women (NEW) sponsored a pilot study conducted by Dr. Hayashi and his colleagues at Saybrook University titled “Place-based Needs Assessment of Economically Vulnerable Populations in North Los Angeles County during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Understanding the scale

Among the key findings of the study was that households saw an average drop in income of $8,000 dollars, the equivalent of a 31% decrease. Additionally, over 40% reported that their primary income earner was not working fulltime and that those who had stable housing dropped by twenty points from 64 to 43%. “We’ve known all along about the stresses upon this population,” Dr. Hayashi says. “Unmet basic needs, homelessness, and food insecurity are not unknown in this country.”

In addressing the significance of the study’s findings, Dr. Hayashi references Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a central tenet of humanistic psychology often displayed as a five-tiered pyramid. Needs are distinguished between “deficiency” needs, which are fundamental for survival, and higher level “growth” or “being” needs. The idea is that humans must first meet basic needs, including food and shelter before being able to devote themselves to more abstract concepts such as self-fulfillment.

This depiction of the human condition reflects one of the major underlying causes of our current divisions. While one sizable and visible segment of the population binge-watched television shows and took up COVID projects, another sizable, though less visible, segment of society depended on food pantries and eviction moratoriums to get by.

Who’s in the room where it happens?

While many people shake their heads at our inability to muster an equitable response to the current economic upheaval, one researcher was not surprised. Until recently, Nancy Pearson served on the city council of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Before her election, she had sat on the board of the city’s cultural commission and attended many meetings in which the city’s leaders often boasted about Portsmouth’s art scene. “We punched above our weight, especially in performing arts and music, and had a pretty good emerging visual arts scene as well.”

Coming from a background in women’s empowerment and economic development, Pearson was confident she could make an impact by serving on the council, particularly in support of the arts community, which she viewed as an important economic engine for the city. Her illusions were swiftly shattered.

“When I sat on the other side of that dais as a decision maker,” Pearson recalls, “my observation was, ‘Boy, this is a really bad system,’ where truly marginalized people or the people that are really affected by the decisions that are made in these meetings aren’t at these meetings, but the people that do come already have influence and power.” The result she realized is a cycle in which the existing power structure acted to reinforce their powers. “The same thing happens with all policies,” she says, “which is a very small group of well-connected people influence the decision makers.”

Searching for a reason

After leaving office, Pearson was determined to discover the origins a system that consistently rewards those who are in power. “I quickly realized that change cannot come from the elected officials,” she says. Seeking answers to her questions about the structures she encountered in her development work and as an elected official, Pearson enrolled in the Ph.D. program in the Department of Transformational Change at Saybrook University.

Through her research, Pearson learned that this dynamic of self-perpetuating power structures was literally written into the first laws creating public hearings in England in the 18th century. The issue at the time was the transfer of public lands to private landowners. The law calling for public hearings also empowered Parliament to disregard public input. Additionally, testimony was largely given by landowners who were seeking to buy more land testifying before members of parliament who were themselves landowners. “These meetings were specifically created to be exclusionary and performative,” Pearson says.

And it wasn’t just that those in power devised the system to perpetuate their power. Pearson also recognized a clear dynamic regarding those who spoke at public hearings. They exhibited a certain type of personality, “the kind of person who likes to report,” as Pearson puts it, not consensus builders or those seeking dialogue. In other words, the type of personalities who resist changes to the status quo have been historically advantaged to exploit public hearings to tout their views.

Person began her studies at Saybrook in January of 2020, just before the lockdown and the Black Lives Matter protests and, she says, “Every single system started to break down before our eyes, and, suddenly, I didn’t have to explain what I was researching or why anymore. Everyone understood.”

Measuring mobility

In Dr. Hayashi’s view, the solutions are not abstract. “We know what works,” he says. “If we provide individuals with a living wage and an education, they can become self-actualized members of society.” This means education is the most indispensable key to economic mobility and the kind of well-paying jobs that come from being educated.

With education comes increased financial reliance that can insulate those who have been traditionally vulnerable from the caprices of economic uncertainty and shifting government policies.

NEW, the organization that commissioned the Saybrook study, seeks to not merely measure women’s circumstances but also finding ways to improve. Toward that end, they assess their clients according to a series of criteria, and for each, individuals are determined to be in one of three phases: crisis, surviving, or thriving. Much like Maslow’s hierarchy, as individuals move up this scale, their horizons widen, and they are able to make decisions beyond the fundamentals of survival. The opportunity is also to support the current work of community-based organization such as NEW with injection of 21st-century resources including technology solutions such as AI-enabled solutions and mobile application to enhance financial literacy and asset building of working families.

Come to order

Similarly, Pearson sees an opportunity for positive change through a reform of the system. She is researching how the switch from in-person to online public meetings during the pandemic affected who participated and how. “I’ve gotten the green light from the mayor of Manchester, the largest city in New Hampshire, to do a qualitative case study on how moving from meeting in-person to online has affected the quality of civic engagement,” she says. She hopes that the data will provide insight as to how to make the public meeting process more inclusive.

Her goal is to present her findings to the New Hampshire Municipal Association and to share them across the regions so that decision makers who are in charge of public meetings, so they have data that to help them make decisions. As one of the first academic research projects specifically related to public meetings during COVID, Pearson would like to see the results guide communities to reimagine how they engage. “That’s the ultimate goal,” she says.

An opportunity for change

As we emerge from a global health crisis more gradually than most expected and anyone hoped, our society is remaking itself in unexpected ways. What remains to be seen is if the uncertainty that is roiling the American psyche signals a regression to the way things were before in which the powerful maintain their grip on an increasingly dissatisfied population who face a return to stagnant wages and an uncertain future or if this an opportunity to build upon lessons learned in a time of crisis.

Working out of the Saybrook University’s model of combining big-picture theoretical concepts with objective research data, both Dr. Hayashi and Pearson are exploring new pathways for traditionally marginalized people to contribute to our society, an approach that, in the end, will benefit everyone.

Learn more about Saybrook University

If you are interested in learning more about the community and academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information. You can also apply today through our application portal.

More than man’s best friend

28 April 2022
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Ask any loving pet parent about their fur baby and you’re sure to unleash a seemingly endless list of reasons why their little buddy means so much to them. The skittering of paws on the floor and the flash of a wagging tail as their dog runs to greet them at the door. The soft, soothing vibrations of their cat’s purr as he’s curled up on their chest when they’ve kicked back after a long day. Pets provide unconditional love and memories full of joy, but the bonds people form with them can benefit their health in far more ways than many realize.

Your pet and you—a bond for the ages

As conversations about self-care have increased over the past few decades, mental health care professionals have worked to define what positive self-care activities consist of. While some have arrived at slight variations, many professionals identify six primary types of self-care that can increase quality of life and overall health:

  • Emotional self-care focuses on connecting to, realizing, and processing emotions.
  • Practical self-care focuses on ways to alleviate the material stressors of the world.
  • Physical self-care focuses on maintaining or improving the physical health of the body.
  • Mental self-care focuses on keeping the mind engaged, stimulated, and concentrated.
  • Social self-care focuses on building, enriching, and maintaining relationships.
  • Spiritual self-care focuses on making connections to the greater universe beyond oneself.

According to Jennifer Santopietro, licensed professional counselor and adjunct faculty in the Counseling Department at Saybrook University, animals can help facilitate many, if not all, of the six types of self-care. “For example, they can be supportive and comforting for people, fulfilling emotional self-care needs. They can also facilitate activities that encourage physical self-care, like taking walks, playing, and other types of care that require physical activity. Taking care of the day-to-day needs of pets like feeding and grooming can promote practical self-care in their owners as well, and help them set a routine,” Santopietro explains.

Bonding with pets can also benefit physical health in other ways. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, studies have shown that the connections people form with their pets are linked to decreased blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and symptoms of PTSD. One study even found that incorporating routine pet care into a child’s diabetes management plan can significantly improve monitoring of the disease, resulting in lower blood glucose levels.

Additionally, interactions with pets have shown positive results in helping manage key symptoms of some neurodivergent conditions. A recent study found that therapy dogs can help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder focus their attention, improve their social sharing and cooperative skills, and reduce behavioral problems. Another study found that animals may act as social buffers for children with autism spectrum disorder due to their physically and mentally soothing traits.

A fuzzy friend to lean on

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, an event now considered to have traumatic and long-lasting mental health consequences for a significant part of the world’s population, lockdowns led to pet owners spending more time with their pets than ever before, as well as a surge in interest for pet adoptions.

This reaction is understandable, as many people see pets as a source of comfort. Santopietro points out how times of crisis and mass trauma only heighten the need for many of the self-care activities encouraged by pet ownership, including stress relief and routine management.

“With trauma, any life task that necessitates a routine, like caring for an animal, is calming for the brain because it reminds the brain that you’re surviving, the animal is surviving, and that in that moment, everybody’s OK,” she says. “Caring for their pets facilitated a way for people to keep a routine in the midst of the pandemic, which was vital to keeping many calm and functioning.”

She also notes the deep psychological effects caring for pets can have on people as they process difficult times of emotional turbulence.

“I know this woman who began caring for a little herd of six feral cats, taking all of them in at a time in her life when a lot of other things were falling apart,” Santopietro says. “And those cats came to represent something that made her feel capable. She kept them alive, she kept herself alive, and now they’re like a family unit. And she doesn’t have a lot of family. So it’s interesting that it wasn’t necessarily her desire to get six cats that led her there, but that they entered her life and it had this much deeper meaning for her.”

Pets can make people feel a sense of purpose even when the rest of the world seems to have turned upside-down. Thus, it’s no wonder many people may be increasingly attached to their pets since the beginning of the pandemic. Santopietro explains that attachment has both emotional and behavioral components, with the emotional component being the feelings around the connection, and the behavior component rooted more in the rhythm of needs being met.

“In a mass trauma, animals are emotionally comforting, but trauma tends to heighten our attunement and our awareness to what’s happening around us,” she explains. “Pets can be very grounding to that sense of heightened awareness. You can see your animal; you can talk to your animal; you can feel your animal; they are a live physical presence in the room with you. Then combine that grounding effect with the rhythm of meeting their needs, which also helps to calm trauma reactions.”

A future with Fido

As most lockdowns ended with the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021, a new phase of post-lockdown pandemic began, characterized by organizations and individuals starting the process of returning to in-person interaction with the proper precautions. This transition posed a concern for many pet owners who had become accustomed to the extra time at home with pets during lockdown, or those who got new pets during lockdown, and has since continued to have varying effects on individuals as the world still tries to find its footing in the new normal.

Most veterinarians and other animal behavior experts identify several key steps for pet owners who have not yet begun the transition to in-person workplaces or who are still struggling to find their new rhythm after the transition. Researching and seeking the advice of professionals and observing the needs of their animals can help owners make a game plan to alleviate worry.

“If you preplan and get creative with your brainstorming, you feel more prepared and then you can begin to practice before actually making the transition,” Santopietro explains

Veterinarians can offer useful advice for diagnosing and treating separation anxiety in dogs and cats. However, most experts agree that, overall, owners are more likely to be distressed by the distance than their pets. To avoid falling into unhealthy patterns, Santopietro emphasizes the importance of owners understanding their emotions as separate from those of their pets.

“We don’t fully know what our pets are thinking, and it might not always be the same as what we think or feel. Try to be objective when observing your animal,” she says.

Nevertheless, many pet owners reported positive effects from increased bonding time with their furry friends, and some may find their tolerance for separation has drastically decreased, leading to a sense of grief, sadness, and irritability. It’s important for individuals to practice healthy adaptive practices with their pet, but also for employers to recognize the deep psychological effects this transition can create or exacerbate. Some employees may still be struggling to cope, and therefore less likely to feel prepared to separate from pets that provide them mental health support.

Trends have shown drastic shifts in worker priorities post-lockdown, leading to unique opportunities to reassess previously established processes and reshape them to be more inclusive of more worker needs, including those of people who simply work better with the calming emotional support of pets. According to Santopietro, “What I’m noticing is that organizations and employers post-pandemic are needing to listen and practice compassion for a lot of different employee needs, not just for their pets, but for their children and child care and the types of hours people want to have.”

Remote work that allows employees to spend time with and work alongside their pets freely is an obvious route many organizations have taken to accommodate for emotional support pets and other needs, but some are unable to fully commit to remote provisions for various reasons.

Another option to consider is opening offices to pets permanently or organizing specific days for employees to bring their pets to work. Some companies allowed pets in the office even before the pandemic, reporting happier, less-stressed employees, more comfortable and flexible environments, and increased office camaraderie. However, there are other employee needs to consider when debating whether or not to allow animals in the office, like allergies and other mental health conditions that can cause animal aversions.

Like many other post-lockdown adjustments, learning how to balance the needs of many different individuals and their pets will be an ongoing process, but the key first step is entering conversations with an open mind.

“If organizations are listening, they might hear employees say, ‘When I have more time at home to feel grounded with my animal, my anxiety decreases and my attention and focus increase,” Santopietro notes. With all the mental health benefits pets offer, it’s important to keep this conversation active going forward and keep exploring ways to help pet parents maintain the infinitely important bonds they have established with their beloved animal friends.

Learn more about Saybrook University

If you are interested in learning more about the community and academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information. You can also apply today through our application portal.

Building Bridges

20 December 2021
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Tabitha Moore, Ph.D., student in transformative social change, has spent years gaining experience across fields to aid her activism in changing systems for the better.

Tabitha Moore, a current Ph.D. student in the transformative social change program at Saybrook University, is a woman who wears many hats. Just a few of her roles are mother of three, social justice activist, business owner, educator, head judge for the state of Vermont, and dog mom of three.

That may seem like a full schedule for many people, but Moore’s passion for social justice keeps her constantly seeking more ways to help others and share her knowledge. She regularly advocates for identity-based equity issues through both her social justice activism and private business, as well as her work in education and support for community initiatives.

“My drive has always come from wanting to better understand how our systems affect the development of individual and community identities, as well as how people treat each other,” Moore explains.

In 2019, her drive led her to enroll at Saybrook. Later that year, she began her Ph.D. studies in the transformative social change department. “I started way too big with my dissertation, like most Ph.D. students do,” she recalls with a laugh. “But the focus I’ve found is on what happens when we use inclusive, relationally focused, and anti-racist ideals to create a racially responsive policing procedure.”

Most of Moore’s work has an intersectional focus on identity through a race-first lens, which she applies to multiple fields through her consulting firm and activist work. As she explains, “I use connections to help people understand these issues so that they can make informed, anti-racist, pro-human choices.” Her curious spirit reflects a diverse background of personal and professional experiences in multiple fields.

Building a legacy

Following years of schooling in which Moore completed her undergraduate studies and later earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, she delayed immediately applying for a Ph.D. program as initially planned. She wanted to ensure that she chose the right program: a holistic program that would allow her to integrate all her interest areas rather than limit them.

Instead, she decided to carve her own path at her own pace until she could find the Ph.D. program that was right for her, taking professional roles in multiple environments to broaden her knowledge of systems. In addition to her time as a marriage and family therapist, she also worked as a probation officer and a school counselor, as well as becoming the first woman of color to take the position of administrator in the history of the Onondaga County Probation Department in New York.

Moore regularly works with law enforcement, an interest stemming from her own negative experiences with law enforcement officers growing up as a biracial Black child in Vermont. As an adult, she returned to Vermont to help create more diverse systems from the inside out. There, she formed the Rutland area branch of the NAACP—the second largest branch in New England. She is currently a member of the Vermont State Police’s Fair and Impartial Policing Committee and the Vermont Criminal Justice Council’s Fair and Impartial Police Training Committee. She also serves as chairperson of the Rutland Area NAACP’s Criminal Justice Committee.

Her experience inspired her to open a private consulting business specializing in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion for organizations, educational institutions, and community partners with a desire to advance equity initiatives through services and operations. Her clients span multiple fields, including many from law enforcement, giving Moore an ideal perspective on how to help them implement change. “My work in law enforcement has always been an intentional way to gain a better understanding of the way it truly operates,” she says. “It’s been a huge benefit to my practice as a consultant because it has provided me with a more empathetic perspective.”

Making connections

In her ongoing journey to increase understanding and connections across racially biased systems, Moore often finds herself in a mediator role, distinctively poised to reach across racial and cultural lines. “I was educated in all-white systems and steeped in white supremacy all the time,” Moore explains. “I developed a unique way of navigating that environment so I could survive and sustain myself. I often say it takes people in all kinds of positions to change systems and alleviate suffering. And this is a position that seems to suit me well.”

According to Moore, the key to working with people of differing perspectives and experiences is to begin from a place of general agreement. “If you can find the point at which everyone can relate, it makes it much easier to work from there to find solutions to divisive issues,” she says.

The most crucial systemic changes Moore encourages through her work involve a great deal of perspective-shifting and reflection for everyone. “We need to reflect on and adjust the sense of individualism held by many people in this country to incorporate a community-oriented mindset so we can improve the way we approach each other regarding our differences,” she explains. “And many more of us need to develop a willingness to be guided by others—especially those with the least amount of structural or systemic power—with the recognition that equity doesn’t take away anyone else’s rights or value, nor does it assume that those with less power are going to replicate the injustices perpetrated within current and historical systems.”

In addition to her work with law enforcement and consulting, Moore has continued to work in education and child welfare. She held positions as a trainer for the Child Welfare Partnership and trustee for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England until 2019. Currently, she teaches three classes on equity for educators at a K-12 school district through Southern New Hampshire University.

Finding a balance

Moore found Saybrook University after 17 years of searching for the right Ph.D. program and a tumultuous series of events that resulted in her decision to make major changes to her way of life. “Like so many who do activist work, there have been times when I’ve been extremely consumed by it,” she says. “We feel the weight of our ancestors and, as a result, tend to put so much of ourselves into our work that we have difficulty turning it off.”

The lines between her work and home life became increasingly blurred as white supremacists targeted and harassed her family, vandalizing their Black Lives Matter (BLM) sign. Her children were clearly affected by the hateful rhetoric being directed their way, expressing fear of people finding out who they were. “The tipping point was when my eldest decided to try and get the BLM flag raised at her high school after attending a protest with me, resulting in her becoming a target of hate in our community,” Moore says. “She was being stalked by adults on social media, trying to turn others against her.”

The fear reached a fever pitch one night when Moore was away and received a call from her daughter. “She was terrified that someone had broken into our home, saying things like, ‘what if someone is coming to attack me because I raised the BLM flag?’” Moore says. “I had to call the police, and even though it was a false alarm, it really woke me up.”

Additionally, Moore’s other two children expressed feelings of worry about how thinly she was stretching herself and sadness that she spent so much time away from home. “I was working a full-time job as well as coaching cheerleading and doing additional work with the NAACP, and I overlooked my family’s needs in ways that were not okay with them or me,” she says. “I needed to recommit to myself and to my role as a mother.” Subsequently, Moore began reducing her heavy workload, leaving some positions including the board of Planned Parenthood. She stepped down from her Rutland NAACP presidency in 2021.

It was during this time that Moore’s long search for a Ph.D. program finally ended when she found Saybrook University. “Saybrook has been amazing. It was exactly what I needed at the right time,” she says. “I came across the transformative social change program and thought, ‘this is it. This is how I can converge my advocacy and desire to create positive connections between people with all my knowledge about systems.’”

This year, Moore was gifted a handmade birthday card from her 11-year-old daughter expressing “eight reasons we love you.” The first reason on the list reads, “because you make time for us.”

“That’s the first time my kids have said that to me in years,” Moore says. “For me, that’s my biggest win as an activist. I’m finding a much better balance between doing this work and being a mom. Now I tell all my activist friends, the most radical thing you can do is love yourself and find joy and happiness.”

Saybrook University and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition

4 November 2021
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Some extraordinary education has paved my journey from Wall Street investor to clinical health coach at Virta Health. After completing my M.S. in Nutrition Science from Logan University, I realized that all of the nutrition and science knowledge was of little value to patients and clients if you could not convey that information in a discernible way.

I quickly started looking for coaching programs that offered an integrative and compassionate approach. It became apparent that the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) was at the field’s top. Additionally, the IIN curriculum offered a flexible schedule, with various learning modules to allow me to listen to, read, and watch the educational material on my schedule. After completing the IIN training and becoming a certified health coach, I was able to apply for jobs in the nutrition field.

When I decided to continue my education, I was pleased to see the connection between the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Saybrook University, my top choice to pursue a Ph.D. in nutrition science. Saybrook has been instrumental to me on many levels. Not only are the professors experienced professionals, their passion for the field and the lengths they will go to for every student is something I have never experienced before. I cannot speak more highly of the program.

My M.S. degree, certification from IIN, and coursework at Saybrook allowed me to land a dream job at Virta Health as a clinical health coach on a team working to reverse Type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, the combination of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition certification and my Saybrook doctoral work allowed me to become a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).

I can say with all honesty that I use the nutrition, coaching, and compassion skills from the IIN, NBC-HWC, and education from Saybrook every day to help those facing chronic and life-threatening diseases. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would be making the same decisions on all three of these vital educational programs.

Article last updated July 2023.

Learn more about Saybrook’s partnership with IIN, visit Saybrook’s Integrative and Functional Nutrition program page, or fill out the form below.

Maureen Molinari, Ph.D., RD

2 November 2021
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Maureen Molinari, Ph.D., RD
Faculty, Integrative and Functional Nutrition

“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world.” —Michael Pollan”

Serving as a Guide

Maureen Molinari, Ph.D., RD, started her journey in nutrition when she was working for the fashion industry in New York City. At the time, she had an associate degree in fashion merchandising and loved the industry and her work, but she soon became interested in improving her health.

After reading some books on the topic, Dr. Molinari was hooked. While she still enjoyed the fashion industry, she knew she wanted to take a new direction. Following this call, she attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Science. An internship at Fresno State University in California followed, where she learned about the intersection between agriculture and the people who work in the industry. After her internship, she earned her Registered Dietitian credential.

Dr. Molinari knew that she wanted to settle down in a place where she could go skiing and enjoy more outdoor activities. This led her to accept a job at St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming, where she created a diabetes program for the hospital. However, she still felt something was missing, so she returned to school once more.

While at a conference held by the Culinary Institute of America, she discovered Saybrook University. The Mind-Body Medicine program had the information that she believed she was missing from her practice. She entered the M.S. in Mind-Body Medicine program in 2010 and fell in love with the school and the program, so much so that she stayed and earned her Ph.D.

During her time at Saybrook, Dr. Molinari especially enjoyed courses on hypnosis, spirituality and health, and coaching. The coaching classes, in particular, changed how she practiced as a dietitian. They moved her focus from the more directive style traditionally taught to dietitians to being a guide in the client’s process.

After graduation, Dr. Molinari stayed on with Saybrook as an adjunct professor in the Mind-Body Medicine Department. When the Integrative and Functional Nutrition program launched, she joined the department to teach future nutrition professionals. Her favorite thing about teaching is helping students find their voice in their writing.

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Molinari spends time with her rescue border collie/Australian shepherd dog, Bear. When she’s not skiing, you can find her riding her bike or working in her garden. She has also hiked around the world, including spots in South America, the Himalayas, Andes, and Asia as well as the Tetons and Yellowstone in her own backyard. She is fascinated by her area’s medicinal and indigenous plants and has spent many hours studying them.

Walking in Two Worlds

16 August 2021
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Hridaya Sivalingam, Ph.D., core faculty member in the Counseling Department at Saybrook University, shares her spiritual journey and how it complements her career as an academic.

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One of the most profound experiences I’ve had that has shaped my journey as a counselor educator was encountering an experience that a Western practitioner may have labeled as depression. During that time, I was working with a naturopath who referred me to a meditation teacher instead of recommending pharmaceuticals. That single referral shifted the entire way my life would unfold from that point. In contrast to previous counselors, this teacher taught me how to work with my mind, to learn how to sit, enjoy, and bear witness to its many creative ways of hooking my attention, without feeling compelled to follow along. She taught me to lean into a deeper part of my being we would come to call my “best friend.”

In my private life, this led to following several Hindu teachers as well as a regular practice and study that resulted in a full ethical conversion to Hinduism and to joining a Sivite church.
In my professional journey, it led to my pursuit of a certification in Integrative Process Therapy, a modality that blends holotropic breath work with a multitude of other somatic and energy modalities. I dove into scholarship about mindfulness-based therapies and conducted research related to the relationships between levels of mindfulness and counseling trainee anxiety and self-efficacy.
I noticed how having a dedicated meditation practice greatly impacted the presence I was able to bring to my sessions with clients and to the felt human connections and authentic relationships between my students and me in the classroom. One of my closest mentors captured this experience of diving deep spiritually while simultaneously pursuing a career as an academic as “you’re walking in two worlds.”

Saybrook has been the professional home where I can embrace these two worlds.
Here I am fortunate to get to work with colleagues who are inspired educators and creative and amazing human beings who see and honor these worlds as they inform my counseling, teaching, supervision, scholarship, and service.

Here I am fortunate to get to work with counseling students who bring their own blend of different worlds to Saybrook. The students who find their way to us have their own ways of viewing mental health, of challenging dominant paradigms, of working to bridge different philosophies, and of diving in to their own depths to increase their capacity for compassion. We consciously work as a department to create spaces for them to show up fully and co-create a truly unique educational experience.

I am currently inspired by and am exploring the potential for practices and perspectives of Advaita (non-duality) to support healing at individual and societal levels. I am continuing to learn as much as I can about natural, cultural, and indigenous ways of approaching physical and mental well-being and am committed to bringing those perspectives forward in dialogues that would otherwise exclude them.

To learn more about the programs offered at Saybrook University, fill out the form below.

Emphasis on Culture

11 August 2021
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An important component of humanistic psychology is recognizing the value that cultural background brings to psychological health and wellness. I view culture as a source of strength and resilience that informs every aspect of clinical treatment from assessment and diagnosis to treatment goals and tasks.
I became interested specifically in Latinx mental health due to my own cultural background. My grandmother immigrated from Mexico, and unfortunately, she died before I was born. Because of this, I lost both my connection to her as well as that aspect of my cultural identity.

This led me to pursue studies in Spanish in addition to psychology. During my training as a clinical psychologist, I saw firsthand that monolingual Spanish speakers have less access to mental health treatment and often face language barriers in receiving care. I also observed that there are fewer clinicians who are able to provide therapy in Spanish.

When I became a professor at Saybrook, I was delighted to teach a diverse student body, and I discovered that many of our students are Spanish speakers. This inspired me to create an opportunity for Spanish-speaking students to learn more about providing clinical services in Spanish.

Thanks to funding from Saybrook University’s GLOBE grant initiative, I was able to create a tailored course experience that provided clinical training in Spanish. Students were provided a clinical training textbook in Spanish, they attended a workshop facilitated by a Spanish speaker with expertise in the clinical approach, and they received individualized feedback on a clinical practice example conducted in Spanish. Many of the students stated that this experience gave them the opportunity to learn professional mental health vocabulary in Spanish and that they plan to use the experience to promote optimal health practices among the clients they serve in their communities.

I believe that the enrolled Spanish-speaking students have a unique gift to offer the field of mental health: treatment that is both culturally informed and delivered in Spanish. I am grateful to the GLOBE grant initiative to create experiences such as this one, and I am looking forward to more Spanish-speaking clinical opportunities for our students.

To learn more about the programs offered at Saybrook University, fill out the form below.

Saybrook holds first annual Film, Book, and Poetry Festival

29 July 2021
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Saybrook University hosted its inaugural Film, Book, and Poetry Festival—a showcase celebrating the talent and artistic work of the community on July 19 and 20, 2021.

Carmen Bowen, director of university relations at Saybrook, and Valaira Sa-Ra Smith created the virtual festival. Submissions were accepted from March 1 to April 30, 2021, and were open to the entire Saybrook community.

Nathan Long, Ed.D., Saybrook University president, welcomed everyone to the event. “The arts can be a powerful conduit for connection and healing,” he said. “At Saybrook, we understand the importance of embracing creative passions and ourselves.”

Each day began with poetry readings, progressing to film screenings, and concluding with book readings. Saybrook University is proud of the following community member and the works they shared at this event.

Poetry

  • Bo Acoin, master’s student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Saybrook, read two poems: “I didn’t kill her” and “Shitty ” Coming from a background in slam poetry, Acoin’s work spoke to his experiences as a transgender man and explored the toxicity of rigid gender roles.
  • Anthony “Butterfly” Williams, Ph.D. in Psychology student with specializations in Creativity Studies and Transformative Social Change, read an excerpt from his poem “The Throne,” a work of epic proportions intertwining a retelling of the ancient Egyptian myth of Osiris and Isis with contemporary episodes from his doctoral dissertation and lived experiences of colonialism.
  • Briana Weidman, master’s student in Mind-Body Medicine at Saybrook, read her poem, “Rose of Sharon,” inspired by the history of her current home, weaving vivid imagery with stories from the past to create a sense of connection through time in a poignant reflection on the transcendence of human experience.

Film

  • Ibukunola Bukky Rojugbokan, Ph.D. in Transformative Social Change student, screened her short film, “The Story.” The film examined Rojugbokan’s experience and struggles with infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF), as a part of her greater dissertation and goal to develop online training for people considering or going through IVF.
  • Kellie Preston, Ph.D. in Psychology student with a Creativity Studies Specialization, showed her short film “Animal Assisted Play Therapy.” Preston used her own dogs and children as subjects in this informative short film that details how dogs can facilitate physical and emotional support for patients in therapy environments.
  • “The Rhythm of Blue” by Valaira Sa-Ra Smith and JC Thomas captivated the audience with its examination of women’s mental health issues in the African American community. Smith, who co-created the Saybrook Film, Book, and Poetry Festival, is an actress, model, and entrepreneur. Thomas is a performer and artist who produces independent film projects. Dedicated to women “suffering in silence,” the documentary incorporates interviews with African American women and mental health care professionals speaking about their experiences with stigma, treatment, and more.
  • Steve Sayre presented his film “Ghosts and the Afterlife,” an in-depth examination of theories regarding human consciousness and the existence of life after death. Sayre, currently studying clinical psychology at Saybrook, was inspired to make the documentary after his own near-death experiences.

Books

  • Richard Homawoo, Ph.D. in Psychology student with an Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology Specialization, read an excerpt from his book, “Dear I.” The excerpt, one of the 44 poetic monologues making up the work, explored themes of self-actualization and claiming the right to live life to the fullest.
  • Shannon Sims, Ph.D., adjunct faculty member in Saybrook’s department of Mind-Body Medicine, read an excerpt from her e-book, “Your Key to Mind-Body Wellness.” Dr. Sims, a survivor of long COVID-19, spoke about utilizing the lessons from her book in her integrative wellness coaching, especially during the pandemic and after her own illness, to maximize personal wellness.

The festival also provided meet and greet opportunities for artists and attendees to discuss the presented works. Creators provided insight to their artistic processes and intentions, connected with each other, and facilitated opportunities for future collaboration.

Saybrook University plans to make the Film, Book, and Poetry Festival an annual event, continuing to highlight and honor the artistic expression of its community for years to come.

Interested in joining our community as student? Fill out the form below to learn more about our programs.

Selene Kumin Vega, Ph.D., LMFT

9 July 2021
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Selene Kumin Vega, Ph.D., LMFT
Faculty, Mind-Body Medicine

“A deep source of wisdom and intuition is accessible inside each of us that can direct us on the path toward healing and aligning the fragmented parts of ourselves. Assisting people to access that wisdom and move toward integration and wholeness in their lives aligns us with an evolutionary current of development that can heal not only individuals on that path, but the community and world we live in.”

Inspiring Expression

According to Selene Kumin Vega, Ph.D., her teaching philosophy is guided by a few simple questions: “How can I encourage my students to grow as human beings? How can I inspire openness, flexibility, resiliency, and willingness to experiment, as well as enhance their ability to move in the world in a creative way?” Through lifelong research and experience with these questions, she has cultivated an in-depth understanding of human creativity and expression and their integral worth to our psychological well-being.

At age 15, when she became an instructor to the youngest students at her mother’s dance studio, her passion for incorporating means of creative expression into teaching officially took root. As she grew older, so did this passion.

At age 18, she began teaching junior high students from underprivileged areas as a part of a program to introduce them to the arts. Through this work, she observed how important the use of creativity-developing exercises could be, as they provided a space where participants could openly and freely express themselves. Using exercises that included movement improvisation and rhythm games, Dr. Vega was able to foster an environment for the students that encouraged curiosity, self-confidence, openness to experience, imagination, and expression. As a long-term result, her dance instruction methods expanded to include other experiential modalities that facilitate self-exploration, connection, and transformation.

Dr. Vega later earned an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and her psychotherapy license that grounded her movement, trance, and ritual work in the world of mainstream psychology. Later, she further developed her academic pursuits when she earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Saybrook University with a concentration in Consciousness and Spirituality.

After receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Vega served as a faculty member at multiple institutions. Her journey would come full circle, however, when her work in higher education led her back to Saybrook, joining the College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences in 2011 as a faculty mentor. One semester later she began teaching core classes in the Mind-Body Medicine programs, as well as mentoring students and serving on dissertation committees. Over time, she transitioned into a leadership role, developing and revising courses as well as creating and overseeing the Mind-Body-Spirit Integration (MBSI) seminar for all new students.

Dr. Vega has never forgotten her earliest lessons in teaching. In her classroom, she focuses on engaging students in a process of learning that includes movement, meditation, guided imagery, expressive arts, and sharing about themselves and their experiences within small, facilitated groups.

“Our highest potential as human beings is to truly embrace the mutual interdependence of all the beings of this world and to value the full development of potentialities and consciousness for all,” Dr. Vega says. “This involves an ongoing process of healing the wounds in our psyches, fully inhabiting our bodies, increasing our consciousness while developing a healthy relationship with our unconscious aspects, and deepening our relationships with other humans as well as with the other inhabitants of the planet we share. I encourage each student to grow toward their own individual potential and trust their inner wisdom with the support of mentors and teachers they respect.”