Stillpoint: A Self-Care Playbook for Caregivers to Find Ease, and Time to Breathe, and Reclaim Joy

by Christine Gautreaux MSW

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Author: Christine Gautreaux MSW

Publisher: Earth Springs Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1732370400
ISBN 13: 978-1732370401

Being a caregiver is a hazardous occupation, whether it’s a chosen helping profession or a family responsibility that’s chosen you. 43.5 million American adults, (17% of the workforce) are caring for another ill or disabled adult and these caregivers are at risk for more serious health problems in comparison with people who don’t have such responsibilities. Research continues to document the frequency of “burnout” and “compassion fatigue” for persons in the helping professions while self-care continues to be all but neglected in the professional programs that train them.

Stillpoint is a comprehensive guide offering caregivers permission to become attuned to their own needs while caring for others. The artistic approach of these two dancing social workers encourages and provides the reader with numerous ways to pay attention to the somatic self – the body as perceived from the inside. The stories, whimsical songs, poems, quizzes, meditations, and affirmations can aid professional and family caregivers alike in unlearning self-defeating habits and changing mindsets to include themselves in their wholehearted caring. Tools for self-healing are also offered along with resources and sample rituals to transform both careers and caregivers.

About the Author

Sheila K. Collins, PhD, has referred to herself as a “dancing social worker” for over 40 years. Bringing the perspective of a theater artist to her work as a social worker, professor, clinic director, keynote speaker, and organizational consultant, she writes, speaks, and advocates for the power of play, dance, and the expressive arts to help us make it through life’s toughest challenges. Stillpoint was written originally to help social work students with their self-care, and the revision as a response to the proliferation of caregiving responsibilities in women’s lives. Her award-winning book, Warrior Mother: Fierce Love, Unbearable Loss and the Rituals that Heal, tells of her journeys with two of her three adult children and her best friend through their life-threatening illnesses and deaths and of the rituals that helped her family to heal. Her engaging 2016 TEDx talk, “When Death Threatens,” demonstrates the challenge and the gifts of being a caregiver to a loved one dealing with a death-defying illness. Sheila holds an MSW from Wayne State University School of Social Work and a PhD from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She currently directs and performs with the Wing & A Prayer Pittsburgh Players and writes a weekly blog, Dancing with Everything, on her website, www.sheilakcollins.com.

Christine Gautreaux, MSW, is the helpers’ helper. Through individual coaching, collaborative workshops, and women’s retreats she helps women maintain self-care, manifest their dreams, and learn artful ways to make a difference in the world. Christine’s social justice work includes teaching the tools of InterPlay to incarcerated women and people living with severe and persistent mental illness and homelessness. Christine holds an MSW from the University of Houston, Texas, with a specialty in clinical services, and a bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. She performs as a founding member of the improvisational InterPlay-based performance company SoulPrint Players in Atlanta. She enjoys traveling with her friend Sheila and they’d love to come meet you and present and perform in your community. Her website is at https://www.christinegautreaux.com/.