Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date. The use of she/her/hers pronouns in some articles is not intended to be exclusionary. Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights.

LET’S FIND “WHAT’S RIGHT” IN THE WORLD, IN OUR LIVES, AND IN OTHERS

About four weeks ago, we experienced our 2nd annual National Eating Disorders Conference for Professionals at the Center for Change. It was a memorable and uplifting experience for all. We express gratitude for the generous and talented presenters, the friendly and engaging participants, and for the opportunity to teach, learn, and build relationships with many wonderful people. We are grateful for such amazing support for our conference, and for a clear reminder of the many friends we have been blessed with – both as a Center, and as individuals.

The blessing of good friends is something which I know a bit about. I have been graced with friendship and kindness in my professional life, especially since my friends and I opened our Center 16 years ago. Clients, families, colleagues, mentors, and others have freely given their trust, their friendship, their support, and a certain amount of community and unity, as we all have strived to battle these eating disorder illnesses, and to help our clients reclaim their lives, their dreams, and even personal peace and serenity.

We live in a world of adventure, beauty, and wonder. We live in a world with bright, capable, creative, and good hearted people who are striving to live good lives, and making every effort to influence the collective world, or an individual soul for the better. Some of the best of those people are suffering with illness and in our care, some are living in the sunlight of recovery, and some are providing treatment, and care, and hope to the suffering. I am proud to be a small part of this worthy cause, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

May we have the perspective of abundance, may we see the silver lining in every cloud, may we learn from the adversity which comes our way, may we make something better of the situations in which we are involved, may we give others good intent – for they most often have it, and may we learn to laugh at ourselves in a respectful and playful way, rather than looking for our own weakness with consequent judgment and self punishment. May we give and receive good will, may we have high hopes for a future day, and find hope in this moment – even today.

One of our prolific mentors and teachers was the late Victor Frankl, who packaged great wisdom in a beautifully written message of great truth which goes something like this: “The last of all human freedoms is the will for meaning, the ability to choose perspective, and the ability to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” Our perspective, our attitude, our happiness is a choice. Let’s choose to see and enjoy what’s right with the world, what’s good in the world, and what is good in the souls of our fellow pilgrims in this incredible journey of mortality.

Thanks again for your friendship and support,

Dr. B

Michael E. Berrett, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, CEO and Co-founder, Center for Change, Orem, Utah

 

Did you Know?

Center for Change has had a music therapy program in its facility since 1998. The idea of music as a healing influence, which could affect health and behavior, is at least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato. The 20th century discipline began after WWI and WWII when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to the Veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of Veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from exposure to the horrors of war. The patients positive physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals. It was soon evident that the hospital musicians needed some prior training before entering the facility and so the demand grew for a college curriculum. The first music therapy degree program in the world was founded at Michigan State University in 1944. (American Music Therapy Association). Music therapy interventions at Center for Change are specifically designed to promote wellness, manage stress, express feelings, enhance memory, connect with emotions, and provide a voice to those who may find it difficult to verbalize feelings. Examples of such interventions include: drumming, song-writing, lyric analysis, and music based relaxation techniques.

Music therapists are credentialed professionals who have completed an approved music therapy program. Center for Change currently has two Board-Certified Music Therapists on their staff, Lynette Taylor, MT-BC and Spencer Lloyd, CSW, MT-BC. Music therapy is an important pathway to healing and recovery, and we are pleased to offer it at Center for Change.

 

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAW): February 26 – March 3, 2012

Center for Change is proud to be a sponsor at the MentorCONNECT Virtual NEDA Walk 2012
February 26th – March 3rd, 2012
Everywhere!
Click here for more information.

Live in the Salt Lake City, UT area? Click here for a list of events going on at the University of Utah.

 

Upcoming Events

Love Your Body Day
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
University of Arizona
Center for Change is proud to be a sponsor at this event.

BEDA (Binge Eating Disorder Association) Conference
March 2nd – 4th, 2012
Philadelphia, PA
Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing
Click here for more information.

iaedp Symposium 2012

March 22nd – 25th, 2012
Charleston, SC
Charleston Marriott
Michael Berrett, PhD, CEO of Center for Change will be presenting “Ta Da”: The Transcendent Moments in the Treatment of Eating Disorders along with Margo Maine, PhD, FAED, CEDS, Beth McGilley, PhD, FAED, and Adrienne Ressler, LMSW, CEDS. Melissa Taylor, LMFT and Melissa H. Smith, PhD, therapists at Center for Change, will be presenting The Role of Intuition in the Therapeutic Relationship: From Research to Practical Approaches in Treatment.
Click here for more information.

Betty Ford’s Women’s Symposium
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
Los Angeles, CA
UCLA Campus
Please look for Cassie Riddle at this event. Click here for more information.

 

Where’s Jenni

Thursday, March 1, 2012
Connect from Anywhere!
8:30pm – 9:30pm EST
FREE ED Recovery Jax Online Support Meeting. Sign up beforehand here.

March 22 – 25 (Thursday – Sunday), 2012
Charleston, SC
iaedp Symposium 2012 – Jenni will participate in the Friday Evening Event: NOR*MAL the musical (8pm-10pm). She will also present Falling Through the Looking Glass: Three Perspectives on Creative Solutions along the Recovery Journey with Robyn Hussa and Doris Smeltzer on Saturday (12:15pm-2:15pm). For more information or to register, visit http://www.iaedp.com.

Thursday, April 26, 2012
Seattle, WA
This free event begins at 6:30pm and is open to the general public. Center for Change and The Emily Program are proud to be sponsors. Click here for more information.

Jenni Schaefer
Author, Life Without Ed and Goodbye Ed, Hello Me
Consultant, Center for Change, http://www.centerforchange.com
Ambassador Chair, National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), http://www.myneda.org
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jennischaefer
Facebook: http://profile.to/JenniSchaefer
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JenniSchaefer
http://www.jennischaefer.com – Please check out my NEW music CD!