Throughout the history of humanity and within every known culture has been the concept of the soul—and yet over the last century or so, its value has lost much ground. For many people the idea of the soul, the essence of “who” they are resonates deeply and yet has been significantly diminished by the medical model of mental health and addiction.

This presentation will bring the concept of the soul back to the forefront of discussion in how we conceptualize ourselves and others as well as the concept of soul exhaustion. Soul exhaustion takes a deeper exploration of life circumstances such as poverty, adverse childhood experiences, racism, trauma, loss and burnout and the holistic impact it has on “who” we are. When looking through the lens of soul exhaustion, we also must shift our thoughts on solutions to address the soul, spirit or essence of “who” we are. Soul care, which has emphasis on non-clinical resources, goes deeper into understanding the ways in which we care for the “who.” This presentation also explores how the concept of Soul Exhaustion and Soul Care can work in harmony with the medical model of mental health, substance use disorders and suicide prevention.

Presented by Sarah Gaer, who holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University New England and has 25 years’ of experience in the field of mental health care. Her early career started working with children in residential programs, therapeutic schools, and therapeutic outreach. She also worked in a therapeutic community substance use treatment facility both as a counselor and an intake coordinator. Sarah focused her graduate degree work on military veterans and trauma. She was an outpatient clinician, crisis clinician and member of trauma response teams. Sarah was the Senior Team Leader for MassSupport Network, the FEMA-funded crisis counseling program responding to COVID-19 in Massachusetts. Sarah currently continues to be a consultant specializing in trauma recovery and suicide prevention; she has presented her work at national and international suicide prevention conferences and her writings have been published by SAMHSA and the Good Men Project. She authored the novel The Price which chronicles the suicide death of a police officer as well as co-authoring Guts, Grit & The Grind, an anthology series about men’s mental health, and published a children’s book Good Night Grace which assists families and caregivers in talking with children about their parent’s substance use disorder.

Free and open to the public—and free pizza! Doors open at 5:30pm, program begins at 6pm. RSVP requested.