COAFCC SNIPPETS
September 2021
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SNIPPETS is a mini-newsletter designed to bring COAFCC members streamlined, timely information and support.
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September Member Spotlight
Profile by Betty Strobel
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Barry Lindstrom
New Board Member | Forest Bather | OG "Original Grampster"
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Barry Lindstrom skipped his PhD graduation ceremony at Loyola University in Chicago and went snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park instead. A Colorado native, he and his wife, Bonnie, had returned to Denver in 1986 for his internship at Denver General Hospital. Then on to Loveland, where Barry worked for 15 years as the Clinical Director at the Namaqua Center, a residential treatment facility for children. He also started his private practice and currently practices through Pathways Family Wellness in northern Colorado.
Thanks to the virus, he conducts therapy remotely, but when he conducts parent-child interactional assessments or parental responsibility evaluations, he dons his mask and does home visits.
Speaking of the virus, it turned Barry into a bread maker and rekindled his love of brewing his own beer – which he usually gives away. His current project is a Palisade peach brew. He also built a new deck, which he thoroughly enjoyed, and painted his house, inside and out, which was not as much fun. A big admirer of Steve Martin, he would love to learn to play the banjo. When asked what he missed most about being a kid, he responded “riding my bike everywhere, without getting tired.”
Barry and Bonnie immersed their own children in the Colorado mountains and this Labor Day he continued the tradition, taking his three-year-old grandson, who calls him “OG,” on a short hike up a mountain to pick wild raspberries. The child’s review was: “I’m hiking with my OG, and I like him!” Barry and his daughter even scored a couple of backcountry permits in Rocky Mountain National Park this summer.
Barry is an advocate of “Forest Bathing” – getting out into the woods and enjoying the forest, mindfully. There’s no need to do a cross-country trek--just getting out into the woods, smelling the pines, listening to the breezes, and watching the clouds roll by does wonders for a person’s mental health.
Welcome, Barry, to the COAFCC Board of Directors!
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Forest Bathing
Barry Lindstrom, PhD
The idea of “Forest Bathing” (shinrin-yoku) originated in Japan, as a mindfulness practice. You keep your clothes on, and simply spend time, mindfully, among the trees. After even a brief 15-minute “bath” you can turn off the stress response and turn on the relaxation response -- experiencing lowered blood pressure and cortisol levels, and better sleep.
As with other mindfulness practices, the aim is simply to give your full attention to the sights, sounds, smells, taste, and feel of the natural environment around you. It is quite literally “grounding”. Even if you can’t get to the mountains, you can practice in your back yard or neighborhood, local park or even the golf course. The rhythm of walking is a great way to re-regulate your sympathetic nervous system. And walking with a three-year-old is a sure way to remember to slow down and notice everything. You might turn into a dendrophile (lover of trees).
References:
Fries, H. (2018). Forest Bathing Retreat: Find wholeness in the company of trees. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.
Li, Q. (2018). Forest Bathing: How trees can help you find health and happiness. New York: Viking.
Plevin, J. (2019). The healing magic of Forest Bathing: finding calm, creativity and connection in the natural world. New York: Ten Speed Press.
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Book Club for a Better You!
Joshua Christian MA LMFT, CFI
As a professional, regardless of your discipline, you are required sharpen your saw. This means preserving and enhancing your greatest asset – yourself and your practice. When was the last time you asked a peer what they were reading? I want to challenge the members of this group to share something that isn’t in a white paper, that allows us to grow or reengage a physical, social/emotional, mental, or spiritual area of life.
Why Read?
I think this question will be best answered with one of my favorite quotes:
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read. Leaders are readers.”
~ Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
Reading is important to reengage, and when applied helps keep your work interesting, getting out of the hum drum, and into working ON your work instead of IN your work. Work is exciting, or at least the right work is exciting. Have you ever built something, took a step back, and realized how impressed you were with yourself? Trying something new for the first time and accomplishing it gives me this sense of self-worth. This is the kind of passion and challenge that keeps your work interesting.
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Access to Justice
Kimberly Gent, JD
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COAFCC Fall Conference is now...
FEBRUARY 4 & 5, 2022
The speakers are AMAZING!
The topic is applicable to EVERYONE!
The format is still VIRTUAL!
You just have to wait a little bit longer.
Check out the brochure HERE.
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Other Upcoming Training Opportunities
November 11-13, 2021
AFCC Fall Conference:
Unmuting the Voices of Children and Families: Can You Hear Me Now?
Cincinnati, OH
https://www.afccnet.org/Conferences-Training/AFCC-Conferences/ctl/ViewConference/ConferenceID/362/mid/615
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November 30, 2021
COAFCC Webinar:
Sorensen - How to Know When it's Needed and What Happens in Court After You File
Live via Zoom
https://www.coafcc.org/events.php
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January 25, 2022
COAFCC Webinar:
Judicial Panel - Get to Know Your Judges
Live via Zoom
**More Details Coming Soon**
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February 4 & 5, 2022
COAFCC Winter Conference:
Cultural Sensitivity, Humility, and Competence
Live via Zoom
**More Details Coming Soon**
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FREE AFCC Webinars
AFCC Fall Conference:
Click here for AFCC members to watch recorded webinars:
https://www.afccnet.org/Member-Center/Webinar-Archives
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AFCC's quarterly journal, Family Court Review, is the leading interdisciplinary academic and research journal for family law professionals. Published in cooperation with the Center for Children, Families and the Law at Hofstra University School of Law. Click here to read an article: https://www.afccnet.org/Publications/Family-Court-Review
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WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please feel free to reach out to either of the SNIPPETS editors, or the Administrative Assistant, at any time!
Editors:
Katie Hays
katie@haysandstrode.com
970.625.9444
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Tiah Terranova
tiahterranova@gmail.com
970.515.3646
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COAFCC Administrative Assistant:
April Freier
aprilfreier@hotmail.com
970.405.2626
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