Spring 2025: Letter from the Director
When you walk into the Center’s waiting room, the first thing you’ll see is a sign that says, “We All Belong.” You’ll find the same message prominently on our website: “You Belong Here.” This is more than a slogan — it’s our guiding vision: The Center for Family Well-Being is committed to serving the whole human family in all its diverse forms.
To us, family is multidimensional and interconnected — it’s heart-to-heart. At a time of such intensity in our country, and with our greater world full of so much suffering, it deeply matters to us that you and your family (however you define “family”) know our values and our unwavering commitment to embodying them — regardless of what’s happening across the geopolitical spectrum.
You’re Safe & Welcome Here
Many in our community are feeling fearful, vulnerable, angry, and anxious. With so much happening at once, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. As therapists, we see this even in our youngest clients, as well as teens and adults. So we ask ourselves: How can we best support one another and meet this moment? How do we face fear and suffering while strengthening our interconnectedness — despite so many efforts to undermine it?
Sadly, patterns of exclusion and discrimination are not new in our country or in human history. But what we can offer at the Center is the opportunity to lean into what Nobel Prize-winning chemist Ilya Prigogine calls “Islands of Coherence”:
“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.”
To me, higher order here does not mean hierarchical order, but more balance in the system. And while we recognize that we can’t control everything, we’re committed to controlling what we can: continuing our ongoing efforts to create an island of coherence here at the Center. This is a space that aims to reduce pain and suffering, cultivate safety, and support the vast power of the human heart.
Same Core Values, Fresh Spring Offerings
Our Center was founded with the aspiration to cultivate the enlightened qualities of the heart — both within ourselves and in those we have the privilege to support. We believe in the liberatory power of the human heart, guided by values such as Generosity, Compassion, Presence, and Integrity. Each day, we bring our whole selves — alongside our expertise in psychotherapy, mindful awareness, and other healing traditions — to serve children, teens, and adults wherever they are on their journey.
You’ll find that our spring and summer offerings are rooted in these core values — ensuring you have a safe and welcoming place to turn, learn, and grow. Our upcoming clinical groups are fresh and focused on helping you build your social/emotional toolbox. We hope you’ll check out our new offerings, which include Create and Self-Regulate art therapy summer groups for kids and teens, and a relaxation-focused Minds In Tune group specifically designed to help adults stay grounded in these trying times. (If you’re a federal worker, we see you — please reach out about a discount on this particular group!)
I’m also excited and proud to share our new lineup of workshops. We have some really engaging events on the horizon: Harnessing the Healing Energy of Reiki; A Self-Care Workshop for Middle-Schoolers; and our popular Let’s Play Workshop for Grown-Ups.
Thank you for being part of our diverse, supportive, heart-centered community. Truly, You Belong Here.
Heart-to-heart, and for all of us here at the Center,
Kate
