*FREE* On-Demand Recording:
Natural Disaster Support Webinar
for Mental Health Professionals
Please view this ON-DEMAND recorded webinar offering support and guidance to therapists in and around Los Angeles in the midst of a natural disaster.
This webinar is FREE for all LA area therapists to access and is facilitated by three clinicians from Asheville, NC who recently lived (and worked) through a catastrophic natural disaster in our community in September 2024 as a mutual aid effort for our West Coast colleagues.
Show up exactly as you are!
Just a few short months ago, Jill, Julie, and Chris were exactly where you are now.
Whether you are hunkered down at home listening to sirens and helicopters ... or huddled up in a closet at your in-laws trying to hold sessions while the world goes on around you, we have been there.
This recoding and written materialsare being provided to assist you in thinking through "the next steps" as this horrific disaster continues to unfold over the next several months.
We know that you are in crisis mode, as we ourselves have been there and are still cleaning up the debris in Western North Carolina, so be gentle with yourself and know that we are here to offer a soft spot to land.
Course Lessons
Jill Williams, LCSW
Jill Williams, LCSW owns Flourish Counseling and Wellness in Asheville, NC (www.flourishasheville.com).
Jill was able to evacuate out of WNC after hurricane Helene and threw herself into remote operations, tracking down hundreds of clients, supporting deployment of mental health providers to search and rescue sites, hosting a training for 600+ clinicians to learn more about supporting First Responders, arranging financial support for pro bono sessions for clients, offering paid training for her clinicians to prepare themselves for crisis response work, and securing free ASSYST training for clinicians throughout WNC. She additionally provided pro bono support to educators as they welcomed students back into the classroom after a one-month shutdown of local schools.
Julie Scroggs, LCMHC-QS, LCAS
Julie Scroggs, LCMHC-QS, LCAS, owns Winter to Spring Wellness in Asheville, NC (www.traumatherapync.com).
Julie's neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by flooding and landslides in the region as a result of hurricane Helene and she remained at home in the immediate aftermath of the storm in order to offer "boots on the ground" support to her neighbors, clinicians, and clients.
Julie opened her office quickly by securing needed resources (port-a-potties are shockingly difficult to find in times like this!), she set up a food pantry onsite for anyone in need, offered pro bono walk-in sessions daily, and has continued to host free monthly gatherings for local therapists to connect, decompress, and have a soft place to land as we adjust to the "new normal."
Chris Rinaldi, LCMHC, RMT, DMH-C
Chris Rinaldi, LCMHC, RMT, DMH-C owns Insight Owl Counseling and Wellness in Asheville, NC (www.insight-owl.com).
Chris is no stranger to responding to disaster, having served through two deployments with disaster relief organizations in the wake of Hurricanes Ian and Idalia in Florida.
However, she quickly learned, that when the disaster arrives on own your doorstep, there is a unique balance of being both a survivor and a provider at the same time. Within days of Hurricane Helene’s destructive arrival, Chris conducted a pop-up disaster mental health training and stabilization session to help professionals within the community find their footing.
She continues to provide stabilization workshops and resiliency training for community organizations- teaching hundreds of people trauma prevention and recovery skills.
