Debriefing at Shelter Pines

Cost: $400 

Days offered: (Subject to availability of our Debriefers)

 

What is DEBRIEFING?

Debriefing is the method by which one can share his/her story with a debriefer who "gets it".  Debriefing allows space for sorting out and making sense of the journey one has traveled--including experiences, events and emotions--whether that is the last 5 years or the last 5 months. To help you in this process, we provide a Debriefing Workbook to help facilitate your thinking and processing. Your journey does not need to be expressed in a linear, time-oriented progression...it often gets expressed as bits and pieces of a bigger story. Cross-cultural workers gain perspective, healing, and freedom as they process and share in a safe, caring, and confidential environment. Our debriefing program is offered over a 2-3 day period (Monday through Wednesday) and can be tailored to fit your family's schedule. 

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The First Session (about 4 hours):

During the first session, you (and your spouse if you are married) will have the opportunity to share--you can “tell your story”, discuss specific questions from this workbook, process a specific event, or dump the whole thing out on the table! 

 

The Second Session/The Family Session (about 2 hours):

If you have requested a Family Debrief, that will take place during the Second Session (Day 2). How this session looks depends largely on family dynamics and ages of children. It is not meant to dive deep into each family member’s story, but rather, gives the family an opportunity to look at the big picture. We will start the session with the M-n-Ms game. Each M-&-M color represents a question to answer or story to share. Following this game, we will roll out a large piece of paper on the dining room table, along with markers and emoji stickers. You, as a family, will create a timeline of events. You decide where the timeline starts! As events get added and “emotions” get assigned to these events, we will ask some follow-up questions and engage in the process to the level we feel is “safe” for the family members present. It is important to remember that oftentimes the simple act of sharing memories together can help kids process their journeys. This time can also be considered a “starting point” for parents to then continue the debriefing journey with their kids on a more regular basis. You will receive a Debriefing Kit to take with you with various “tools” to help you, as a family, incorporate the practice of debriefing into your family life.

 

The Third Session (about 3-4 hours):

This session is two-fold: we will debrief the family session with you as a couple. Then if there is anything more you need to process that wasn’t addressed during the first session--this session allows time for that. If you are feeling capable of looking to the future (and we feel that you are in a healthy place to do so), we will spend about 1.5 hours coaching* around future-looking issue(s) (ie. self-care plan, planning a family vacation, etc). The coaching time will be more action step oriented and you will receive a summary of those action points from us following the debriefing. 

*Coaching assumes someone is healthy enough to think creatively and deeply for the purpose of discovery and goal setting. 

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If you have teenagers...

• Debriefing in a Private Setting works great for some families and not for others. If you have teenagers, you may want to consider debriefing in a group setting like the debriefing offered at Mission Training International. Teens often feel greater freedom at sharing their journey when surrounded by other teens who have also experienced life overseas. 

• Establishing trust takes time and this is especially true with teenagers. The Family Session may look "unproductive" because of this dynamic. However, it is our hope that it will give your teens "permission" to consider the impact that their life overseas has had on their hearts, minds, and souls.

• Some good resources for TCKs: Interaction International and Barnabas International's MK Transition Seminar

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Please Remember...

Debriefing is not counseling, nor is coaching the same as counseling. “Life coaches focus on creating a new life path to achieve certain goals. They help you introspect and help you find your solutions. They focus on the now and what next. Whereas counselors focus on specific problems in hand and look into emotional resolutions to past problems to move forward, finding solutions to those specific problems, while making ‘healing’ as one of the main objectives.”  

Ramakrishnan, G. (2020, March 04). Understanding the Difference Between Coaching and Counseling. Retrieved November 05, 2020, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/347144

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Therapist-Led Intensives

A Marriage Intensive 

Cost: $700

Days offered: Monday and Tuesday

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What is a MARRIAGE INTENSIVE?

The Marriage Intensive Therapy experience would be helpful for:

-A couple looking to deepen their connection

-A couple managing a new life stage (having kids, parenting teens, empty nest, etc)

-A couple in the midst of transition

-A couple wanting to parent together better

-A couple wanting to work through a challenge that has you stuck

-A couple who is hurting and isn't sure how to move forward

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What you can expect to come away with from an intensive marriage session:

-Exercises and experiences that build and deepen your connection and joy together

-Skills and tools for connecting conversations

-Learning on attachment, brain wiring, and emotional regulation

-An understanding of each of your relationship styles, how it got there, how it shows up in your marriage, and how to navigate it together 

-A deeper compassion for your partner

-An appreciation for how you're different

-Identifying your growth edges and specific ways to develop your relationship skills and capacity.

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A Trauma Intensive 

Cost: $700

Days offered: Monday and Tuesday

(Information Coming Soon)

 

About our Licensed Therapist:

Karen Nash, MA, LMFT

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Karen has had extensive experience working cross-culturally. She and her family served cross-culturally for many years in 4 different countries. Karen is a devoted wife and she and her husband have three wonderful adult children and one grandchild. She is also an adoptive parent who has navigated the joy and work of earned attachment. Karen earned her MA in Counseling in 1998 from Colorado Christian University. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Karen uses attachment-focused therapies like PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy), The Developmental Model, Emotional Focused Therapy, and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. She specializes in trauma work and is also a strengths-based therapist. Karen is a gentle yet direct therapist who sees her work as collaborative between God, her clients, and herself. 

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For more extensive information about Karen and the Marriage Intensive, please click HERE. Please contact us at shelterpines17@gmail.com if you are interested in this service.

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Life Coaching at Shelter Pines

Cost: $50/Session

Days offered: Various Days in Afternoon only

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What is LIFE COACHING?

Coaching is the method by which one can get ‘unstuck’ and/or develop healthy strategy for the journey ahead. Coaching is rooted in the belief that the client is resourceful, creative, and capable of working out the plans God has for him/her. Christian Life Coaching acknowledges the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and the fact that God is the giver of wisdom. Coaching is a great tool for those in transition or considering a change. Coaching is also a great tool for helping to clarify and manage the present.

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A typical coaching session is about an hour. Number of sessions depends on the topic. Coaching can be continued after your stay at Shelter Pines via phone sessions if needed. 

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