Samaritan January Newsletter 2014

Counseling for All
Seasons of Life
414 Grant Street
Sewickley, PA 15143
Locations
Administrative Office:
The Presbyterian Church, Sewickley
414 Grant St., Sewickley, PA 15143
Satellite Offices:
Grace Lutheran Church
393 Adams St., Rochester, PA 15074
Beaver United Methodist Church
345 College Ave., Beaver, PA 15009
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
301 E. Jefferson St., Butler, PA 16001
First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown
5875 Heckert Rd., Bakerstown, PA 15007
St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church
322 Hannahstown Rd., Cabot, PA 15007
North Main St. Church of God
1201 N. Main St., Butler, PA 16001
Osborne Plaza
1106 Ohio River Blvd., Sewickley, PA 15143
Westminster Presbyterian Church
2040 Washington Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15241
“Be not
afraid of
growing
slowly,
be afraid
only of
standing
still.”
Mission
To help individuals, families and
communities achieve emotional,
spiritual and physical well-being
through professional psychological
counseling and education programs
using the resources of faith.
Board of Directors
Brian Rosinski, President
Filomena Coxon, Vice President
Rev. Beth Wierman, Secretary
Holly Fuller, Treasurer
Thomas DeFazio, Member at Large
Jim English
Mark Hudson
Jane Rice
Carolyn Smith
Lori Suess
Mary Wrenshall
■ Strengthening Couples
Carl Baughman, Executive Director
Beth Healey, Director of Development
and Marketing
Martha Selleck, Clinical Director
Luci Ramsey, Office Manager
In this issue:
Counseling for All Seasons
of Life
This Chinese proverb (left) is one of Casey Kasperik’s
personal favorites. A Licensed Professional Counselor,
Casey is a member of Samaritan’s clinical team, seeing
clients at our Sewickley and Upper St. Clair offices.
With an impressive career history in the mental health
field and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology,
Casey’s credentials are matched only by her passion
for what she does. Benefitting from counseling as a
young adult, Casey’s desire is to “pay it forward.”
An action oriented person who gains great satisfaction
from helping others, Casey explains that a career in
counseling is a natural fit for her, and she “loves the
endless opportunities to learn and gain new skills.”
the Samaritan
Voice of Hope
Winter 2014
Grief: Why Does It Hurt So Much
and When Will It Get Better?
Serving 2,000 men, women and children annually,
Samaritan counsels numerous married and soon-to-be
married couples at various stages in their relationships.
According to world renowned psychotherapist John
Gottman, Ph.D., marriage counseling “increases
respect, affection, and closeness; resolves conflict;
generates greater understanding between partners;
and keeps conflict discussions calm.” At Samaritan,
therapists work hard to achieve these benefits
for couples, continuing to reap results.
“Counseling is a valuable tool to help
couples sort out their issues in a safe, yet
structured environment,” said Casey.
“It’s a great ‘test lab’ where they can practice and apply healthy communication and
conflict resolution skills in their daily lives.”
Meet Our Winning Coaches
Jennifer Edmonds, MA, NCC, LPC
Earns Professional Honors
You Inspired Us!
2013 Silent Samaritans
(continued on next page)
L-R: Richard Johnson, Good Samaritan Honoree; Carolyn Smith, Board Member;
Carl Baughman, Executive Director
Providing hope and healing through the resources of faith
412.741.7430 ▪ [email protected] ▪ www.samaritancounseling.net
Casey
Kasperik
LPC, NCC
The majority of the couples Casey sees
are in their 40s and have been married
for an average of 15 years. She said that
although every couple is unique, their
most common difficulties are poor
communications, conflicts about
finances, parenting, in-laws, mistrust
and betrayal. “In counseling, couples
can express their surpressed feelings
towards one another and learn the tools
to communicate more lovingly, openly
and assertively,” she explained.
“Certainly, counseling is
helpful to work through the
hurt and pain from affairs.
Additionally, it helps to
develop or reestablish the
marital bond and friendship.”
■ Boosting Young Adults
Transitioning from high school
to college/career path or from
college to career can be
especially stressful—
even scary. “This is often
the first time in young
adults’ lives when they’re
facing the unknown and
establishing independence
from parents—not only
financially but emotionally, as well.”
An article by Steven
Reinberg, Healthday
Reporter for MSN.com,
cited that…
18-33 year-olds in the U.S. “are
more stressed than the rest of
the population.”
According to Norman Anderson, CEO
of the American Psychological
Association, “jobs, money, starting a
family and repaying students loans”
were the main causes of stress for these
young adults, and that “individuals are
growing up in an era of unprecedented
economic upheaval. This coincides
with the time they are finishing school
and trying to establish themselves
in society.”
Samaritan has seen evidence of this
phenomenon firsthand. In Casey’s
experience, anxiety is common in this
age group, but she assures there are
effective ways to help. “Counseling
serves as not only a valuable support,
but an outlet to express uncomfortable
feelings and bounce around ideas.
Additionally, a counselor can help
young adults in finding a career field or
schooling program using personality
assessments and career inventories. We
can guide a young person in developing
achievable goals which, to an extent,
they are accountable to reach.”
■ Building Self-Esteem
“Healthy self-esteem is essential for an
individual’s optimal mental health and
overall wellbeing,” Casey affirmed.
Anxiety, depression and personality
disorders are often interrelated with
low self-esteem. Unhealthy selfe
esteem transcends age and
gender, and can be seriously
detrimental, leading to
substance abuse, eating
disorders and other selfdestructive behavior.
“Therapy is a good
resource for
building healthy selfesteem as it helps
people recognize
their automatic,
negative self
messages
and replace
them with
loving, reassuring and positive
self statements.”
—
At Samaritan, all of our therapists are
mindful of the uniqueness of each
person’s viewpoint and needs, applying
a variety of therapeutic approaches. The
commonality, however, is our commitment to addressing clients’ health needs
holistically and applying faith principles while being sensitive to individual
religious beliefs.
To learn more, please visit us at
www.samaritancounseling.net.
“
Why Does It Hurt
So Much and When
Will It Get Better?
”
Our Grief Support Groups provide
these answers and more.
Grief has a profound effect on our
bodies as well as our minds. In
addition to mental and emotional
pain—which often involves shock,
regret, anxiety, confusion and
even guilt—our physical selves
experience sleeplessness, difficulty
breathing, headaches, and digestive dysfunction—to name a few.
Did You Know…
…Samaritan has a new video? You
can watch the video any time by visiting
www.samaritancounseling.net.
…You can save time and postage by
becoming a Samaritan Sustainer? By
arranging for your annual giving to be
split into automatic monthly payments,
you will help us be better equipped to
meet our budgetary needs.
…You can provide hope and healing
on a long term basis plus receive
regular income by arranging for a
Charitable Gift Annuity?
(If you would like to learn more about
becoming a Samaritan Sustainer or
receive free information on wills and/or
other types of planned giving, please
call us at 412.741.7430 or email
[email protected].)
…We are on Twitter?
at SamaritanWPA.
Follow us
When grieving the death of a loved
one, we all face difficult adjustments
behaviorally and socially, too.
But if grieving is a normal part of life,
then why is it beneficial to participate
in a Grief Support Group? Phil
Jamison, M.Div., co-founder of the
Children’s Grief Network in
Pittsburgh, facilitates Grief Support
Groups for Samaritan and offers the
following insight:
“Those who are grieving need the
opportunity to express their feelings
in a safe, caring environment. The
process of healing after a loss is
often called ‘grief work’ because it is
a difficult job requiring time, energy
and support. A grief support group
helps people to understand and
manage the process.”
judged. Moreover, understanding the
process—for example, what is
“normal” versus “abnormal”
grieving—can motivate a vulnerable
person to seek additional help before
developing depression and other
serious psychological disorders.
We also offer a unique grief support
group—LOSS, which stands for
Losing A Loved One to Suicide
Support. For over 20 years, Jamison
has seen families struggle terribly
with this particular type of loss.
“The stigma about suicide still exists,”
he explains. “No one wants to talk
about it. The reason a person took
his or her life or why a loved one’s
torment wasn’t seen are big issues.
Samaritan recognizes it is helpful for
grievers to talk to others besides
family members. Participants in our
support groups can freely express
themselves without fear of being
Meet Our Winning Coaches
In our 2013 summer issue, we
introduced you to Samaritan’s
Coaching program. To refresh
your memory, coaching is a
learning process in which you
are empowered to achieve specific
personal or professional goals.
Goals can be related to your career,
areas of giftedness, spiritual walk,
or any life transition or desire
for growth. In short, coaching is
for everyone.
If you or someone you know is aspiring to effect
positive change in his or her life, please contact
Samaritan at 412.741.7430 to retain the services
of our professionally certified coaches—who are
also licensed therapists.
Our coaches… Above, left: Alexandra McCabe,
specializing in high school students, young adults
and women in transition; Right: Martha Selleck,
specializing in time management and adult
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
“Although we can’t answer those
questions, we can be there to
provide support, education and
allow people to talk about their
loved ones if they choose to do so.”
Samaritan’s Grief and LOSS
Support Groups are typically held
two to three times a year, once a
week for six weeks, from 7 till 8:30
p.m. at various locations in
Sewickley, Moon and the North
Hills. Groups are informal yet
structured and are both therapeutic
and educational in nature.
What makes Samaritan’s grief
support groups unique? “The
curriculum is unique to Samaritan
and groups are led by experienced,
trained and compassionate people,”
said Jamison. As always, Samaritan’s services are faith-based with
respect to each person’s religious
traditions. For more information,
please call 412.741.7430 or visit
samaritancounseling.net for dates
and times of upcoming groups.
Jennifer Edmonds,
MA, NCC, LPC
Earns Professional Honors
A prestigious society, Chi Sigma Iota
is the National Honor Society for counseling excellence—and
Samaritan’s Jennifer
Edmonds made the
grade and will be
inducted into the program in February.
To qualify, individuals
must be nominated by
a faculty member of their graduate
program, have attained a 4.0 grade
point average upon graduation, and
have demonstrated excellent service in
the counseling profession.
Jennifer specializes in treating a wide
range of disorders including anxiety,
depression, ADHD (Attention Deficit
and Hyperactivity Disorder), as well as
issues relevant to families and couples.
She works at Samaritan’s Rochester
and Beaver offices.
BELOW: Richard Johnson, center,
flanked by his daughter and granddaughter; Carolyn Smith, standing,
member and event committee chair
of Samaritan’s board of directors.
You Inspired Us!
This past September, Samaritan had the
honor of presenting our Good Samaritan
Award to a most deserving resident of
the Sewickley community: Richard
Johnson. Founder and past director of
the World Vision International
Distribution Center, Richard received
his award humbly, and then presented
an inspirational message to guests at
our Inspiring Hope Gala Dinner Dance.
To those of you who attended, organized
In Good Taste parties and supported the
Gala fundraiser in many other ways,
Samaritan extends our profoundest
thanks. Because of you, gross proceeds
totaled $32,575.
In addition to Mr. Johnson’s poignant
words, Samaritan was also deeply
inspired by your:



Generous giving
Kind words and smiling faces
Warmth, friendship and
faithful commitment to
Samaritan’s mission
Again, thank you for providing hope
and healing to our neighbors in crisis.
May you always be blessed!
Enjoy the scenes from our Gala at the Allegheny
Country Club…
2013 Silent Samaritans
Major Sponsors
Ann Cahouet, Ann & Frank Cahouet Foundation
Gretchen & Nancy Hansen, Hansen Foundation
BELOW: L-R; Carl Baughman,
Executive Director; Erin
Kramer; Jane Rice, board
member and Erin’s mom
Tier of Strength
Mary Grace Musuneggi, The Musuneggi Financial Group
And Single Steps Strategies
Tier of Hope
Chris Allison & Jane France ▪ Mike & Angela Dunbar
Lynn Evans ▪ Bobby & Shadley Gordon ▪ Peg Lassinger
Tier of Healing
Judith Beswick ▪ Sara Donnell ▪ Trudy File ▪ Anne Gensheimer
Lisa Giusti ▪ Margaret Gregory ▪ Martha Haines
Carol McCarthy ▪ Eileen McConomy ▪ Janet McGuire
Helen Mitchell ▪ MSL Direct ▪ Stephanie Perry, MD
Linda Roemer ▪ Sharron Schaefer ▪ Sarah St. Clair ▪ Kay Wiegand
Tiers of Wisdom & Friendship
Betsy Allyn ▪ Jane Angelini ▪ Shirley Barker ▪ Rosalind Kaliden-Barry
Carl Baughman ▪ Sally Beatty ▪ Charlene Beck ▪ Tammy Beilstein
Jeanne Bingman ▪ Dorothy Bower ▪ Gail Buchanan ▪ Nancy Bunce
Marie Campbell ▪ Sandy Clem ▪ Ann Coburn ▪ Susan Cockrell
Jean Cleary ▪ Julie Colton ▪ Melissa Cook ▪ Sandy Cooper ▪ Susan Cox
Filomena Coxon ▪ Susan Craig ▪ Merle Culley ▪ Joan Baker Darby
Susan Donaldson ▪ Susan Elste ▪ Carroll Ferguson ▪ JoEllen Foy ▪ Janet Franz
Janet Frisch ▪ Patricia Fulmer ▪ Lannie Gartner ▪ Vicki Gass ▪ CA Gebhardt
Thomas Gordon ▪ Jan Gorr ▪ Toby Graham ▪ Victoria Graham ▪ Cynthia Grand
Jenny Hager ▪ Charlotte Hamilton ▪ Trudy Hannaway ▪ Judith Hay ▪ Beth Healey
Jean Henderson ▪ Rita Hoepp ▪ Ruth Hofmann ▪ Mary Jeanne Hoover
Nancy House ▪ Cordelia Jacobs ▪ Arlene Johnson ▪ Laurie Johnson
Carolyn Jones ▪ Karen Keller ▪ Mary Kenny ▪ Julie Kloo ▪ Jeannette Lawrence
Ken Lazarowicz ▪ Nathalie Lemieux ▪ Philip & Leslie Liebscher ▪ Karen Limbaugh
Libby Lloyd ▪ Linda Mann ▪ Diane Mantia ▪ Carol McCarthy
Julie McCormick ▪ Marian McKenna ▪ Barbara McKelway
Theresa Mercadante ▪ Anne Metcalf ▪ Gloria Miller ▪ Mary Jean Montag
Betty Moraca ▪ Mary Murphy ▪ June Nimick ▪ Laureen Novissimo
Lisa Orsini ▪ Dan and Elaine Park ▪ Mary Parker
Jill Passeri ▪ Agnes Peebles ▪ Maureen Profeta ▪ Rita Randall
Bob & Christine Rath ▪ Jane Rice ▪ Patricia Rose
Barbara Rubano ▪ Joyce Sandberg ▪ Martha Selleck ▪ Claire Schwarz
Jane Shadle ▪ Diane Shandick ▪ Nancy Simon ▪ Carolyn Smith
Michelle Snyder ▪ Gail Stoner ▪ Thea Stover ▪ Kathy Thomas
Deborah Tranter ▪ Miriam Trautman ▪ Jane Van Kirk ▪ Susan Wardrop
Erika Wehmeier ▪ Nancy Whiteside ▪ Lee Wierman ▪ Mary Wolf
Missy Zimmerman ▪ Heidi Zomnir
Numerous Anonymous Donors
We sincerely thank our Women of Strength
for empowering women in need by raising $24,000
for the Silent Samaritan Fund. Samaritan also extends
heartfelt thanks to the one and only Anna Singer,
(pictured above) whose talent and charm made
everyone’s day extra special!
Enjoy these scenes from the Women of Strength Luncheon
held in the Round Room at the Hyeholde.