Eager to help Houstonians recover from this catastrophic natural disaster, we partnered with past training participant Gwen Brehm, MEd, LPC, LMFT, the Founder and Executive Director of Houston’s Center for Mind Body Health. She facilitated conversations with mental health service providers and organizations in the area, including the Institute for Spirituality and Health (ISH), the Menninger Clinic, Houston Galveston Institute, the Jung Center, The Center for Mind Body Health, Compassionate Houston and Healing Circles Houston. Together, we formed the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative.
In late November 2017, with funding provided by the Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and The Rotary Club of Houston District 5890, the Collaborative began organizing a community-wide trauma relief and resilience building program. Through intensive outreach and marketing efforts, the Collaborative partners recruited an impressive cadre of mental health counselors, therapists, school counselors, and religious and spiritual leaders. Within just three weeks, more than 150 people had applied for the scholarship positions available for the 3-phased, intensive training. We hosted our first Professional Training Program in Mind-Body Medicine that December for an incredibly diverse cohort of participants that represented more than 25 behavioral health and social service organizations.
Now in its seventh year, the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative has organized as a permanent body. The organization created a charter for membership and positioned itself as a permanent fixture of the Greater Houston area’s crisis support services.
