In the weekly Micah Center workshop “One Step at a Time” our Resident Therapist Leigha helps guests explore different topics. This week guests focused on stress and coping. Guests each identified 6 different things that were currently sources of stress for them by writing them down on pieces of paper. As a group, the guests read each, one by one, and each guest voted whether they felt that they would find the same situation stressful in their own life. Common themes among the stressors included homelessness, stress related to unemployment and finances, current state of mental health, and difficulties of living in shelter. Guests then talked about negative stress management techniques such as using substances, suppression, acting out, blaming and complaining and discussed why these coping mechanisms are ineffective as a long-term solution. Guests explored possible positive coping skills for managing stress, including relaxation skills, different ways to have a more positive mental attitude, and seeking support. Guests then identified specific areas and positive coping skills they felt they needed to work on and plan to start utilizing in their daily lives.
About Leigha Fiebelkorn
Leigha is the current Resident Therapist from Foundations Health and Wholeness at Micah Center, providing individual and group counseling services to guests of St. John’s and others who are homeless and at risk of homelessness. Leigha holds a Master of Social Work from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and has a background in suicide prevention, intervention with children with severe mental health disorders, and medical social work.
