Yampa Valley Wellness Conference set for late April, theme of ‘Reconnected’
The Health Partnership/Courtesy photo
Since the Yampa Valley Wellness Conference last took place in person in 2019 and the event was virtual in 2020, it is appropriate that the theme for the 2023 conference is reconnection.
“We chose our theme, reconnecting, as a way to recognize what our community has been through over the past three years and the important role that connection plays in our lives,” said Brittney Wilburn, executive director of The Health Partnership, which organizes the conference.
This year’s wellness conference titled “Reconnected: Transforming Separation and Loneliness into Connection” is set for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at The Steamboat Grand hotel. The broad lineup of conference speakers ranges from professors to psychologists to pastors.
“We are all impacted by relationships, community and connection,” said conference breakout session speaker Caelen Cann, a licensed professional counselor in private practice in Routt County. “We’re all in relationships. We can’t escape it. We need connection for the benefit of our health.”
Cann will discuss “What Makes Connection Fulfilling? Research and Practical Applications Regarding the Health Benefits of Interdependence.”
“Research is showing a connection between our emotional experience and our physical health.
A lot of our emotional experience is within the context of relationships,” Cann said. “We are all biologically hardwired for connection. Everybody has the fundamental need for connection. Understanding ourselves and others creates community, and we need community to survive and thrive.”
Cann said that research has found that people who spend time with others are happier on a day-to-day basis.
“When we go to ourselves to feel better, it takes us a lot longer than if we have somebody to go to. That’s just about the stress we carry in the body,” Cann said.
The conference will explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on behavioral health in general and examine separation and loneliness for individuals and across relationships and systems.
Organizers hope the conference will continue to strengthen and build deeper community connections about behavioral and mental health, a continuing key health care issue identified in the Yampa Valley. Wilburn said the conference historically was hosted in the fall, but organizers moved the event to the spring to recognize and prepare for mental health awareness month in May.
The morning keynote speaker is Danielle Varda, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs as well as CEO and founder at Visible Network Labs in Arvada. The network scientist and start-up founder who studies social connectedness and health will discuss “Visualizing Social Connectedness as a Pathway to Stronger Social, Mental, and Behavioral Health.”
Varda explains that social support is a factor in better health, mental health and well-being outcomes, “and yet, it is almost impossible to know if someone has the support they need.”
Lunchtime keynote speaker Justin Ross is a licensed clinical psychologist and director of the Workplace Wellbeing Program at UCHealth in Denver who specializes in health, wellness and human performance psychology. Ross will present “From Trauma to Resilience and Growth: Reconnecting to Values, Passions and Self.”
Ross has spent the bulk of his career aiding in mental health and wellness initiatives for those performing in stressful, high demanding environments, including those in health care and professional sports.
Additional morning breakout sessions will include the topics “Connecting Community: Building Inclusive Practices for Affirming Spaces” and “From Burnout to Resilience: How to Reduce Stress and Regain Mastery Over Your Mental Health.”
Breakout sessions before lunch include “Helping Families Reconnect: A Trauma-Integrated Model for Treating Families with Addiction and Trauma,” “Connecting Within and Without: A Spiritual Perspective” and “Assessment and Treatment of Women with ADHD: Connecting Women with their Communities, Self-Efficacy and Goals.”
Afternoon breakout session topics include “Queer Community Panel: Contextualizing the 2022 LGBTQIA2S+ Roundtable and Survey Results,” “Engaging Rural Audiences Around Stigmatizing Health Topics: Lessons from CSU Extension” and “Human-Centered Design to Support Connection and Belonging: Multiracial Families and Youth.”
Complete conference information and registration link can be found online at TheHealthPartnership.org. Registration is $75 including lunch, although some scholarships are available for people in need who would like to attend for free. More information is available by emailing info@ncchealthpartnership.org.
To reach Suzie Romig, call 970-871-4205 or email sromig@SteamboatPilot.com.
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