Johnson

Session Title: Achieving wellness through connection

Speaker: Veronica Johnson, EdD, LCPC, NCC, Associate Professor, University of Montana

Watch the session: https://app.knowmia.com/XFYj

Session description: Humans are social beings. However, when life gets stressful, we tend to put our heads down and work harder, and/or withdraw. We can begin to feel disconnected from our support systems, and equally importantly, ourselves. This presentation will discuss how connection to self, others, and our communities can protect us from the harmful effects of stress and build our resiliency. Concepts such as self-compassion, gratitude, grace, vulnerability, communication, and forgiveness are but a few of the key features of nurturing connection with ourselves and others. Through reflection, dialogue, and a certain amount of risk, we can nurture our connections with ourselves and others in ways that will improve our overall sense of wellness and encourage us to be our most authentic selves.

Bio: Veronica Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling at the University of Montana, and a licensed clinical professional counselor. Her research and teaching interests involve the development and maintenance of intimate relationships, forgiveness and reconciliation, professional ethics, and clinical supervision. Veronica has experience counseling college students, adolescents, adults with severe mental illness, and couples, and currently provides grant-funded counseling services to public health employees in the state of Montana.