Dear Community Member,


In October, we kicked off our 2021 - 2022 season of Healing Conversations with a focus on "The Wisdom of Healing Through..." You can watch our previous conversations at our new Ministry site or on our YouTube Channel.

The intent of our Healing Conversations is to have safe and engaging conversations that inspire healing, hope, and awareness around issues that impact our own lives and the lives of others within our communities.
Join us Thursday, March 31st at 7:00PM for the next conversation in our series where we will explore the idea of listening courageously.

Listening Courageously is powerful process to learn. It requires the temporary suspension of judgment, and a willingness to receive new information – whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. It doesn’t mean you agree. Just giving someone your full attention is a valuable gift. People rarely change their beliefs in a conversation; but people often expand understanding through conversation.

The key to listening courageously is human connection and empathy. 

The goal of listening courageously is not to make sure people agree with each other on every issue, but to invite them to connect with each other on a human level and understand the passion behind their beliefs.


RSVP REQUIRED
To register for the March 31st
Healing Conversation, click on the link below:
FACILITATOR
Phillip Thomspon
Philip Thompson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He is currently employed with AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware as a Behavioral Health Clinical Liaison Operations Manager, Compliance Officer with Suburban Psychiatric, CEO of Thompson Counseling & Consulting as well as a Outpatient Therapist in private practice.

Philip has also served as the Assistant Director of Services at Dorchester
County Department of Social Services as well as an Adjunct Professor at Delaware State University. He has also served on the State of Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners for over 6 years.

Philip has extensive experience in Mental Health, Hospital Administration, Child Welfare, Managed Care and Accreditation and Regulatory issues. He holds a Masters in Social Work from Delaware State College as well as a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Washington College. 
RESPONDENTS
Cyndi Thompson
Cyndi Thompson has a BA in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice and a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology from Edinboro University. She has worked in the field of addictions for 20 years and has assumed positions from a therapist to CEO and is currently a Director of Operations for VOACC. 
 
Cyndi has been the director of three different residential inpatient/outpatient drug and alcohol programs from Erie to Venango County, PA.
Cyndi has experience working with the criminal justice/sex offender populations and with gender specific and co-ed treatment components.

Cyndi has a passion for working with Behavioral Health populations in hopes to provide them with quality care and accessible treatment options that can start them on their journey to recovery and being productive members of society. 
Eric Collins
Eric Collins is a career social worker and educator with over 25+ years’ experience in the helping profession.

Eric’s career highlights include being a champion and leader for youth in the juvenile justice, youth homeless, foster care and education fields.

With his extensive knowledge, Eric brings his passion for young people, determination to educate and provide a safe, fun, learning environment for his students.
He values character education and enjoys teaching students how to become the best “me”.

Eric enjoys his role as a husband and father of an active 9-year old! He also enjoys spending time with his extended family and friends. He also likes spending time with his church community. As a relocated NY’er, he enjoys all NY sports teams, which includes his favorite team the NY Yankees!
To learn more about our upcoming Healing Conversations, visit www.voachesapeake.org/healing-conversations.

For questions, please email us at [email protected].