Service: Peer Support

Mindful Concussion

Hi there, Jessie Smith here. After my car accident in 2013, the folks at GF Strong Rehab Centre in Vancouver suggested I take up mindfulness. Mindfulness was the balm my brain (and discombobulated nervous system) so needed, but some practices were much too cognitive or way too overwhelming.

In time I learned to modify mindfulness to meet the unique needs of brain injury survivors. I wanted to share my lessons so that others would not suffer with panic attacks and dissociation as I did when I was first learning mindfulness. I became a qualified mindfulness teacher via the University of California, San Diego’s Centre for Mindfulness, and I founded Mindful Concussion so that I could teach fellow survivors how to take advantage of the power of mindfulness for brain injury, without falling prey to the perils.

Benefits of the Mindful Concussion approach to learning mindfulness:

*Learning from a fellow survivor – I get it!
*Being in a community of fellow survivors – we all get it!
*Choice – there are lots of options to meet varied student needs
*Concussion-friendly, gentle, step-by-step lessons

Mindful Concussion Services

*Free Zoom-based Circle UPs where we practice mindfulness in community

*Free website, blog, social media posts, and newsletter that are full of the kinds of tips and tricks I wish I had known from day one

*A signature 8-week, 22-hour Mindful Concussion course

*Webinars and workshops for survivors that cover specific mindfulness practices such as: Cultivating Calm with Concussion, Mindfulness in Nature, Turning Stress Reactivity into Stress Responsivity, and topics tailored for specific audiences

*Webinars and workshops for the professionals who care for us so that they learn the importance of offering a prescription for mindfulness, but with a warning label

LDAY Centre for Learning ~ Brain Injury Peer Support

LDAY Centre for Learning houses brain injury peer supports facilitated by Lis Pilon.

All supports are provided with a focus on community connection, nervous system regulation, mindfulness, resource sharing and executive functioning skills.

Offerings include:

~ Peer support groups seasonally
~ 1:1 companioning, support and advocacy
~ Project-Based Rehab: An opportunity for you to put your gifts into action by delivering a program or service with 1:1 peer support for the process (which often includes learning, relearning and intentional executive functioning practice), development and implementation. Honorarium provided.
~ Workplace advocacy and support
~ Community consultation
~ Local and National education, awareness and advocacy
~ A Brain Injury Resource Library
~ Pique Your Brain ~ A series where professionals come and present or facilitate an experience for members of our community to learn about different practices, approaches and topics