What's New

Just for Peers

Special thanks to our Peers who are participating in the design of new programs and assisting with the enhancement of our existing programs. We're growing both in terms of our membership and new resources. Watch for our upcoming Parenting Skills Classes, Self-Defense Classes, Eating Disorders Resources, Self-Injury Resources, our Annual Weekender Retreat in September, and our upcoming annual Peer Survey.

We sincerely appreciate all participants in our regular monthly Peer meetings and our social venues. Your courage and willingness to share have inspired us all. Our fun continues this year under our most popular program, RSVP Outdoors. Join us for excursions in hiking, road trips for go-cart racing, and visits to places like the Kangaroo Conservation Center, to name a few. Our CommunityQuarters events with Support Peers continue the badminton tournaments and gaming fun. Playing in the Wii-Lympics has been wonderful as well.

We are also grateful for our Peer Advisory Council Chair and Vice Chair members. This year has been dedicated to formalizing the structure of the Peer Advisory Council, building a Peer Charter to support new chapters next year, and developing ideas for meaningful resources and programs for the Peer Community. We could not have accomplished so many goals for the community this year without this dedicated group of Peers.

We hope you will consider authoring an article and contributing to our secure knowledgebase for Peers. Share what has helped you and inspired you along your healing path. Co-author an article for Peers with your therapist. Recommend a book that has meaning to you. Share artwork, prose, poetry and expressions of gratitude for those who decorate your lives. Some of our greatest submissions in the Gratitude section have involved anonymous expressions of thanks for therapists and their contributions to our healing.

Please remember to refer business professionals for our growing NetBiz and NetCare networks. We all benefit from the talents and gifts of these professionals who surround our journeys in meaningful ways. We sincerely appreciate everyone who has referred members to our support networks. If you have experienced extraordinary care in the delivery of personal or business services, please let us know who you would like to refer to our networks.

For additional Peer information, please contact info@valorinstitute.org.

Just for Therapists

Join us on August 27th for our next continuing education workshop. Our topic is "Eating Disorders: DID/DDNOS Perspectives." Dr. Tara Williams and her colleagues are sponsoring a dynamic, interactive agenda for our therapist attendees and we are incorporating collaboration from the Peer Community. Thank you to all attendees of our May 21st workshop, Navigating Therapeutic Impasses: Therapy Starts, Stalls, and Stops. It was the first format of its kind. Valor's vision is the design of therapist workshops which reflect the spirit and collaboration of both the Peer and the Therapist communities as we learn from one another. This year was the first year we could pilot that initiative. The recent workshop was one of our best CEU workshops to date as we shared experiences from both sides of the therapy endeavor.

Contribute to your on-line secure forum for colleagues! Your 167 Hours for Therapists secure website features on-line discussion forums, educational presentations and articles, and so much more. If you would like to contribute an article to your professional knowledgebase, please contact therapist@valorinstitute.org. Co-authoring an article with a Peer is also a wonderful way to contribute to both the therapist and peer secure knowledgebases at the same time. Support a Peer’s interest in helping other members of their community. Co-author an article today!

Please remember to refer colleagues and business professionals for our growing TAPS, NetBiz and NetCare networks. We all benefit from the talents and gifts of these professionals who surround our journeys in meaningful ways. We’re growing and sincerely appreciate everyone who has referred members to our support networks.

Just for Family/Support Peers

Having a Support Peer assist with the journey and take interest in the journey makes such a difference in the life of a Peer. The path of the Support Peer can often be equally as challenging and isolating as it is for a Peer. We hope our resources in community will open new avenues that honor the spirit and personal journeys of our Support Peers who grace our lives. We are completely re-engineering our service frame for Support Peers this year. We will be introducing in September, 2010, a quarterly education forum for Support Peers, followed by the re-introduction of Support Peer meetings. We are continuing the success of our CommunityQuarters and RSVP Outdoors forums for Support Peers.

Please remember to refer business professionals for our growing NetBiz and NetCare support networks. We all benefit from the talents and gifts of these professionals who surround our journeys in meaningful ways.

Just for NetCare & NetBiz

For our NetCare and NetBiz professionals, welcome to Valor and thank you for your support of our members and initiatives. We look forward to introducing your organizations to our members slowly over the coming months and to providing you with your own technology tools within our secure community on-line facilities.

If you would like to author an article on your specialty services, please contact info@valorinstitute.org. We appreciate the opportunity to share your message and your expertise in meaningful ways. NetBiz and NetCare professionals will also have their own knowledgebase for tools and services that can help you strategically grow your business and collaborate with one another. We look forward to introducing you to this unique venue this Spring.

Just for NetVolunteers

For our NetVolunteers, there aren’t enough words to thank you for your tireless efforts in reviewing materials, website developments and supporting all of our events. For all of our NetVolunteers, we sincerely appreciate your time, your talents and the gift of your creativity.