What We Offer
The programs described here address, in a multifaith and multicultural context, issues of bereavement. There is also an opportunity for survivors of sexual abuse and intimate violence to take back their lives.

Who Should Attend
Our programs are open to anyone in need: community members of every religious background, congregational clergy, seminarians, lay congregational leaders, healthcare professionals, individual caregivers, or friends of caregivers.

Programs are conducted at HealthCare Chaplaincy’s Pastoral Care, Education, and Research Center, 307 East 60th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues).

Our Faculty
Faculty and group leaders are experts in their respective fields. In addition to teaching regular programs, members of HealthCare Chaplaincy’s professional staff are available to speak to community groups, congregations, and educational institutions—individually or as part of a panel at a forum or other educational program.

For Women Only

Taking Back My Life – Support and Empowerment Group

This support and empowerment group assists women survivors of sexual abuse and intimate violence in developing and implementing specific strategies for reclaiming a full and authentic life. The sessions help identify the overall patterns formed as a result of sexual abuse, and how to break out of these patterns. Emphasis is given to the family systems that set the stage for various kinds of abuse. Participants will develop action plans to release fears and to overcome life patterns that impede joy, love, and power. If you would like to participate in the group, call (718) 802-0952 to schedule an individual appointment with a group leader before the start date.

Rev. Cari Jackson, a United Church of Christ minister, is founder and spiritual director of The Center of Spiritual Light, a life empowerment center. She has served as a pastor, lecturer, spiritual life coach, and retreat facilitator. Rev. Jackson is the author of The Gift to Listen, The Courage to Hear. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Christian Social Ethics at Drew University, focusing on psycho-spiritual self-care as an ethical responsibility of clergy.

DeShannon Bowens is the founder of ILERA Counseling and Education Services, an organization committed to raising awareness about sexuality and sexual abuse through innovative educational programs and healing services. She is the author of Hush Hush: An African American Family Breaks Their Silence on Sexuality & Sexual Abuse (2007). She has worked in social service and mental health organizations providing mental health counseling and research, with a special focus with women and men survivors of sexual trauma. DeShannon received a BA in Psychology from University of Missouri and a MS in Counseling from Pace University

8 Thursdays: October 22 – December 17 (no session November 26)  6:30 p.m. –  8:30 p.m.

How to Register:  Participants may register by phone or e-mail. Except where noted, please call (212) 644-1111, ext. 212, or e-mail pbrown@healthcarechaplaincy.org.

All support groups are free. Fees for other programs, if any, are noted in the description of the program. Scholarships are available based on financial need.

Requests for Assistance at Our Partner Institutions

Click HERE for a staff list of our professional chaplains.

Our chaplains welcome referrals and requests for assistance with patients who are receiving care in one of HealthCare Chaplaincy’s partner institutions.