Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA

Poet • Educator

  • Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA
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March 24, 2022 By Suzanne

Interview: Health Central–Expressive Writing for Caregivers

I am grateful to Anna Kaufman for this interview opportunity.

My workshops at UCSF are open to any parent with a child living with an ongoing mental or physical health issue.  Contact Bhupinder Nahal at UCSF for registration information. Bhupinder.Nahal@ucsf.edu

Filed Under: Art & Medicine, Illness & Healing, teaching, workshops Tagged With: caregivers, childhood chronic illness, healing, writing

February 18, 2022 By Suzanne

Writing Workshop for Parents of Kids Living with a Chronic Illness

For any parents of kids living with a chronic illness, I’m teaching a 3 series writing workshop via zoom, beginning this month. See following for details.
• Managing trauma, stress and grief
• Building resilience
• Finding hope and gratitude
Through these workshops participants will:
• Explore
• Engage
• Creatively replenish themselves
• Find peer support
Expressive writing workshop UCSF Chronic Illness Center is partnering with Suzanne Edison, a writer, a parent, and a former psychotherapist to offer 3 virtual expressive writing workshops. When: Saturdays from 10:00am-12:00pm, February 26th, March 26th, and April 23rd How it works: You will have the opportunity to explore different aspects of your experiences with your child’s medical journey. Each workshop will involve reading selections in poetry and brief prose, writing prompts and homework offerings. Who can come: Parents/caregivers of children living with chronic conditions https://redcap.link/cicwriting Questions Contact us anytime: Bhupinder.nahal@ucsf.edu 
Testimonials:

“The workshop was so well designed and facilitated. I LOVED and benefited greatly [from] the variety of activities – the mindfulness and body scans, the writing prompts and sharing, the poems, and the reflections. Suzanne, your warmth and experience and organization are so appreciated.”

“It was great to share what we had bottled inside- and see it transformed into an art form.”

“I liked the poetry and how relatable it is.  Suzanne always does a great job.”

“…thank the host, she did an amazing job.  It was such a healing class.”

cic writing workshop flier

Filed Under: Illness & Healing, teaching, workshops Tagged With: caregivers, childhood chronic illness, healing, writing

February 17, 2020 By Suzanne

Writing as a Righting Journey-San Francisco/Oakland–2020

Saturday, April 18th  and Sunday, April 19th, 2020

9 am – 1 pm ( each day )

Workshops are free.

  • I’ll be teaching 3-4 writing workshops over the coming year in both San Francisco and Oakland for parents of kids (young children, teens, or young adults) living with a chronic illness. These 4 hour workshops are sponsored by The Chronic Illness Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
  • For information about locations, please contact me @ suzanne.edison@curejm.org and I’ll be happy to correspond with you. Or contact the CIC directly.
  • For information about the format of the workshop, go here.

Thank you, Suzanne

Filed Under: events, Illness & Healing, workshops Tagged With: caregivers, childhood chronic illness, writing, Writing as a Righting Journey

September 6, 2016 By Suzanne

Healing for Caregivers

Recently, I re-read an article that Catherine St. Louis wrote in The New York Times in 2014. She presented research about coping techniques for parent caregivers of children with chronic health needs. This paragraph stood out for me.

“All parents endure stress, but studies show that parents of children with developmental disabilities, like autism, experience depression and anxiety far more often. Struggling to obtain crucial support services, the financial strain of paying for various therapies, the relentless worry over everything from wandering to the future — all of it can be overwhelming.”

The research focused on two coping approaches. “The first group practiced meditation, breathing exercises, and qigong practices to hone mental focus. The second received instructions on curbing negative thoughts, practicing gratitude and reclaiming an aspect of adult life. Both groups were led by specially trained mentors, themselves the parents of special-needs children.”

Not surprisingly, both groups reported reductions in stress and anxiety and even “how to redirect their anxiety into positive action.” The group given the meditation techniques seemed to report greater reductions in anxiety.

When my child was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder I also experienced high levels of stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation and fear. It was then that I refocused my writing journey to include all of what was happening in my life. I found great relief and new wells of creative energy. I became a better advocate for my daughter too.

I have had similar reports from parents in my Writing as a Righting Journey workshop where we use writing and body awareness to help reduce anxiety and find ways to channel it into creative, and more productive thinking and action.

Next week I’ll be presenting my work at an international health humanities workshop in Spain and in November, I’ll share some insights of my work at a Mayo Clinic conference in Phoenix, Humanities in Medicine. Stay tuned.

Filed Under: blog, literature review, workshops Tagged With: caregivers, healing, writing

Events & Workshops

Poems in the World, Readings, Teaching

Town Hall-2019 The Body Lives Its Undoing

Where to find Since the House Is Burning + Readings

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Recent Posts

Book Reviews–Since the House Is Burning

October 1, 2022

Ekphrastic Review poem

June 17, 2022

March 2022- Autoimmune Awareness Month

May 7, 2022

MoonPath Press announcement

April 28, 2022

Since the House Is Burning-book and audio of 3 poems

April 27, 2022

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