Take My Hand Support Series with Jean Voice Dart

PURPOSE
The Wellness Universe's "Take My Hand Support Series" features interviews with guest speakers on suicide awareness and prevention. It provides resources and education, empowering individuals, providers, and communities.

EVENT DESCRIPTION
Jean Voice Dart, psychotherapist, joins expert guest speakers in this interview series as they share tools, wisdom, and insights for suicide prevention and mental wellness. Open, heartfelt conversations directly connect you to those providing aid, comfort, and care. These educational interviews provide a safe space to help others heal and recover from challenging times. Our expert guests pivot challenges into joy and provide valuable insights, experiences, and resources for you and your loved ones.

HOST
Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, CATP, is a best-selling author, certified teacher, coach, and expressive arts therapist specializing in grief, trauma, and chronic pain. A TBI survivor who has lost multiple family members to suicide, Jean transformed her life from stressed to blessed through holistic pain management and radical self-compassion. For over fifty years, she has worked closely with children and adults, guiding them to feel, reveal, and heal through movement, music, art, storytelling, and soul-centered care, reclaiming joy in the presence of pain.

EVENT SCHEDULE
Join the live sessions bimonthly on every second Saturday, at Noon ET / 9 AM PT. November 8, 2025; January 10, March 14, May 9, July 11, September 12, November 14, 2026

REGISTER AND DONATE
Please register here: https://bit.ly/WUTakeMyHandSupportSeries
This program is a pay-what-you-can, donation-based event. We appreciate your contributions to help us continue to provide a valuable five-star experience.

UPCOMING EVENTS
12 PM ET, Saturday, November 8, 2025 - "Chronic Pain - Mental Health Support and Suicide Prevention."

NOVEMBER PANEL DESCRIPTION
Over 50 million Americans live with chronic pain. Some wake each morning with migraines, joint instability, or echoes of trauma. Others carry the weight of misdiagnoses, dismissal, disability, and dependence on pharmaceutical drugs. Nearly 1 in 3 report suicidal thoughts, and for some, silence by suicide feels like the only relief. A 2023 study of over 3.3 million individuals with chronic pain, 28.9% experienced lifetime suicidal thoughts, 10.8% had attempted suicide, and 25.9% contemplated suicide in the past two weeks. Join Jean Voice Dart, host of The Wellness Universe's "Take My Hand Support Series," for this engaging expert interview, "Chronic Pain — Mental Health Support and Suicide Prevention," 12 PM ET, Saturday, November 8, where you will find the information, support, and resources you are searching for. http://wellnessuniverse.learnitlive.com/en/Class/Take-My-Hand-Support-Series/25089

NOVEMBER EVENT GOALS:
• Tools, resources, tips, and techniques for those with chronic pain and disabling trauma and at high-risk for mental health challenges or suicide
• Actionable steps for suicide-surviving family members or friends transitioning after loss
• Identifiable signs when others need professional help, therapy, or additional resources to deal with grief, trauma, and death by suicide.
• The opportunity to listen, ask questions, and connect in a supportive, safe community, accessing mental health tools for well-being and recovery.

NOVEMBER EXPERT SPEAKERS:
1. Sara Gehrig is Assistant Director of Mental Health and Support at the US Pain Foundation and a peer support group leader. Sara has lived with chronic pain for over thirty years, made worse seven years ago after some extreme complications from a lumbar spinal fusion. As Assistant Director, she draws upon her lived experience to help empower others living with chronic pain to feel and be seen, heard, and believed. Sara's greatest joys in life are her two sons- Gavin (21) and Connor (20), who make everything right in her world.

2. Elizabeth Kipp is a chronic pain management and trauma recovery expert, certified addiction recovery coach, ancestral clearing practitioner, yoga teacher, and multiple best-selling author who is in long-term recovery from chronic pain and concurrent addiction. Elizabeth is the author of “The Way Through Chronic Pain: Tools to Reclaim Your Healing Power.” She conducts workshops, classes, and private sessions, with the background experience of healing from 40 years of chronic pain and thirty-one years of addiction to prescribed pain and anti-anxiety medication.

3. Karin Korb is a public health consultant and disability justice advocate specializing in inclusive design and structural equity. A two-time Paralympian and wheelchair user since age 16, she champions the humanization of disabled people across sports, education, and public health. She is a sound healing practitioner and certified life coach, offering wellness strategies that honor individual and collective healing. Karin is currently an instructor at The Players Network (TPN) Wellness Academy.

NOVEMBER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
The U.S. Pain Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created by and for people living with chronic pain. It serves over 50 million Americans, including the 24.3% of adults who face pain-related challenges daily. The foundation offers education, peer support, and advocacy for individuals, caregivers, and care providers. Its mission is to address stigma, misdiagnosis, and gaps in care while fostering connection, empowerment, and hope. https://uspainfoundation.org/

REFERENCES
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1217299/full

https://www.cdc.gov/disability-and-health/articles-documents/mental-health-of-people-with-disabilities.html

https://www.bjaed.org/article/S2058-5349%2823%2900078-1/fulltext

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PAST EVENTS
September 13, 2025 - "Outreach and Care for Our Military Families - Survivors of Grief, Tragedy, and Loss"

HOST
Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, CATP, is a Senior Partner at The Wellness Universe and an expressive arts psychotherapist of nearly 50 years, specializing in grief, trauma, and chronic pain. She is motivated by the loss of two family members to suicide and her own trauma recovery.

EXPERT SPEAKERS
1. Dr. Carla Stumpf Patton, Ed.D., LMHC, NCC, FT, CCTP, serves as Vice President of Suicide Prevention, Intervention, & Postvention at TAPS. Carla's first husband, Sgt. Richard Stumpf died by suicide, and she remarried to a fellow suicide-loss survivor.
2. Ilene Dillon, MSW, LCSW, LMFT, is a psychotherapist of more than fifty years, best-selling author, and international speaker who helps others transform their lives. Ilene was raised in a military family.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION – TAPS
TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), founded in 1994, offers 24/7 support at no cost to all military survivors, regardless of the circumstances. It has served over 120,000 families since its creation, averaging 24 daily.

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July 12, 2025 - "It's OK to Not Be OK - Helping Kids Cope with Family Loss"

HOST
Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, CATP, is a Senior Partner at The Wellness Universe and an expressive arts psychotherapist of nearly 50 years, specializing in grief, trauma, and chronic pain. She is motivated by the loss of two family members to suicide and her own trauma recovery.

EXPERT SPEAKERS
1. Dr. Mary Welsh, Co-Founder of Susie Q's Kids, is a suicide and grief session facilitator, speaker, and coach helping others cope with loss and adversity.
2. Carrie Hopkins-Doubts, PCC, author and founder of Life's Next Chapter Coaching, supports widowed individuals in rebuilding life after loss.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
Susie Q's Kids, a 501(C)3 nonprofit, is a two-time Community Partner of the Year with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), providing grief support bags to children and families in need.

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September 27, 2024 - "Supporting Youth"

HOST
Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Mental Performance Consultant®, known for her work in mental health and performance in sports.

EXPERT SPEAKERS
1. Judy Giovangelo, Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist and Founder of Ben Speaks.
2. Dr. Joshua Stein, Psychiatrist with PrairieCare, teaching the CALM method to reduce access to lethal means
3. Gayle Nowak, Communication and Emotional Wellness Coach, working with youth through self-awareness, healing, and authentic connection.

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DISCLAIMER
This program provides health, wellness, and nutritional information and is intended for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, it is always advisable to consult a physician or other healthcare professional. Do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have read, heard, or seen here. The use of any information provided in this program is solely at your own risk.

Developments in medical research may impact the health, wellness, fitness, and nutritional advice shared here. No assurances can be given that the information contained in this program will always include the most relevant findings or developments.

The program's experts share tools, practices, and knowledge with sincere and generous intentions. Please contact them with any questions, insights, or concerns you may have. They are happy to assist you!

Thank you for your support.