Integrative gathering at LVHN uses local expertise to help
Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) recently hosted an Integrative Community Therapy (ICT) event in Kasych Family Pavilion at LVH–Cedar Crest, showcasing how the power of community and the caring and talent of its people can help others.
The ICT session at LVHN was jointly sponsored by Lehigh Valley Health Network Behavioral Health, Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health (LPPIH) and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
ICT is a discussion led by trained lay facilitators in partnership with participants, creating a safe space for sharing experiences, receiving mutual support, building community, self-expression and more. The core idea behind it is that people possess resources and capabilities that can be shared with one another as they respond to everyday stressors. ICT ties emotional support to community engagement, creating the ability to cope and heal together in a non-clinical setting.
The session at LVHN focused on issues including loneliness and disappointment.
The ICT event was facilitated by two trained facilitators, including Richard Orlemann, Deputy Mental Health Administrator for Lehigh County, who noted the contrast with formal group therapy. “The structure fosters a more peer-to-peer, communal dynamic where everyone’s experiences are valued,” Orlemann says. “The informal nature of the group, driven by guided conversation and community members, helps everyone to learn from the diverse perspectives of others.”
The session at Kasych Family Pavilion also marked the first time in the U.S. that live music was incorporated into an ICT program, says Orlemann. Jorge Vera, musician-in-residence with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, provided violin music. “His performance provided me with the opportunity to have deeper connections with the other participants and enhanced the round with periods of celebration and reflection,” says Orlemann.
Samantha Shaak, executive director, Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health, says LVHN and LPPIH have trained over 50 people in ICT, a model first developed in Brazil and now used in over 40 other countries.
She says the Lehigh Valley is the first community in the country to try to train and implement the model across the community in many different settings and with different groups and populations.
Ashley Felker, a behavioral health education specialist with LVHN’s Department of Psychiatry, says participants in the ICT session, also called a round, connected and understood each other more as the event progressed. “The department of psychiatry supports ICT as an accessible resource that uniquely and effectively combats the epidemic of loneliness,” she says.
Participants, in surveys completed after the event, praised the session.
“This is a great idea and so many people would benefit. The barrier to get over is people's assumptions about groups. I will definitely suggest future ones to others,” said one participant.
“This was a great experience! I think this level of connection and community could benefit the area where I work and serve clients,” noted another.
