Shaler native’s goal of making the world a better place inspired business


Monday, January 27, 2020 | 12:01 AM

As Kristy Weidner dealt with her marriage ending, she wanted to make a change. She considered volunteering for the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders. Instead, she and her former supervisor co-founded the Village Center for Holistic Therapy because she saw a local need for services aimed at improving one’s overall well-being.

In 2011, Weidner, a social worker residing in Shaler, and her business partner, psychologist Victor Barbetti, opened their West End practice. In 2016, they opened a second location along Glenshaw’s Mt. Royal Boulevard.

Therapists combine a talk-based approach with additional areas of expertise, such as dance, yoga, meditation, art, music, pet therapy and acupuncture.

As the practice’s clinical director, Weidner, 40, said that clients are never pressured into trying therapies that don’t appeal to them.

“We really have a person-centered approach where we say, ‘You’re the driver of this vehicle; I’m the passenger. You’re going to have my support and encouragement. We’re going to throw a bunch of things at the wall and see what sticks.’’’

Sarah Hobbs, Village center program coordinator, believes Weidner’s methods are amazing.

“She’s always encouraging and full of new ideas on how to make the world we live in a better place,” said Hobbs. “She has taught me that there is always someone who needs your help, and we can always help those around us, without question. She also has an attitude of wanting the best for everyone and trying to add peace and well-being to all.”

Weidner is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and mindfulness meditation teacher. Village Center for Holistic Therapy also specializes in leading yoga classes for people dealing with trauma and anxiety. In September 2019, Weidner opened inJOY Studio for meditation and yoga upstairs from the Shaler Village Center. For session information, visit www.kristyjoyweidner.com/.

“At my heart of social work, I wanted a place where people felt like they belonged, where they weren’t shunned because of their mental illness or their class. Just a place that was open for everybody,” she said.

She has worked hard, she said, to ensure that her Village Center is able to accept Medicare and Medicaid.

Weidner taught 16- through 21-year-olds at Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf after receiving a bachelor’s in education of persons with hearing loss from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She often incorporates her American Sign Language knowledge into yoga workshops. At Pressley Ridge, Weidner focused on educating students who are deaf and diagnosed as emotionally disturbed or on the autism spectrum. The Shaler Area graduate always had a psychology interest, but thought that studying deaf education would serve as a good “stepping stone.”

She earned a master’s in social work from the University of Pittsburgh and later worked as a Pittsburgh Mercy Behavioral Health outpatient mental health counselor serving both hearing and deaf clients.

Weidner has given back to the community since 2010 by facilitating support groups at the Highmark Caring Place for elementary schoolers experiencing grief.

In her letter nominating Weidner for the Pittsburgh Magazine 40 Under 40 award, which she won, Highmark Caring Place manager Andrea Lurier wrote that Weidner helped a group of children enamored with the “Minecraft” video game process their grief.

“The next thing I knew, Kristy was bringing in enormous boxes, paint, glitter, glue, fabric and more. Kristy honored their interest and helped them build a “Minecraft world” that included the Caring Place, heaven and a bridge between the two so the children could symbolically stay connected to their loved ones.”

Through Village Center, Weidner has hosted supply drives for Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center, Project STAR, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and North Hills Community Outreach.



Source link



source https://newsslap.com/2020/01/28/shaler-natives-goal-of-making-the-world-a-better-place-inspired-business/

Komentarze

Prześlij komentarz

Popularne posty z tego bloga

Cannabis to be used as treatment for dementia symptoms in new UK trial

Scientist hypothesize that Sativex, a cannabinoid-containing mouth spray that tastes like mint, may be helpful in the reduction of symptoms such as aggression, agitation and paranoia. Researchers at King’s College London have announced that cannabis will be used as an experimental treatment for the symptoms of dementia, in what will be the first major UK clinical trial to treat the disease with the drug. 60 volunteer patients that display symptoms of dementia and Alzhemier’s are to be recruited, with results of cannabis treatment compared to those of a placebo. Most patients will be elderly people who live in nursing or assisted living homes, and all will be between 55 and 90 years old. Scientist hypothesize that Sativex, a cannabinoid-containing mouth spray that tastes like mint, may be helpful in the reduction of symptoms such as aggression, agitation and paranoia. Nearly half of all dementia patients in the UK suffer from these symptoms, in addition to confusion, lapses of me...
Czytaj więcej

SKUP , TERROR – Foreldrene til død IS-kriger kritiserer norske medier

Foreldrene til den døde IS-krigeren Bastian Vasquez snakker for første gang ut om mediepresset de opplevde da sønnen sluttet seg til jihadistgruppen. Foreldrene var gjester under fredagens «Late Night Show» på SKUP-konferansen, skriver Medier24 . Der fortalte de om presset de ble utsatt for da sønnen dukket opp i en IS-propagandavideo i Syria i 2014. Norsk-chileneren reiste til landet to år tidligere, etter å ha vært medlem av Profetens Ummah i Oslo. «Slik ble han alles fiende» lød ett av oppslagene i norske aviser. – Jeg vil snakke til alle dere journalister. Det er mye som er sagt og skrevet om vår sønn, og han blir framstilt som et monster. Han er ikke det. Bastian var kjærlig. Noen av dere skrev veldig mye vondt. Makten deres er enorm. Hvem kontrollerer makten dere har? Dere kan knekke en person. Vi som familie ble knekt, sa faren foran pressen. Rundt samme periode ble farens andre sønn oppringt av en journalist som spurte om det stemte at Vasquez var drept. Broren ble rystet...
Czytaj więcej

Memorials honoring Kobe and Gianna Bryant are popping up all over the world

Obraz
Nine people died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, including the basketball icon, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter. Artist Jules Muck painted the mural of Kobe and his daughter, whose nickname is Gigi, at Pickford Market in Los Angeles on Sunday. The mural reads, “Kobe & Gigi. Forever Daddy’s Girl.” “I feel that what he did with his fame as far as his camps and training and work with his daughter and other young people was pretty awesome especially that he died in that service,” Muck told CNN on Monday. Muck said she was already on her way to paint a mural of Bryant when she heard about Gianna’s death and “felt it was important to include her.” Public memorials honoring the father and daughter appeared across the Los Angeles area and even on the other side of the world. This is how Bryant and his daughter are being remembered by legions of adoring fans . Newport Beach, California Dozens of balloons and flowers lined the grass outside the gates of...
Czytaj więcej