Creative Living Counseling Center

Anger Management Group for Women at the Packanack Lake Community Church Tuesday evenings 7:15 - 8:45 p.m. Contact: Penny Gadzini, M.Div., Leader, 973-696-3232 $25/session

To compliment Dan Shenk’s popular anger management group for men, Penny Gadzini will be leading a group for women. In a safe group setting, women will begin to explore the richness and challenges of their emotional lives, focusing on anger. We will explore the function of anger, how it serves us and how it can get us into trouble, triggers for anger, exercises that will improve the participant’s awareness of the bodily sensations involved in anger thereby increasing the possibility that participants will be able to choose how they act when they are angry. We will also explore strategies for de-escalating anger and making choices to better achieve our objectives.

Compassionate and skilled support will be provided with the goals of achieving greater freedom in decision making and reconnections in troubled relationships and the opportunity to live more creatively.

Compassionate Teens Recognized

Local teens selected as outstanding examples of caring, compassion, community building, justice and non-violence received the prestigious Humanity Award at the Creative Living Counseling Center’s seventh annual Humanity Awards event, Sunday, November 5, at 4:30 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 So. Monroe Ave., Ridgewood.

The Humanity Awards were created by the Creative Living Counseling Center (CLCC) following the Columbine massacre to counter the focus on “bad teens” with an annual focus on teens of exemplary character and caring actions. Selected for the awards by their schools or faith communities, the teen winners inspire hope for the future by the diverse ways they make life better for those around them.

The program to honor these extraordinary young people featured stellar performances by Broadway’s George Merritt, star of “Big River” and ” Jekyl and Hyde” and “Phantom of the Opera” star, Julie Hanson as well as performances by exceptionally-talented local, teen musicians - Talya Buckbinder, age 15, student at Julliard School Pre-College Division, Ethan Siegel, age 16, student at the JCC Thurnauer School or Music and the Westwood High School Select Choir.

In addition to this year’s Humanity Award recipients, CLCC honored Matthew Renzulli, a 2005 Humanity Award recipient, for his ongoing work in collecting new socks for homeless persons served by Eva’s Shelter in Paterson. To date, Matthew has collected 8,000 pairs of new socks. Persons attending the Humanity Award event were asked to bring new pairs of socks for this project and CLCC donated $100 of new socks to Matthew. Matthew received the socks with these words which capture the essence of our hope to nurture and encourage these young people who demonstrate in their lives the qualities of care, compassion, justice, non-violence and community building.

“Little did I know last year, as I stood here accepting the very same award, that the impact and inspiration of receiving this recognition would encourage me to continue with my community service, especially the “Eva’s Sock Drop.” Little did I know that it would surpass over 40 locations and collect over 8,000 pairs of socks for the homeless. I know that collecting socks is such a small thing, but I hope that I have been able to bring a little bit of comfort to those less fortunate. I am extremely grateful as a teenager to have the privilege of understanding the true meaning of Hope and Compassion, and that every one of us can make a difference, no matter how small the gesture!….”

The Humanity Awards were covered in extensive articles with photographs in The Bergen Record on November 6, 2006, Thanksgiving Day, 2006 and also in the January 2007 201 Best of Bergen Magazine.

The Creative Living Counseling Center is a non-profit, interfaith counseling service headquartered in Allendale, with offices throughout Bergen and Passaic counties. For 39 years, the Center has enhanced local life by providing both spiritually sensitive psychological counseling and outreach programs that address such needs as teen bereavement, anger management, effective parenting and marriage enrichment.

Proceeds from the Humanity Awards event provide funds vital for the continuation of the Creative Living Counseling Center’s services of counseling and outreach programs for the people of Bergen and Passaic counties.

Currently we are offering a Safe Space workshop:

Safe space is an eight week support group for bereaved high school teens who have lost a loved one through death. (offered regularly in our Allendale location). A separate group is also available for the parents or guardians of the teens that will meet at the same time.

For more information please see read Safe Space workshop page

Why am I angry?
How do I manage my anger?
How do I mange the anger of others?

We are currently offering our Anger Management Group workshop at our Wayne location, for persons who have difficulty in managing their anger.

For more information on this workshop please visit out Anger Management Group Workshop page.

Date: September 6, 2006
Contact: James Wyrtzen, Program Director Creative Living Counseling Center 201-670-6628 x3

Creative Living Counseling Center to Start a New Program for Religious Leaders

Program is supported by the Care for Caregivers Project

Allendale, NJ -Second Monday Seminars: Nurturing and Empowering Religious Leaders will be offered by The Creative Living Counseling Center (CLCC) beginning September 11th at 1 Church Lane in Oakland, the home of St. Albans Episcopal Church and Temple Emmanuel. The Seminars will address a range of important topics for religious leaders, particularly for those leading congregations. Skilled professional leadership will be provided by both Center staff and outside professionals with relevant expertise. Programs will be held on the second Monday morning of each month except for July and August. Bagels and coffee will be available at 9:30 a.m. The program will begin at 10. Discussion from 11 - noon.

2007 spring workshops are:

Monday, January 8, 2007 - Ministering to Disruptive Congregations: Challenges and Solutions - Jim Wyrtzen, D.Min.

Monday, February 12, 2007 - Parish and Community Involvement, Rev. Don Brown, M.Div., M.S.

Monday, March 12, 2007 - Prayer and Healing, Penny Gadzini, M.Div.

Monday, April 16, 2007 - Challenges of Balancing Work and Personal Time, Gretchen Janssen, D.Min.

Monday, May 14, 2007 - Next Stages of Life - Issues in Retirement; Richard Batchelder, Ph.D., Marilyn Batchelder, D.Min., Dan Bottorff, D.Min.

Monday, June 11, 2007 - Motivational Interviewing, James Welch, M.D.

Financial support is needed from participants in order to continue this popular program. $25/session will help to cover expenses.

In explaining the need for the program, Dr. Jim Wyrtzen, CLCC’s Director of Training and Development and Director of the Second Monday program said “For a religious organization to be truly alive and vibrant, its leadership must have nurturing experiences that help them to be effective in dealing with people who are sick, anxious, depressed, hostile, conflicted, grieving, or struggling to find meaning.”

The Reverend Prince Singh, Rector of St. Albans and a member of the CLCC board, said his church is pleased to host this program because “Many religious leaders today experience tremendous pressures relating to dwindling finances, congregational size, and organizational structure. In this environment, much of their continuing education is focused in such areas as evangelism, church growth and stewardship. What is sacrificed is the care and nurture of the soul. The ability for leaders to minister effectively requires both a sense of wholeness within themselves, and the appropriate skills. These can be the most rewarding moments in religious life; however they can also be the most demanding.” The programs are aimed be of value for religious leaders of all faiths. For further information call Jim Wyrtzen at 201-670-6628, x 3.

The Creative Living Counseling Center is a nonprofit, interfaith counseling center established in 1967 to provide spiritually sensitive psychological counseling services to residents of northern New Jersey. In addition to its counseling services, the Center is committed to enriching individual, family, and community life through a wide range of outreach programs.

The 911 Fund was established in the aftermath of 9/11. Funding has continued through the American Red Cross. The Care for Caregivers Project of the City of New York Council of Churches is one of its continuing programs.