Given the importance of stress and its effect on a person’s mental health, Latina On a Mission has opted to share the below loosely translated and condensed Op-ed. It is a sponsored post written by Jorge Cortina, MD, Medical Director for Behavioral Health at Anthem, Inc.
Click to read the original full-length Spanish Op-ed, Comencemos “Compartiendo el Café y Chocolate” y Aprendamos a Liberar El Estrés.
Most health problems are directly related to stress. This is why it is so important for the Latinx community to learn coping skills and build their tribe. No one can do it alone. And, no one should have to.
Anthem, Inc. and Pfizer, Inc. are helping with a new public service workshop program called Compartiendo el Cafe y Chocolate. The program helps participants to understand how stress affects the community, the body, the mind, and the spirit while helping you to connect with others in your community.
The program helps you to hold local workshops and lead conversations with small groups about how stress affects daily life. Leading a workshop does not require long periods of study. Easy-to-follow instructions, materials, and group activities are provided in the Leader Guide.
Anyone can lead a workshop by simply following the detailed and easy-to-use instructions – and can adapt this guide to your community’s unique needs.
The Leader Guide will help workshop leaders:
- Identify your audience: This workshop is designed for all Latinos who are currently experiencing stress, who want to learn different healthy ways to cope with stress or those who want more education about stress. This workshop has been designed for all levels of education.
- Determine class size: Try to keep the class size between 7 and 9 participants so that everyone can speak if they wish.
- Prepare materials and equipment: Gather a computer or tablet and projection screen to view the workshop PowerPoint slides; writing paper and pens so participants can take notes; blackboard with dry-erase markers and an eraser or flipchart with markers so you can jot down participants’ answers, thoughts, and ideas; and evaluation sheets so that your participants can give feedback.
- Determine the workshop schedule: The workshop series has been created so that the individual workshops can be taught separately or together. There is a total of four sessions, all equivalent to a 4-hour workshop which leaves time for participants to share their experiences. Each session of CCC is approximately 50 minutes, including the discussion.
- Figure out how to best organize the room: Because it is a workshop where there is participation, it may be better if the chairs are organized in a semicircular format with the chairs facing the projector screen.
- Learn how to guide the workshop: A script for the instructor can be found in the notes section of each slide to help guide the workshop.
We do not have to go it alone.
The workshops reinforce community by connecting participants through shared stories, allowing participants to share their experiences, learn, and set goals to deal with stress in various ways.
Click to learn how to lead a New York workshop in your community. And, if you’re willing to open it up to even more Latinas, please leave a comment below so others can join your workshop.
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