We heal the most in a space we know we belong
Healing is a process
Breathing Bear Belonging is a counselling, consulting and community-focused healing space.
Why Breathing Bear?
The Bear in Anishinaabe teachings symbolizes healing and medicine. Breathing Bear is centred on the vision and hope of restoring the life in our communities and the connection to our Spirit and relations through walking in wholistic healing.
As we center our growth and collective resurgence of heart-spirit-mind-body wholeness, we are able to see the courage and strength within us supporting our desire to survive and thrive.
When Beth was thinking about how to move forward in their hope to support community, they had a dream in their Undergrad years. This dream was of a bear. This bear was outlined by sweetgrasss braid - a piece of the sweetgrass being rainbow (like one strand of the three). Flowers like forget-me-nots, Sage plant, tobacco plant, cedar growing from beneath their feet. Roots underneath coming from their feet- the roots turn into People holding hands in a circle as the outline. A neurodiverse symbol in the bear, a two spirit feathers near its back. Also in the bear, red dress, orange heart and beading tools. The bear had visually expressive breath/ wind coming from their mouth in the shape of a heart.
We receive life-breathe when we are intentional about walking the healing path. While we should hold this dear to our heart and not give it away, we are also given opportunities to help others strengthen their voice and awareness of their value. Connecting with healing and community must center awareness of relational, systemic, spiritual, physical and emotional ways of being, knowing and doing. We hope the vision and our logo embodies these values and insight into the connection within individual and collective healing.
Beading
Beading is an important part of my life.
I have learnt so many skills, stories, wisdom, and carried much of my personal healing path through beading.
When I offer workshops I combine beading knowledge and skills, stories, and other ways of knowing, being and doing to facilitate a unique space of healing, connection and growth amongst participants.
Topic-specific workshops are available to, such as Beading-is-Reconciliation, Healing from sexual violence through beading, and Strengthening Solidarity: Resisting Lateral Violence through beading.
BElongning
This is a part of the vision where I offer workshops, consultation, research and trauma-informed praxis. I have completed workshop courses, professional development, toolkits, and more to support collective healing and wellbeing in various communities. I am wholeheartedly aware that systemic oppression has impeded our abilities to walk in a good relation with ourselves and each other. I hope that bringing awareness and centering self reflection in a community-based context will help us increase healing and belonging in our communities as we endeavor the journey of wellness in our own path.
BEcoming
This is the part of the vision which centers individual paths of healing. Through counseling or supporting one-on-one the hoppe is to connect with individuals in their journey of wholistic healing, being, and doing. I am trained in EMDR, have done a year long program with Compassionate Inquiry, and am in process of completing a trauma certificate and certificate focusing on Trauma and Dissociation for EMDR therapists. I hope to center wholistic healing while drawing upon multiple ways of being, knowing and doing to support healing, self reflection and transformative growth .
Learn more
walking in WHOLENESS is a process we never complete
WHO AM I?
Beth Jacobs's patrilineal familial relations are Annishanbe from Walpole Island First Nations, and their matrilineal relations are Settler (Irish-English) Newfie from Newfoundland and Labrador. They are two-spirit (queer, ace spectrum) and passionate about supporting Indigiqueer, Two-spirit and trans-Indigenous kin. Their spirit name means "merger between both worlds," they are turtle clan and embrace wholistic teachings and ways of being, knowing and doing their work. They have over ten years of supporting Indigenous youth in the community and over fifteen years working with youth. Beth self-describes as anti-racist, anti-ableist, anti-sanist, anti-colonial, and anti-oppressive. Beth sees the therapeutic relationship as a team effort to help the client gain wholistic healing, self reflection, empowerment, confidence and care.
Beth has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Gender Studies from Memorial University, supporting their efforts to center intersectional experience and identities as influential in one's narrative. They also have a systemic approach, understanding systemic oppression and its implications on Indigenous, queer and BIPOC communities. They draw from Indigenous feminist and queer pedagogies to center empowerment of individuals' personal journeys. They also recognize the role of cultural, spiritual, relational, environmental, and social experiences, how stressors and trauma impact humans, and how we walk on a holistic healing path.
Beth has a Bachelor of Social Work from Memorial University and a Masters of Social Work (Indigenous wholistic practice focused) from Wilfrid Laurier University. Beth assures to guide therapeutic processes by connecting their education, lived experiences, and counselling skills to empower individuals to process trauma and deepen their holistic healing path. Beth is passionate about creating safe spaces and promoting compassion, stories, and trauma-informed healing in our communities. They are dedicated to helping people process childhood trauma, sexual violence, spiritual trauma, cultural trauma and relational trauma. Beth also holds a Harm reduction approach to substance use and other coping mechanisms, drawing from Mad Matters, person-centred and anti-oppressive insight.
Beth also hopes to continue furthering their skills and insight in consistent professional development, constantly growing in wisdom and understanding of how to support people. Beth desires to center relationality and care in the therapeutic relationship. They have been doing EMDR training, Compassionate Inquiry Post Graduate Training and desire to so complete Inter Family Systems (IFS) training. They want to show their dedication to trauma-informed care and continuing professional development with a focus on dissociative experiences.Beth welcomes anyone who wants to process trauma and its impact on mental wellness and wholeness to connect and see if they would be a good fit for you. Everyone deserves to have space for the grief and complex feelings of experiencing life. Everyone deserves to be cherished and cared for amid stress and celebration. Beth hopes to give a gentle space for people to feel heads, seen, value,d and caredfor, and for people to feel heard, seen, value,d and cared for.