California Institute of Integral Studies

Your donation supports the work of California Institute of Integral Studies’ (CIIS) Center for Somatic Psychotherapy (CSP) and School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) to reduce recidivism of formerly incarcerated women by providing somatic therapy and acupuncture to the clients of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Women’s Resource Center. Over the course of a year, therapists and acupuncturists-in-training provide, for free, a total of 1,300 hours of individual, couples, and family therapy, 450 hours of group therapy, and 200 hours of acupuncture clinical services.

 Services provided by CIIS to formerly incarcerated women

• Reduce recidivism and ensure successful reentry
• Address issues related to recovery from addiction, anger management and the unique challenges of LGBTQ clients
• Establish realistic reintegration plans that include healthcare, housing, and employment goals
• Cultivate empathy and accountability to facilitate constructive behavioral change
• Address anxiety, depression, anger, and reactivity through mindfulness-based stress reduction
• Reinforce healthy partnership and parenting skills by encouraging strong family bonds
• Provide referrals to appropriate social service organizations

This project’s therapists-in-training build the social and emotional resilience necessary for the women to positively and productively reintegrate into their families, social networks, and communities. Acupuncture is well known for aiding in stress reduction, pain management and the treatment of addiction, and dovetails beautifully with somatic psychotherapy in aiding Women’s Resource Center clients in developing awareness of bodily cues to manage anxiety, anger, depression and impulse control.

We ask for your help to continue providing healthcare for formerly incarcerated women at this critical time in their lives.