mental health

RF Public Library hosts series

RIVER FALLS – The River Falls Public Library is hosting a series of mental health sessions, provided by local businesses that focus on mental wellness and holistic healing. The sessions are all free and focus on different aspects of how to connect with mental wellbeing.

See MENTAL HEALTH, Page 10

Tonya Schmitt

Heidi Roettger MENTAL HEALTH

From Page 1

The sessions are provided by Tonya Schmitt from Mindful SOULutions and Heidi Roettger from MBC Collaborative. These two women were awarded grant money which they are using to provide resources for mental health in Pierce and St. Croix counties.

The series range from four to five sessions and all focus on different techniques. Each session contains different steps for a full experience.

“We go through the science behind it, then the practices and then discussion, like ‘what is the experience of the practice like for you?’” Schmitt said.

The first is called “ABCs: Avoiding Burnout and Cultivating Self-care, five-session series.” This series focuses on exploring different tools to help with stress and burnout.

“This session really is a combination and many factors go into it. It focuses a little bit on why you should care and the science behind this and what is happening on a nervous system level, in terms of breath work and practices like that,” said Schmitt.

Another class is named “Intro to Mindfulness, five-session series,” and this series focuses more on the practice of mindfulness.

The sessions are a way to help people start to prioritize mindfulness and their mental health and are designed to help with continuing these practices after the sessions are complete.

“In all cases there is going to be some homework because if you really want to make a lifestyle change, you are going to try this stuff out at home, and not in a pressure sort of way. I like to say it is ‘happy homework,’” Schmitt said.

The last of the sessions being offered through the River Falls Public Library is “Intro to Mindfulness in Nature, four-session series,” and this session is based in nature. The series will focus on sensory-focused mindfulness activities.

The description for this session says, “These classes are infused with stories and writings from indigenous cultures and environmentalists, past and present. We will connect with beauty, power and fragility of nature in community, and take action to create a healthier and happier world.”

The grant that has allowed the two women to create these sessions across western Wisconsin comes from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and is a part of the emergency COVID grants that were dispersed for promoting mental health practices.

“The grant is called ‘emergency grants to address mental and substance use disorders during COVID-19’ and once we were awarded the grant, we found out the money originally comes from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA),” Schmitt said. “This is a pretty big deal that these federal funds for wellness that are funneling through the states and we were able to apply and receive the money and so we set out to get our services out into Pierce and St. Croix counties,” said Schmitt.

The sessions are aimed to help people improve many aspects of their lives, with improvement in one area creating automatic improvements in other areas.

“When you start going down in one area, it’ll start to pull you down in others and when you start working in one area you will start to get uplifted in others and it is all connected,” Schmitt said.

Both women did not originally plan to go into the field they are currently in, but after personal experiences and learning more about how mental health is connected to other aspects of overall health, they decided to learn more about it.

Roettger said, “MBC Collaborative stands for Mind, Body, Connection and I started the business after going through some challenges in my own life where I didn’t feel like I had the support I needed or the awareness of the resources that were out there and I wanted to be a resource for those who are in that same situation.”

She now uses training and her life experience to help others with challenges they may be going through, and to help with wellness and mindfulness holistically. Before starting the MBC Collaborative, Roettger worked in business. After starting a family, she said her priorities shifted and that led her to wanting to be more of a resource to others.

The same is true for Schmitt. After learning more about how certain practices can improve overall health, she decided she wanted to share her knowledge with others.

“Mindfulness is the heart of my work, which is why it is in the name ‘Mindful SOULutions.’ The tools that I use are basic tools that anyone can use; long before we got to this point we knew our society was becoming more escalated and the tools that I teach help us to stay out of the realm of anxiety and help us not to be lost in negative thinking,” Schmitt said.

Before starting Mindful SOULutions, Schmitt was working as a teacher and graduated with a biology degree. She has an extensive science and teaching background and that has helped her to look through a scientific lens when helping others through her practice now.

The two both encourage others with these tools and practices. “We focus on empowering people to find their own inner strength and also advocating for themselves,” said Roettger.

Aside from these sessions, the businesses also provide many other resources for those who are interested. There are support groups offered as well as the MBC virtual community for adults, which is in place for people to connect further with a focus on wellness.

Each of the sessions except the nature-based session is offered both in person and virtually; the Mindfulness in Nature is only offered in person. For more information about the sessions and to register visit www.riverfallspubliclibrary.org.

To learn more about the MBC Collaborative and Mindful SOULutions, visit https://mbccollaborative.com and https://www.mymindfulsoulutions.com