The "Tenacity of Spirit"
By Colleen DeRango, MA, LISAC
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 | Re-printed from the MeadowLark Fall/Winter 2009 Newsletter
I have worked at Mellody House since its inception, and it never ceases to amaze me to be in the presence of a powerful group of clients in recovery. Some people have questioned me about how I could work for so long in a trauma healing center. I explain that, for me, there could be no better place. Imagine working on a daily basis with people seeking healing and sobriety, sharing openly from a place of vulnerability, and looking to honesty and a Higher Power as guiding principles. I get to see someone "tap into" his truth in the middle of an EMDR session, or watch in amazement as a client releases an old traumatic pattern long held in her body, as she slowly sits upright in her chair with an air of internal integrity and strength, emoting a sense of "I can" versus "I can't." It is the most honoring place I could be.
On a daily basis, I see with my own eyes the "tenacity of spirit" inside each individual who lets go of old, worn-out patterns of being and embraces new ones while emerging from a sacred place within. It is like a ceremony of sorts, wherein the strength of the community embracing 12 Step principles enhances
and encourages the hidden strength of an individual soul to emerge from layers of
granite, discovering and knowing, "I belong." Witnessing the softness revealed from the power of this internal knowing, the power of coherence, the power of congruence, and the power of the alignment of mind, body, spirit, and emotion is like watching the sun rise from behind the mountainscape. It knows who it is and knows how bright it is capable of shining, no longer needing to prove anything, but being content in "being" and in taking its rightful place in the universe.
As I often remind my clients when they comment on the miracles of Mellody House: "The
miracle is not in the place. Rather, it is in each and every person." The place is just the
container; it takes a willing human being to take the journey inward, to explore the "landscape of within," to allow the sun to emerge. I just happen to be one of the individuals who walks alongside on this journey; enjoying immensely the hike. ∞
I would like to share with you a quote from a patient at Mellody House:
"I can't imagine the life that awaits me after my stay at Mellody House. The depth of the trauma healing that's taken place for me gives me great hope, not only for myself, but for others as well. The pain I've been able to feel is awesome - I can actually feel it now. It has been a real privilege to have been here. For that, I have gratitude."
Staff Spotlight
Colleen DeRango has worked at The Meadows for the past nine years; she joined as a family counselor, then served as a Survivors and primary counselor. She has been a counselor at Mellody House since its inception in May 2004. Her passion rises from supporting clients in trauma healing while anchoring their recovery in the 12 Step program. She focuses on integrating The Meadows' trauma-based model with her background as an EMDR and certified Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, along with her training as an acupuncture detoxification specialist.
