The Dancing Mindfulness Team
Dancing Mindfulness Facilitators & Registered Expressive Arts Therapists (REAT)
As Registered Expressive Arts Therapists (REATs), these team members also offer Supervision Services for The Institute for Creative Mindfulness's Certificate of Expressive Arts Therapy program.
Irene M. Rodriguez MS, LMHC, CAP, REAT (Affiliate and Distance Based Trainer) is a Certified Addictions Professional with a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Life Stress Reduction (LSR), and she is a Certified Facilitator of Trauma Incident Reduction (TIR) and of Dancing Mindfulness. Professionally, she has helped children, adolescents, and adults with a multitude of complex issues such as depression, self-harm behaviors, anxiety, adjustment disorders, addiction, grief, phobias, and mood disorders such as bipolar disorder since 2006.
Irene graduated in the second class of Dancing Mindfulness facilitators and she was the first trainee to complete the affiliate mentorship track, allowing her to offer her own trainings leading to certification. Irene spearheaded the movement to bring Dancing Mindfulness training to her native Puerto Rico in 2014. Irene has been conducting Dancing Mindfulness facilitator trainings in the Spanish language since 2015.
Contact: irodriguez@mindfuljourneycenter.com / (954) 376-0496
Website: http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com
"Irene is the embodiment of dancing mindfulness… her enthusiasm, pure love, and joy for life resonates in her works as a facilitator, a mentor, and a teacher." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Irene graduated in the second class of Dancing Mindfulness facilitators and she was the first trainee to complete the affiliate mentorship track, allowing her to offer her own trainings leading to certification. Irene spearheaded the movement to bring Dancing Mindfulness training to her native Puerto Rico in 2014. Irene has been conducting Dancing Mindfulness facilitator trainings in the Spanish language since 2015.
Contact: irodriguez@mindfuljourneycenter.com / (954) 376-0496
Website: http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com
"Irene is the embodiment of dancing mindfulness… her enthusiasm, pure love, and joy for life resonates in her works as a facilitator, a mentor, and a teacher." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Ramona Skriiko M.SEd, LPC, REAT (Affiliate and Distance Based Trainer) has loved to move her body ever since she was a little girl and has taken classes in various forms of dance, as well as yoga and meditation. When she discovered Dancing Mindfulness, she found it an irresistible combination of mind, body, and spirit brought together to encourage healing and self-acceptance. She was a graduate of the very first Dancing Mindfulness facilitator training in 2013 and is eager to help others find their inner joy and power through this shared practice.
A licensed professional counselor and self-professed geek girl, Ramona lives in Poland, Ohio, with her astrophysicist husband, John, and two troublesome but adorable cats named Trick and Treat.
Contact: ramona.s.lpc@gmail.com / (330) 651-25555
Website: http://www.ramonaskriiko.com
"Ramona's presence sets a healing tone for any Dancing Mindfulness class that she facilitates. She moves with a deep understanding of the practice, and our community is simply blessed because of who she is, how she moves, and how she leads." -Dr. Jamie Marich
A licensed professional counselor and self-professed geek girl, Ramona lives in Poland, Ohio, with her astrophysicist husband, John, and two troublesome but adorable cats named Trick and Treat.
Contact: ramona.s.lpc@gmail.com / (330) 651-25555
Website: http://www.ramonaskriiko.com
"Ramona's presence sets a healing tone for any Dancing Mindfulness class that she facilitates. She moves with a deep understanding of the practice, and our community is simply blessed because of who she is, how she moves, and how she leads." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Rachel Weaver MSW, LISW-S, LICDC-CS, DBTC, REAT (Affiliate and Distance Based Trainer) graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work. Rachel has worked with children, teens, adults, the elderly, and groups since 2006. She has been employed as a clinician, supervisor, educator, and clinical director in community mental health agencies, private practices, universities, colleges, and substance abuse agencies. Currently, she is a Social Work lecturer/professor, clinical internship liaison, and supervisor at The Ohio State University. She is also the owner and CEO of WiseMind Consulting & Wellness LLC, a consulting, mental health and wellness private practice in Columbus, OH. As a social work and chemical dependency supervisor, Rachel provides ongoing guidance and supervision to students, interns, and clinicians; both within and outside of her private practice. Expanding knowledge within the field, she presents continuing education workshops on topics such as DBT, supervision, ethics, DSM-5, and many more. Her certifications and training include:
Contact: rweaver.wisemind@gmail.com
Website: www.wisemindcw.com/
- First woman in the state of Ohio
- certified in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBTC)
- Certified in EMDR Certified Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator
- Registered Expressive Arts Therapist
Contact: rweaver.wisemind@gmail.com
Website: www.wisemindcw.com/
Peyton Cram LPC, LCDC III, REAT (Affiliate and Distance Based Trainer) (pronouns They, Them, Theirs) is a Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator, EMDR Therapist, Expressive Arts Therapist working towards their REAT certification, artist, lock on the Youngstown Women’s Rugby Team, and life-long learner. They received their MSEd in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Youngstown State University and is currently the Outpatient Program Supervisor at Valor Recovery Centers. Peyton is also a Reiki lvl 2.
Always thinking outside of the box, which is summarized in their favorite saying “I’m far from left of center,” discovering Dancing Mindfulness was a welcome home that they needed to fully understand themself and knit together their therapeutic approach. This welcome home to self is what has motivated Peyton to work with others throughout the training process.
You can catch Peyton at their home in Austintown, OH losing track of time in a canvas or their next cooking experiment.
Contact: peypeypainting@gmail.com
website: www.peypeypainting.com
Always thinking outside of the box, which is summarized in their favorite saying “I’m far from left of center,” discovering Dancing Mindfulness was a welcome home that they needed to fully understand themself and knit together their therapeutic approach. This welcome home to self is what has motivated Peyton to work with others throughout the training process.
You can catch Peyton at their home in Austintown, OH losing track of time in a canvas or their next cooking experiment.
Contact: peypeypainting@gmail.com
website: www.peypeypainting.com
Dancing Mindfulness Affiliate Trainers
Jennifer Emch, M.Ed LPCC-S (Affiliate Trainer) has always had a passion for movement. She has been involved in dance classes as a young girl, moved on to teaching dance in both Lake and Geauga Counties and then obtaining her BA in Dance in 1999. With a pull towards the helping professions, Jen then received her Masters of Education in Counseling in 2004 and began working in the mental health field. After discovering Dancing Mindfulness in the fall of 2014, she found her calling with being able to combine her passions for creative movement and helping others. She is very excited to be a part of the Dancing Mindfulness team. Jen is the owner of Ubuntu Wellness, a holistic wellness and clinical practice in Chardon, Ohio. Jen is a Supervising Professional Clinical Counselor, mom to her superhero son, Grayson and currently resides in Burton, Ohio.
Contact: jennifer@ubuntuwellnessohio.com / (440) 289-1572
Website: http://www.ubuntuwellnessohio.com
"Jen is the very embodiment of Dancing Mindfulness, and I noticed it from the first few moments of her facilitator training. She moves with joy and total connection to the present moment. Jen is also a mover and a shaker at the community level, immediately taking what she learned from her facilitator training and making a difference in various healing venues. I am so proud to have her on board!" -Dr. Jamie Marich
Contact: jennifer@ubuntuwellnessohio.com / (440) 289-1572
Website: http://www.ubuntuwellnessohio.com
"Jen is the very embodiment of Dancing Mindfulness, and I noticed it from the first few moments of her facilitator training. She moves with joy and total connection to the present moment. Jen is also a mover and a shaker at the community level, immediately taking what she learned from her facilitator training and making a difference in various healing venues. I am so proud to have her on board!" -Dr. Jamie Marich
Orisha (Orixa) Bowers, Ph.D, MA, M. Ed, (Affiliate Trainer) a native Memphian, has more than 15 years of experience in social services, nonprofit leadership, grants management, program design, and civic leadership. Orisha, affectionately known as Dr. O, has been a dedicated community volunteer and advocate serving TN and surrounding areas for most of her life. Currently, Orisha works at Provide as theRegional Director. Prior to this Orisha worked for Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region as an HIV Outreach Educator and Linkage to Care Specialist, as a Director at Partnership To End AIDS Status Inc., and Senior Associate, Lead Agent at United Way of the Mid-South overseeing the HIV/AIDS programs for the Southwest TN region. When she is not advocating for women and families across Tennessee, she is entertaining them as a singer with the famous party band, “The Bouffants”. Orisha is a published scholar, lifelong learner, and researcher. She is well known as an educator and trainer throughout TN. Orisha is an affiliate trainee for Dancing Mindfulness under the supervision and leadership of Dr. Jamie Marich. Orisha is the mother of three children – the greatest of all her accomplishments – and a devoted wife, daughter, and sister.
Contact: oahenry01@hotmail.com / (901) 399-4565
"Orisha is a changemaker and an advocate for social justice in all areas of her life. The passion meeting her passion for dancing mindfulness is one of the most beautiful fusions I have ever witnessed." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Contact: oahenry01@hotmail.com / (901) 399-4565
"Orisha is a changemaker and an advocate for social justice in all areas of her life. The passion meeting her passion for dancing mindfulness is one of the most beautiful fusions I have ever witnessed." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Theresa Benson, Ph.D, REACE (Affiliate Trainer) is a holistic health educator, expressive arts facilitator, and counseling psychologist, who incorporates expressive arts, mindfulness, and nature-based practices into her clinical work and trainings to facilitate healing and promote holistic health and well-being. As an intermodal expressive arts educator, she takes an holistic, experiential learning approach with a focus on the development and integration of the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of individuals’ lives. As a clinician, she practices a common factors approach influenced by an existential-humanist perspective. Clinical interests include intermodal expressive arts, mindfulness-based therapies, integrative health and wellness, spirituality/religion, post-traumatic growth, social justice issues, and supervision and training of clinicians. For nine years, she served as the Educator and Program Coordinator of the award winning Counseling Center Paraprofessional Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Counseling Center, where she incorporated expressive arts into her curriculum and teaching approach. She currently serves as a Staff Psychologist and Training Coordinator at the UIUC Counseling Center, and operates a small private practice. She holds an MA in Holistic Health Education from JFK University, a doctorate in counseling psychology from The University of Akron, and a certificate in Intermodal Expressive Arts from Expressive Arts Florida Institute. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the State of Illinois. She is a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant Educator (REACE) and an active member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association where she mentors young professionals and reviews REACE applications. She is also a member of the American Counseling Center Training Association.
Contact: shamanmama@aol.com / (330) 432-2387
"Theresa brings a true passion for the expressive arts and spiritual diversity to the Dancing Mindfulness community. Every time I speak with her or practice with her I learn something new, and I am delighted to have her as a member of our team." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Contact: shamanmama@aol.com / (330) 432-2387
"Theresa brings a true passion for the expressive arts and spiritual diversity to the Dancing Mindfulness community. Every time I speak with her or practice with her I learn something new, and I am delighted to have her as a member of our team." -Dr. Jamie Marich
Support Team
Beck (she/her) has always been a “handler.” It wouldn’t be surprising to hear her say, “I’ll take care of it!” with excitement, enthusiasm, and most importantly, skill. Between her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and her organizational skill acquired through twenty years of administrative experience, Beck is an organizational expert, seeing patterns through chaos and deftly navigating challenging situations.
Beck started working in dental offices when she was just 18, and eventually used her skills and experience to become an office manager, professionally temping and offering training to many different dental practices in the Denver Metro area. Never really being satisfied with “just” being a manager, she earned her Master’s degree from the University of Colorado-Denver in 2015. Her early experiences in internship and post grad were at the Gender Identity Center of Colorado, where she enjoyed working with clients seeking everything from guidance in transition to coming out to loved ones, to cheering them on and encouraging clients to live their authentic lives, not to mention clients who just wanted to work toward their goals in an understanding and non-judgmental environment. Training interns as a Clinical Manager specializing in Integrity Maintenance added the cherry on top to an incredible clinical experience as it utilized one of her most-loved qualities: teaching and training. Beck has always had a passion for counseling, and used to attend Continuing Education events while still in graduate school, simply for the knowledge. She met Jamie at one such event in 2013, which started her journey with the practice of Dancing Mindfulness.
Beck has been a Dancing Mindfulness facilitator since 2014 and thoroughly enjoys all forms of creative expressions, including dance, writing, visual arts, needle crafts, and especially vocal music. Beck spent many years in Denver as part of several vocal groups including an 80-voice women’s chorus, a small a capella group, a large mixed-voice chorus, and a local cover band.
Contact: beck@instituteforcreativemindfulness.com
Beck started working in dental offices when she was just 18, and eventually used her skills and experience to become an office manager, professionally temping and offering training to many different dental practices in the Denver Metro area. Never really being satisfied with “just” being a manager, she earned her Master’s degree from the University of Colorado-Denver in 2015. Her early experiences in internship and post grad were at the Gender Identity Center of Colorado, where she enjoyed working with clients seeking everything from guidance in transition to coming out to loved ones, to cheering them on and encouraging clients to live their authentic lives, not to mention clients who just wanted to work toward their goals in an understanding and non-judgmental environment. Training interns as a Clinical Manager specializing in Integrity Maintenance added the cherry on top to an incredible clinical experience as it utilized one of her most-loved qualities: teaching and training. Beck has always had a passion for counseling, and used to attend Continuing Education events while still in graduate school, simply for the knowledge. She met Jamie at one such event in 2013, which started her journey with the practice of Dancing Mindfulness.
Beck has been a Dancing Mindfulness facilitator since 2014 and thoroughly enjoys all forms of creative expressions, including dance, writing, visual arts, needle crafts, and especially vocal music. Beck spent many years in Denver as part of several vocal groups including an 80-voice women’s chorus, a small a capella group, a large mixed-voice chorus, and a local cover band.
Contact: beck@instituteforcreativemindfulness.com
Kelsey Evans, MSW, LISW-S, RYT-200 (Project Support) currently manages the social media pages of all projects connected to Mindful Ohio & The Institute for Creative Mindfulness and Dancing Mindfulness. A clinical social worker based in Northeast Ohio, Kelsey was in the first graduating class of Dancing Mindfulness facilitators in 2013. Kelsey has worked closely with Dr. Jamie Marich on several projects. In addition to her work as a Dancing Mindfulness facilitator, Kelsey is also a Zumba instructor and a yoga instructor.
Contact: kels1586@aol.com
Contact: kels1586@aol.com
Alicia Hann (she/her) serves as an administrative assistant for Mindful Ohio & The Institute for Creative Mindfulness . She keeps the Dancing Mindfulness website updated as well as assists in social media management. Alicia is connected to Mindful Ohio & The Institute for Creative Mindfulness through Dancing Mindfulness. She has been a facilitator in the Columbus area since 2016 and is actively working on becoming a Dancing Mindfulness affiliate as well as receiving her REACE. Alicia is a dance performer,choreographer, and dance educator. Alicia is thrilled to be a part of the ICM team as a person who has used dance to aid in her personal healing and recovery she wholeheartedly believes in the “healing power” of art and self expression. Alicia also enjoys backpacking, all things coffee, being in nature, and spending time with her two dogs.
Contact: support@instituteforcreativemindfulness.com
Contact: support@instituteforcreativemindfulness.com