“SELF CARE IS THE ACTIONS THAT WE TAKE TO ACHIEVE WELLNESS, AND WELLNESS IS WHERE WE STAND IN OUR POWER!”
– WENDY BLANCHARD, M.S., INHC, NYCPS
“It is said that everyone loves a comeback story. This is especially true for the woman who came back from a life of substance use disorder and mental health disorders. The woman with an inspirational story to share that offers hope to others struggling with these co-occurring disorders. A woman that nearly died of these disorders in late 2012 and early 2013, but she lived.
And…that woman is me.
My recovery is wellness based, where I practice an integrative/holistic approach, body, mind and spirit. My spirituality is the foundation of my thriving recovery.
Wendy Blanchard, M.S., INHC, NYCPS is a certified holistic health/mental health and wellness coach/practitioner, Board Certified Peer Specialist, and mental health educator and consultant. She is trained by the National Council for Behavioral Health, the Suicide Prevention Center of NYS, and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and is thriving in her 10TH year of recovery through an integrative approach which she has created.
Wendy specializes in holistic health and mental health and wellness coaching and education through an integrative approach. Wendy works with clients in her private practice, in person, and via Zoom/Facetime, who are on their own recovery journey from these same disorders, as well as clients who are simply interested in making sustainable lifestyle changes to achieve their health and wellness goals. She is the creator of the “Wellness Approach to Recovery” program which uses a holistic and integrative approach to healing on a cellular level, and implements her “S.P.E.A.R. and S.W.I.M. to Wellness” methods.
Wendy is the author of the her new book, “WRITE PRAY RECOVER:A JOURNEY TO WELLNESS THROUGH SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS AND SELF CARE!”
Wendy has also facilitated recovery groups for 3 years, weekly, at Nyack Montefiore Hospital, and Good Samaritan Hospital, and for recovery communities for patients/clients in recovery. She delivered the Keynote speech at the Chris Ashman Wellness and Recovery Conference in December, 2018, speaks and teaches locally in the Hudson Valley Region in N.Y., and around NY State and internationally, raising awareness about wellness in addiction recovery, also known as Substance Use Disorder, offering solutions through an integrative approach, and helping to eliminate stigma.
Wendy is also an educator in Suicide Safety for School Staff, Trauma Informed Approach, Youth Mental Health First Aid, Adult Mental Health First Aid, Spiritual Wellness, Motivational Interviewing, De-Escalation, MAT, and other mental health and wellness trainings.
Most recently, Wendy has been hired as a mental health consultant for Wellcore, an educational consulting firm in the Hudson Valley Region in N.Y. to provide training in Mental Health First Aid to schools, law enforcement, and other community groups. She also sits on the P.E.E.R. Coalition where she collaborates in teaching prevention education for drug use and mental illness.
“Wellness is MY choice with every decision that I make throughout each moment of the day, from what I choose to eat, to the relationships that I choose to engage in, to the thoughts I choose to focus on, to practicing daily self-care.” Wellness is not just about healthy nutrition and exercise. Wellness is about our self-talk. Our cells hear everything that we say to ourselves. a positive mindset and happy healthy thoughts promote wellness on a cellular level.
It is up to us to be aware of our own signs and symptoms as we begin to feel unwell, and of what we need to move back to wellness. Inherently, we all know what we need to heal, and it will be different for everyone, and will change over one’s lifetime. We must practice prevention in removing ourselves from anything toxic including foods, thoughts, and relationships. Most importantly, we must know that when we have done all that we can to try to move ourselves back to wellness, and we aren’t successful, we must understand that it is a healthy decision and the highest form of self-care to ask for professional help.
When we are unwell physically and remain unwell for an extended period of time, we go to the doctor. We must practice the same type of self-care when it applies to our mental health.
We all have mental health…
Healthy practices body, mind, and spirit promote wellness. Wellness is where we stand in our power!
Wishing you harmonious health for life!
With deep gratitude, love, and blessings,
Wendy
