Filtering by Author: Grace Pernecky

Leslie Blackburn’s Big Pivot: From Sacred Sexuality to Local Politics

Within the past year, Blackburn’s work has pivoted to involvement in the local political scene, where they recently ran in the primary for Lodi Trustee. Blackburn states that this transformation is an extension of the empowerment work they were already doing in sacred sexuality.

Posted on September 1, 2024 and filed under Interviews, Issue #87, Profiles.

The Current State of Sexual Health Education in Michigan

It wasn’t until later that I learned that my experience with sexual health education was not uncommon. I assumed, as a kid whose whole world was based around school, that everything in the curriculum was what was required to be successful in life. At the time, I didn’t realize how career-driven it was: Math, Science, English, and History were the four main subjects. Nothing about growing your own food, repairing clothes, doing your taxes, paying a mortgage, how to have fulfilling relationships, how to maintain good mental health practice, and more.

Posted on January 1, 2024 and filed under Children, Education, Health, Issue #85, Parenting.

Community Acupuncture: A Synergy of Healing & Community: A Conversation with Evan Lebow-Wolf, Cheryl Wong & Kiersten DeWitt of Ann Arbor Community Acupuncture

Community acupuncture, on the other hand, offers a sustainable and fiscally sensible solution to treating as many people as efficiently and effectively as possible. Evan Lebow-Wolf, co-founder of Ann Arbor Community Acupuncture (AACA), told me briefly about the difference between community acupuncture and private acupuncture. When I asked him whether he feels like there is anything missing in the community acupuncture approach that is available in private acupuncture sessions, he replied with a firm and resolute “no.”

A Good Crop of Mental Health: A Conversation about Animal Assisted Therapy with Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders, LMSW, ACSW, has been practicing in the Ann Arbor area for 34 years and has been teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work for 26 years. Her approach to therapy utilizes a wide variety of evidence-based and creative therapies, including trauma recovery methods, art and play therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and relational approaches through Animal Assisted Therapy.

The Healer Within ~ The Crazy Wisdom Interview with Advanced Energy Medicine Practitioner, Barb Scholz

Barb Scholz is a leading energy medicine practitioner in this region, highly respected by other energy medicine practitioners, and deeply valued by her clients.  Born in Lansing, she moved to Ann Arbor when she was 14 years old and has stayed here ever since. She refers to herself as a Modality Museum, and rightly so. Over the course of her life, she has practiced and become immersed in yoga, aromatherapy, essential oils, homeopathy, craniosacral therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, energy medicine using Donna Eden’s method, and more.