Being Present for a Friend with Mental Illness (Flamekeeper Series #1) [public]

​Gleaning wisdom from support group practices and mental health chaplaincy

​This is Session #1 of 4 in the Flamekeeper Series.

​Navigating a friendship in the presence of mental illness can be difficult and fraught. When our values call for care and presence in the relationship, we might face challenging questions:

• ​How might I play the role of providing a caring presence that is distinct from the role of treatment or therapy?

• ​How might I be empathetic to my friend’s experienced reality without feeling that I’m enabling unhealthy or ungrounded thinking?

• ​How might I balance care for my friend with care for myself?

​To explore these questions, we glean wisdom from mental health chaplaincy and support group practices. In a hospital setting, chaplains are professionals dedicated to the art of being present to anyone in the hospital, providing emotional and existential support regardless of the careseeker’s religious beliefs or affiliations. Support groups informed by best practices, like those offered by the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), create vital spaces to share experiences and gain support from peers. We will learn how we can apply wisdom from these practices into our own lives and relationships.

​Ashley Brown-Hagan is the Director of Family Services at the National Alliance on Mental Illness San Francisco (NAMI SF), where she leads programs that support families and caregivers of loved ones impacted by mental health conditions. She first came to NAMI SF seeking resources for loved ones and quickly became a passionate advocate for mental health education, peer connection, and reducing stigma. With a background in community events and a deep commitment to equity, Ashley brings both lived experience and professional insight to her work supporting families across San Francisco.

​Rabbi Jeremy Sher is a board-certified chaplain serving Mount Zion Hospital and Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital at UCSF. He completed his Clinical Pastoral Education residency at UCSF and internship at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston. Jeremy also serves as Rabbi for the San Francisco Night Ministry, where he produces Open Shabbat services with the unhoused and marginally housed community in the Mission. His publications include "Chaplain, Can You Do an Exorcism?" in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin and a chapter on nonreligious spiritual care in an upcoming book on decolonizing chaplaincy. He has his Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School.

​The session will be moderated by Seanan Fong, Founding Director of the SF Contemplarium.

​We will have a lively fireside chat in the first hour, followed by an interactive skill-building workshop in the second hour.

​​🕕 Agenda

• ​​2–2:10pm: Arrive & Check-in

• ​2:10pm: Fireside Chat begins

• ​​3pm: Q&A

• ​3:15: Interactive Workshop

​​📍 Finding 550 Laguna

​​We'll meet in 550 Laguna (the corner of Hayes & Laguna). Once you arrive, go down the stairs to the basement level to enter space, check in, and please take your shoes off at the door.

​​​We are grateful to partner with The Commons to host this event in their incredible space. The Commons is a modern-day town square for communal meaning-making, personal discovery, and self-expression in the heart of San Francisco. Learn more about The Commons here.

​​About the SF Contemplarium

​​​​Presented by the San Francisco Contemplarium, a neighborhood institution creating space for honoring our human journey.