Americans are facing all kinds of stresses on top of the daily duties of their jobs and careiving at home - It is exhausting for anyone! One top of stress we have an ongoing loneliness epidemic that makes it harder for all of us to relieve our stress and rely on each other for the support we need. As "third spaces" decline, many of us are feeling at a loss for how to make new friends and feel a sense of belonging. 

Therapy For Real Life has been working to disrupt the loneliness epidemic through fun and interactive "train the trainer" events that empower all of us to be agents of change in our home communities. Learn what public health and mental health research say makes the biggest differences in the lives of individuals when we don't have to do self-care alone. Use the resources you have to build connection and belonging. 

A Connection Cafe is an immesive event designed to build understanding and new relationships among diverse audiences. Your facilitator, Anna Lindberg Cedar, MPA, LCSW, LICSW, CCP-ASHD, is a licensed psychotherapist on a mission to make therapy skills more accessible in everyday spaces.

This event responds to high rates of loneliness by prompting participants to use research-backed skills to build community and connection. They leave with practices to take back to their home community.

The Connection Cafe is a mobile pop-up event that can be hosted anywhere. Guests are encouraged to participate drawing on personal strengths to brainstorm ideas for their home communities. The event adapts research from two important community building skills: 

Participants are asked to name their comparative advantages for disrupting the loneliness epidemic as they walk into the event. The group is then invited to mingle amidst questions to provoke conversation about the loneliness epidemic and ways to disrupt it.