LOS ANGELES — Pineapple Support and Streamate have teamed with therapist Sophia Graham for a free six-week online support group with a specific focus on tolerating feelings of stress or distress, starting Thursday at 11 a.m. (PST).
Graham is a DBT-trained counsellor and teacher.
"Out-of-control emotions can make it hard to maintain friendships, romantic relationships and can even jeopardize our careers," Graham said. "Without the skills we need to cope with intense distress, anger or overwhelm, it’s impossible to deal with stressful or distressing situations that inevitably come up in all of our lives."
"Join us to discover how to reduce the intensity of overwhelming emotions and learn new coping mechanisms alongside other performers," she added.
Each of the six weeks will focus on a particular theme, starting with "orientation and mindfulness" and followed by an examination of the STOPP and TIPP techniques. Additional themes will be: "improve the moment, distraction and self-soothing," "radical acceptance," "turning the mind" and "willingness, willfulness and mindfulness of current thoughts."
Pineapple Support, founded in 2018 by Leya Tanit, has connected over 5,000 adult performers and industry members to mental health services, including free and low-cost therapy, counseling and emotional support.
"I’d like to thank Streamate for making this support group possible and helping to deliver vital training that will teach performers how to manage distressing events in really effective ways," Tanit said.
"Sophia is a fantastic therapist, with a strong track record in helping sex workers and performers manage emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness," she added. "No prior experience or knowledge of DBT is necessary, so reserve your place now to start learning how to tolerate distress successfully."
The support group will convene online for six weeks at the same time each week; click here for additional details and register for seat in the group here.
Pineapple Support is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States; click here for sponsorship details.
Visit PineappleSupport.org and follow them on Twitter.