We are wounded healers.

We have both experienced suffering, pain, grief and loss, stricken
by great tragedy yet have journeyed on a path of self-discovery and healing.

Now, we have a deep desire to walk alongside of others others on
their healing journey. We understand that the wound is where the light enters.

Patti C. Dunne, MA., LPC and Kim Desrosiers, Certified in Grief Recovery, Art SOZO and Expressive Arts are a collaborative team,
a "dynamic-duo", or so we've been told!

Patti C. Dunne

MA., LPC, Founder & Director of The Healing Tree, LLC

Phone: 860-377-4064

Email: thehealingtree08@gmail.com

Patti Dunne is a Connecticut Licensed Professional Counselor, Board Certified Associate Chaplain and a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist. She has also received her training as both a Stephen Minister and Stephen Minister Leader. She is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, The Association of Professional Chaplains and the Association of Christian Counselors. Patti has obtained her biblical counseling certification from the Association of Christian Counselors.

Patti obtained her Bachelor's of Science Degree in Health Education from Springfield College in 1972 and her Master's Degree in Pastoral Counseling from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, CT in 2005. She completed her internship requirements at the Waterbury Child Guidance Center and Saint Francis Hospital followed by two years of Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. As a community leader and former owner, director and teacher at the Patti Dunne’s School of Gymnastics in Hebron, Connecticut. Patti has over forty years of diverse experience in teaching, motivating and empowering children, youth and adults to accomplish physical, emotional and spiritual goals in a holistic and teamwork approach. Patti has been married for forty nine years. She and her husband, Kevin are the proud parents of four grown children and fourteen grandchildren.

In her second vocation as a Pastoral Counselor and Chaplain, Patti utilizes an existential and faith based approach of counseling drawing upon her personal experiences, skills acquired through her education and clinical experiences of working for four years as a Chaplain in a long-term health care facility. Her own healing journey through multiple grief loss transitions allows her to counsel others with understanding and compassion. Patti' s expertise as a grief recovery specialist allows her to assist others through the broad spectrum of losses related to deaths of loved ones, divorce, retirement, deterioration of health issues, loss of hopes, dreams, expectations of life and other losses related to safety and trust issues. Patti considers her vocation as a sacred calling from God and seeks to bring restoration and healing to others according to the biblical mission of Isaiah 61: 3- 4:
"To comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow upon them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.”

Kim J. Desrosiers

Certified in Grief Recovery, Art SOZO & Expressive Arts

Phone: 860-807-5308

Email: bebraveartanddesign@gmail.com

Kim's passion, plus a convergence of personal, professional and creative experiences have led her to this calling and life purpose. Kim is a gifted teacher and counselor, an empath and overall friendly creativity guide-ess! Kim knows personally "when words fail, art speaks".

A "wounded healer" Kim is familiar with deep loss and pain which has equipped her to walk beside others on their journeys through trauma, grief loss and recovery. She is a Certified Grief Recovery Method® Specialist and Certified Art Sozo® Ministry Leader. She has attended Deliverance & Inner Healing Training School, with Bill Sudduth at Righteous Acts Ministries, Bethel SOZO and Bethel Art SOZO Training Schools. Additionally, Kim's professional experiences as an inspiring Art Teacher (children aged 5-12), compassionate Personal Care Assistant and Recreational Therapist to the elderly has further equipped her for this endeavor.

One of Kim's primary enthusiasms is to create sacred space for heart-felt connection where people can come together to explore and express themselves creatively. In 2014, Kim founded Be Brave Art & Design Studio to offer a variety of art workshops.

Kim works in affiliation with Patti Dunne at The Healing Tree LLC. She offers the private and group sessions in following healing modalities to clients at The Healing Tree:

• The Grief Recovery Method®

• Expressive Art

• Art SOZO

• Art4Healing Workshops

• Private and Semi-Private Art Classes

KIM'S HEALING JOURNEY:

In 2001, I found myself widowed when my 37-year-old husband of 13 years completed suicide. I was, as you’d expect, devastated. I did everything I knew to process my grief:
I went to pastoral counseling, therapy and attended weekly grief loss and suicide support groups. Further, I read books about bereavement, journaled, and joined social media groups for widows. I found that these steps were all valuable, to some degree. However,
I was unaware that the unresolved grief and anger caused me to seek comfort in ways which only hurt myself and others. My closest family and friends were left unaware, as
I had deeply buried my pain and anger. I found myself in a crisis of faith - my once deep Christian convictions compromised by poor choices, driven by the pain. Time does not heal wounds. It is WHAT WE DO with the time that matters.

A personal crisis opened my eyes and heart to to face the truth. I was grateful to be partnered with a Certified Grief Recovery Method Specialist® who walked me through the journey of healing. I discovered my grief was due in part to many unspoken significant emotional statements. The process to release them, to have someone listen with their whole heart, released ME from the pain of the past. Upon completion, I felt my heart become unburdened – a renewed zest for life returned. Now, while I am sad that my husband is dead, I am no longer in pain. Best of all, the happier memories of our relationship, which had been tainted so by disappointment, anger and grief, were restored to me and are once again a source of joy to me and my son.

Having experienced grief and recovery first-hand allows me to testify personally to the powerful healing benefits of this program. As a result, I became a Certified Grief Recovery Method Specialist®, an authentic guide, to walk beside my clients on their own path to recovery. It is my honor and privilege to offer a safe, confidential space to process your losses.

Facebook page: Be Brave Art and Design

Instagram: @kimdesrosiers_bebraveart

“Converting a painful inheritance into something good requires all the discernment we can muster, both from within us and what we can glean from mentors. The worst of all curses that people inflict upon us, the real abuse and terror, can’t be forgotten or undone but they can be put to good use in the new life. But the past is not denied. We still are here with all our talents, gifts, abilities, failings and our weaknesses. Our baggage comes along, nothing wasted and nothing lost. Perhaps the greatest blessing that religious heritage can bestow is an open mind, one that can listen without judging. It is rare that we recognize it in another when we encounter it. It is often seen in people who have attained, what the monastic traditions terms “detachment” – an ability to live at peace with whatever happens. Such people do not have a closed-off air, nor a boastful demeanor. It is clear that their wounds have opened the way of compassion for others. Compassion is strength and soul of religion. A kind of death: the lid closes on what went on before."

- Kathleen Norris: Amazing Grace

Counseling Goal