Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey Course
About the Course
What is the Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey course?
A live (will not be recorded), six-week virtual (via Zoom) learning opportunity for people who have been recently diagnosed with vasculitis to explore lessons from the Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey Guidebook together.
Navigating the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of a new vasculitis diagnosis can be overwhelming. Each week we will explore concepts and share tools from the guidebook that will help you learn new behaviors and create routines that support you as you navigate life with a chronic illness.
Course Dates and Time
The current course is full, but will be offered again in the future. If you’d like to receive an email notification when registration opens for the next course, please click on the button below to complete the waitlist form.
You can learn more about topics covered, eligbility, and course structure below.
Topics Covered in the Guidebook
- Mindfulness
- Self-Compassion
- Nervous System Regulation
- Your Health Story & Care Plan
- Identifying Physical Needs: Sleep, Nutrition, Movement
- Identifying Psychological Needs: Preferences & Values
- The Change Process
- Managing Time & Resources
- Dynamics of Relationships & Roles
Topics Covered in the Course
Each week we will explore concepts and share tools from the Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey guidebook that will help you learn new behaviors and create routines that support you in your journey.
Week 1 Guidebook Chapter 1: The power of mindful awareness
Week 2 Guidebook Chapters 2 & 3: Meeting the needs of your body & techniques for regulating your nervous system.
Week 3 Guidebook Chapters 4 & 5: Discovering your needs, preferences, and values & exploring your health story
Week 4 Guidebook Chapters 6 & 7: Taking stock of your time and resources & identifying and reconnecting with the people, activities, and purposes that matter most
Week 5 Guidebook Chapters 8 & 9: Prioritizing your well-being & making healthy changes that are important to you
Week 6 Guidebook Chapter 10: Celebrating your achievements & maintaining changes that support you
Topics Not Covered in the Course
The course teaches behavioral strategies. In this course, we will not review medical information or give individual psychological advice. This course does not cover:
- Detailed information about each form of vasculitis
- Vasculitis treatments and medications
It is also important to note that while this course can provide you with tools that help you control what is within your circle of control and find peace with what you cannot control, there are many things about vasculitis that you cannot control including:
- Whether or not you will have a flare
- Whether or not you can remain in remission without any maintenance medications
- Whether or not you completely regain your former level of function
- Be able to attend the weekly live Zoom meeting throughout the 6-week course. (We recognize that something unexpected may occur which could prevent you from attending a meeting.)
- Have a diagnosis of vasculitis.
- Recently diagnosed with vasculitis. (For the purposes of this course we define recently diagnosed as being diagnosed within the last 5 years. Due to limited course availability, we are currently able to offer this course only to individuals who have been recently diagnosed with vasculitis. We hope to expand access to the course soon.)
- Proficient in English (Course materials and instruction are only available in English at this time.)
- Be 18 years of age or older.
Is this a support group?
No, this is an opportunity to learn and practice concrete tools that may help you better navigate your vasculitis diagnosis.
We do offer weekly and monthly virtual support groups. LEARN MORE
Who leads this course?
The course is led by volunteer facilitators. Facilitators have participated in the course previously and have received additional training. The facilitator is a guide who helps manage the flow of the course and the group as they work together to learn and practice concepts from the Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey Guidebook. Facilitators are not healthcare providers or mental health experts.
Why is participation limited to people who have been diagnosed with vasculitis within the last 4 years?
This course is designed to help people learn tools and techniques that can help them throughout their vasculitis journey, but much of the information is especially helpful to people near the beginning of their vasculitis journey.
Due to limited class size and availability, we are currently offering this course to those who have been more recently diagnosed so that we can reach those who have the most critical need.
The Navigating Your Vasculitis Journey Guidebook is designed to be self-guiding and is available to everyone.
