I. Individual Student Support and Facilitated Learning Groups
• Assess students’ academic and personal strengths, challenges and goals
• Identify & support students’ internal strength-based resources for academic learning and success
• Review individual students’ family and community histories and support systems
• Engage students in learning groups for validation, confidence and trust building to honor individual, cultural and gender-based life experiences
• Coordinate referrals to a facilitated learning groups or additional external professional or therapeutic resources
Matiri House offers individually tailored educational support to students in high school and young adults navigating challenging life experiences, in general, and how these impact learning and educational decisions and transitions to university or post-college careers. Our individual services as well as facilitated groups address and support the whole person and their unique leaning journey from high school to college. At Maitri House, we support and want to know the ‘whole person’ past, present and future.
“Learning through grief is one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. High School counselors and other outlets that were given to us when my friend died by suicide were not helpful at all. Openly talking about it in our facilitated friend groups was more conducive for processing, healing and getting back to learning. I wish schools had more awareness and courage to host more of these hard conversations in small groups and open dialogues. I’m grateful for Maitri House. It’s so needed”
— Caitlin LeDoux, High School Student, Portland.
Our consulting model explores themes such as:
(1) Knowing our True selves, our callings and experiences in friendship, family, learning and work
(2) Culturally diverse and gendered experiences and expectations on learning, educational goals, and career expectations
(3) Sources of strength within ourselves, our families and communities
(4) Challenges of navigating highly diverse educational and career options locally or globally
(5) Processing the realities of loss through death or moving to a foreign land for education and/or work and perspectives on home and cultural identity
“True power is living the realization that you are your own healer, hero, and leader” — young pueblo
II. Professional Trainings
• Equip teachers, administrators, staff and youth and non-profit leaders with information, resources and tools needed to confidently support culturally diverse students navigating their complex educational opportunities and pathways
• Explore and discuss personal and culturally unique learning systems and how to adjust teaching and mentoring within these paradigms
• Offer Trauma-Informed teaching methods, including an introduction to behavioral health issues such as identifying grief, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.
• Learn new methodologies that support students’ calm learning focus through Right Brain/Creative and Physical/Movement-based activities.
Maitri House Northwest offers professional trainings for teachers, administrators in K-12 schools and universities, youth leaders in NGO’s and non-profit and social-services organizations. Lead consultants offer trainings on-line, at institutional home sites or as workshops at convenient community center locations. This work supports the development of responsive support systems and staff confidence in managing student social-emotional wellness and academic learning.
All services are trauma-informed and sensitive to needs of diverse cultural groups. These professional trainings are intended to equip staff with information and group facilitation skills in order to recognize when individual students need more intensive therapeutic or academic support services. MTHNW trainings complement individual tutoring and school or community-based services.
As a society generally, and in our educational system, specifically, we rarely discuss fear, death and cultural grief journeys. It is not part of our learning curriculum in schools. Yet, unexpected losses for youth have escalated significantly in the last few years: Covid-19 related losses. Race-based inequities and harassments. Teen suicide rates have soared by 33 percent in the last five years. Gun violence and mass shootings are common. Many young survivors are left in a wake of shock and confusion. They are fundamentally unprepared for the grief that follows. At Maitri House, we see and support you and your ability to keep learning at growing.
III. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Grief Education Consulting and Facilitation at Mosier Middle School
Susi Steinmann has partnered with Mosier Community School to support 6th-8th grade students and teachers since 2021. Dr. Steinmann facilitates group activities and conversations with students that raise their awareness about inner wellness and opportunities for practicing new SEL coping skills in adjusting back to in-person learning after the Covid-19 school closures.
The unique SEL curriculum elicits important social-emotional awareness and offers leaning for both students and teachers, who are present and in an observational role to witness and how their students are doing while simultaneously learning new tools for continued SEL work with students.
Want to know what it’s like to work with us? Hear from our clients.
Young Adult Grief Group
Teen Grief Group and Book Writing Project (2016-2022)
In the aftermath of a sudden death of a teenager, peers, teachers and school communities need healing support and trauma informed services to support continued learning. Maitri House founder, Dr. Steinmann, led a multi-year teen grief support group for youth surviving the suicide death of their friend. What came from those meetings was a methodology, experience and desire to share the lessons learned with other young adults, parents and schools through a book writing project called: “Bawling in the Fast Lane” (forthcoming)
“Having space to talk about grief where you are able to listen, as well as contribute, has really helped me. I’m not always the most vocal person about my feelings because often I don’t really know what I’m feeling. Participating in a group of people and hearing about what they’re feeling made me realize that we were all feeling something similar. While our experiences with grief was never the same, being in a group setting helped me connect not only with my friend who died, but with all of these big emotions. I don’t think I could have muddled through as a student in high school and college alone.”
- Clara P.
Healing cultural losses & building strength
Nepali Refugees Mother-Daughter Cultural Adjustment Support Group
Susi has worked with many diverse immigrant and refugee support groups lasting 6-12 months. Her groups have focussed on cultural adjustment and emotional wellness support for groups experiencing loss and trauma leaving home countries and the stresses of adapting to new homes while processing many serious losses. Susi initiated and facilitated a basketball-focused youth group for Somali boys’ (Team of Dreams) and led weekly support groups for Bhutanese/Nepali girls who’d suffered trauma from human trafficking in the refugee camps.
Susi has taught Service-Learning courses at Portland State University (2017-2018) connecting university students with refugees for cross-cultural experiences and shared learning in Portland, Oregon. The PSU students were matched with refugees and immigrant newcomers to ‘walk in each-others’ shoes’ to their respective neighborhood spaces. The exchanges and course dialogues also touched on losses, building trust and developing empathy across cultural groups.
“Susi, your honesty, integrity and cultural respect shine through your interactions with peers and refugees you work with. Thank you!” — Tara, PSU Capstone Student 2018