Society for Integrated Health and Living (SIHL)

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The Society for Integrated Health and Living (SIHL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting health and well being in all areas of life.

The immediate goal of the Society is twofold: to create an integrative healing service, and to create a model land-based community.

Vision

Our vision is a world that respects and celebrates spirit through service, sustainability and social justice.

Objectives

Our objectives are: to create a healing center situated within that community serving Atlantic Canada; and to create a culturally diverse multi-generational model community based on shared values.

Shared Values and Philosophy

The values, which form the foundation of SIHL, are:

• Celebration
• Consensual decision-making
• A belief in innate health
• The beauty and power of nature
• Respect for others and for one's self
• Service to others
• Social justice
• A belief in spirit
• Social and ecological sustainability

Our Logo

We are inspired by a visual representation of our vision and values consisting of a spiral of stars, the points of light representing our shared values.

Governance

We believe the success of SIHL rests on the degree to which we are able to express our values in a system of governance.

a) Governance Principles

The SIHL system of governance rests on the following principles.

• Each member has the responsibility to participate in the governance of the Society and the right to an equal opportunity to participate in decision-making.
• We show respect to one another by listening to one another.
• All policy decisions are made by consensus meaning that:
• Each member either agrees with the decision or is willing to surrender his/her disagreement and support the decision;
• If one individual is unable to support a proposal there is no decision; and
• Those who choose not to exercise their opportunity to participate in making a decision surrender their right to withhold agreement by virtue of not participating.
• Decision-making is reflective, honoring the spirit of the community.
• Members practice respect, commitment, and humility in the decision-making process.
• Members honor individual differences.
• A board appointed by the membership will conduct the business of the Society.
• All board meetings will be open to the general membership and any member in attendance at a board meeting may participate fully in the business of the meeting.
• The terms of office of board members will be staggered to ensure continuity.
• The entire membership meets at least twice per year.

b) Membership

Membership in SIHL is open to those who share the objects and values of the Society. There is a probation period for new members to allow them to learn the culture of the Society.

Activities of the Society

The Society will work toward the development of the healing service and the land-based community.

The Healing Service

The healing service will be non-profit integrative, and multidisciplinary, combining allopathic and complementary treatment modalities--i.e. mainstream medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, massage therapy, integrative psychotherapy, botanical; medicine, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, etc. This model differs from the more conventional "group practice" where individual practitioners share a common space and occasionally consult with/refer to one another in that in the integrative approach clients receive the benefit of a coordinated team approach to assessment and treatment.

After completing a comprehensive intake questionnaire, each client will be interviewed by a team of 2 to 3 practitioners representing different treatment modalities to assess their treatment needs in the context of home, work, social life, etc. Based on this assessment the team, in collaboration with the client, will develop an individualized, integrative treatment plan. The treatment team will meet on a regular basis to review the efficacy of the plan and make changes as needed.

Both self-referrals and practitioner referrals will be accepted.

The service will include:

• An outpatient clinic, conveniently accessible by public transit,
• A residential centre designed to provide long term and short term care; and educational workshops/seminars on a wide variety of topics of interest to the clinic's client base.
• Both facilities will have on site:
• A lab to facilitate diagnostic testing;
• An apothecary to provide quality homeopathic remedies, herbal preparations, and supplements;
• A bookstore/library; and
• A restaurant/snack bar/cafeteria serving health-promoting food.

The Land-Based Community

The residential healing canter will be situated within a multicultural, multigenerational land-base community based on the shared values of SIHL as indicated above.

Core Group Facilitators

Brian Van Rooyen	902-538-3082
Policy Coordinator with the Valley Waste-Resource Management Authority.
Howard Siegel	902-684-1141
Psychotherapist in private practice.
James F King	902-538-1949
Kinesiographer in private practice.
Linda Wheeldon	902-542-7924
Acadia University professor and Psychotherapist in private practice.
Lois Hare	902-538-8733
Doctor of Naturopathy in private practice.
Lorie-Ann Martin	902-538-3977
Massage Therapist and Cranial Sacral Balancer in private practice.
Trevor Wheeldon
Practicing lawyer.

Mailing address

SIHL c/o 224 Russia Road, RR5
Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada  B0P 1E0

Email  

Society for Integrated Health and Living
Reg. No. 3075713 - Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada