Dennis Heffern, LCSW

Dennis has worked in the human services field since 1988. The early part of his career was spent working with at-risk adolescents in residential settings, including community group homes and secure psychiatric cottage units, in New York State. His work with youth continued in his capacity as a high school teacher and counselor for the Jesuit Volunteers for three years in Belize, Central America.

Upon completion of a graduate degree in Social Work in 1997, Dennis relocated to Denver, CO, and resumed working with youth as the Program Supervisor for Urban Peak, a homeless shelter and drop-in-center for youth under 21. In 1998, Dennis began doing Medical Social Work with a 4-year stint at Denver Health Medical Center, working in both hospital and outpatient clinic settings. Serving a wide variety of medical specialties, a significant portion of this time was spent working with people living with HIV/AIDS, including time with Behavioral Health providing substance abuse treatment and methadone maintenance. Dennis’ current position has involved providing clinical social work services to adults and families affected by cancer at Kaiser Permanente’s Franklin Oncology Clinic in central Denver, since 2002.

Dennis is married to Jennifer, also a medical social worker, and they are parents to children, Megan (19) and Ethan (17), and recent new member of the family, Layla, a small Goldendoodle just over 1 year old! Self-care for Dennis will always be found on a mountain bike in the foothills of the Rockies, but if the trails are wet or snowy, he just might go skiing. While Dennis has adopted the Denver Broncos during his 20-plus years in Colorado, at heart he is a Buffalo Bills fan!

Tara truly tapped into a consistent yoga practice in 2009 when she was in the midst of a challenging time caregiving for a loved one who was battling cancer. Cultivating a consistent yoga practice during a challenging time in life helped her stay more grounded and at peace through ups, downs, transitions and whirlwinds of emotion. Through the past decade her yoga practice has ebbed and flowed to compliment a busy schedule racing bikes and running a small business while also helping her heal mentally from stress and anxiety, physically from injuries and emotionally from tragic grief when her husband passed away from cancer in 2016. Processing emotion through yoga combined with Yoga Therapy training led to the creation of Lov Yoga www.lov.yoga

Tara completed a 200hr Teacher Training through Colorado School of Yoga and a 500hr Teacher Training through Inner Peace Yoga Therapy. She believes that teachers are always learning and she has been studying for 3 years to become a certified Yoga Therapist by October 2021. Yoga Therapy involves using the practices of yoga postures, breathwork, meditation and other contemplative practices to balance the body, breath, mind and soul. Tara works with clients individually to help them integrate transformational routines and practices intentionally into their lives. She is also the yoga teacher/facilitator for the Dear Jack Foundation’s Breathe Now Retreats and a yoga teacher/consultant for First Descents. When Tara isn’t retreating in beautiful locations, she teaches the Breathe Series for AYA – Young Adult Cancer Survivors and their community. She also teaches online classes and provides yoga consulting for First Descents. This collection of yoga, breathwork, meditations, cancer specific functional therapy and self reflective practices is one of her favorite projects and she is excited to meet you virtually on the mat. Tara hopes that her classes help others feeling strong but soft both on the mat and in life. She is always growing through what she goes through, how about you?

Jean Rowe, LCSW, OSW-C, CJT

Jean is a licensed clinical social worker whose background includes over 15 years in the oncology space, primarily working with young adults affected by breast cancer. At Cactus Cancer Society, she serves as guest faculty of several programs as a Certified Journal Therapist. Jean’s original programs include themes around reclaiming intimacy after cancer, addressing burnout and compassion fatigue, journal drop-ins to temper the triggers of everyday life and coping through the holidays. Grounded in all of them is the importance of self-care. She is honored to work with Cactus Cancer Society and all whom they serve. You can connect with Jean here or at jean@cactuscancer.org.

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**Jean Rowe runs structured journal writing programs. Nothing in these program constitutes psychotherapy, nor do they establish a therapist-client relationship.**