Support group announces events

The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura will present the following programs this month to cancer patients and their families at their facility, 530 Hampshire Road, Westlake Village. Events are free, but you must RSVP at (805) 379-4777.

From 1 to 3 p.m. Thursdays beginning Feb. 10, Smadar Knobler will lead a watercolor class. Knobler is a teacher and artist whose specialties are watercolor and silk painting. No experience is necessary and participants will learn to explore their imaginations through the use of watercolors.

Orientation for a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center will be at 6 p.m. Mon., Feb. 7. The eight-week course will be at 6:30 p.m. Mondays beginning Feb. 14.

From 7 to 9 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 24, Dr. Ed Jesalva, a psychiatrist working in the Conejo Valley, will facilitate the "Ask the Doctor About Depression" program. His approach to treatment incorporates the integration of medicine, psychology and sociology as well as spirituality.

The Wellness Community offers many tools to deal with the stress surrounding a diagnosis of cancer; it is also important, in the fight for recovery, to recognize and deal with clinical depression and crippling anxiety should they occur.

Jesalva, who completed his internship and residency in psychiatry at Harbor General Hospital-UCLA Medical Center, will answer questions from the audience following his discussion.