Current Works, News & Events
New Executive Director
 René Brodeur has been appointed as the next Executive Director of Windhorse Guild. He began working with the Guild beginning May 1st, 2008. In addition to working with the Guild, René is the Director of Programs at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless where he oversees 30 staff and the programmatic operations of the Shelter. He is also a Board member for the Boulder Housing Partners Foundation, a non-profit service organization affiliated with Boulder Housing Partners, the City of Boulder’s housing authority. Before joining Windhorse Guild, Mr. Brodeur was the Executive Director for Boulder County Advocates for Transitional Housing (BCATH), a housing organization dedicated to providing case management services and low-rent housing to those transitioning away from homelessness. He was a founding Board member for Wildlands Restoration Volunteers where he helped the organization grow through fundraising efforts, marketing, and providing operational leadership. Before working in human services, he worked in the business sector both locally and in Canada. Clients have included BMW, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and MSN. He has an MBA from Trinity College, Dublin. Mr. Brodeur has a special interest in providing high quality, life-enhancing services to those who are in need. The Board of Directors looks forward to a long and rewarding relationship with René.
Board Members Published
 In the book, Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry, Anne Marie DiGiacomo (along with Michael Herrick and Scott Welsch) wrote the chapter “The Windhorse Project.” This chapter provides a well-rounded explanation of the history of Windhorse and its approach to treatment. This book can be obtained through www.peter-lehmann-publishing.com.
University of the Rockies Press has recently published the book, Brilliant Sanity: Buddhist Approaches to Psychotherapy. Chuck Knapp’s chapter, “Windhorse Therapy: Creating Environments that Arouse the Energy of Health and Sanity” provides an in-depth explanation of the Windhorse treatment approach. In the chapter “Psychotherapy as an Expression of the Spiritual Journey Based on the Experience of Shunyata,” Ed Podvoll, with Jeff Fortuna, shares his path related to “The encounter of Buddhist meditation practice with Western psychological treatment.” 
From the Book Cover – Brilliant Sanity
When Chöygam Trungpa started to train psychotherapists in Buddhist meditation more than thirty years ago, he envisioned a new therapy that would be informed by wisdom, compassion, and scholarship. This collection captures this vision. It brings forth the heart of Buddhism as applied to the contemporary practice of psychology.
—The Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche,
author of Turning the Mind into an Ally and Ruling Your World.
Windhorse Guild's New Office!
Windhorse Guild has a new office! We moved in mid-July 2008.
The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the next stage of Windhorse Guild’s development. In mid-July, Executive Director, René Brodeur, established a new office space that is located at 1503 Yarmouth Avenue, in Boulder. “It is an exciting time for the Guild,” stated board member Anne Marie DiGiacomo. “We are thrilled to support this next step in the organization’s growth.”
“A new home for the Windhorse Guild is an exciting step forward in accomplishing our mission of promoting mental health,” states René Brodeur. “The new office space will serve as a foundation for the organization to grow into its potential.” Please be sure to stop by and say "Hi".
Endowment Fund
This fund was established upon the generous commitment of a $250,000 donation. This financial gift, received over a three-year period, is being used for the purpose of ensuring the continuing works of the Guild and to award treatment grants to those who cannot afford their mental health treatment costs. As of the end of 2007, over $35,000 in grants have been awarded.
Treatment Grants
Windhorse Guild, Inc. provides treatment grants to those experiencing mental health challenges that impact recovery and who meet eligibility guidelines. The board of directors reserves the right to use its discretion to consider special cases.
Three main treatment grants are given out on an annual basis, in June of each year. The Guild also provides smaller treatment grants throughout the year that can assist with a variety of services that can further foster an individual’s recovery process. These can include attending classes, obtaining supported employment services, etc.
To receive more information, and or to apply for a treatment grant, please email your request to: rene@windhorseguild.org.
You can also download the application forms here and mail them to: Windhorse Guild, Inc., Attn. Treatment Grants Committee, 1503 Yarmouth Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304.
Windhorse Dialogues
The Windhorse Dialogues are a series of talks designed to unite distinguished mental health-care practitioners together with local mental health professionals, persons in recovery, and their families in an effort to increase the general knowledge on topics related to mental illness, treatment, models of care, and recovery. These events are free to the public.
Past topics have included:
- Mood Disorders, Environment & Recovery with Dr. Antonio Wood
- Recovery From Schizophrenia – Past, Present & Future with Dr. Richard Warner
- The Evolution of the Community Mental Health Movement with Phoebe Norton
- The Importance of Work in Recovery from Mental Illness OR Why Work Works! – Panel Presentation
- Recovery as Collaboration: Hearing All the Voices – Consumer/Survivor, Families and Mental Health Professionals.
Windhorse Guild Dialogue #6
Join us for the Boulder County premiere of the documentary film "Someone Beside You" and Q&A with internationally renowned therapist Eric Chapin. This groundbreaking international documentary from Switzerland reveals new insights into mental illness, featuring Boulder County therapists Ed Podvoll and Eric Chapin.
The Dialogue will be at the Boulder Public Library Theater, 1000 Canyon Blvd. on November 19, 2008 beginning at 4pm.
A great success across Europe, this film tells of the human mind going through crises. The filmmaker focuses on showing the mind's gradual emergence from the state of mental breakdown rather than the process of disintegrating and spiraling into madness. This was possible by focusing on a visionary approach currently found in Boulder County that draws on ancient knowledge to derive a new outlook and new ways of dealing with all kinds of extreme mental states - that ultimately concerns every one of us.
This event promotes a dialogue between Western psychology and Eastern spirituality where a message of hope emerges: It is always possible to regain mental clarity no matter how severly confused a mind may have become.
Archive Project
This is a project dedicated to securing and organizing our extensive intellectual heritage as a resource for scholarly research, teaching, and publishing our approach to recovery from serious mental disorders. The project includes digitizing these materials and developing a web-based library for international use. To learn more, please click on the Archive Project tab.
Conference
Plans are "in the works" for a Windhorse Guild Conference in 2009. Check back for more information in the coming months!
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