Just a couple of spaces left for our all-day women's retreat and training with Gerlinde Gelina and Systemic Constellation Work on Oct. 30. See details here.
How I used Sand Tray Theatre to remember a murder victim
Our community of Racine has been shaken this month with a brutal murder of a good-hearted community volunteer in the woods in the city's Sixth Street neighborhood. A chronic offender has been charged with the crime, but this incident has still been a common topic in the sanctuary of the healing space at Lake House as people have responded with anger, fear, worry, confusion and sadness.
I had the opportunity to use the healing power of the sand tray with a client who was was struggling to find her way out of her thoughts and feelings of grief and distress.
Sand tray, adapted from the sandplay approach of Jungian analyst Dora Kalff, is a rich experiential option for working with people when words are not enough. It's the training topic for Nov. 12 and is useful with so many populations and situations.
My client -- who has given me permission to share her sand tray image -- honored the deceased woman while also transforming her personal image of the murder site, a strip of woods near the city's Sixth Street to one of healing and honor. Her memorializing image included several sheltering trees, an open hand to illustrate the murder victim's giving nature -- one of the victim's last generous actions involved giving quarters to people in laundromats -- stones with favorite insprational words "laugh" and "imagine" and a filmy purple butterfly to signify transformation.
Here is her image:
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| Sand tray as a memorial to a great loss. |
Training for Sand Tray Theatre: Using Miniatures In Action is Nov. 12 and offers continuing education credits. Fee is $35. See calendar for details; please sign up by Thursday, Nov. 11, by calling (262) 633-2645.
Trauma resources
Thanks to Dr. Christine Dunning, professor at the Trauma Counseling II class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for these excellent resources for trauma:
PubMed comprises more than 20 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals and online books. Use search function to find what you're looking for, including free full-text articles.
National Center for PTSD, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, has many useful links on post-trauma responses, including the Psychological First Aid Manual.
CSA Illumina provides user-friendly searches to more than 100 databases published by CSA and its publishing partners including the social sciences.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network focuses information for parents, caregivers and a varietyh of professionals on children's issues, including many, many trauma topics, treatment facts, audio and multi-media presentations and funding opportunities.
Dealing with sticky client situations?
Even experienced therapists encounter road blocks during client sessions or have difficulty dealing with certain client situations. For example, when a client is crying uncontrollably or resists making changes or doing homework.
New Harbinger is proud to offer Quick Tips for Therapists—fast and free solutions to common sticky client situations mental health professionals encounter. Find Quick Tips for Therapists on the book publisher' site.
Karen's e-books available
Check out Karen's e-books for sale at Lake House Health & Learning Center's store.
The Psychodrama Notebook (formerly Practical Psychodrama) is a great review for psychodrama certification candidates and anyone who wants an overview of the magical action method of psychodrama. Whole Person Marketing gives practical and creative ideas for building and marketing holistic practices.
