Professional newsletter: How sand tray soothed distress with a healing memorial to murder

This month's training

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:



Sand tray as a memorial to a great loss.

She arrived distressed, talking quickly and shaking and left peaceful and accepting. These are the kinds of transformations that can take place with experiential therapies that work with the mind, body and pirit
 
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.

Veterans' wellness study to look at alternative health programs

Men who are veterans who served for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) can help with a well-being study while earning up to $299 for their participation.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will start a Veteran's Wellness Study at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center. The study will examine the effects of complementary and alternative programs on health and well-being for recently returned veterans.

The study will take place at the the university's Waisman Center in November or December or both months. Depending on the level of their hours of participation, participants can be paid up to $299.

Veterans who are  interested should e-mail at wellness@mailplus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-0803 to schedule a screening appointment.

(We don't see anything for women veterans, who also served. Maybe next time...)

Looking for a fine romance? Your intuition will help you.

When we're under the intoxicating influence of love, we often miss seeing signs that pop up in our daily life to give us clues as to whether we're on the right track.

So says Judith Orloff, an intuitive practitioner and medical doctor who is one of my favorite authors and mentors on intuition and how to use it in service of daily life. The solution is to slow down enough to recognize and listen to your intuitive intelligence, it can reveal truth, warn you of danger, or help you understand people and relationship situations in new ways.

Here's her take on Five Intuitions About Love And Sex You Shouldn't Ignore from The Huffington Post, where you'll also find her video.

Ancestors are drawing the attention of many of us

In the popular "Who Do You Think You Are?" television series, filmmaker Spike Lee traveled to Georgia to learn about his once–enslaved ancestors. He used census records, U.S. slave schedules dating to 1860 and historical newspapers to find answers. He was able to visit the actual land his great–great–grandfather owned after emancipation. Spike then headed to Texas to meet a descendant of his family’s former slave owner, a woman who is most likely his distant cousin.

The discoveries of Spike's journey mirrored the exciting discoveries of celebrities including Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Emmitt Smith and Sarah Jessica Parker as investigated the roots of their family trees.

It's interesting to watch the surge of interest in genealogy, family history and ancestors with the general public as I study and practice Systemic Constellation Work, the experiential healing process that explores the invisible yet very powerful energetic connections and disconnections within our larger family systems.

In last night's session, our group worked to help a men connect with the love of his father while also strengthening the father's connection within the family system. Our summer Constellation samplers have been very well received and we are adding  more groups, including a women-only retreat on Saturday, Oct. 30, and shorter programs in November at Lake House and other locations. See calendar for more details and to sign up.

Constellation Work is an experiential process that moves to a deeper level than conventional counseling. This means that the impact of this work can be more immediate and more lasting than techniques that address the mind alone.

The process reveals unconscious hidden dynamics within a family system that impact people in subtle yet important ways. There are many difficult fates and traumatic experiences in previous generations may continue to create havoc as a hidden pattern in the present generation:

Early and premature deaths
Ostracized family members
Children of separated or divorced parents
Adopted children
Abortions, miscarriages and stillbirths
Survivors of war, holocaust, genocide or terrorism

Practitioners employ principles of Constellation Work in a variety of ways. In a group setting, a person chooses members from the group to represent some of their family members. As they are placed at various points in an open space, these representatives feel the effects of the family dynamics. The facilitator works with the representatives to restore balance, respect, dignity and love between members of the family. The method was developed by Bert Hellinger, psychotherapist and philosopher.

Newcomers are welcome to involve themselves at their own comfort level. Observing, as well as participating as a representative, is equally inspiring and moving in these groups.  I am working with colleague Ron Anderson to write the book, "Psychodrama And Systemic Constellation Work: New Directions For Action Methods, Experiential Therapy And Energy Healing," scheduled to be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2011.

In the meanwhile, here is a message about ancestors from a Mayan elder about the Mayan view of ancestors and their message for the world:

Late October newsletter: Get ready to find joy and meaning this season

The holiday season is upon us.

From the orange pumpkins that piled at the markets, to the sheet ghosts fluttering from the trees, to the seemingly endless shelves of sparkly Christmas decor, to the new year's party invitation that might be in the mail, we are regularly reminded about the opportunities to be "happy" about the holidays.

Here at Lake House, we are doing our part to help you make the holiday season spiritually meaningful.

We are continuing to offer our Constellation groups, which work with family energies to bring  new meaning to "peace on earth," starting with a women's retreat on Saturday and continuing weekday groups into December.

We are creating a Fall Health & Gift Fest on Nov. 13 so you can support local and regional artisans, craftpersons, innovators and chefs while keeping healthy and finding great treasures.

InterPlay arrives in November and December to celebrate the fruits of the coming darkness and bring joy and fun to our bodies and spirits! It will be a great seasonal experience with a friend or for yourself.

Finally, there is the Blessing of the Gifts, our eighth annual holiday project on Dec. 4 that gives to the needy while bringing joy to giving.

See Lake House calendar for details.

Friends of Bill W.

Twelve-step followers have a resource for recovery, a special guided imagery from Health Journeys called Guided Imagery for the 12 Steps of Recovery. It's recommended by Belleruth Naparstek, the psychotherapist who is the founder of Health Journeys. Find out more about how guided imagery can enhance recovery here. 

Resource for end of life issues

For families dealing with end-of-life issues, Tender Legal Care is a sensitive and useful free e-book that gives lots of information about organ donation, living wills, chemotherapy, life support and artificially administered foods and fluids and more. You may find and download this 50-page e-book here, from Seasons Hospice.

Insurance notes

This is the time of year when employees have the opportunity to review their health insurance plans and make changes in their levels of coverage or select an alternate plan to start Jan. 1, 2011. One insurance plan that is taking enrollment during the month of October is WEA Trust, which offers health coverage for state employers, retirees and school district employees. If you qualify, you may want to take a special look at this respected plan.

Karen is now able to take Children's Community Health Plan insurance for psychotherapy services. For the full list of insurances that are taken, see this link.

Fest gets bigger!

We're pleased to have Ben Lehner from Circa Celeste offer his delicious soups and muffin mixes for gifts at our Nov. 13 Health & Gift Fest, plus Leayn Tabili of Anthelion Jewelry, Tracy Bernhardt of Labrynith Herbals and more. Watch for full list coming soon!

Help us find new digs!

932 Lake Ave. is for sale.

We can't move until it's sold! This beautiful Victorian building in the Southeast Historical District is zoned commercial and residential and has so many creative possibilities -- an upstairs apartment, plus a lower level sauna! Realtor is Pamela Cartwright -- see all details here. Then, let us know a great place that's available for rent.

October newsletter: Problems, solutions, homeopathic programs, how art heals

Do you think that when you know why you have a problem -- whoosh! -- the problem will go away?

This desire to know more about the problem -- why we have it, when it started, how big it is and on and on -- is an old and tired therapeutic illusion. The fact is that you still have the problem -- you're just really well informed about it.

The solution is not to know why you have the problem but to have the problem disappear from your life so that you can move forward, unencumbered and free. This is exactly why experiential healing, including experiential psychotherapy, becomes so important. When we are open, experiential healing assists in making shifting our experience of the problem to an experience of peace and well-being.

Our fall schedule is replete with opportunities to find experiences that are life-changing. Whether you are communing with the images of the Tarot -- and letting them communicate with you -- or participating in the new Ancestors & Constellation gathering -- or making art -- you are giving yourself permission to make a shift.

Peruse your choices:

Karen Carnabucci facilitates the next Constellation gathering at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to look at the hidden problems in families that deny us inner peace with the use of Systemic Constellation Work, the emerging healing process coming from Germany to explore problems that have been intractable. We'll also have a  powerful all-day group just for women with a Constellation focus. Gerlinde Gelina, a German native who has been involved in Constellation work for more than 14 years, will join Karen. (Continuing education credits will be offered to professionals). Then watch the schedule for additional opportunities to participate in other Constellation gatherings at Lake House and at Carolyn's Coffee Connection in Kenosha.

Robin Mitchell, Milwaukee artist and bodyworker, started open art studio last week. It happens every Thursday at 2 and 6 p.m. through Dec. 16. Attend as many studio sessions as you like and experience the healing power of the expressive arts.

If you are not familiar with art therapy, we've borrowed this video from YouTube by Cathy Malchiodi, an internationally known art therapist:




Homeopathic practitioner returns with new programs

Marybeth Buchele

Marybeth Buchele, our visiting homeopathic clinician, be back for two programs – Learn To Make Your Own Flower Essence To Ease Life's Emotional Challenges and Healing Winter Colds & Flu The Natural Way. She'll also be taking 1-1 appointments Oct. 19-21. See her site or Lake House's calendar for more info.

Save Nov. 13 date for our fun Fall & Gift Fest!

We'll be celebrating our fifth year at Lake House with a fun Fall Health & Gift Fest, bringing fabulous gifts such as jewelry, natural soaps, ethnic textiles, cookbooks and more, plus health and wellness ideas and offerings. Save the date and watch this space! (We have three  more open spaces; if you know of an artisan who would complement current offerings,  please let us know.)

Professional training: Constellations, conferences and mirror neurons

Hello!

I just returned from a five-day training in Systemic Constellation Work focusing on relationships, prosperity and success. Drawing on learnings from the retreat, we’ll take a look at various workshops at how relationships are impacted by unknown and unconscious matertial.

Dates for Constellation-related workshops are Oct. 12, Oct. 30 and Nov. 19. See more below:

Upcoming training

Every woman has a mother. Sometimes we are sisters. Sometimes our relationships are deep and love-filled, and other times we may feel regret, pain and a distance from our mothers or other female family members that we yearn to heal. In this all-day workshop on Oct. 30, we discover the challenges and gifts of the women in our families -- mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and others -- who have impacted our lives. We also find ways to honor the feminine spirit that we carry within us.

In this workshop, Karen Carnabucci will join visiting psychotherapist Gerlinde Gelina, and both will employ the new Systemic Constellation Work from Germany to explore the heart and soul of these relationships. You will learn:

• The background of Systemic Constellation Work
• How this new experiential healing process was developed and how it is different from traditional psychotherapy
• The approach of the method and how family rank and love are viewed
• Why ancestors are important to our well-being

Fee for the day is $95 if registered by Oct. 25 at (262) 633-2645 and $120 thereafter. Partial insurance coverage may be available for the psychotherapy portion of the program, and continuing education certificate for helping professionals will be provided for social workers, addiction counselors, licensed professional counselors and others, plus psychodrama credits. Learn more about Gerlinde Gelina here.

Training date change

Sand Tray Theatre, the professional training that teaches adaptions for sand tray, has been rescheduled to Nov. 12. This has been a popular workshop in the past year and there's always something new to learn.

Schedule at a glance

Oct. 7: Open art studio

Oct. 12: Constellation, Ancestors & Healing

Oct. 20: Professional Networking Women

Oct. 30: Mothers, Sisters, Daughters And Others

Nov. 12: Sand Tray Theatre

Nov. 13: Fall Health & Gift Fest

Nov. 19: Ancestors, Constellation & Healing

Details at  Lake House calendar.

Who comes to trainings?

Judy Conti, a practitioner of acupuncture in Milwaukee, has found that knowledge of experiential methods which she gained in group trainings and individual supervision sessions has helped her in her work with patients.

She told one of her longtime acupuncture patients – who already has made great progress in her health goals – about the “double” role play technique after the patient reported feeling haunted by painful past memories.

Judy, who is also a registered nurse and has other trauma training with University of Wisocnsin-Milwaukee, used the double technique in a simple way to provide containment of emotions and followed with an acupuncture session to address post-trauma stress. She reports:

“She absolutely loved the PTSD treatment and the containing double. Over the course of the summer, she has come back for four more treatments, and I told her yesterday I have never seen her look so serene. I think this containing double is awesome for some people. It really validated her and seemed to strengthen her from the inside. I thank the group and, of course, Karen especially for the learning of this safe and very healing way of helping people.”

A big oops!


I misspelled the link for Kerry Tharp's mosiac art studio in the previous newsletter. See her beautiful art and information about her work at Mosaics By Kerry.

Conference invite -- you too!

Karen Carnabucci is pleased to have been invited to present Stories Of Our Ancestors at the annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy & Psychodrama April 28 to May 2, 2011 in Clearwater, Fla. See conference info and registration details here.

Conference

Interested in drama therapy, a cousin of psychodrama? The National Association of Drama Therapy will have its annual conference Nov. 4-7 in Chicago, Ill. See NADT conference info here.

Mirror neurons and why they're so important

For years, I've been preaching about how what we observe is damaging or helpful -- important distinctions when we discuss health and healing. Now science is showing that mirror neurons in the brain determine what feelings and actions we observe when watching others will "download" into our own brains and affect us strongly. It also appears that these mirror neurons help create empathy within us.

Enjoy this enlightening and fun video:

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.

Tons of ways to get to sleep without medications

"I have insomnia. How do I get to sleep without medication?"

This common question is asked regularly, and I can tell you there are lots of people who are Sleepless in Racine. Plus, Kenosha and other points, west, south and north.

Deciding to find sleep without medication --which many people find has limitations anyway -- means some effort on your part. There are actually lots of choices, but you will have to decide which ones you are willing to try.

You'll have to make an investment and maybe even consider new ideas.

Prepare for bed with bedtime rituals. You will want your rituals to be comforting and able to slow you into dream time. Calming music, turning down the lights, a warm bath or shower, an inspirational reading, prayer or other simple practices will help you relax.

Attend to issues of physical pain. If you are in pain, it will be hard to relax enough to sleep. Get a physical examination if necessary and discuss with health professional.

Avoid stimulating beverages -- coffee, tea, chocolate and other caffeinated drinks and  foods -- that perk you up rather than calm you down. Many people find sugar and salt also stimulate the body rather than calming it.

Also, avoid over-stimulating movies, books and television shows at night, including the news, which tend to topics of trauma and distress, and other shows with violent or disturbing material. Reading material should focus on quieting thoughts, rather than accelerating them.

Consider herbs such as valerian, melatonin, passiflora that are generally considered safe and non-habit forming. Check with your doctor if you are taking medications of any kind to be sure that there will be no harmful interactions.

Homeopathy remedies are available over the counter at health food shops and other alternative shops and online that help with improving sleep. Remember to refrain from substances that counteract the remedies, such as tea tree oil, mint, coffee, menthol and eucalyptus. If you are sleepless for a longer term, consider a constitutional remedy by the homeopathic practitioner.

Exercise and movement earlier in the day will help you release energy that will keep you awake at night.

At night, try a few calming yoga postures if you know them. If you don't know yoga, try simple stretching and breathe as you stretch.

Acupuncture helps balance energy meridians and calms and soothes the nervous system. If you don't like needles, try acupressure.

Journaling. Studies by psychologist James Pennebaker shows that people who regularly make journal entries about their thoughts and feelings feel less depressed and their immune system is better. You can write about your day

Refrain from panicking. If you absolutely can't sleep, just allow yourself to close your eyes and rest. Give yourself a face massage or put one hand on your heart and one hand on your forehead, another calming posture, while laying down.

Know what you can't control. If you are struggling with a personal issue or worrying about the next day's weather, it will be important to recognize that where your influence ends and come to peace with it. Some people have found that writing down a word or two what they can't control and putting it in a box dubbed "God Box" is a good way of letting it go.

Give yourself a foot rub. You will relax the nerves that end in your feet and soothe your feet which have the responsibility of carrying you around all day.

Stop your computer use early in the evening. Working at the computer activates the brain, and there is some belief that the light of the computer screen activates brain functions rather than calming them. Experiment with shortening your computer use if this may be a problem.

Finally, you may have to consider addressing those issues that keep you awake at night -- internal struggles that aren't solved by teas, pills or foot rubs but need to be clearly seen and sorted through with professional psychotherapy.