January newsletter: more constellation healing groups, plus personal growth for the new year

Imagine a constellation in the sky – a grouping of stars that depicts your ancestors.

Each one has an invisible string connecting one to another and to you. As you live your life, you are tethered to these people of the past. You’ve inherited some of their characteristics: Grandma’s love of baking, your dad’s eyes, Aunt May’s red hair…

But there’s more.

You also have inherited their joys and sorrows, and you may be carrying pain, guilt, anger or other burdens from past generations that impact your life today – even if you do not exactly how or why.

The “Ancestors, Constellations and Healing” groups at Lake House Health & Learning Center are a new and profound way to help you connect and correct the past so that you can move forward with a sense of inner peace. Each participant may be involved as much or as little as they are comfortable with, sharing general issues, not details.

Whether you merely observe or actively participate in this safe and confidential setting, you’ll learn a lot about yourself and how you are a part of those who came before you. .

We're adding more dates for 2011, alternating between day and evening times to accommodate your varied schedules. See calendar for more details.

This unconventional healing process of Family Constellation Work comes from Germany and I've started a web page with article links and information to newcomers and interested others.

Groups begin on Monday, Jan. 10. Your insurance may cover some or all of the fee, although a sliding scale may be available for those without insurance. Contact Karen at (262) 633-2645 for reservations or questions.

Help with constellation survey

The International Systemic Constellation Association (ISCA) is currently creating a research study on the effectiveness of constellation work. If you have taken part in a group or individual constellation session with Karen at Lake House and are willing to complete a preliminary questionaire based on your experience, please follow this link. Your input is greatly appreciated.

More on the blog

We're all about the new year. See Happy new change and A llittle ritual to say a good farewell to 2010.

Schedule at a glance

Jan. 10 Ancestors, Constellations & Healing

Jan. 13 Ancestors, Constellations & Healing
Jan. 14 Make A Vision Board For Meetup
Jan. 14 Professional Training: Make A Vision Board
Jan. 15 Tarot For Self Discovery
Jan. 19 Learn to Make Your Own Flower Essence To Ease Emotional Challenges
Jan. 20 Natural Health, Homeopathy & Other Remedies
Jan. 18-20 Homeopathy appointments with Marybeth Buchele

Services at Lake House Health & Learning Center

Psychotherapy
Coaching
Professional training with continuing education credits
Wellness classes
Personal growth groups
Homeopathy
Massage
Reiki
Feng shui
Referrals

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:

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.

Gerlinde Gelina is co-leader of women's retreat

Growing up in Germany, Gerlinde Gelina discovered very early that she had two passions - the creative force and a desire to understand the essence of human beings. Following a family tradition, she earned her master's degree and became dental lab technician. She satisfied her longing for creativity as she shaped new smiles for people. To explore her curiosity for the human soul, she studied Gestalt psychotherapy.

Gerlinde will be joining Karen Carnabucci for the all-day retreat Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Grandmothers And Others on Saturday, Oct. 30, at Lake House Health & Learning Center, Racine. See more details here.

A graduate of the Gestalt Institute of Cologne, Gerlinde's coursework included the study and application of a broad range of psycho-social issues and Gestalt techniques. During this time, Systemic Constellation Work became her focus.

Gerlinde has been involved in Gestalt and Constellation work for more than 14 years. She has been leading workshops and working as a Gestalt therapist, utilizing the approach of Bert Hellinger, since 2001, and she co-founded the Gestalt Study-Group in Cologne.

Having progressively refined her technique, Gerlinde has trained with many of the founders and leading facilitators of Dynamic and Systemic Constellations, including Bert Hellinger, Dr. Wilfried Nelles, Dr. Victor Chu, Jacob and Sieglinde Schneider and Stephan Hausner.

In October 2005 she presented a workshop on systemic dynamics of career issues at the first U.S. Conference on Systemic Constellation Work.

No diagnosis, little story -- but rather, what gives person strength

In many cultures -- including many Asian countries -- ancestors are honored and revered. In the United States, we might not even know the names of our grandparents. Feeling disconnected from our ancestors and our larger family system has implications for both our physical and emotional health.

Systemic Constellation Work, an unconventional method of healing which views the family system as an important component of our heath and ability to function in the world, is today's topic at Roots and Legends, 3209 Washington Ave., Racine, as we recognize the passing of our Valentine Day holiday and the start of Chinese New Year.

 

Systemic Constellation Work holds some very different outlooks from traditional mental health concepts. There is no theory. There is no pathology, at least not in the way we think of it according to the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. There are no diagnoses. There is even not very much story about the event that is encouraged.

What is of great interest is what (1) gives a person strength and (2) what allows love to flow within a family, even when it seems on a conscious level that there is no or little love.

Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherpist and former priest, originated Systemic Constellation Work. He started with the person who is wanting healing to arrange representatives of the self and the other people in the situation within a space in a room without any logic or story. Then he noticed what natural physical movements and words appeared to stimulate feelings of calm in a system or grouping of people where anxiety, threat and/or pain were originally present. These groups of people were not the actual people involved in the issue but representatives of the people, including the client.

"As long as our ancestors are still suffering within us, we cannot be truly happy. If we make a step with awareness...we do this for all the past and future generations. Then all arrive at the same moment we arrive and we all find peace at the same time." -- Thich Nhat Hahn

Through these observations, Hellinger came up with the standards of “orders of love,” which identified the importance of the family soul, which may also be described the energy of the family system, rather than the energy of one person.

Belonging. This is the strongest and has to do with our very survival. We often do whatever we must in order to continue to belong to a group, especially our family, even though it may not be best for us. These struggles to leave or stay within a group are often deeply felt. Our families are one "group" we cannot leave, and balancing the "rules" of our family of origin within our adult lives can be a source of a great deal of difficulty. Hidden and unconscious loyalties often govern our actions more than we realize.

Balancing give and take. When we receive or take from another, we feel a debt and some discomfort. When we give back we feel a freedom and a sense of innocence. If giving and taking are out of balance in some way, then we may feel guilt, and sometimes hiding that guilt, we feel anger or other emotions. This can be very apparent between couples and between parents and children.

Social order and place. That is, following the rules of the social group we belong to, the backbone of communal living. It also includes a sense of having a right place in the groups we belong to. This provides a sense of safety and stability. We know where we belong relative to the other members of our group. When this is not clear in a group a great deal of chaos can arise.

It is in telling the “soul” truth that there is love, even when there is pain, that people are able to feel the relief and find the calm and the peace within what appear to be logical contradictions when thinking or talking about it. A key point is that the truth is not some cookie-cutter kind of parroting of certain “ideas” but the individual truth that resonates deeply for that person and that system.

In the time that I have been acquainted with Constellation work -- starting in about 2001 or 2002 -- and in the past two years wheb I've been s studying advanced work in this method., I've seen great healing with this profound method and have experienced many sessions myself. I have been integrating Constellation into my work for some time. 

Proud to have a certificate in Systemic Constellation Work

I'm proud to annouce that I received a certificate following a one-year advanced training course in Systemic Constellation Work with Heinz Stark (with me, below) on Dec. 21. The training was offered by the Hellinger Institute of D.C.,  with the Orders of Life Association and the Stark Institute for Systemic Integrative Therapy.

Heinz, one of the world's leading trainers in Systemic Constellation Work, is the founder of Stark Institute, Germany. In addition, a second certificate recognizes completion of Jichu Gong of the Biyun Method of Medical Qigong. Learn more about the Hellinger Center of D.C. here.

Dan Booth Cohen explains Constellation healing as a tribute to our ancestors

Dan Booth Cohen,  Ph.D., talks about the new approach of Systemic Constellation Work in this interview with Patricia Ruskin’s “Positive Living” show on VoiceAmerica.

During the wide-ranging interview, he talks about how Constellation work can heal and restore what is in the past. Further, he gives examples about how relationships become strained because of what is missing in the ancestral background of one person’s life – creating loneliness and disconnection.

He also talks about alcohol as a pain killer and and how there is increasing physical and scientific evidence is now showing that  the effects of traumatic experiences are passed on from one generation to another. So he may ask: "Is the problem older than you are?"

His recent book, “I Carry Your Heart In My Heart,” is filled with the stories of his experiences leading monthly Systemic Family Constellation circles with life prisoners in a Massachusetts prison for five years. It also describes Family Constellations’ roots and philosophy which is based on the observations of Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist who is considered one of the most innovative and profound thinkers in the past 25 years.

We can carry the pain of our ancestors in our hearts and we can release the pain to find joy. "Anyone can be in prison and anyone can find freedom," he has discovered.

Cohen, who is based in New England, offers workshops throughout the United States and has a wealth of experience in the art of peace-making and creative problem solving. He has had a diverse career as a business owner, corporate executive, author, peace activist and counselor over the past 30 years. Dan was the co-founder of Pequod Associates, Inc., a founding member of the City of Cambridge Peace Commission and the co-director of the Boston Children of War Program.

Systemic Constellation Work is the new frontier in healing

What if some of your feelings did not really belong to you – but came from one of your ancestors and you simply “inherited” them?

Systemic Constellation Work – sometimes called Family Constellation Work – is a remarkable healing process that has emerged from Germany in the past 30 years. It posits that our ancestors' suffering has leaked into our own lives, causing our own suffering, and that modern medicine and psychotherapy cannot fully relieve this pain due to its relentless focus on the individual rather than the larger family system.

Developed by Bert Hellinger, a former priest, missionary and psychotherapist, this process looks like blend of ancestor reverence, psychodrama and family systems therapy. Yet it is also nothing like anything you’ve seen before. Hellinger developed this process to address the suffering of the descendants of the German Nazis and the survivors of Europe’s Holocaust victims, but everyone soon figured that the healing that emerged was helpful to release deep patterns embedded in the family system, no matter that the issue of distress was physical illness or emotional distress. Rather than explore stories, emotions or cognitive content, it identifies the energetic blockages within the “soul” of the family. The facilitator helps restore the natural orders that must be present in the larger family system before all can experience love and feel peace.

Constellation work is gradually finding its way to the Midwest, thanks to my psychodrama colleague Ron Anderson who discovered the method in the early 2000s. I’ve now been studying this approach with Heinz Stark, a German psychotherapist who was one of Hellinger’s original followers for two years, and I am now integrating much of this work in my individual sessions with people; Friday’s introductory group session will be the first of several groups that we are planning at Lake House Health & Learning Center. See calendar for more information and how to register.

Dodie Corcoran is a massage therapist and bodyworker who has adapted Constellation Work for bodywork and periodically offers Constellation groups in Woodstock, Ill. I like how she describes this unique work:

This trans-generational healing process will bring to light that certain tragedies and pains your ancestors suffered years ago may adversely affect you or your loved ones today. Like open wounds held in your family's collective soul, resolution and reconciliation are still being sought out in the present, even though the events may have long passed, and the people involved may long be deceased.

The soul’s need for healing and closure remains like an irrevocable binding force, whereby innocent and unknowing family members from future generations get entangled in the fates of those who lived before. Such entanglements can truly be disastrous because family members are then not free to live their own lives, unconsciously perpetuating difficulties, tragedies, injustices and crimes - often for many, many generations.

This work may also reveal that your life’s present or recurring challenges may be directly connected to painful events or personally committed guilt from your own life still in need of closure, healing or reconciliation. Your soul can be held captive for years in this way, making it impossible for you to move forward in your life in a good direction. And if you are a parent, it may possibly entangle your child.

The beauty of this work lies in the fact that once entanglements are brought to light, unresolved issues can be brought to a peaceful close. Once that happens, we are set free from the forces that held us captive, even though we may have never known until then that we had been bound at all. Supportive healing energy, life force and love suddenly can touch us, thereby opening the doors for us to stand fully in our own life with peace, clarity and strength.

Learn more about Dodie and her services here. Hellinger’s voluminous writings can be found at his site here. Here is one of his basic thoughts:

"There is nothing a child won't do to help the family, even to the detriment of self."

Read more about where I go to study here and see the wide number of books and videos that are now available on this subject. For readers, the book, “Love’s Hidden Symmetry: What Makes Love Work In Relationships” by Bert Hellinger, Gunthard Weber and Hunter Beaumont is a good place to begin. Another is The Healing Power of the Past: A New Approach to Healing Family Wounds by Berthold Ulsamer.

By the way, The idea that we inherit feelings and experiences from our ancestors is now being proven by science. Here's an amazing video from BCC, "The Truth In Our Genes," here. You can find several examples of actual Constellation sessions on YouTube – just go to to the site and search for “Systemic Family Constellation Work.” Most of them are in another language but you can get the idea of how it looks.