Contemporary psychotherapy isn't all talk

Along with the growth of interest in alternative medicine, a growth in the interest about choices in alternative psychotherapy.

"Alternatives" don't just come down to herbs, massage and yoga, as valuable as they are. People can experience significant growth and change -- often in short amounts of time -- with activities that use drama, guided imagery, music therapy, art therapy, sand tray therapy and other modalities that speak to people's whole brains, not just symptoms.

When people think about seeking counseling -- or "talk therapy" as it is often called, it is important to know that there are other options available

Psychodrama -- translating from the Greek to "mind in action" -- is an action method that has been adapted to psychotherapy treatment since the early 1920s. A psychodrama director, as the therapist is called when working in this method, will assist a person in exploring an issue or problem in action, which may include experimenting with a variety of role play, working with simple props or making other active choices in the context of therapeutic concerns. It is not necessary to feel like you are an "actor" or actress but rather experiment with For more information, see American Society of Psychodrama and Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama Certification. Good book: The Living Stage: A Step-by-Step Guide to Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy.

Eye Movement and Desesensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) employes rapid eye movements and sounds to help the brain process negative memories and experinces and appears to be particuarly helpful with survivors of trauma. Good book: EMDR: The Breakthrough "Eye Movement" Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma.

Art therapy encourages expression of feelings in the making of art -- whether painting, drawing, working with clay, making collages and also three-dimensional objects. In working with an experiened art therapist, people can experience the self in new ways and gain a feeling of empowerment in expressing their creativity. Another good  site here. Good book: Art Therapy Sourcebook (Sourcebooks).

Music therapy helps people express feelings and communicate with a variety of music, sometimes live and sometimes recorded. It improves the quality of life for persons who are well and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities or illnesses. Music therapy interventions can be designed to relieve stress and reduce pain and improve memory, as well as many other documented health benefits. Good book: Acting Your Inner Music: Music Therapy and Psychodrama.

Systemic Family Constellation Work is a very leading-edge healing method coming from Germany, developed by Bert Hellinger. It has recently arrived in the Midwest through several psychotherapists in Milwaukee and postulates that trauma, pain and personal problems are often connected to the troubles of previous generations. Most often defined as a "soul healing" process, it is done in groups and works with the unconscious to explore influential trans-generational family bonds. Good book: Love's Hidden Symmetry: What Makes Love Work in Relationships.

Animal-assisted therapy involves including animals -- dogs, horses and the like -- in working with people in emotional pain as well as those experiencing physical and mental disabilities. One of many good sites is Delta Society.

Professional newsletter: January training with vision board, conference notes, more

Learn to make a vision board!

It's nearly 2011! That means that Wisconsin professionals think about making our goals while also figuring out how to get continuing education hours by Feb. 28.

The January training will help you learn how to make a vision board as fun and interesting tool to help your clients, students and other learners to focus on their dreams in a positive way. The training is designed for counselors, coaches and others who work with people who may need to set goals.

In this hands-on session with Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP, you make your own vision board and you will learn:

• The story behind vision board tradition
• Alternatives to vision "boards" for various populations.
• How to carry the process for significant personal growth so the project is not craft-oriented or busy work. 
• How to integrate with additioinal experiential processes including psychodrama, guided imagery and others. 

From 1 to 4 p.m. with three continuing education hours for social workers, licnesed professional counselors and addictions counselors, plus psychodrama credits. Tuition is $35 for program, materials, handout and credit hours. Send check to Lake House and contact Karen at (262) 633-2645 to reserve. Details on this and other trainings here.

Here's an example of a vision board that I recently created:

 

Book update

I'm hard at work at writing "Integrating Psychodrama & Systemic Constellation Work: New Directions For Action Methods, Mind-Body Therapies And Energy Healing" with my co-author Ron Anderson. Our deadline is February  2011and Jessica Kingsley Publishers tells us the book will be published in August 2011.

Karen to present at psychodrama conference

Karen will be presenting "Stories Of Our Ancestors" at the 69th annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy & Psychodrama on May 1, 2011 in Clearwater, Fla. For information on the full schedule of workshops and other events, find brochure here.

Constellation conference in 2011

The U.S. Systemic Constellations Conference is planned for Oct. 28-30 in San Francisco. It brings the Constellatins community together to enhance connection, belonging and expansion. Whether you are a Constellation professional practicing or learning Systemic Constellation Work or new to this healing process, please explore the full web site for details on the many presentations and workshops.

 

Eating disorders resource

 

Gurze offers a free 48-page catalogue with more than 200 carefully selected eating disorder resources including books, DVDs, newsletters, free articles, facts about eating disorders and a list of treatment facilites. Here's the order link.

 

I keep this catalog available for my clients and supervisees. Gurze is offering a 50 percent discount until the end of the year to get the word out. Also, check out  the newly  reorganized bulimia.com web site, which inlcudes "Quick Links" on the right-hand menu bar, with topic-driven, hand-selected articles, books and information.

 

Sand tray training

 

Postive comments on the recent "Sand Tray Theatre" training for professionals, when participants had the hands-opportuonity to create a series of sand tray scenes, starting with gentle work with their hands in the sand and then continuing with various vignettes for various therapeutic and coaching issues.

 

We ended up with this final scene:

  

 

 

Among the comments on the evaluations:

 

"This should be a series!"

"I liked the hands-on aspect."

"I can see how I can use this with my clients."

"Great personal growth..."

This is one of the most popular trainings at Lake House, and it will be offered again in 2011 for those who requested it. Next training program: "One-To-One Psychodrama For Individual Psychotherapy, Coaching & Personal Growth" on Feb. 18. See calendar.

"Listening can be the greatest meditation"

 

Philosopher Eckert Tolle talks about listening to patients in this great video --  not just with words but also with presence of heart, mind and spirit. "The most important part is the energy field of listening," rather than just the story, which elevates the human interaction and avoids deletion in the helper.

 

Listen and watch:

 

 

 

 

 

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.

How various professions use role play, sometimes by other names

Sometimes people think they know a lot about role play. Sometimes people question the value of role play. However, role play -- a relative of improvised theatre which has its roots in the method known as psychodrama -- is everywhere.

Not everybody who does role play has received actual training in the technique, and thereby is the problem. But there are groups that value and use role play in their work and standardize its use.

You'll find mentions of role play in various disciplines, although it sometimes goes by other names in its documentation.

There is a group called the Association of Standardized Patient Examiners, for example. The group trains using role play, otherwise known as simulations, helping nurses, doctors and others improve their skills. Some firms train attorneys using simulations -- Trial Lawyers College is a leader in this work in the legal profession-- and the U.S. military could not function without it.

Gregory Ford, a well-known psychodramatist in Washington, D.C., offers these resources:

Here's an example of exploration of the use of role play in training in the medical profession.

For a history of the Standardized Patients methodology, you'lll find information here.

The organization that governs the licensing of people who teach using simulation in the medical profession is here.

Researchers who are interested in doing more research on the efficacy of role play might look under the specific discipline area in which which the training is to take place and then look under training and then look under simulations or role play.

A psychodrama session with Zerka Moreno

Zerka Moreno masterfully conducts an actual psychodrama session with a group of experienced psychodrama practitioners. The protagonist "Frank" has been having great difficulty completing his doctoral thesis on psychodrama. Zerka directs him in several powerful scenes, including role reversals with his unfinished thesis as well as with his grandfather.

Frank’s head is full of what he knows – but “being” the other allows for powerful shifts within the person that is not possible just by thinking about it and talking about it.

Zerka collaborated in the development of psychodrama with her late husband, Dr. J.L. Moreno. I had the great privilege to study with her at Boughton Place in Highland, N.Y., and it was she who encouraged me to become certified as master trainer. Now in her 90s, Zerka still conducts sessions in the living room of her home in Charlottesville, Va. She is an inspiration!

Healthy Lives, Healing Journey open house and book sale

Just a quick reminder of our upcoming open house and book sale at Lake House Health & Learning Center:

Sunday, Aug. 16, from noon to 3 p.m. at 932 Lake Ave., Racine. Watch for the colorful flag!

Lake House practitioners and friends will gather to speak, demonstrate and share important information about starting you on a healthy journey – or helping you move ahead to your next step of personal growth and change.

If you want to make changes in your life – or are seeking second opinion – or looking for some good bibliotherapy -- or just want to gather with kindred spirits, join us.

Here are the practitioners you'll meet and their specialties:

"Psychotherapy as Experience: How It Creates Real Change" with Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP, psychotherapist, coach and psychodramatist.

"Animal Reiki" with Judy Warner, nationally certified massage therapist and Reiki master.

"Pet First Aid" with Michele Safcik, owner of Little Pals, a pet-sitting and pet care service.

"Stress Relieving Yoga" with Marie Boyum, certified yoga teacher, meditation teacher and wellness coach.

"Chiropractic Care for Improved Posture and Reduced Pain at Work" with Dr. Scott Sheriff, chiropractor.

"Spiritual Guidance" with Karen Aiken, spiritual teacher and raw foods consultant based in Lake Geneva.

Plus, Laura Sebastian, Feldenkrais practitioner and macrobiotic cook, will circulate within the open house and answer questions about her work.

We’ll have stacks of affordably priced health books on topics ranging from parenting to self-help to mental health to recovery, plus healthy refreshments, printed information – including the 2009 Guide To Health, Wellness and Creative living in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois – and discount coupons and door prizes.

Call (262) 633-2645 for more information.

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.

A few words about sex addiction and "cures"

Yesterday’s request of Racine’s former mayor to attend treatment center for compulsive sexual behavior and trauma are bringing his legal charges – and discussions about sex addiction – back into the public eye.

Many people are asking if individuals who are attracted to unhealthy and destructive forms of sexual activity can be "cured.”

This is a complicated question. An answer about a “cure” – or lack of same – would be very easy to answer if all offenders fit an identical profile.

However, there are many profiles of a person who acts compulsively with regard to sexual activity – just as there are many profiles with individuals who are caught up with compulsive use of alcohol, drugs, spending, gambling and other high-risk behaviors. Here, it is important to have a thorough assessment by professionals who are able to determine long-term behavior patterns and the true level of the illness. Sometimes the illness is contributes to activities that break the law -- for instance, an alcoholic who has a car accident when driving while intoxicated is acountable for that accident and injuries or deaths that result. In most areas, it is not against the law to gamble, but legal authorities will be calling if you embezzle money from your employer. With respect to sex addiction, individuals may find themselves in legal trouble if their actions violate a law; a pedophile is defined ins psychological terms one who is attracted to children, 13 years of age and younger, and there are other laws as well. Addictions of all kinds affect the brain, and the person’s brain can be retrained to respond to triggers differently and to learn and practice healthy behaviors. Addictions cannot be "cured." But they can be treated, and a recovering person can learn how to abstain from destructive behavior and respond with healthy choices with awareness, motivation and support. Many good programs are available for in-depth treatment which often includes treatment for depression and anxiety; The Keystone treatment center employs a variety of standard and innovative treatment modalities, including psychodrama, a powerful action method that is often used in psychotherapeutic settings.

Keystone's Web site provides a good overall view of how sexual acting-out behaviors can damage people, marriages, jobs and families – just as alcohol and drugs do. There is an excellent article by Susan J. Campling, Psy.D., the center’s director, that should answer many common questions. She says:

“Today we understand the powerlessness the addicted person feels and have begun to recognize that the pleasure of addiction, the “high” can result from substances outside and inside of the person. Behaviors can trigger the release of internally produced chemicals that create the pleasure high and at least temporarily, alter mood. Sex, gambling, exercise and shopping are only a few of the behaviors that can alter a person’s mood. When the addicted person continues to engage in these behaviors despite negative consequences, we see the footprints of addiction.

I must challenge views that inpatient treatment is “ineffective.”

When I worked as a psychotherapist at Caron Treatment Centers, an inpatient treatment center for chemically addicted persons and their families in Wernersville, Pa., we often referred to other centers for specialized treatment, such as eating disorders, sex addiction and the like. Keystone, located in a nearby county, was one of several referral options.

Inpatient treatment at a quality treatment center gives the individual the opportunity to fully focus on addressing the illness without distractions that daily life presents. It is a real chance to make significant changes, if the person is motivated to learn and grow. Part of the learning is to identify healthy risks that lead to help and healing rather than unhealthy risks that lead to secrecy and shame.

It’s also important that a person, once discharged, is willing to follow recommendations of continuing care. Such recommendations might involve ongoing outpatient therapy, participation at self-help meetings, abstinence from mood-altering chemicals and other lifestyle alterations.

Another important resource is Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, a 12-step group that offers a simple and yet very effective program for individuals who are motivated to recover. Its name refers to both to individuals who are addicted to some sort of sexual activity, as well as those who have a chronic and compulsive preoccupation with romance, intrigue or fantasy. Others have found help at a similar group, Sex Addicts Anonymous.

SLAA and SAA are structured self-help programs based on the original steps of Alcoholics Anonymous – which has literally helped millions of people to recover from compulsive use of alcohol and birthed many other helpful groups, including Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and Nicotine Anonymous and programs for family members of those addicted.

As Susan Campling says:

“Today, it is no longer socially acceptable to laugh at the pain of alcoholism. Today we continue to glorify the sexual conquests of TV stars and pass judgment upon the "moral failings” of persons unable to stop their sexual acting out. We freely use words like “pervert,” “nympho” and lecher. Perhaps it is our fear that diseases can happen to anyone and that we are all vulnerable that is intolerable. Instead of drunks or perverts, persons suffering from addiction, might be something else. They might be people worthy of our understanding and compassion. They might be us.”

See her complete essay, “As We Raise Our Head from Shame to Grace,” here.

For more information, see SLAA’s site here and SLA's site here with additional helpful links here. Professionals can learn more about psychodrama and sex addiction at my blog for professionals here.

"American Therapy" gives press to psychodrama

A new book about psychotherapy gives good press to psychodrama, the action method developed by Jacob L. and Zerka Moreno.

This is a good thing, since the method, originally developed in the 1920s, has often been relegated to the back of the shelf. Way back. Even experienced mental health professionals and others don't know that Dr. Moreno, a European-born physician, coined the phrase "group psychotherapy" and was a true pioneer in the fields of mental health, marriage counseling, alternative non-drug therapy and other topics that we take for granted today.

The book is “American Therapy: The Rise of Psychotherapy in the United States” by Jonathan Engel and contains well-written passage about sociometry, the science of relationships, which was also developed by Moreno. There’s particular mention of his work at a New York facility for female juvenile delinquents – as they were called in the early days – and how he rearranged their assigned rooms to create more cooperation and less turmoil after evaluating their relationships.

Most of the focus of the book leans to Sigmund Freud, who we consider the originator of modern mental health treatment, and how his ideas spread to the United States, before heading off in new and more practical directions to treat emotional pain. Moreno was one of Freud’s first challengers, at around 1912 when he was a young medical student in Vienna. Although Moreno died in 1974, the worlds of psychodrama and sociometry are very much alive not only in the mental health but many other fields, thanks to the efforts of his widow, Zerka, who is in her nineties and still working, and many others.

True, author Engel makes some misstatements in other parts of the book, including the incorrect surname of a Vanderbilt University researcher who in 1979 conducted a study that raised questions about the role of specialized training in effective psychotherapy. He was Hans Strupp, not Krupp, and the incorrect reference to three eminent U.S. doctors who were early promoters of Freudian theory. Adolf Meyer and Harry Stack Sullivan were psychiatrists, and James Jackson Putnam was a neurologist; they were not “psychologists.”

Recommended.