2013 Concurrent Sessions
Science tells us that human beings, like all other organisms, in relationship to environment, are either in a state of growth or of protection and that these cannot happen at the same time. In healing relationships, how do we cultivate and embody energy that invites the other into growth and connection? Once established, how can this flow, or energetic field be utilized to communicate non verbally and facilitate healing?
Understanding the significance of energetic communication in healing work is particularly important in the field of pre and perinatal psychology. There are major clinical implications for working with not only with a preverbal population but also with preverbal events; early imprints, in utero and birth trauma, and with unconscious patterns that are “wired” in the formative years. Which treatment modalities are most effective in transforming and clearing these issues “energetically” and why, will be discussed and demonstrated.
Adela Barcia has been a practicing psychotherapist for over thirty years. Her focus is on creating engaging frameworks for personal and social transformation. She describes her orientation as “spiritual pragmatism”. Her specialties include: pre and perinatal psychology, preparation for birth and motherhood, health psychology, death and dying, and the dynamics of intimate relationship. She is currently writing a book about expansive love. Adela is a committed peace activist; in the interior world with her clients, and on a global level, working towards an ideological and actual paradigm shift which has the essential well-being of the child as its cornerstone principle. She conducts workshops, participates in international dialogues, and speaks publicly on a variety of related topics. Adela is the dedicated mother of two children and lives in Santa Barbara, California.
Today, one in two children live with one or more chronic health conditions. These conditions are often tied back to toxic triggers in the womb. In addition, one in four cannot conceive naturally without the help of assisted reproductive technologies. These technologies remove love and bonding from the moment of conception.
New findings confirm that preconception preparation including the elimination of heavy metals and toxins before conception is critical to successful birth outcomes and to the prevention of birth defects, which often occur in the first three months of gestation.
We will identify the optimal physiological, mental, emotional, and spiritual conditions to conceiving a healthy, happy baby. We will also review what the epigenetic and epidemiological research shows regarding the perinatal origins of violence. In addition, we will reveal a grand perinatal theory of autism, and discuss the etiology and progression of autism over the last 60 years.
Roy Dittmann, OMD, MH has dedicated his professional life to evolving an integral organic approach to prevent birth defects and optimize fetal brain development during the perinatal period – the most powerful time to impact human development. Aspiring to integrate perinatal wisdom from traditional cultures with modern trends in reproductive and perinatal medicine, Dr. Dittmann developed The Brighton Method to provide couples with practical solutions for realizing their goal of having an extraordinary child. In addition, he consulted with the Chinese and Romanian Ministers of Health, as well as Ukrainian Health Ministry officials on the creation of their perinatal programs.
This class focuses on the initiatory aspect of birth and helps mothers and birth practitioners reconnect with the important elements of power that are found in the deeper mysteries of the birth experience. Participants will learn skills for managing energy and mitigating burn-out. They will learn how to better maintain the birth portal and properly direct the power that arises in this environment.
This presentation is experiential. There is a Guided Meditation that is offered that is designed to help women and birth professionals connect with what we call the "Great Mother" - the guiding principle to help women manage and maintain power. In this presentation we focus primarily on the initiation of giving birth and identify the potential challenges in this initiation. We offer tools to help women meet those challenges. Special focus is on the "Creative Portal" that opens at the time of birth (and death) and methods for keeping the portal clear of interference are offered.
Most of us have lost touch with the significance of initiation in our lives and fail to recognize our everyday experience as part of a larger engagement with consciousness. This class offers participants the ability to prepare for this moment with intention and to gain greater understanding of this initiatory time and all of its implications.
Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. holds degrees and certificates in transpersonal psychology, cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, and hypnotherapy. Isa is the creator of Depth Hypnosis, a highly transformative spiritual counseling model, and the Founding Director of the Foundation of the Sacred Stream. She is the lead instructor for Depth Hypnosis and the other workshops offered through FSS – including Initiations of the Sacred Feminine and Tracking Spirit in the Birth Environment. She works closely with the birthing community, training doulas and midwives and offering grief and other support for mothers. For more information on Isa and these trainings, see www.sacredstream.org.
APPPAH’s message is key to transforming the way babies are understood and treated during the primal period, and it is more crucial than ever for this information to penetrate the mainstream. How this message is communicated is paramount to the level of success you achieve. Trauma-focused communication is likely to frighten and activate. By contrast, an exciting vision of what is possible is far more likely to be received by a broader audience and motivate them to action. This workshop will use various examples of birth psychology communications to explore the energy and intention of language, and brainstorm methods to craft messages that inspire. Participants may bring their own materials for class feedback. This session is valuable for any individuals and organizations communicating with the public.
Monica Matos is a mother, founder of Ten Moons Rising Holistic Education, an educator, writer and PPN advocate for almost two decades. She is passionate about helping to bring APPPAH’s message into the mainstream and is currently developing a public television documentary series for Twin Cities Public Television entitled, Life Imitates Birth: The Science and Spirit of Being Born.
In this engaging and interactive presentation, Brooke Radloff, M.A. presents her groundbreaking Integral Model of Pregnancy and Childbirth (IMPC). Within the framework of her integral model, Radloff demonstrates how pregnant women can work consciously and proactively with the internal and external influences that most deeply impact the quality of her pregnancy and birth experience. Radloff posits that by utilizing the IMPC and integrating somatic, cognitive, interpersonal, spiritual and creative modalities, pregnant women and the practitioners that support them have the potential to systematically and holistically elevate the experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and the transition into early parenthood to a level that can bring about a greater sense of maternal well-being and empowerment while serving as a vehicle for personal growth and psychospiritual transformation.
Brooke Radloff, M.A. is the founder and director of the Center for Integral Pregnancy & Childbirth. She developed the Integral Model of Pregnancy and Childbirth (IMPC) and provides Integral Pregnancy and Childbirth consulting, counseling and education to women and their partners as they make the transition from pregnancy to parenthood. She holds a Master’s degree in Integral Psychology from John F. Kennedy University, where she conducted extensive study and mixed-methods research on pregnancy and childbirth. Prior to JFK University, she assisted in the application of Integral Theory research for the United Nations Development Program report titled “Leadership For Results.” Along with an extensive background in the healing arts, mindful meditation, transformational conflict, and psychospiritual development work, Radloff is also a trained midwife’s assistant, birth doula, and mother.
Pregnancy is a feminine initiation that transforms a woman’s psyche. Because she is engaged in a creative process that fulfills itself through her body, the pregnant woman becomes visible to the world and vulnerable to projections and acts of power; however, her transformative psychological and emotional processes typically remain hidden and unknown. Within a psychotherapeutic setting art and dreams are used to encourage the pregnant woman to explore, document and engage with her pregnant imagination and non-verbal aspects of her creative journey that ignite and transform her maternal identity. We will see that during this in-depth process, unconscious patterns associated with her feminine initiation often spontaneously surface to facilitate this transformation, emphasizing the direct relationship between creativity and feminine authority. The art and dreams from pregnant women who have undergone a conscious pregnancy will be used to illustrate the healing power of images that emerged during their pregnancy.
Nora is a trained art therapist and Diplomate Jungian psychoanalyst with a private practice in Boulder, Colorado. Nora’s 1989 publication Images of Pregnant Women offered a ground-breaking approach using a series of specific drawings to work with prenatal feelings and birth preparation. A case example was included in Gayle Peterson’s book An Easier Childbirth. She also conducted exploratory research using the Prenatal Art Therapy Intervention and Inventory, which was published in The Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. Her recent article Pregnancy as a Feminine Initiation was published in the Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health.
One of seven women, giving birth will be confronted with postpartum depression. This still is one oft he best hidden secrets in society, a real taboo subject. Too much shame, guilt-feelings and devaluation in the face of the miracle of birth are the burden. Psychiatric medication definitely can alleviate but seldom prevent months of suffering. Often medication conflicts with the wish of breast feeding.
Considering the effects of Prenatal Bonding (BA) we are wondering that postpartum depression had never been reported after facilitation in a sample of meanwhile more than 2000 pregnancies. Even though Prenatal Bonding (BA) is not intended as a psychotherapy it is obviously a save prevention. Even high risk mothers with previous or continuing postpartum depression during their next pregnancy experience healing and never have been seen falling back after facilitation by Prenatal Bonding (BA).
Medical specialist in psychiatry and psychosomatics, psychoanalyst, group analyst, systemic therapist, pre- and perinatal psychologist. Advisor and expert for psychiatry, psychosomatics, and psychotherapy for the State Medical Board. Founder and director of Arbeitskreis Psychosomatik Vorderpfalz (Psychosomatic Education Institute). He is an international renowned lecturer, trainer, and author for over 25 years. Authorization to teach Pre- and Perinatal Psychology from William Emerson and to teach Prenatal Bonding (BA) from Jenoe Raffai, Hungary, graduate instructor.
The Renaissance of Birth views the birthing process from preconception through birth itself through eyes that celebrate the Art of Giving Birth. Heralding a new paradigm that honors a mother as a “Chalice for the Incoming Spirit,” this course addresses a pregnant woman’s beliefs, thoughts, words, actions, and feelings (all psychological components) that have formed from her conditioned expectations so that she can “see” birth through new eyes. This course presents models for change that are easy to practice and share with clients and colleagues. The importance of what a woman thinks (Mothers’ Minds Matter©), and how she can use her mind to Picture a Better Birth© are emphasized, including examples from research that demonstrate how a pregnant woman’s conscious and subconscious thoughts impact her birthing experience. Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Art Interpretation are shown to be important tools for understanding and helping to shift a childbearing woman’s consciousness.
Susan Highsmith, Ph.D. is an educator and counselor residing in Tucson, Arizona. She received her doctorate from Santa Barbara Graduate Institute (SBGI). She instructs masters and doctoral candidates, lectures at universities, community colleges, and charter schools, and speaks at international congresses on the new field of prenatal and perinatal psychology. Susan is a National Board Certified Counselor (NBCC). She holds a Doctorate of Divinity from the American Institute of Holistic Theology, seeking to balance psychological theory and practice with spiritual and holistic wisdom.
Childbirth benefits greatly in using more right brain functions during labor. The right brain covers all senses, feelings, insight, creativity , spontaneity etc It influences women to not to think, evaluate, criticize and question. I use lots of games, role plays, art, and action in chidbirth classes.. Through using special psychodrama activities, the participant can experience with her body and influence her body memories to re-ignite. The body memory keeps the learning with right brain, and the body remembers all details during the labor without thinking. The cortex stops, the body works. All bodily records can be remembered easily during the labor and birth itself.
Psychodrama also helps the mother and father to release past birth or life traumas through action not talking. This creates cellular shifts toward new beliefs and perceptions. Psychodrama is a kind of group therapy and personal development in which everybody can take the role of persons, subjects, feelings, and time. This role taking and role reversal can make a healthy space for participants to experience all memories in the here and now. In childbirth classes mother can be the role of oxytocin and the father can be the role of birth muscles. When they get those different roles spontaneously , they can feel the role and they become more empathic. Since they use their creativity and their laughter, they can enjoy in action by learning childbirth.
In this presentation you will understand theory and applications of psychodrama in childbirth classes. You will also experience some basic techniques as a demonstration.
Nese Karabekir holds an MA in psychology and is an individual/couple and group therapist, psychodrama therapist and trainer for 22 years. Co-founder of Istanbul Psychodrama Institute and Istanbul Birth Academy. BA in Psychology in Istanbul University, MA in Psychological Counselling Studies at Keele University, England. She has been training psychodramatists since 1996. Recently she added her work as a birth psychologist and childbirth education. She is the part of a ‘Birth Without Regret’ team, working with obstetrician and midwife together. It is a tree expert birth model in Istanbul. It consists of obstetrician, midwife and birth psychologist. She also trains childbirth educators and psychologists.
Shelley will share from her 15 years clinical practice working with the soul of the child in preparation for conception and birth. She will introduce the concept of an ‘etheric womb’, an intricate lattice or grid that holds the higher dimensional frequencies of the soul arriving. This grid is woven into the mother’s etheric body and allows the soul to create and prepare within the mother’s energetic field and physical body. The mother’s relationship with the soul of her child-to-be helps to strengthen the energetic matrix that will hold the developing physical body. Through listening to the soul of her child at this level she is more easily able to feel the unique soul personality, understand his/her needs and surrender to greater trust in the divine orchestration of the conception and journey to birth. Through this connection mothers can more easily access their own truth around their pregnancy and choices for birth and many of the physical and emotional challenges that may arise during pregnancy can be listened to and resolved on the soul level between mother, father and child. Babies have even been known to turn into position at the last moment after their story in the womb was heard. Shelley will discuss and demonstrate how to listen to the unique presence of the incoming soul and the soul-level needs of mother, father and child to support a highly conscious conception and harmonious embodiment at birth.
Shelley holds a Masters in Neuropsychology and 15 years clinical experience working with the journey of the soul consciousness of the child in conception and pregnancy. She is an international speaker and teacher, training doulas and midwives, as well as therapists of many modalities, to work with the soul consciousness of the incoming child. She teaches the unique understandings that have developed through her work, empowering others to listen to the needs of the soul for conception, pregnancy and birth, as well as working with the embodiment challenges in our young children. www.incomingsouls
It is one of the most transforming experiences in life to love and be loved. It is one of the most powerful experiences in life to carry and nourish the development of two cells to the birth of a new life. The confluence of birth and love should not be taken for granted. Significant numbers of people carry the memories of an unhappy childhood lacking motherly and/or parental love.
Objective: To discover and describe how mother's love arises.
Place of Research: Department of Obsterics, Semmelweis University, Budapest. 500 healthy mothers who delivered normal babies were asked to participate in a questionnaire-based survey.
Conclusion: The development of love for the newborn baby has clearly identifiable stages. In many cases the experience of love within the mother begins with the desire to have a child. The sensation of love may come through love signals, like „he crawled under my hand when he was inside.” In most cases the mother's newly awakened love, the newborn, and the relationship
between them brings the transformation. "I am not good at forgiving but I am always going to forgive him.”
Zita S. Makói MD, PhD. Since 1964, Zita has spent 32 years practicing clinical pediatrics and neonatology. She participated in the teaching of medical students, nurses, postgraduate doctors at the same time. Since the university years Dr. Makoi has been involved in research work. She was research fellow in neonatal related subject in UK and Finland. She wrote two books about mother-baby communication and infant crying. Recently besides her perinatal related research, she teaches pregnant mothers about mother-baby communication and yoga teachers to about basic anatomy and physiology. Past work includes responsibility for the management of Pető Institute* as a rector.
*Pető Institute - named after the founder of the Institute and the method - has been doing rehabilitation for babies and children who suffered cerebral palsy or other similar health problems mostly in the perinatal period and serves as a high school for the teachers of this method.
In this presentation I show how the infant will inevitably take the lead in getting its needs met and how we can support the parents to consciously and lovingly respond to the infant’s promptings. When the parents are able to attend to the needs of their newborn child, bonding and attachment will naturally occur. In addition, we will look at infant nurturance from two specific vantage points. The first is how to maximize the salutary effects of breastfeeding. The second is an overview of infant development and trauma resolution from birth to 9 months of age. Via a video diary we will examine one infant’s early trauma, consequent developmental issues and the resolution of these traumas through treatment, as well as the re-connection and healing of the family unit.
Treatment Objectives:
1. To soothe and alleviate the rawness of birth and early childhood trauma
2. To bring integration and healing to the child’s physiology so that normal development can occur
3. To promote bonding, attachment and wellness in the family unit
Peggy Reynolds has been a healing arts practitioner in the San Diego area for the past 20 years. She is a licensed Holistic Health Practitioner and Registered Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist (RCST®), as well as an approved teacher through the Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Association of North America. She is also certified in trauma healing as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) with the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. Peggy has an additional five years of training with Dr. Ray Castellino in the field of pre- and perinatal psychology, as well as training with Maura Sills in core process psychotherapy and relational field. Peggy specializes in the treatment of trauma for all ages. She has a particular focus on the treatment of early developmental trauma, attachment, and bonding issues. She integrates biodynamic craniosacral therapy, trauma work, and pre- and perinatal psychology to facilitate the process of trauma resolution for individuals and families. Peggy supports and educates families in healing. She is also an internationally certified Lactation Consultant through the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE).
