October 19, 2007

From BluWiki

WOMEN THERAPIST NETWORK Oct. 19, 2007

ATTENDANCE: Diane Dirette, Ulla Frederiksen, Nancy Hein, Bruce Heustis, Judy Loudin, Pat Lyman, Carrie McKean, Pam Marx, Sherry Opalka, Michelle Serlin, Patricia Williams, Shirley Wise, Suzanne Decker

WTN BUSINESS Please remember to RSVP! The meeting runs more smoothly if the wait staff can be prepared in advance. Please contact Sherry Opalka at 345-2621 to RSVP for next month�s meeting. If you can�t RSVP in time, come anyway, but please do try to RSVP.

Change in venue The Beacon Club location is no longer available for our meetings. The Park Club is our current location. We�ll leave time at our next meeting to discuss other options and make a decision. So far, most of those in attendance like the ambiance and food at the Park Club, and parking was easier this time. Please send suggestions for other locations to Pat Lyman and Sherry Opalka. Other possibilities under discussion include �Sol� in the Radisson, which has a nice meeting space and offers a buffet. At the Park Club, a flat fee for lunch has been set at $12. Please bring cash or a check made out to Women Therapist Network and give it to Treasurer Nancy Hein.The Park Club is not able to allow for credit card payment.

Website Pat Lyman reported that she and a few other practitioners are in the process setting up a �wiki� type website for a Psychotherapy Consortium, where different users can edit and post announcements. Pat offered to set up a small page on this website for WTN. The website is under construction, but Pat will share the link when it is ready to be viewed.

Mailing list, electronic newsletter The mailing list is being revised. If you did not receive a mailing list envelope from WTN, please contact Pat Lyman (343-2800) to keep your spot on the mailing list, to update your address, or to request the electronic newsletter. You can email Pat at: dr.patricia@lyman.net.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Seeking employment -Carrie McKean, MA, LLPC, is a recent graduate seeking employment and volunteer opportunities. Please contact her at 269-375-4234.

Upcoming service expansion -Ulla Frederiksen announces the expansion of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) programming next spring at beautiful new acreage in Fennville. Red Horse Ranch, LLC, aspires to become a ranch and retreat center offering EAP, yoga, massage, and other wellness modalities.

Referral options -Shirley Wise and Nancy Hein are co-leading a Trauma Recovery Group for adults, located at Child and Family Services. The 8-week group meets on Thursdays from 1-2:30, beginning November 8th. Call 372-4140 ext. 321 for more information or to make referrals. -Nancy Hein is a reading specialist and is available for reading interventions.

PRESENTATION Two presenters visited to speak about using consultants who specialize in the 6th sense as adjuncts to therapy. Both are available for referrals.

Kim Petrucci offers client-directed, metaphysically based sessions that she refers to as being �On the Cosmic Edge.� Whether in person or on the telephone, Kim �sees� the client�s aura with her Third Eye, �hears� the client�s thoughts with her Third Ear, and by trusting the guidance of her personal Spiritual messengers, Kim verbalizes whatever is released from the client�s unconscious�past, present, and/or future.

Kim pointed out that she has abilities the way an accountant has abilities; both have an aptitude for their work, but have further developed their abilities and skills through many years of training. Kim prefers to avoid labels like �person who has powers,� believing that such labels can lead to persecution.

Kim explained that when she works with a client, she uses her trained abilities to see auras, hear with her Third Ear, and use the guidance of her Spiritual messengers to verbalize what is already there for a client. Kim�s services are a useful resource to therapists and other health professionals, but she was quick to emphasize that she herself is not a therapist. Kim has the ability to verbalize what is present for a client and to help them activate what is present for them � the client can then take this information to their therapist for processing. Kim reported that she feels her services are most valuable to clients when they can process the information she presents with a therapist or other professional.

Kim�s tools include Tarot cards, evaluating clients� auras, and a special program she has developed for chakras. In the chakra program, a client is given information on each chakra and given a list of tasks to complete, based on Kim�s reading. Clients then progress through each chakra, learning more in each session about how to balance them.

Kim is available for referrals. Individual readings are charged at $75 per hour. The Chakra program requires multiple appointments and is designed to be affordable. You can reach Kim Petrucci at 269-649-1150 or at worldwidewitch@aol.com

Kelly Hicks presented on the value of using a medium as an adjunct to grief therapy. Kelly described her development as a professional medium, explaining that she grew up in the Midwest, then pursued scientific training in college, followed by a profession in the pharmaceutical business. In her early 30s, Kelly began to experience visits and messages from deceased family members, then from strangers� and she feared she was losing her logical, practical, scientific mind! Kelly was lucky to find a Spirit-filled therapist who validated her experience and suggested that she pursue a psychic mentor. At that point, Kelly�s goal was �turning off� the experience� but as she pursued a self-designed curriculum of study, she began to see the value in her experiences and began to consider how she could share her abilities to help others. After training with Penny Kelly at Lilly Hill Farm in Lawton and with Sonia Choquette in Chicago, Kelly is a �sixth sensory consultant� with the goal of being a clear channel between those who have passed on and those who are seeking to connect with them.

Kelly emphasized that she is not a therapist, but that her services may be very useful for therapy clients, particularly if they are able to process the information with their own therapist. In sessions with clients, Kelly helps the living connect with those who have passed to answer specific questions, whether practical (�where is the will?�) or emotional. Kelly noted that often clients seek connection with the deceased when there was a teacher-student relationship and the living client seeks some kind of final lesson from the deceased.

Kelly is eager to work with those who seek her services, but cautions that her services are most useful if the deceased has been gone for at least 3 months. Kelly also adheres to a set of ethical guidelines: she won�t seek information about individuals who are not primary relations (parent, child, spouse, sibling) to a client.

For therapists who refer clients to Kelly, a few recommendations: Prepare the client to their questions. Kelly stated that her job is to be a clear channel from the other side to this world: she does not edit what the deceased tell her, and doesn�t sugarcoat the information she receives. Clients also need to be prepared for off-topic discussion from the deceased, and need to be prepared with specific questions Kelly can ask the deceased. Further suggestions for preparing for a reading are on Kelly�s website.

Kelly is available for referrals; she provides individual medium sessions that last 1-1 � hours. Individual readings cost $144. You can contact Kelly Hicks at 269-370-7323 or see her website at www.maximummedium.com.

FUTURE MEETINGS:

November 16: Collaborative Practice in Family Law. Collaborative Practice is revolutionizing family law and the area of dispute resolution by presenting families with an amicable and respectful approach to resolving family law issues. Collaborative Practice involves the parties signing an agreement to avoid court, and litigation, and embraces a multi-disciplinary approach to resolve all of the issues in the dispute. This includes mental health professionals who serve as both coaches and child specialists to help the parties as they � and their attorneys � craft an agreement that is in the best interests of their family. Co-presenters are attorney Erika L. Salerno and therapist David Linn. Erika currently practices family law, estate and business law with Kreis, Callander and Hudgins in Portage, MI. Although she is relatively new to Kalamazoo, she is a Michigan native and has been practicing laws for 11 years. She lives in Portage with her husband and two children, Julie (4) and Joey (2). David is a clinical social worker and family therapist in practice at Kalamazoo Clinical Associates for the last 22 years. He describes his role as a member of the multi-disciplinary Collaborative Practice team as a �coach� or �child specialist�. � The coach�s role is to facilitate the negotiation process seeking to support thoughtful decision-making and avoid refractory engagement. As a child specialist my job is to evaluate the needs of the children and represent those needs to the team and the parents during the collaborative divorce process and subsequent agreement.� You can visit David�s webpage at http://www.counselingpcc.com/Linn.htm.

December: NO MEETING

January 18: Gordon Hare of Children and Family Services will present on EMDR.

February 15: Judy Loudin and Ruth Eichler will present on Imago Therapy.

March 21: Kay Ferry will present on the Use of Sacred Sound. Kay describes sound therapy as an �ancient, yet ever new healing modality. It is a non-invasive, therapeutic, healing system that incorporates sound and vibration to bring about harmony and balance within the human body, and attunes the human energy field to optimal health and wholeness.� Kay has been working with Sound Healing for over 12 years. She received her initial therapeutic training from the Institute of Music Health and Education from 1993-1995, and has continued her training through working with Dr. J. Beaulieu, J. Goldman, D. Campbell, Shary Edwards, D. Hulse, and Joseph Rael. Kay has done numerous lectures and workshops on �Sound Healing�.