a respected teacher told me about this workshop (given by lana epstein @ ny open center 6/20). i'm going. there is still space left so you should sign up. if you are a therapist. if you are not a therapist perhaps you would like to learn more about the way this material integrates with EMDR (see my "emdr" page for more information about that). i am happy to answer your questions. especially after the training! i am excited to enhance my clinical chops with a deeper grasp of early attachment wounding and how to re-process it, using EMDR, with sensorimotor techniques. i'm so glad that somatic ways of working have come of age in the field of psychotherapy.

here is an excerpt from the course description. click here to see the whole thing. 

"Are your clients stuck in old patterns and negative self-concepts? Do they find themselves repeatedly with people or in situations that echo the past? Do you want to know more about how the body holds attachment wounds? It is well documented in the field of affective neuroscience that early attachment relationships have a profound impact on the developing brain. SENSORIMOTOR PSYCHOTHERAPY brings modern developmental neuroscience into a clinical dialogue with the body and extends this further by suggesting that the body, too, is shaped by our early attachment experiences and that relational difficulties in adulthood are deeply connected with early attachment failures or disruptions. The body reflects and sustains the implicit meanings of these attachment failures, which is often evident in the limiting beliefs our clients hold. The inability to process these early attachment experiences with words alone creates challenges to the effective treatment of relational trauma. While EMDR is often the treatment choice for many psychotherapists working with the sequelae of trauma, it is less widely used in the treatment of early attachment wounds."

i have learned some sensorimotor ("sm") teqchniques and have had strong results integrating them in my work with trauma survivors and other things. i am hopeful this workshop will shift things for me and for my clients. 

june 7 through july 1. it's true. 

sadly, astrology was not offered in social work school. so i don't know much about it (deborah singletary  does, though, and you should check her out at vision carriers and say that i sent you). the one thing i do know is that when mercury goes retrograde, it is important to be vigilant about communication and transportation and signing documents. things like that. 

here is a link to something about mercury in retrograde from the twins at astrostyle. 

good luck. 

what is your joy and your happy? some of mine:  a good cup of coffee and the time to enjoy it. a great book. dancing. nice shoes and other things too. 

i want to share a happy joy secret: james baraz's 5-week happiness course about awakening joy. james is a respected buddhist teacher. the course is in person if you live in berkeley, ca or online if you don't. you get a joy buddy. you sing. you receive lessons about mindfulness and ways to cultivate the joy and resilience that is already inside of you. 

james has a book about happiness ("awakening joy"). but before he did, i took a day-long workshop with him and he recommended another wonderful book about happiness that you should read. it is called "how we choose to be happy: the 9 choices of extremely happy people--their secrets, their stories" by rick foster.

studying happiness does not imply that sadness or other less pleasant emotions should be ignored, minimized or transcended. cultivating what is strong, beautiful, solid and joyful in you helps to build your capacity to weather the difficult emotional moments. we want to turn up the volume on happy and influence your wiring. questions or comments? i am glad to hear from you.