 |
Click here to download the full PDF version of the MeadowLark.
Inside this Issue
For more information, contact The Meadows at 800-420-1616.
|
 |
|
Thank You... for Making the Annual Symposium a Success!
In October 2009, The Meadows presented the "Pioneers in Recovery" Annual Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. The event included presentations by Pia Mellody, Maureen Canning, John Bradshaw, Bessel A. van der Kolk and Peter A. Levine. This dynamic event featured the insights of the speakers as they shared their philosophies, treatment techniques, and skills regarding such issues as trauma, addictions, relationships, healthy sexuality, codependence, spirituality, and family systems.
Program Highlights
Day one of the two-day event began with Pia Mellody discussing her groundbreaking work on the compulsive behaviors of love addicts and love avoidants. She discussed how childhood relational trauma can lead to addictive relational patterns in adult relationships. Treatment interventions and recovery issues were also presented.
... to read the rest of this article click here.
Emotional Incest and What's Wrong about Being Special
By Debra L. Kaplan, MA, LAC, LISAC, EMDR-II
Alysa was 32 years old and struggling with commitment when she decided to seek counseling. It was in one of our early sessions that I asked about her family and, in particular, about her parent's marriage.
"My parents had a good marriage--not great, but... you know, good. I know there were times that my dad wasn't happy, but you don't stay together if you're not happy!"
"Really? What makes you so sure?" I asked.
... to read the rest of this article click here.
The Next Step... Life Pleasure in Advance Recovery
By Steven Hoskinson, MA, MAT
One of the main premises of my approach in Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is that trauma is an unintegrated resource. This is a central issue for the next step for the recovery community. Having discovered helplessness, most have discovered help in community and higher power. What about one's personal access to empowerment and joy in living? As I work with people in recovery, I am awed by the degree of courage and character written in the faces and hearts of my clients.
And yet my own honoring of what it took to leave the heroin, the alcohol, the sex addiction, the many substances, often falls into the cleft between myself and those seeking a next step. It is as if a hidden program comes online that says, "Beware of feeling too good." This can lead to an often unrecognized hypervigilance to do the right thing. It is difficult to "let go and let God" when there's one place not to go: too much of a good thing. However, the line at the border designating "too much" is often drawn, for safety's sake, too far on this side of enjoying life. It's as if a person's system has identified the danger area, and then erected multiple layers of fences to keep the person away--and thus safe.
... to read the rest of this article click here.
|
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Collaboration... An Important Piece of the Puzzle
By Wesley Kanchepera
It has been said that "success begets success," but I believe that recognizing one's own failures and limitations can be a powerful catalyst for success - when it is turned into a milestone, not a benchmark. The word "milestone," in this sense, insinuates a course of action that is progressive in nature. Many times I hear therapists say to their patients "take it one day at a time," and I think this is down-to-earth, as one cannot foresee what tomorrow might bring. It is almost as if one is learning to walk again, taking small baby steps of faith that will ultimately yield the greatest gift - recovery.
I am not professionally trained as a therapist, nor do I possess in my name a graduate college degree; however, working for The Meadows for the last four and a half years as a mental health technician has greatly contributed to my appreciation of collaborating with patients to reach their goals, regardless of color, race, and educational backgrounds. Upon arrival, every patient goes through the same intake process, wherein the terms and conditions of admission are explained, which ensures patient involvement even in the initial phase of treatment.
... to read the rest of this article click here.
The "Tenacity of Spirit"
By Colleen DeRango, MA, LISAC
I have worked at Mellody House since its inception, and it never ceases to amaze me to be in the presence of a powerful group of clients in recovery. Some people have questioned me about how I could work for so long in a trauma healing center. I explain that, for me, there could be no better place. Imagine working on a daily basis with people seeking healing and sobriety, sharing openly from a place of vulnerability, and looking to honesty and a Higher Power as guiding principles. I get to see someone "tap into" his truth in the middle of an EMDR session, or watch in amazement as a client releases an old traumatic pattern long held in her body, as she slowly sits upright in her chair with an air of internal integrity and strength, emoting a sense of "I can" versus "I can't." It is the most honoring place I could be.
On a daily basis, I see with my own eyes the "tenacity of spirit" inside each individual who lets go of old, worn-out patterns of being and embraces new ones while emerging from a sacred place within. It is like a ceremony of sorts, wherein the strength of the community embracing 12 Step principles enhances and encourages the hidden strength of an individual soul to emerge from layers of granite, discovering and knowing, "I belong." Witnessing the softness revealed from the power of this internal knowing, the power of coherence, the power of congruence, and the power of the alignment of mind, body, spirit, and emotion is like watching the sun rise from behind the mountainscape.
... to read the rest of this article click here.
|
The Intimacy Factor
By Pia Mellody and Lawrence S. Freundlich
Article excerpted from The Intimacy Factor, pages 143-145.
The concept of being at the center is key to our spiritual well-being. Although spiritual well-being is often associated with a state of mind, I have come to think of centeredness as having the force of a physical law of nature, like gravity or the conservation of energy. When we operate out of the center of our core issues through the practice of boundaries, our self-esteem is automatically restored. If I were to draw the wheel of human life, at its hub I would put centeredness, and the spokes that radiate out from it would be the attributes of our authentic humanity. When that wheel is put into motion by boundary practice, self-esteem is generated, and we are back at the place of authenticity, the place we reclaim as our spiritual home.
The two grand lies children hear from parents are that they are "better than" or "less than." The truth is that a child, as well as every other human on the planet, has inherent worth. It is not a quality that bears comparison. It is an absolute value, and we all have it. We differ from one another, but not in terms of inherent worth.
... to read the rest of this article click here.
Featured Workshop: Sexual Recovery
Sexual Recovery is a five-day workshop that examines sexual compulsive issues and behaviors. Often we do not talk about our sexual experiences because the subject
carries too much shame. This workshop helps to lift the shame and resolve sexual dilemmas and self-destructive behaviors. Chief among these compulsive behaviors are:
... to learn more about the featured workshop click here.
2010 Workshops
We offer a series of programs designed to meet the needs of people new to The Meadows, who have not experienced our primary treatment, and as a source of renewal for our alumni.
... to view the schedule click here.
Save The Date
Professional lectures, trainings and symposiums.
... to view the events click here.
Free Lecture Series
Free Lecture Series are lectures open to the community. The Meadows sponsors these lectures in various cities throughout the country. Lectures are targeted to graduates of The Meadows but are also open to the recovery community. Speakers include local therapists familiar with The Meadows' model.
... to view the Free Lecture Series schedule click here.
|
|
