The National Association for Poetry Therapy From Our Roots to the Present: Liberating Voices through Poetry Therapy 26 th Annual Conference April 19-23, 2006 Boston, Massachusetts The more we come together, the more we speak our minds bringing to the blank page our joys, struggles and concerns in poetry, journal and story—just as our ancestors did— the more we have a chance to free our voices and take a stand for peace, proving “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Perie Longo, Ph.D., MFT, RPT President NAPT
Transcript
The National Association for Poetry Therapy
From Our Roots to the Present: Liberating Voices through Poetry Therapy
26th
Annual Conference
April 19-23, 2006
Boston, Massachusetts
The more we come together, the more
we speak our minds bringing to the blank page our joys, struggles and concerns in poetry,
journal and story—just as our ancestors did— the more we have a chance to free our voices and take a stand for peace, proving “the pen is
mightier than the sword.”
Perie Longo, Ph.D., MFT, RPT President NAPT
Conference at a Glance
Boards of Directors Meetings NAPT Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, April 19 1:00-6:00 pm
NAPT Foundation Board Meeting Wednesday, April 19 2:30 – 5:00 pm NAPT Full Board Meeting Thursday, April 20 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy Meeting Friday, April 21 2:00- 3:25 pm Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy Meeting Friday, April 21 5:00-6:00 pm
Wednesday, April 19 8:00 am – 5:00 pmRegistration 9:00 am – 4:00 pmDay Trip to Walden Pond I – Richard Brown, Host 8:30 pm - 9:30 pmDay Trip Follow-up Session at Hotel
Thursday, April 20 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Registration and Exhibits
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Day Trip to Walden Pond II-- Rob Merritt, Host 8:30 am – 11:00 am Pre-Conference I – Jennifer Bosveld 11:30 am – 2:00 pm Pre-Conference II – Silvine Farnell 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pre-Conference III–Lila Weisberger & Nessa McCassey 11:30 pm – 5:00 pm Pre-Conference IV – Phyllis Klein and Noreen Lawlor 2: 30 pm – 4:00 pm Pre-Conference V – Community Disaster Education (CDE) 5:00 pm – 7:15 pm “Newcomer’s” Dinner with NAPT “Oldtimers” 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm “Boston Tea Party” Welcome Reception – Donna Owens, Richard Brown, Hosts . . . . . . .
8:30 pm – 9:30 pm . . . including Opening Performance by Patricia Smith--Charlie Rossiter, Host
Friday, April 21 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Registration and Exhibits 7:00 am – 8:00 am Triple Workshop I – Chavis, Heller, Rolfs 8:30 am – 5:30 pm Book Fair – Brookline Booksmith 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Poetry Video Screening – Karen vanMeenen 8:00 am – 8:15 am Welcome –Perie Longo, President 8:15 am – 9:45 am Keynote Speakers – Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez and Dr. Roy Nuzzo – Jerri Chaplin, Host 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Workshop Series A 12:00 pm – 1:45 pm Regional Networking Luncheon – Diane Allerdyce, Host
12:30 pm Deadline to sign up for poetry anthology 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Workshop Series B 3:45 pm -4:45 pm Yoga—Claire Willis 3:45 pm-- 5:30 pm CPT/RPT Awards –Kay Adams, Host 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Veterans Poetry/PTSD Project –Faye Snider 7:30 pm - ???? “The Rattlebox” Open Mic Poetry Reading– Jen Bosveld, Host
Saturday, April 22 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Registration and Exhibits 7:30 am – 8:30 am Triple Workshop--Chavis, Heller, Rolfs
7:30 am —8:45 am Veterans Poetry/PTSD Strategic Planning Breakfast—Faye Snider 8:30 am – 4:15 pm Book Fair – Brookline Booksmith
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Poetry Video Screening – Karen van Meenen 8:45 am – 10:45 am Workshop Series C 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Keynote Poet: Maria Mazzioti Gillan 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Honors Luncheon – Perie Longo, Host 12:30 pm – 2:15 pm Poster Session 2:15 pm- 3:15 pm Yoga—Claire Willis
Sunday, April 23 8:00 am – Noon Survey Collection 9:00 am --11:30 Triple Workshop-- Chavis, Heller, Rolfs 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Post-Conference Workshop A – Mari Alschuler 10:00 am - 12:30 pm Post-Conference Workshop B – Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg & James Sparrell
Welcome
Welcome to NAPT’s 26th annual conference, “From our Roots to the Present: Liberating Voices through Poetry Therapy,” at the newly renovated Courtyard Boston Tremont Marriott located in the heart of Boston’s Theater District. The Tremont is just blocks from Boston Common and its famous swan boats, surrounded by the famous Freedom Trail and an array of historical and cultural sites. The literary history of Boston and its surrounding areas is inspiring: among the writers who have hailed from here are Robert Lowell (Boston), Robert Frost (Boston/New Hampshire), Sylvia Plath (Boston/Nahant), Anne Sexton (Boston), Longfellow (Boston/Haverhill), Mary Oliver (Amherst/Newburyport), Adrienne Rich (Montague), Robert Pinsky (Boston), Charles Olson (Gloucester), Emily Dickinson (Amherst), e.e. cummings (Cambridge), T.S. Eliot (Gloucester/Peabody), Hermann Melville (Pittsfield), Jack Kerouac (Lowell), Nathaniel Hawthorne (Salem), Ralph Waldo Emerson (Concord), and of course, Henry David Thoreau (Concord).
Our conference offers a multifaceted spectrum of the use of the poetic in literature, creative living, and healing. Workshop topics include cultivating hope, sharing wisdom, building community, dealing with loss and grief, celebrating creativity, learning skills, sharing in age-old traditions and developing new ones. The theme of finding and liberating one’s own authentic voice is reflected in nearly all aspects of the conference. We believe everyone will have the opportunity during these few days to discover something about oneself and about the fields of bibliotherapy. If you are in the process of becoming a CPT (Certified Poetry Therapist), RPT (Registered Poetry Therapist), or think you may begin the process shortly after the conference ends, you may receive didactic credit or peer hours for workshops as indicated in the conference program. Of course, mentor/supervisor approval is necessary in order to ensure a particular workshop will count toward certification requirements. More information about the certification process is available after Saturday’s lunch. Our entertainment and keynote speakers this year are spectacular! We are thrilled to have Patricia Smith as our opening performer. Patricia is the winner of Illinois' prestigious Carl Sandburg Award for poetry and creator of a vibrant, and ever evolving style of slam poetry. On Friday morning, we have the great honor of hearing teenage poet Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez as our keynote speaker, along with surgeon Dr. Roy Nuzzo. Before their talk, we will have the chance to view a large-screen projection of Stone Phillips’s NBC Dateline feature, “To Save the Body and Voice of a Poet: American Doctor Intervenes to Help a Gifted Mexican Teenager,” which aired in late 2004. On Saturday morning NAPT we will be inspired and moved by Featured Poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan, founding director of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College and Director of the Writing Program at SUNY Binghamton. Growing up as an Italian-American in New Jersey inspired Maria’ expertise in multi-cultural poetry and is reflected in the two anthologies Unsettling America and Identity Lessons, which she edited with her daughter, Jennifer Gillan. And our closing performer, True Story Theater, promises to provide us with an uplifting and moving close to our wonderful conference with their interactive program. Expect to get moving as we participate in expressing meaning and reflecting on the past few days’ experience as the conference draws to a close on Saturday evening. The 2006 Conference Committee and I know that you will find fulfillment, stimulation, inspiration, creativity, education, delight, new and renewed friendships, and the continued joy of poetry and its healing potential in this, our 26th annual conference. Please be sure to complete your individual workshop evaluations and the final conference survey in order for us to evaluate this year’s conference and to plan for the next one.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank our conference committee: Mari Alschuler (past VP of Conferences), Richard Brown, Jerri Chaplin, Ann Forcier, Barbara Kreisberg, Donna Owens, Charlie Rossiter, and Karen vanMeenen. Mari, Ann, Donna, Charlie and Karen all served as reader/raters of workshop proposals—an incredibly complex and time consuming job! Richard and Donna also comprise the Conference Welcoming Committee, and Donna served as our Boston-area contact and site chair. Barbara, in addition to helping to choose the pre- and post-conference workshops, took on the mammoth task of organizing our book fair with Brookline Booksmith. Thanks to Jerri for bringing Ekiwah and Dr. Nuzzo to our conference and to Charlie for inviting Patricia Smith and Maria Gillan. Our amazing NAPT President, Perie Longo, offered unflagging support throughout the entire process of planning this conference, and I could not have done it without her. I’d also like to thank Hannah Menkin for handling our volunteers, Phyllis Klein for designing the final brochure and providing me much-needed and essential support in finalizing it, Margaret Rode for keeping our conference website pages current and timely, my mother Joyce Richard for helping type the workshop descriptions, and Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts & Social Justice for providing me administrative support, supplies, and time. Thank you to all our Executive Board members for keeping this wonderful organization running: President: Perie Longo, Executive Director: Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, VP Membership: Mary Caprio, Institutional Outreach: Robert Carroll, Publications Chair: Karen vanMeenen, Recording Secretary: Geri Chavis Corresponding Secretary: Ted Bowman, Treasurer: Richard Rosenfield, Ethics & By-Laws Chair: Leia Francisco, and Journal of Poetry Therapy Editor: Nick Mazza. I want to thank our management company, DMS, and especially Sheila Dietz, our NAPT Administrator for her support and expertise from start to finish. Enjoy the conference, and thank you for the opportunity to facilitate our annual conferences. See you in Portland in 2007! Sincerely, Diane Allerdyce, Ph.D., CPT, NAPT Vice President of Conferences
CONFERENCE SESSIONS ELIGIBLE FOR PEER GROUP HOURS
The following workshops at the 2006 NAPT conference have been approved as eligible for peer hours for CPT/RPT trainees. (They will be starred in the brochure): PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS:
Thursday, April 20, 2006 III - Autobiography Through Poetry Art Dolls: A Celebration of Individuality Facilitators: Lila Weisberger, MS CASAC RPT/MS; Nessa McCasey, CPT Experience Poetry Therapy: The Triple Workshop (meets Friday-Sunday) Presenters: Geri Chavis, PhD, CPT; Peggy Osna Heller, PhD, RPT M/S; Alma Maria Rolfs, MSW, LICSW, RPT M/S. CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS:
A2 - Journey to Song: From Feelings to Voice Presenters: Ann G. Forcier MS, CAGS, RPT, and Laura Cayer, Singer-songwriter A3 - Authentic Voices: A Harmonic Convergence of Relational-Cultural Theory and Poetry Therapy Presenters: Judith V. Jordan, Ph.D.; Wendi R. Kaplan, LCSW, CPT B2 - Voices in Flight: Integrating Movement/Dance with Poetry Therapy Presenter: Nicholas Mazza, Ph.D., RPT B5 - Rebuilding the Self: Finding the Words to Start Over Presenter: Barbara Kreisberg, BS, MS, CTRS, CPT B6 - The Roots of Poetry Therapy Expand to the Middle East: Experience in Kuwait Presenter: Perie Longo, Ph.D., RPT. C4 - The Immigrant Self: Bridging Original and Adopted Cultures through Poetry Presenter: Marianela Medrano-Marra MS, NCC, CPT D5 - Using Poetic Craft in Prose to Write Personal Essays for Insight and Discovery Presenters: Sheila Bender; Karen Rippstein, CPT; Laurie Arnold, CPT POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS: Sunday, April 23, 2006
Finding the Heart of Compassion: Poetic Solace for the Wounded Healer Presenters: Mari Alschuler LCSW, RPT, M/S How Songs Free Stories: Transforming the Song of Your Life Presenters: Caryn Miriam-Goldberg, Ph.D., CPT; James Sparrell, Ph.D.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2006
8:00 am– 5:00 pm Registration
9:00 am- 4:00 pm & 8:30-9:30 pm
Journaling in the Spirit of Henry David Thoreau--Group I
Join us for a day of walking, writing, and reflection at Walden Pond, where we will walk in the footsteps of Thoreau and journal write. Throughout the day, we will stop to ponder, reflect and write in response to the writings of Thoreau. We’ll circumnavigate Walden Pond on foot, stopping at points of interest along the way. Please wear comfortable walking shoes or boots that can take a little mud. New England weather is particularly unpredictable in April (dress accordingly). Lunch will be at Concord’s Colonial Inn, built in 1716. We will close out the day at Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow cemetery, resting place of Thoreau, Alcott, Emerson and Hawthorne. Lunch and transportation costs are included in the single workshop/daytrip fee. We’ll reconvene in the evening at the hotel to share our thoughts, writings, and experiences from the day. In the spirit of simplicity, enrollment is limited so register early.
Presenter:
Richard P. Brown, M.Ed., C.P.T., NAPT Board Member, is a special education teacher at Kellogg Middle School in Portland, Oregon. Originally from Lexington, Massachusetts, he spent many days at Walden Pond in his youth and looks forward to returning for this daytrip.
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2006
7:30 am – 5:30 pm Registration and Exhibits
Pre-conference Workshops
Thursday, April 20, 2006
9:00am-4:00pm
Journaling in the Spirit of Henry David Thoreau—Group II
Join us for a day of walking, writing, and reflection at Walden Pond, where we will walk in the footsteps of Thoreau and journal write. Throughout the day, we will stop to ponder, reflect and write in response to the writings of Thoreau. We’ll circumnavigate Walden Pond on foot, stopping at points of interest along the way. Please wear comfortable walking shoes or boots that can take a little mud. New England weather is particularly unpredictable in April (dress accordingly). Lunch will be at Concord’s Colonial Inn, built in 1716. We will close out the day at Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow cemetery, resting place of Thoreau, Alcott, Emerson and Hawthorne. Lunch and transportation costs are included in the single workshop/daytrip fee. There will not be an evening session for this workshop. In the spirit of simplicity, enrollment is limited so register early. Presenter:
Rob Merritt, Ph.D., teaches American literature (including Thoreau) and creative writing at Bluefield College in Virginia. He has published poetry, critical essays on modern literature and creative nonfiction, and has given workshops on poetry and journaling as therapeutic activities. He spent a sublime Sunday morning at Walden and Concord two summers ago.
8:30 – 11:00 am
TOPICS: The Mega-Compendium--Try out and/or Contribute to the Largest Compilation
of Writing Exercises for Those We Serve This pre-conference experiential and didactic workshop is by the author of the largest collection of poetry and poetry therapy writing exercises published. Currently titled Topics for Getting In Touch: A Poetry Therapy Sourcebook, the $32.50 book will be $20 to workshop participants who'll share in the rebuilding. (You aren't required to buy one.) Might you contribute to its next revision? Submit your topics after the session. If your topic gets in, you'll receive a free copy upon publication. But mostly, in session, we'll try as many of the exercises as we can get in. Presenter:
Jennifer Bosveld has presented at numerous NAPT conferences and was on the founding board for NAPT. She is a poet who has authored and edited more than 15 books including Prayers to
Protest: Poems that Center and Bless Us; Hunger Enough: Living Spiritually in a Consumer Society; Elastic Ekphrastic--Poems on Art/Poets on Tour; The Gargantuaun--the Pudding House
Word Jar; Jazz Kills the Paperboy--a demonstration book on Virtual Journalism; and many others. Jen owns Pudding House Publications, the largest literary small press in America. She has run over 200 poetry therapy and poetry writing workshops over the past 30 years. Jen received the NAPT Pioneer Award in 1995.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
11:30 am – 2:00 pm
Embodying Poetry: Freeing Poetry to do Its Liberating
Together we’ll go through the steps of bringing a poem alive in our bodies; we’ll break up into small groups, then come back together to share a sequence of poems designed to create a profoundly liberating experience for the whole group. In that space of freedom, we’ll write. Presenter:
Silvine Marbury Farnell, Ph.D.--for many years a literature professor--has helped students experience the power of poetry by bringing it alive in their bodies. She now brings this approach to a wider audience through workshops and is revising a book on the subject (see www.deeperintopoetry.com).
Thursday, April 20, 2006
1:00 – 4:00 PM
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
Autobiography Through Poetry Art Dolls: A Celebration of Individuality
DISCOVERIES and JOYS AWAIT YOU in this unique workshop, offered by NAPT for the first time. Share poems and layer your poetry art doll with fabrics, words, and poems. Add your unique touch by altering dolls of group members with words and poems. Please bring an additional fee of $15.00 for materials to the workshop, and email a photograph of your face to [email protected]. (Photo may be mailed if necessary to Lila L. Weisberger, 524 East 72nd Street, Suite 37 DE, New York City, N.Y. 10021.) Presenters:
Lila Weisberger, Director of bridgeXngs POETRY CENTER teaches groups of poetry therapy trainees online, and supervises international trainees as well as residents in the U.S. Lila facilitates poetry therapy groups and Intensives in Manhattan and is co editor of The Healing
Fountain: Poetry Therapy for Life's Journey. She introduced NAPT trainees to the online experience for both peer groups and required courses in 2003. Lila is known for her innovations and her skill in encouraging group cohesion. She has also led workshops for NAPT in the past. Nessa McCasey, Assistant Director of bridgeXngs POETRY CENTER, is expected to receive her CPT at this conference. She uses creativity of all sorts for her own healing of stress as well as
bringing it to others through Poetry Therapy. She facilitates poetry therapy sessions in Holland and Grand Rapids MI.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
11:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Isabella Inspiration: Poetry at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Come to this gem of a museum to experience the art collection, the place, and the woman who inspired it. This workshop will enrich your visit to Boston, open your senses, make space to write, read and connect with others. Meet in the hotel lobby at 10:45 if you would like to travel to the museum together or at the museum itself at 11:30 for an optional lunch-on-our own (further instructions and directions will be emailed to each participant upon registration for the workshops). Please note: Only pencils allowed in the museum! Presenters: Phyllis Klein, LCSW, CPT, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Supervisor, and Certified Poetry Therapist using writing for healing with individuals and groups. She currently serves as co-director and cofounder of Women’s Therapy Services of the Bay Area, where she sees individuals, couples, and groups, working with issues such as relationships, anxiety, depression, physical illness, eating disorders, recovery from sexual, physical, and emotional trauma, grief work, chemical dependency, and life transitions. Noreen Lawlor, R.N., M.S.N., has extensive experience as a Board Certified Nurse Clinical Specialist and is a Registered Alcohol & Drug Counselor. Her work over the past twenty years includes Family, Group, Individual, and Poetry Therapy in both private and institutional settings with Chemically Dependent as well as Psychiatric patients. She is currently pursuing her certification as a Registered Poetry Therapist (RPT) with NAPT. Noreen is an artist as well as a poet. 2:00 pm-4:00 pm
Communiity Distaster Education (CDE) TBA
Presenters:
The American Red Cross
7:30 pm-10 pm
“Boston Tea Party” Welcome Reception—Donna Owens, Richard Brown, Hosts.
8:30 pm –9:30 pm
Opening Performance by Patricia Smith--Charlie Rossiter, Host
Thursday evening’s dynamic opening performance: spoken word artist Patricia Smith, winner of Illinois’ prestigious Carl Sandburg Award for poetry and creator of a zinging, vibrant and ever-evolving style of slam poetry, will dazzle us with some serious social consciousness-raising and her provocative engagement with language. NAPT’s Charlie Rossiter writes: “Patricia is a past national slam champion whose work explores the gritty existence of a contemporary urban African American woman, as well as her softer empathic side.”
Friday, April 21, 2006
7:30 pm-5:30 pm Registration and Exhibits
Triple Workshop
Friday, April 21, 2006: 7:00 – 8:00 am
Saturday, April 22, 2006: 7:30-8:30 am
Sunday, April 23, 2006: 9 – 11:30 AM
**This workshop is approved for peer hours. Experience Poetry Therapy: The Triple Workshop requires attendance for all three mornings (Friday 7-8 am, Saturday 7:30-8:30 am and Sunday 9-11:30 am) for a total of 4 hours. For newcomer or dedicated trainee, this three-part workshop is your opportunity to welcome each day of the conference with poetry therapy experiences. Take part in small group sessions you might facilitate if you were a poetry therapist, or attend if you should choose this healing modality for creative expression and well-being. On the third day of the workshop, there will be a larger group processing session providing a didactic closure for the experiential program. Presenters: Geri Chavis, Ph.D, CPT, is a licensed psychologist in private practice and a professor who teaches literature, women's studies, family studies, and poetry therapy courses at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN. She is a Mentor/Supervisor who does group and individual poetry therapy supervision and teaches poetry/bibliotherapy workshops and courses in the US, the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Peggy Osna Heller, Ph.D, RPT M/S, clinical social worker, NAPT and NAPT Foundation past president and current president of the National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, is a psychotherapist and clinical poetry therapist and trainer. She co-directs the Wordsworth Center for Growth and Healing. Alma Maria Rolfs, MSW, LICSW, RPT M/S, is a bilingual clinical social worker, psychotherapist, poetry therapist and trainer, poet and teacher. She served on the NAPT board for many years and currently runs the Northwest Poetry Therapy Training Program in Seattle.
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Poetry Video Screening
Join us throughout the conference for a screening of poetry videos curated and edited by Karen vanMeenen. This year, videos range from professional spoken word performance to haikus brought to life with stunning visual imagery. These video selections include poetic works created specifically for the visual medium as well as those translated from previously written works. Presenter: Karen vanMeenan received her MA in Transformative Language Arts from Vermont College in 2002 and completed her CPT in 2003. She is on the Board of NAPT, serving as Publications Chair. She is Editor of The Museletter, and co-editor of Giving Sorrow Words: Poems of Strength and Solace. Karen teaches writing workshops for women and teens and is a free-lance film and video curator currently working with the High Falls Film Festival.
8:00 am – 8:15 am Welcome –Perie Longo, President 8:15 am – 9:45 am Keynote Speakers – Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez and Dr. Roy Nuzzo –
Jerri Chaplin, Host
Ekiwah Adler-Belendez is a literary prodigy and cerebral palsy and scoliosis survivor, born and raised in Mexico by an American father and a Mexican mother. He is an alchemist with words. His poetry, powerful and scorching, gives ordinary moments extraordinary meaning; so full of life and vitality, it distills the juice of life onto the page and pours into the reader’s soul, inviting a dance that no one dares deny. This alchemist mixes words and creates a tincture that he offers in the sacred chalice of poetry. At age eighteen he has published three books: Soy, (I Am) (2000), Palabras Inagotables (Never Ending Words) (2001) and Weaver (2003). Roy Nuzzo is both an orthopedic surgeon and a writer who lives and practices in New Jersey. He crossed paths with Ekiwah Adler-Belendez thanks to poetry and philanthropy. Ekiwah’s mother contacted Dr. Nuzzo for his medical intervention, sending x-rays and also her son’s poetry. The doctor’s mind, cognizant of both poetry and bones, was captured by the genius of the brilliant poet, and by the pressing need to save his life; his brain exercised in both left and right
hemispheres, captured the urgency of the request. In December 15, 2004, Ekiwah underwent successful surgery. Now they inspire others, spreading the gift of generosity and inspiration with their story—a true reaffirmation of the goodness of the heart and the power of poetry.
Workshop Series A
Friday, April 21, 2006
10:00 am-12:00 pm
A1
Wisdom Poetry
The term Wisdom Poetry, from Kykosa Kajangu’s poetry, is based on hundreds of proverbs he collected from dozens of African tribes and cultures. Presenters will each contribute proverbs, poems, anecdotes and stories drawn from our work as poets and healers that embody cultural wisdom, and the participants will respond with their own. Using a writing exercise, participants will then create their own Wisdom Poetry, drawing on the collected communal wisdom.
Presenters:
Robert Carroll, M.D., is a psychiatrist and poet. He teaches in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA and Cedars Sinai Medical Center and has a private practice in Family Psychiatry in Los Angeles. He has published poems, stories and chapters in the psychiatric, medical and poetry literatures and has written 25 chapbooks of poetry. He was a member of the Los Angeles Performance Poetry Slam Team. He currently serves as Vice President for Institutional Liaison Development of NAPT. Jack Coulehan, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor Medicine and Director of the Institute for Medicine in Society at Stony Brook University. He has published several collections of poems including Medicine Stone. His other books include The Medical Interview (2001) and Chekhov’s Doctors: A collection of Chekhov’s Medical Tales (2003). Kykosa Kajangu is a poet and carrier of African wisdom. In addition, he is the founding director of Ma Africa, a center whose distinctive mission is to provide authentic African wisdom teachings. Currently he is visiting professor at Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX, teaching in the Department of Religion and Philosophy.
A2
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
Journey to Song: From Feelings to Voice
In Journey to Song: From Feelings to Voice, we transform an idea or feeling into words. We then transform these words and the mood we wish to convey into song. Each participant will receive a CD or the works generated. No singing or performing is required! Presenters:
Ann G. Forcier, MS, CAGS, RPT, and Laura Cayer, Singer-songwriter, have collaborated for six years to facilitate workshops with youth and adults. They lead in-school, after-school, in-clinic, and topic groups that focus on developmental, emotional, and mental health concerns. They believe that healing and growth occur in the act of discovery. A3
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
Authentic Voices: A Harmonic Convergence of Relational-Cultural Theory and Poetry
Therapy
Join us as we explore the concept of authentic voices through the perspectives of relational-cultural theory and poetry therapy. In this workshop we will deepen our understanding of
connection and relationship and the power of voice. We will also provide an opportunity to experience our authentic voices - both in expression (writing) and in listening (sharing). Presenters:
Judith V. Jordan, Ph.D., of the renowned Stone Center, is the newly appointed Director of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at Wellesley College and internationally known psychologist. She is an attending psychologist at McLean Hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Wendi R. Kaplan, LCSW, CPT, is an experiential and cognitive psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia. She provides psychotherapy to individuals, couples and groups. She also provides consultation and supervision to a variety of organizations, groups and individuals. For the last 3 years she has been using poetry therapy as she supervises a group of psychotherapists to highlight transferential and countertransferential understanding as well as other clinical issues. She has recently provided a workshop about poetry therapy at the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance's annual conference. She has conducted poetry therapy groups for poetry therapy students at the Wordsworth Center's annual Intensives and Marathons. A4
Lights On!
Lights ON! is an expressive writing workshop with warm-up and spontaneous writing exercises that are based on the Write It Out® program, a motivational and expressive writing program for individuals of all ages. The objective is to teach techniques of expressive writing to professionals and lay people through hands-on experiences that free the authentic voice and help in healing. Presenter:
Ronni Miller, BA, is the founder and director of WRITE IT OUT®, Sarasota, Florida, a motivational and expressive writing program for students of all ages. She has been in private practice as motivator and editor. She works with individual clients on emotional and traumatic issues affecting personal evolvement for healing through writing. A freelance writer, manuscript editor and writing coach, Ms. Miller facilitates creative writing, memoir, journal and expressive writing workshops as well as lectures and teaches facilitators how to use the Write It Out® Program. The program is taught in the eastern United States, Bermuda and Italy at public and private schools, universities, community centers, libraries and private locations. A playwright, she has also published two books, Dance With The Elephants and Where To Go With Your Lover, as well as many short stories, poems, essays and articles.
A5
Singing the Body Electric
This workshop starts with the throbbing, breathing, foot-tapping body, so we can write the poems that move beneath our skin. Meditation techniques using sound and dance will inspire us to write poems that hum and boogie. The session will culminate in poem-making inspired by the rhyme schemes of Hip-Hop. Presenter:
Prartho Sereno, M.A., is a former family therapist and poet who lived in India and taught meditation throughout the human community (Juvenile Hall, senior centers, Cornell University, etc.). Prartho is now a Poet in the Schools (Radio Disney Super Teacher 2005!). Her specialty is the state of wonder, especially the wonders of sound and silence. A6
Living in the Light of Dying
Living in the Light of Dying: How often have you said to yourself, “Sometime before I die I am going to ….?” The question we need to live into is “What am I waiting for?” We will use the stark reality of our own inevitable death to deepen our relationship to this life right here, right
now and take our next steps. Using selected poetry, journal writing exercises, meditation/guided imagery and group conversation, we will explore together what blocks us from living more deeply in the true “light” of dying. Presenter:
Claire Willis, LICSW, is a group facilitator and teacher of writing, yoga and meditation at The Wellness Community, a national organization offering free educational and supportive services to people living with cancer. She has taught writing for over 25 years in a variety of settings, most recently with people living with life threatening diagnoses. She is a faculty member at the Family Institute of Cambridge and maintains a private practice in Concord and Watertown, Massachusetts.
12:00 – 1:45 pm Regional Networking Luncheon – Diane Allerdyce, Host 12:30 pm Deadline to sign up for poetry anthology
Workshop Series B
Friday, April 21, 2006
2:00 pm-3:00 pm and/or 2:00 pm-3:30 pm
B1 (60 minutes, 2:00 – 3:00 pm)
Clorox, Oxygen, and Pearls: How Adolescents Express Their Development Process When
Given Voice through Interviews
The figurative language adolescents use to describe their experiences gives crisp insights into their development and cognitive/affective processing and suggests therapeutic interventions. This session explores metaphors and poetic interpretations teens used in a qualitative study to describe their perceived connections among spirituality, identity development, coherent world view, and . . . . . Presenter:
Becky Hayes Boober, Ph.D., applies concepts of positive psychology and developmental assets in statewide policy and program implementation of interagency/interdisciplinary initiatives to serve children, families, and marginalized populations. She has had key leadership positions (such as Deputy Commissioner) in three state departments in Maine: Education, Human Service, and--currently--Corrections. B2 (60 minutes, 2:00 – 3:00 pm)
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
Voices in Flight: Integrating Movement/Dance with Poetry Therapy
Poetic enactment, the use of dance/movement to expand the therapeutic and growth elements of poetry therapy, will be examined and demonstrated through Mazza’s multidimensional R.E.S. model. The Model consists of three major dimensions: 1) R-Receptive/prescriptive involving the introduction of literature into practice, 2) E-Expressive/creative involving written expression, and 3) S-Symbolic/ceremonial involving the use of metaphors and rituals. Nonverbal methods will be applied to each of the above dimensions. Presenter:
Nicholas Mazza, Ph.D., RPT, is a Professor of Social Work at the Florida State University College of Social Work. He holds Florida licenses in clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and psychology. Dr. Mazza is the founding and current editor of the Journal of Poetry Therapy and author of Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice (2003, Brunner-Routledge).
B3 (60 minutes, 2:00 – 3:00 pm)
The Public Role of Poetry: Beyond Therapy
The workshop will focus on the public role of poetry in the community, and will use as a model the history and experience of the active poetry scene in Albany, New York. As an exercise, participants will identify potential projects in their home community. Presenter:
Dan Wilcox, BA, is the host of the open mic at Lark Street Bookshop in Albany, N.Y., on the third Thursday of each month and is a member of the poetry performance group "3 Guys from Albany".
B4 (60 minutes, 2:00 – 3:00 pm)
TBA
B5 (90 minutes, 2:00 – 3:30 pm)
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
Rebuilding the Self: Finding the Words to Start Over
So much has happened in recent years to shake our sense of safety and security. Many of us have been faced with unanticipated events due to natural disaster, personal loss, and unexpected twists of fate. Through the use of music, meditation, selected poems and writing, this workshop will offer an opportunity to discover ways to replenish, rejuvenate and re-energize the self in order to find hope and meaning in a changing world. Presenter:
Barbara Kreisberg, BS, MS, CTRS, CPT, has over 20 years' experience working as a poetry therapist at psychiatric facilities in Massachusetts and Florida. She has presented professional workshops at national conferences, local universities, area hospitals and community facilities. She is a current NAPT board member and was Conference Chair for the Albuquerque conference. She is a contributing author in The Healing Fountain: Poetry Therapy for Life's Journey. She offers poetry therapy and reflective writing groups at South Miami and Baptist Hospitals. B6
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
The Roots of Poetry Therapy Expand to the Middle East: Experience in Kuwait
At the invitation of Dr. Haifa AlSanousi of Kuwait University, the presenter will describe what she learned speaking about poetry therapy and doing workshops in the Middle-East, the similarities and differences of the culture, and their “thirst” for poetic healing. Meeting needs of other cultures, Arabic poems, and writing will be offered. Presenter:
Perie Longo, Ph.D., RPT, is in private practice as a MFT and poetry therapist in Santa Barbara, California. She is president of NAPT, a mentor/supervisor and has received both the NAPT Outstanding Achievement award (1998) and The Distinguished Service Award (2004). She has taught at UCLA and Antioch University, and is a published poet.
3:45-4:45 Yoga with Claire Willis
Come to rejuvenate, stretch and relax! (See bio under A6) 3:45 – 5:30 pmCPT/RPT Award Ceremony –Kay Adams, Host Please join us in recognizing peers who have completed their training.
7:30 pm -- ???? “The Rattlebox” Open Mic Poetry Reading– Jen Bosveld, Host
Please join us for our popular annual Open Mic Poetry Readings. You can sign up to read at registration. The deadline is noon, Friday. Reading space will be limited to one poem per person for the first round. This year, the Boston poetry community has been invited! As president of Pudding House, the largest literary small press in America, Jen Bosveld ever the talent scout, is always looking for the author of the next chapbook release. At 9:00 pm there will be a
presentation to Deborah Grayson, winner of The Red Wheel Barrow Award this year. Prizes for
everything from most attentive audience member to flakiest attire much less for fine poems.
Poetry books and chapbooks will be for sale at The Rattlebox event--especially past winners of
the Red Wheel Barrow Awards.
SATURDAY, April 22, 2006
7:30 am – 5:00 pm Registration and Exhibits
7:30 am – 8:30 am Second Meeting of Triple Workshop (See Friday)
7:30 am—8:45 am Veterans Poetry/PTSD Strategic Planning Breakfast—Faye Snider
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Poetry Video Screening (see Friday)
8:30 am – 5:30 pm Book Fair with Brookline Smith
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Poetry Video Screening (see Friday)
Workshop Series C
Saturday, April 22, 2006
8:45 am – 10:45 am
C1
Poem, Process, Plan: The Art of Literature Review And Facilitation Planning
In this “back-to-the basics” experiential workshop, we will begin with a packet of literature (“poem”) and the Hynes & Hynes-Berry four-stage model of recognition, examination, juxtaposition and application to self. Presenter: Kathleen Adams, LPC, RPT-MS, is a past president of NAPT and the director of the Center for Journal Therapy. She is an approved mentor-supervisor who offers a structured two-year distance learning CPT training program. She also guides a passionate group of local learners in Denver. C2
Freedom through Movement and Words: Integrating Mind, Body, and Spirit
This workshop aims to heal the mind/body split so rife in Western culture. To this end, simple circle dances that have special meditative qualities will be taught. These dances are ancient and modern, created to honor the seasons and special life events and representing cultures from around the world. Poetry will be woven in and among the dances and time set aside for participants to reflect in writing or art on their experience of the dance. All dances will be taught. No previous dance experience is necessary. “In circle dance, there are no mistakes, only variations.”
Presenter:
Evelyn Torton Beck, Ph.D., holds Ph.D.s in both comparative literature and clinical psychology. She is a psychologist and Women's Studies Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland. She has studied dance throughout the US and North America and currently teaches dance in the tradition of circle dancing as a healing practice. Offering workshops at OASIS and elsewhere, she focuses on the creation of community for older women through dance circles and poetry. C3
Oral and Written Conversations with the Multifaceted Faces of Addiction
This workshop will explore the multifaceted faces of addiction—substances, gambling, spending, and more—through poetry and other expressive arts modalities. Participants will engage in individual, dyadic, and group exercises that rely on the poetic and liberating power of the WORD, while addressing the myriad issues and effects of addiction as reflected in Self, the Other, and Family. Presenters:
Susan Wirth Fusco, Ph.D., CADAC, M.Ed., NAPT Trainee, is in her third year at Lesley University pursuing her second Ph.D. in Creativity and Healing under the mentorship of Shaun McNiff. Mary Willette Hughes, B.A., Poet, PT Facilitator, NAPT member, has been Co-Facilitator in the St. Cloud Hospital Recovery Plus program for addiction for over 5 years, and is the author of Flight on New Wings: Healing through Poetry (2003, North Star Press). C4
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
The Immigrant Self: Bridging Original and Adopted Cultures through Poetry
The poet’s self construal is a balancing act on the bridge of words and poetic imagination. For immigrant poets, words are bridges through which they transport their essence. Participants will explore how poets build bridges, connectors and receiving platforms to embrace a new culture while holding onto the old one. Presenter:
Marianela Medrano-Marra MS, NCC, CPT, is a Dominican writer, counselor and poetry therapist residing in Connecticut. She writes in Spanish but often offers bilingual readings at colleges, libraries, community centers and other venues. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto. She is the author of Curada de Espantos/One Who Has Seen it All (Torremozas, 2002), Regando Esencias/The Scent of Waiting (Alcance, 1998), Los Alegres Ojos de las Tristeza/Happy Eyes of Sadness (Buho, 1987), and Oficio de Vivir/The Art of Living (Separata, 1986). C5
Original workshop by Judy Schattner cancelled; replacement TBA.
C6
Panel Discussion on the Latest Developments in Poetry Therapy Research
Research Committee members (in alphabetical order) John Fox, Nick Mazza, Robin Phillips, Ingrid Tegner, and Pamela Thorne will discuss current research projects. Topics include: Randomized control study with cancer survivors, the development of the questionnaire to gather quantitative data, the development of a research database, and our collaboration with colleagues in the UK and New Zealand.
Presenters:
Ingrid Tegnér, MSW, CPT, the Chair of the Research Committee and practicing poetry therapist. Robin Philipp, is a Consultant Occupational and Public Health Physician and the Director of the Centre for Health in Employment and the Environment (CHEE). Pamela Thorne has an MSc in Organizational Psychology and is also employed by CHEE. Nicholas Mazza,
Ph.D., RPT, is a Professor of Social Work at the Florida State University College of Social Work. He holds Florida licenses in clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and psychology. Dr. Mazza is the founding and current editor of the Journal of Poetry Therapy and author of Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice (2003, Brunner-Routledge). John Fox, CPT, is an associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He also teaches in the Graduate School of Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California, and the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto. John is the author of Finding What You Didn't Lose and Poetic Medicine. He is the founder of The Institute for Poetic Medicine. John is also a poet and served as president of NAPT 2003-2005.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Keynote Poet: Maria Mazzioti Gillan
Maria Mazzioti Gillan is founding director of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College and Director of the Writing Program at SUNY Binghamton, Charlie Rossiter, who invited and contracted Maria for our Boston conference, writes that Maria’s multicultural works are “a poetic chronicle of her life, boldly expressing deep emotions of pain, fear, anger and love. She writes deeply personal poetry from her life experiences growing up Italian-American in New Jersey. Maria’s expertise in multicultural poetry is reflected in the two anthologies, Unsettling
America and Identity Lessons, which she edited with her daughter, Jennifer Gillan.” 12:00 - 12:30 pm Book Signing with Maria Mazzioi Gillan
Come to rejuvenate, stretch and relax! (See bio under A6) 2:15 – 3:15 pm Certification Workshop [*] The Chairpersons of the Certification Committee will assist newcomers with information about training requirements for certification or registration as a poetry therapist. They will answer any questions or concerns related to the training requirements and process. The format will be an interactive discussion. Participants are encouraged to bring specific questions and concerns about CPT and RPT training. Presenters: Elaine Brooks, MA, RN, RPT M/S has over 20 years of experience in an acute care facility and is in private practice in southeastern Connecticut. She is the co-chair of the Certification Committee of the National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy and an approved Mentor/Supervisor. Julie Schwietert, MSW, RPT, M/S maintains a private practice in New York City. She specializes in working with bilingual (English-Spanish) clients. She is a Mentor/Supervisor and co-chairs the Certification Committee of the National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, and is former chair of NYCCAT.
2:15 – 3:15 pm Panel Discussion of Poster Session
Please join us for a lively discussion by the presenters of recent research projects and
poetry therapy sessions as presented in the poster session.
Join this team of innovators in poetry therapy to view and discuss their latest projects and research (their posters can be viewed ahead of time during the Honors Luncheon. Poster presentations include:
P1: Stories of Transformation: Evaluating Change in a Therapeutic Writing Group
Ayn Crawford Lever presents a brief overview of her Master’s Thesis research based on her 2-year, hands-on internship experience in Nayla Chidiac-Obegi’s therapeutic writing group for adults at Ste Anne’s Hospital in Paris. Working with patients, Ayn often had an intuition that writing in a therapeutic group could lead to change. I wanted to know if it was possible to prove this in a concrete manner and decided to research the use of formal evaluation in therapeutic writing groups in France and the United States by means of a questionnaire survey of current therapeutic writing groups and their use of evaluation. The dearth of pertinent examples of evaluation prompted us to set up an evaluation research project in our own writing group to see if therapeutic writing in a group context could lead to change, and if the changes are visible on self-report questionnaires. Following an in-depth presentation of Nayla Chidiac-Obegi’s therapeutic writing group for adults at Ste Anne’s Hospital in Paris, we describe the objectives, hypotheses, context, methodology, results and conclusions of our research protocol.
Presenter:
Ayn Crawford Lever lives and works in Paris, France, where she recently earned a Master's level degree in Art Therapy (specialization in therapeutic writing) at the Université de Paris V - René Descartes. A NAPT member since 2004, she currently runs creative workshops for children to teach them English and develop their creativity through literature and art. From 2002 to 2004, she co-facilitated a therapeutic writing group for adults at the Sainte Anne's psychiatric hospital in Paris, where she still helps facilitate an annual all-day therapeutic writing workshop. Her original training is in Comparative Literature (B.A., Princeton, 1988) and French Literature (M.A., New York University, 1990). P2 : Printemps de la Poésie (Spring Poetry )
A lovely spring night Suddenly vanished
While we viewed cherry blossoms. (Basho)
"A door opens : Japan and its sakura (cherry trees), the poets Mohamed Dib, Andrée Chédid and Christian Bobin meet the women of the Osage Indian tribe for a cup of green tea. Is this just an illusion No, more like a vision of hope...
On Monday, March 21, 2005 the Japanese ritual “O-hanami” (the contemplation of cherry trees in bloom),which marks the passage from winter to spring, took place at Sainte Anne’s Hospital in Paris during our annual day-long writing workshop.
Participants were greeted with a glass of sakura green tea, in a room filled with blooming cherry tree branches, and invited on a creative journey through the 4 phases of a Poetry Therapy session – Recognition, Examination, Juxtaposition and Application to Self. Each of the day’s 4 parts called for 4 different expressive modalities: reading, creating, speaking, writing. At the end of the day, each participant left with her own, hand-bound book of poems, texts, drawings, collages and paintings.” Presenter: (See Ann Crawford Lever’s bio under P1)
P3: Kiss Me Goodnight: Childhood Mother-Loss
Childhood mother-loss is often compounded by adult-imposed silence. The anthology Kiss Me
Goodnight, by motherless daughters, offers resources to unlock the silence of grief through poetry, to change the relationship to death and to life through these perspectives on surviving catastrophic loss. The book demonstrates poetry’s use in giving voice to the unimaginable and assisting in the grieving process. Kiss Me Goodnight, Stories and Poems by Women Who Were
Girls When Their Mothers Died, is a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. Presenters:
Poets Susan O’Donnell Mahan and Anna M. Warrock are published in journals, anthologies, and chapbooks. South Boston Literary Gazette coeditor Mahan’s grief work led to profound changes in her creative process. Awarded literature fellowships and The Cumberland Poetry Review’s Robert Penn Warren Awared. Warrock’s work considers community and grief.
P4: Exploring Journaling Software to Increase Accessibility and Productivity
Bender (poet, author of 8 instructional books on writing and content for LifeJournal for Writers) and Ruth Folit, creator of LifeJournal2 for computer journaling, explore the use of journaling software to write productively, while guaranteeing access to previous writing. Attendees will learn approaches to journaling on the computer and gain hands-on experience with journaling software. Presenters:
Sheila Bender is a poet and author whose work appears in North American literary journals including The Bellingham Review, Poetry Northwest, and The Seattle Review and in several anthologies. Her instructional articles appear in Writer's Digest Magazine and a new one is forthcoming in The Writer Magazine. Her instructional books on writing include Writing and
Publishing Personal Essays from Silver Threads and Writing Personal Poetry, A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-discovery and Keeping a Journal You Love from Writer's Digest Books. She publishes Writing It Real, on on-line instructional magazine for those who write from personal experience or teach others to do so at www.writingitreal.com. She has also written the content for LifeJournal for Writers, a program for journaling on the computer. Ruth Folit is a long-time journal writer and the designer and producer of LifeJournal software. LifeJournal for Writers helps writers stay organized, inspires writers to write often, and encourages them in reflecting upon and monitoring their personal and professional lives. LifeJournal for Writer is the only journal software dedicated specifically to aspiring and professional writers. In 2000, LifeJournal won the Technology Design Competition for Computers and Writing sponsored by McGraw-Hill. She has produced other versions of LifeJournal, including versions for teachers, for teens, and for career planners. P5: Power Points: Journeying to Healing Through the Use of the Medicine Wheel and the
Medicine Shield
This poster will illustrate the various therapeutic uses of the medicine wheel and the medicine shield, rooted in Native American traditions, as tools that can be used with a variety of populations. The use of Native American healing tools can foster self-understanding, self-knowledge, and reflection on one’s life journey. Presenters: Katrina Blair is a graduate student in psychology at Vermont College and a CPT trainee. Ms. Blair has facilitated personal growth groups with women and is currently working with at-risk adolescents. Katrina has found that journal writing, poetry, and storytelling are essential tools that empower people of every age in their journeys of personal transformation.
P6: Life Journey: Explorations in Movement, Words and Art
This session will introduce a way of connecting memoir, movement and other arts modalities to explore the impact of the past on the present and how the way we conceptualize and articulate
Martha Rand, LCSW, CGP, school social worker. She has graduate degrees: psychology and social work; undergraduate degree: art, theatre; certificates: dance/movement therapy, massage and body-oriented healing modalities. She has worked on psychiatric inpatient and outpatient units, private practice and schools. She is a dancer, artist and performer with professional credits. 2:15 – 3:15 pm Publications Committee Meeting
Come meet with Publications Chair, Karen vanMeenen, to discuss the possibilities for the future of NAPT Publications and how you can be a part of this exciting process. (See above for
biographical information.)
Workshop Series D
3:30 – 5:00 pm
Saturday, April 22, 2006
D1
“Accessibility”: Of What, for Whom?
What makes a poem “accessible”? What is it that is “accessed” in a poem –and in which readers? The workshop will combine overview of pertinent psychological and literary theory with exchange of experiences using poems that “worked” –and didn’t—in community and counseling practice. If you have examples, bring them! Presenter:
Jan L. Hitchcock, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Dean at the University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn College. She teaches a variety of interdisciplinary courses, including on life span development, spirituality, and the relationship between psychology and poetry. She is also a poet. Sally Bowden-Schaible, MS, LCPC, CCMHC, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Portland, Maine. She integrates poetry into her clinical work and into the courses she co-teaches (Mind/Body Issues in Counseling, and Religion and Spirituality in Counseling) at University of Southern Maine in Counselor Education program.
D2
Tools for the Journey: Freeing the Poetic Potential of American Veterans
This workshop will present approaches to integrating poetry and the creative arts in a day treatment or hospital program for American veterans. Writing in groups has the potential to build self-esteem, increase socialization, validate self-worth, and form a sense of community. Included In this experiential workshop will be: the reading and response of poetry, writing exercises, and suggestions on how to start a writing group with veterans in your community, resources. Presenter:
Hannah Menkin, MA, Gerontologist, is a poet and visual artist, and a CPT in training. She uses an integrative approach to help older adults find their own voice through oral history storytelling and the creative arts. Using poetry, expressive writing, and creative arts to help cope with and
manage their daily lives, Hannah facilitates writing workshops with veterans, many of them wounded both psychologically and physically. D3
Reading and Writing the Psalms
The Psalms have survived, unlike any other biblical texts, in myriad of contexts, cultures and incarnations. What is it about these texts that allow them to bridge both time and cultural context? Through first-hand exploration participants will explore the Psalms as a therapeutic prompt. Presenter:
Donna C. Owens, MA, a poet, collage artist and workshop facilitator. She has been performing her poetry since 1999. Currently, she offers workshops for women interested in writing for self-empowerment. This workshop is a continuation of Donna's interest and research in the Psalms as a tool for therapeutic healing. D4
Use of poetry in the Prison Setting
Learn how the presenter successfully introduced poetry within a group counseling program on money addiction in a women’s prison in New York. One particular poem has been incorporated into a mini-workshop at the facility: a three-part reflective poem tracing three points of time: “Who I was; who I am; and who I want to be.” As a backdrop for asking the inmates to write a narrative about how they see their own lives, this writing prompt free inmates to pass, to share their writing out loud, or to hand it in. Drawings by two inmates, both artists, will be included. Presenter:
Eric A. Kreuter, Ph.D., is a Certified Public Accountant and a shareholder in the regional accounting firm of Marden, Harrison & Kreuter, CPAs, P.C. in White Plains, NY. He is adjunct professor of Human Resource Management at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY. Mr. Kreuter has a Ph.D. in psychology from Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. Mr. Kreuter is a volunteer counselor at Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, NY and President of Hermandad, Inc., a non-profit community development agency in the Dominican Republic. D5
**This workshop is approved for peer hours.
Using Poetic Craft in Prose to Write Personal Essays for Insight and Discovery
During this workshop, group members will concentrate on developing a “comparison and contrast” essay, writing from the question: “How is my life not the way it is ‘supposed’ to be?” Panelists will explore Bender’s writing techniques and their application to the work of poetry therapists. Attendees will experience the approach as they develop and share writing and gather responses using Bender’s three-step response method, learning where to take this writing next, and how to help others develop their writing. Presenters:
Sheila Bender is a poet and author whose work appears in North American literary journals including the Bellingham Review, Poetry Northwest, and The Seattle Review, and in several anthologies. Her instructional articles appear in Writer’s Digest Magazine, and a new one is forthcoming in The Writer Magazine. She publishes Writing It Real, online at www.writingitreal.com. Karen Rippstein holds a BS in Writing as Therapy from SUNY Empire State College, has completed training for certification as a poetry therapist with NAPT, and is widely published in the field. Karen conducts poetry therapy workshops at a medical college, high school, senior settings, and a community college. Laurie Arnold holds a M.Ed. from Marymount College, VA, a degree in psychology from Mary Baldwin College, and an A.S. in Nursing. She has completed certification training with NAPT, is a published author, and conducts poetry therapy workshops in oncology settings benefiting both patient and caretaker.
D6 Circle Fire Meditation and Dance Expression Heal through the expression of movement and words. Guided meditation will support you to release blocked energy in specific chakras. You will rise to your feet to physically release through Circle Fire Dance, which includes African and belly dance movement. Create your own expressive piece combining dance and spoken word. If you have a (belly dance) hip scarf, by all means bring it! Note: This workshop is open to everyone. Men make great belly dancers! Presenters:
Karin Wilkinson is a Spoken Word Performance Artist and Belly Dancer. She blends spoken word with belly dance to create healing expression. She is the Artistic Director of BuTTerFLY III. Anthony Farmer, Spiritual Life Coach and Shamanic Healer, is the co-creator of Visions of the Heart, Heart-Centered Coaching and Healing. D7
Mentor/Supervisor Roundtable
This workshop is limited to Federation-approved mentor/supervisors for the CPT/RPT training process. Join your colleagues to discuss training matters and to dip into the shared wisdom pool. Facilitator:
Kay Adams, Mentor/Supervisor Chair (see bio under C1)
Don’t miss the special closing to the conference . . . First, we refresh our bodies and minds. Members of the Boston-based group True Story Theater will lead us in half an hour of improvisational dances drawn from Interplay, a form of improvisation play for adults practiced around the world. This program is accessible for people of all abilities (and it’s also okay to just watch). Next, enjoy an hour of sharing insights from the conference, dramatized by True Story Theater’s performance of Playback Theater. Five to twelve volunteers from the audience in turn will describe their experience of the gathering and important moments from their lives. Six actors will enact them on the spot using movement, music and dialogue. We often see people in awe and deeply moved, having their stories deeply heard and authentically brought to life. For more, see: www.truestorytheater.org Presenters:
True Story Theater offers audiences fresh perspectives, deeper connections, and a renewed appreciation for our common humanity. True Story Theater has performed for homeless men, cancer survivors, ex-cons, youth social justice leaders, the elderly, church congregations, and much more. The mission of True Story Theater is to promote social healing by listening deeply to people's stories and transforming them spontaneously into theater. Our events create a respectful atmosphere where every voice can be heard and any story told -- however ordinary or extraordinary, difficult or joyful. For more info, please contact: Christopher Ellinger, True Story Theater, (781) 646-1705, [email protected]. On the web: True Story Theater: www.truestorytheater.org. Also see: Playback Theatre: www.playbackschool.org, Interplay: www.bodywisdom.org”
SUNDAY, April 23, 2006
8:00 – Noon Survey Collection
Post-Conference Workshops:
9:00 am-12:00 pm
**This workshop has been approved for peer hours.
Finding the Heart of Compassion: Poetic Solace for the Wounded Healer
Healing arts professionals frequently suffer from burnout, vicarious exposure to trauma and pain, and stress caused by juggling home, career, and creative pursuits. In this hands-on workshop, participants will create collages and poems using healing imagery, meditate on compassion for self and others, and read and respond to poems. Participants are asked to bring the following required items: cut-out healing images (and/or words) from print media; unlined journal or blank paper; writing instruments of your choice; 1-2 postcards with nature scenes; and a glue stick. Optional items: stickers, rubberstamps and ink pads, scrapbook materials Presenter: Mari Alschuler, LCSW, RPT, M/S, is a published poet and writer who teaches English as an adjunct professor at a community college while working full-time as a social work administrator based in South Florida. She is a former NAPT Board member and Conference Chair.
10:00am-12:30 pm
**This workshop has been approved for peer hours.
How Songs Free Stories: Transforming the Song of Your Life
By drawing on both poetry therapy and narrative therapy approaches, and using music as the medium, you can locate, celebrate or revise key stories of your life. Come listen to songs of transformation, reflect on songs in your life, and engage in writing exercises to free the stories you want to share and live. Presenters: Caryn Miriam-Goldberg, Ph.D., CPT, coordinates Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College, is the author of five books, and facilitates poetry therapy workshops for many populations. James Sparrell, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine and holds certification as a School Psychologist in New Hampshire. He specializes in narrative therapy in private practice and at a local school district. He is the former editor of Mars Hill
Review and a faculty member in Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College.
CONFERENCE INFORMATION
Hotel Accommodations
This year our conference is located at the Courtyard Boston Tremont by Marriott, 275 Tremont Street, Boston,
Massachusetts 02116 USA. The Tremont has no more rooms available so we have provided a backup hotel. The
Hampton Inn & Suites has reserved a limited number of rooms, which they will hold until Wednesday, April 5. Reservations after that date will be based on availability. These rooms are at the slightly higher rate of $149.
Contact information is: Hampton Inn & Suites – Boston Crosstown Center; 811 Massachusetts Avenue. For
reservations, call 617-445-6400. Their fax is 617-445-6411.
For information other than reservations, you may call the Tremont hotel at (617) 426-1400 or visit their website at
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/BOSDM. (You can even take a photo tour of this newly refurbished hotel
in the heart of Boston’s theater district by visiting this website!)
Transportation
The nearest airport is Boston International Airport (Airport code: BOS). The hotel is located about four miles from
the airport. Taxis from the airport are $25 one way. Additional information available at
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/BOSDM (click on
Maps & Transportation).
Room Sharing
If you wish to share a hotel room and do not already have a roommate, check the box on the conference registration
form. Application deadline for this service is March 1, 2006. You will then receive the names, addresses, phone
numbers and/or email addresses of others interested in room sharing. It is your responsibility to contact others and to
make hotel reservations by April 5th. (NAPT will not make room-sharing arrangements.)
Continuing Education Units
CEUs will be available for pre- and post-conference seminars and for conference participation. CEU details, a
sign-up sheet, and collection of fees for CEUs will be available at the registration table.
Work Exchange
A limited number of reduced-fee work exchange positions are available. For information, contact volunteer
coordinator Hannah Menkin at [email protected]. The NAPT Foundation has a limited number of partial and full scholarships available for people who need financial assistance. To apply for a scholarship, please
send name, address, phone, email, and a brief description of how attending the NAPT conference would enhance
your education and/or work to Normandi Ellis, NAPT Foundation President, at [email protected]. All Scholarship
requests must be received by March 1, 2006.
Book Fair
We are pleased to have Brookline Booksmith as our official conference bookseller in Boston this year.
Poetry Anthology
Please bring a copy of one typed poem that you would like included in the anthology and turn it in at the registration
area no later than noon Friday. We will produce an anthology and have it ready for you at Saturday’s conference closing. The poem must be on one page, typed, with one inch margins and your name included. Only one page will
be printed per author. It will be printed in the anthology “as is.” Your poem must be an original work. A copyright
release form will be available for authors to sign at the registration table. Cost is $15.00 per anthology.
Session Choices
Space is limited in some sessions, so you will be asked to indicate 1st and 2nd choices on registration form and
register early. If you are registering before the full brochure has been posted, you will be given the opportunity to
choose your sessions in the order in which you registered.
Pre- and Post-Conference Sessions
Pre- and Post-Conference Workshops have separate fees, which are not included in the Conference registration fee.
Pre-register early to ensure a space.
Day Trip
Wednesday’s and Thursday’s day trips have a separate fee, which are not included in the registration fee. Day trip
participants may attend either Wednesday or Thursday (not both).
REGISTRATION
Please complete both sides of this form.
Mail or fax your entire conference registration and workshop choices with check or credit card information to:
NAPT 525 SW 5th Street, Suite A
Des Moines, IA 50309-4501
Fax: 515-282-9117
Questions? Contact the NAPT office at: 515-282-8192 or toll free (866) 844-NAPT,
There will be a $25 charge for refunds prior to March 31, 2006. No refunds after March 31, 2006. There is a $50
administrative fee for all registrants who receive waived or reduced registration fees. Registrations postmarked after March 31, 2006 and those made on a walk-in basis require the late registration rate.
Full Registration Rate Type
(includes Thursday evening and all Friday/Saturday activities plus lunches)
Classifications Before
3/31/06
After
3/31/06
Full-Time Student/Senior NAPT Member $185 $200
With Institutional Membership Discount* $166.50 $180
Full-Time Student/Senior Non-Member $220 $235
With Institutional Membership Discount* $198 211.50
NAPT Member $245 $260
With Institutional Membership Discount* $220.50 $234
Non-member $280 $300
With Institutional Membership Discount* $252 $270
NCATA Member (National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies) $245 $260
With Institutional Membership Discount* $220.50 $234
Day Rate NAPT Member (limited to one day) $155 $170
With Institutional Membership Discount* $139.50 $153
Day Rate Non-Member (limited to one day) $165 $180
With Institutional Membership Discount* $148.50 $162
If attending only one day, please check which day: Friday Saturday
Total Registration Fee (Circle the appropriate fee and enter the amount) $ $
*Full-time staff and faculty of the Institutional Member's organization each receive a 10% discount on
the conference registration cost when attending NAPT's annual conference. Please submit verification
of your status with the qualifying organization.
Membership Fees
Categories
Full
Year
Dues
Pro-rated dues for New Members Only (April –
September). NAPT membership year runs from Oct. 1
- Sept. 30. Note: renewals always pay full year price in
their appropriate category--regular, student, retiree/disabled)
Regular Member $115 $ 70
Student Member * $ 80 $ 50
Retiree Member ** or Disabled $ 80 $ 50
Institutional Member $250 There is no pro-rated amount for this category.
Circle the membership fee selected and enter the amount
$
* Full-time university students only ** over age 65
____ Check here if you wish roommate sharing service.*
____ Check if you have special needs.*
____ Check if you are vegetarian.*
____ Check here if this is your first NAPT Conference
* Please do not contact hotel directly regarding anything other than reservations. The conference committee is
responsible for all other arrangements.
Wednesday day trip and pre- and post-conference seminars require additional fees as listed below.
Pre- and Post-Conference Rates
Before
3/31/06
Before
3/31/06
After
3/31/06
After
3/31/06
NAPT
Member
Non-Member
NAPT
Member
Non-Member
Day Trip (circle one: Wed. or Thurs.) $70 $80 $80 $90
Thursday Pre-Conference I
Note: This workshop also meets on
Friday & Saturday mornings
$55 $65 $65 $75
Thursday Pre-Conference II $55 $65 $65 $75
Thursday Pre-Conference III $55 $65 $65 $75
Thursday, Pre-Conference IV $65 $70 $70 $75 Thursday Pre-Conference V $65 $70 $70 $80
Sunday Post-Conference A $55 $65 $65 $75
Sunday Post-Conference B $55 $65 $65 $75
Gillan reading/lunch
(attending this event only) *
$55 $55 $55 $55
*There is no separate $55 fee for all one- or two-day conference attendees. The flat fee of $55 applies to both
members and non-members
If attending Thursday Pre-Conference(s), please check which one(s): __ I (meets 3 times)__ II __ III __ IV __ V
If attending Sunday Post-Conference(s), please check which one: __ A __ B
Your conference choices*
First Choice (please indicate by
session # such as A1, A2, A3, etc.)
Second Choice
Session A
Session B
Session C
Session D
*We will make every effort to accommodate preference but do not guarantee placement in the preferred
workshop. Workshops fill up quickly. NAPT will make alternate selections when first and second choices are
at capacity.
Remember: Full-time students and retirees must submit proof of status.
Circle the rate(s) selected and enter the total amount: $______________
NAPT Membership Classification (see Membership page at www.poetrytherapy.org for details and mark those in each row that apply)
Member NonMember NCATTA member Praise of Muses Member
Student or Retired Senior
Full Conference One Day or selected pre or post workshops
Membership Fee $______________ Check/Money Order
Conference Fee ______________ Visa MasterCard Discover
Total Amount Paid $______________ Signature___________________________________
About Poetry Therapy
Poetry therapy uses poetry and other literature for healing and personal growth. Through the processes of reading
and writing poetry, as well as sharing with others, feelings, motivations, memories, and unconscious material may
be accessed and activated productively. Poetry therapy has its known antecedents in ancient Egypt and Greece, 4th
century BCE. In the US it has been used more systematically since the 1950s. Currently, poetry therapists can be found globally, with practitioners in Israel, Japan, India, Canada, Switzerland, England, Scotland, the Philippines,
Colombia, Korea, Ireland, South Africa, and other countries. Some international colleagues join US practitioners at
the NAPT annual conferences.
Practitioners include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, marriage and family
therapists, nurses, physicians, librarians, educators, poets in the schools, addiction counselors, pastoral counselors
and chaplains and those who work in communities and in prisons. Poetry therapists work in mental health, medical,
geriatric, therapeutic, educational and community settings. Poetry therapy and other forms of healing writing, such
as journal therapy or storytelling, have a broad range of applications with people of all ages and abilities, and have
been used with people experiencing a variety of illnesses and conditions. Assisted writing techniques may be used
with individuals who cannot write for themselves. Recent research indicates that subjective assertions of emotional
healing have parallels in quantifiable physical healing.
Training is now available with Certification (CPT) and Registration (RPT) from approved Mentor/Supervisors from
the National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy. Certification/Registration is awarded to individuals who have
met training requirements.
For more information on training opportunities in your community, check our website at www.poetrytherapy.org.
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR POETRY THERAPY
All who are touched by the power of language
in their personal, artistic, and professional lives are invited to attend!
Friday Keynote Speakers Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez and Dr. Roy Nuzzo
