Friday, April 9th See Conference Schedule
8:15-9:00 am Virtual Yoga Stretch
Join Diane Richard-Allerdyce, MA, PhD, CAPF on the virtual mat for some early morning yoga.
9:30-11:00 am Workshop #6: Mindfulness and Immediacy: The Poetry of Place
In this workshop led by Charles Rossiter, PhD, CPT, participants will focus on the importance of mindful tuning into the immediate in order to facilitate writing. For this workshop, “place” includes the physical, psychological and spiritual. The workshop will include a writing component. All are welcome.(75% Experiential/25% Didactic) Spiritual (1.5 peer hours)
Charlie Rossiter, PhD, CPT is a past Vice-President of NAPT who trained at St. Elizabeths. He is an NEA Fellowship recipient for poetry and much published as a poet. His podcast series, Poetry Spoken Here, is followed by poetry lovers world-wide and his latest book Green Mountain Meditations, available from http://foothillspublishing.com/ exemplifies the poetry of place.
11:30 am-12:15 pm KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Sandra Marinella, MA, MEd : Finding the Light—How Our Words, Poems, and Stories Lift Us Up
In these challenging times, do you have a story that needs to be told? Most of us do! Based on her pioneering work with thousands of students, veterans, and cancer patients, Sandra Marinella will share inspiring stories that demonstrate how writing our personal stories and poems can help us move past physical or emotional hardships and toward resilience and renewal. Sandra will share the latest findings and a few touchstone activities from her book The Story You Need To Tell—Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss that show how poetry and personal writing can enrich any life with hope, caring, and connection.
Sandra Marinella, MA, MEd, is an award-winning writing teacher and author. She has taught writing and story-sharing to thousands of students and professionals. When she faced cancer, she wrote The Story You Need to Tell, an acclaimed guide to transformational storytelling. She teaches at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix where studies have established the success of her methods. Learn more at www.storyyoutell.com.
12:30-1:30 pm TRIPLE WORKSHOP: Experience a Poetry Therapy Group First Session
For the newcomer or dedicated trainee, experience poetry therapy in action along with Nancy Scherlong, LCSW, PTR, CJT, M/S, & Elaine Brooks, RN-BC, MA, PTR, M/S! Join us each day for this interactive and didactic workshop that spans over three days (Fri, Sat and Sun). Experience the beginning, middle and end of a real poetry peer group. Integrate your conference experience, meet new colleagues, and write new material in a supportive community. Participants will be divided into two small groups. (4.5 peer hours)
.jpg)
Nancy Scherlong, LCSW, PTR, M/S, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the states of NY and CT and is an adjunct faculty for Columbia and Adelphi Universities as well as core faculty for the Therapeutic Writing Center (TWI). She is a PTR, CJT and a Mentor Supervisor for both. Nancy has been in the field of expressive arts for 30 years and in clinical private practice for almost 20, combining expressive writing methods with the action techniques of psychodrama. She has a long history of work in the foster care system, emergency services for youth and with adolescent crisis intervention and post-vention services. She is a trauma therapist utilizing EMDR, Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems approaches as well as serves as faculty at Kint Institute, a trauma-focused expressive arts certificate program. She is current co-President of the International Federation for Biblio-Poetry Therapy (IFBPT). Nancy has training cohorts in both poetry and journal therapy and provides consultation, training and educational workshops through her business Change Your Narrative LCSW PLLC.
Elaine Brooks, NC-BC, PTR, CAPF, M/S, is a board-certified psychiatric and mental health nurse and integrative nurse coach, certified applied poetry facilitator and mentor supervisor. She is also a certified transition writing specialist. She is currently co-president of the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy. She has a coaching and therapeutic writing practice in CT. She specializes in guiding people through life transitions. www.mypathtochange.com
1:30-3:00 pm Workshop #7: Mind-Full and Mind-Empty Writing Techniques
This workshop with Beth Jacobs, PhD, will give a depth view of mindfulness and the connections between mindfulness and writing. The complexity of the topic will be explored through its history and range of applications and exercises will bring the ideas to life. Participants will discuss the original Buddhist ideas that defined mindfulness and use writing to illustrate the difference between perception and thought. We will write with ‘choiceless objects’ of awareness to search for the empty mind and then we will write with objects that serve to focus attention. We will also discuss obstacles to mindfulness and think of writing techniques that use these obstacles themselves to further awareness. Participants will gain a well-rounded view of mindfulness and learn several writing exercises that train different mindfulness skills. (65% Experiential/35% Didactic) Spirituality
.jpg)
Beth Jacobs, PhD, is a writer, clinical psychologist in private practice, and transmitted lay teacher in the Soto Zen Buddhist lineage. She is the author of Writing for Emotional Balance, Paper Sky, The Original Buddhist Psychology and A Buddhist Journal. She facilitates expressive writing groups for children, teenagers, and grandparents. http://bethjacobsbooks.com
3:00-4:30 pm Workshop #8: Facing the Myths of Aging with a Dash of Humor
With “Baby Boomers” coming into retirement, there are a plethora of books and articles available on how to age gracefully, but aging is a conundrum for everyone. Who didn’t think of themselves “over the hill” by 30? This workshop with Perie Longo, PhD, LMFT, PTR, M/S, will offer a variety of poems (as well as book titles on the subject) for clinicians and facilitators to use in their groups on aging, but most importantly, to reflect through discussion and writing several issues that arise for each one personally on the subject. Themes addressed will be loss, joy, hope, fear and humor, but also dealing with the death of loved ones and friends. One of the essential themes will be to find meaning in our lives beyond the work place, or what has given us value at this point. What do we still want to do? Who do we want to be? What will we want others to say of us? (75% Experiential/25% Didactic) Clinical/Health Care (1.5 peer hours)
Perie Longo, PhD, LMFT, PTR, M/S, received the NAPT Pioneer Award in 2017 and was President 2005–07. She facilitates weekly writing workshops for Hospice of Santa Barbara and poetry therapy groups for Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara as well as in private practice. She has authored four books of poetry and was Santa Barbara’s Poet Laureate 2007–09. http://www.perielongo.com
4:45-6:15 pm Workshop #9: Poetry in the Classroom: Facilitating a Healing and Learning Community
In our current times, the world is filled with spaces fraught with division and contestation. The classroom community is a sacred space for learning and healing – a space for civil discourse, critical reflection and emotional healing. Poetry in the classroom can help to create a safe holistic space for both learning and healing by developing trust, a sense of belonging and respect for differences amongst students and teachers. In this session, led by Laurie Anderson Sathe, EdD, participants will look to poetry about community from diverse perspectives to learn about what community means in different contexts and how we can nurture it in the classroom setting through the use of and engagement with poetry. Participants will also explore the relationship between learning and healing in community—can we foster both in the classroom in a culturally sensitive way? (70% Experiential/30% Didactic) Education
Laurie Anderson Sathe, EdD, is Associate Professor and Program Director for the Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies at St Catherine University. She is interested in exploring the ways that the use of poetry, story, and creative expression can be used in the classroom to create learning and healing experiences. She is currently on the board of the National Association for Poetry Therapy.
7:30-10:00 pm Virtual Open Mic Poetry Reading, Anthology Sign-Up, & Happy Hour
Emceed by Zachary Katz, MSEd, MHC-LP
Our Open Mic is open to anyone who has registered for any conference event! We welcome poems, short stories, songs, and any other spoken word entries of no more than 2 minutes total length at this virtual open reading. Here is your chance to share your own writing and creativity with our group! Participants will be asked to sign up in advance if you plan on sharing. You will be requested to supply a digital copy of your poem if you wish to have it published in the Anthology.
