Sacramento area

THE SOLDIERS PROJECT:

A way to help soldiers and their families

Now organizing in Sacramento

If you can help to set up the Soldiers Project, please calendar Sunday, August 3rd from 12-2:30 and RSVP so we know you will be there.

Location: Jean and George Rosenfeld's home, 5730 River Oak Way Carmichael, Ca 95608. Light lunch & drinks provided.

This meeting is for people who want to help with the planning and basics. We especially need coordinators or point people for this program! Co-coordinating is fine, so the work can be shared.

Some of the work that needs to be done follows. We are also interested in other ideas on how to make this happen.

1. We need to outreach to and organize lists of therapists who want to help a vet or family member (we have a list started) with their basic information (license, malpractice insur., training) on file.
2. We need to outreach to groups already functioning (the V.A. and others) to see how we can supplement and not conflict with their work.
3. We need training of therapists in working with veterans and/or families. (Zen of Helping on 9/13 and others)
4. Someone to track peer support groups for therapists working with veterans and/or families.
5. Outreach to entry points for vets, spouses, children, parents, at CSUS, Community Colleges, high school/middle/elementary schools and churches.

PLEASE COME if you can represent your college's dept of social work, psychology or the counselors or nurses. We need people from early education through high school too. Also, If you can outreach to your church or are willing to contact other churches. Judy Broder psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, of The Soldiers Project LA is willing to mentor us and help us get started--let's see if we can make it work here. The need is enormous and if we each do a small amount we can give a lot to those in great need.

Thanks for all you do. PLEASE RSVP if you are coming.

Peace and warmth,

Shauna Smith
gushauna@yahoo.com 530/263-3978

THERAPISTS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PRESENTS

REACHING OUT TO OUR VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES

With Judith Broder, M.D. Founder/Chairperson
THE SOLDIERS PROJECT

and Zohreh Whitaker,
MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT

When: Saturday, June 14th, 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Where: St. Mark's United Methodist Church
2391 Saint Marks Way, Sacramento, CA

2 CE Units for MFTs, LCSWs, and RNs $20

Checks for $20 may be made payable to TSR. Mail to Elisabeth Bower, 3431 Clemens Way, Sac. 95864. Return policy: In full, on request 24 hours in advance. MFTs/ LCSWs: provider # PCE638; RNs: provider approved by Ca. Bd. of Registered Nursing, provider #CEP 15100 for 2 contact hours.

Dr. Judith Broder, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, will share her experiences working with returning veterans and their families and the possibility of setting up The Soldiers Project, now in L.A, Chicago, NY, and Seattle, here in Sacramento.

Zohreh Whitaker, whose son recently returned from Iraq, will share her experiences of the effect of war on her own and other families.

We will talk about the benefits, limits & use of services currently offered by the VA, Vets for Peace, MFSO, IVAW, GI Rights Hotline, DOF and others. We will have specific resources available in Sac. for veterans and their families and learn how we can help more families receive needed support.

www.therapistsforsocialresponsibility.org and www.thesoldiersproject.org

RSVP gushauna@yahoo.com or 916/447-5706

This program is cosponsored by Therapists for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility and California Society for Clinical Social Work

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__________________

THE SOLDIERS PROJECT www.thesoldiersproject.org

There is an increasing need for mental health services for the 1.6 million soldiers who have returned or will be returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Soldiers Project, founded by Judith Broder, M. D., in Los Angeles, to help meet that need, has over 100 volunteer clinicians serving over 100 clients.

Licensed mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists offer free psychotherapy to any military service member/vet who has served or expects to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. They also offer free therapy to their loved ones - boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, children, parents and grandparents. There is no red tape, there are no fees, and there is no arbitrary limit on the number of sessions provided. They configure the therapy to meet the client's needs. Since they are in private practice, there is the flexibility to see people prior to, during and/or following return from deployment and to keep in touch via phone or the Internet if needed. There is no reporting to any government agency.

Therapists for Social Responsibility
SPRING GATHERING AND MEETING

When: Sunday, April 6, 2008
Time: 1:00 to 3:45
Where: George and Jean Rosenfeld's home
5730 River Oak Way
Carmichael, CA

You are invited to our “Spring Gathering/Meeting” on Sunday, April 6th from 1:00 to 3:45 pm at George and Jean Rosenfeld’s home, 5730 River Oak Way, Carmichael. Weather permitting, we will meet in her backyard. Snacks and drinks provided. You are welcome to bring business cards, brochures and any other literature you’d like to share. Also, please bring like-minded/like-hearted colleagues.

This is a chance to meet and network with other concerned progressive mental health professionals and affiliates and find ways to participate in the good work that is being done around the globe.

Agenda

1:00 Time to socialize and network

1:20 Steering committee members will talk briefly about the major areas we have been focusing on over the past 5 years, so you can see what most engages you. These include an overview of our vision and connection with other groups, PTSD and spirituality, psychological effects of war (on soldiers, their families, and us), environmental issues and our psyche, child/family concerns, confidentiality and the Patriot Act, and clinical issues.

1:45 Sharing our thoughts and feelings in this time of political and global uncertainty and unrest.

2:30 What would you like from our group and how would you like to become involved, using your skills, talents and enthusiasm?

3:30 Closing words

Please RSVP to gushauna@yahoo.com if you will be there.

Dear friends,

Therapists for Social Responsibility has asked Dr. Marius Koga, who gave us a very well-received talk on PTSD last year, to create a day-long workshop for therapists and other helping professionals.

The course is: “POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND SPIRITUALITY: A Transpersonal Therapeutic Approach”

6 CEUs for LCSWs, MFTs, and RNs

TO REGISTER, please mail checks for $90 ($80 early bird, before Jan. 12th) made out to TSR (Therapists for Social Responsibility) to: Elisabeth Bower, 3431 Clemens Way, Sacramento, 95864. Please include your license # for CE credits, phone # and email address. Register soon as space is limited. For information contact Elisabeth Bower 916/481-0674 or Marius Koga 916/307-2502.

Peace and warmth,
Shauna Smith
for TSR Steering Committee

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POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND SPIRITUALITY:

A Transpersonal Therapeutic Approach

by Marius Koga, MD, MPH

It is common for PTSD clients to seek religion and spirituality as part of their healing process. However, most psychotherapies are focused on the ego and personality constructs, while religious or spiritual considerations have been traditionally ignored.

It is only in recent years that a therapeutic modality known as “transpersonal psychology “ has emerged which reintegrates psychology and the personality with the soul. The client is encouraged to actively maintain his/her individual self-concept in order to participate actively in his/her recovery. Concurrently, the client is guided to incorporate his/her individuality into the larger plane of the collective identity (including family, community, and religious and spiritual helping resources) to undergo personal transformation and growth.

Our military especially, coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq, are seeking answers to painful questions about the gruesome realities of warfare, the value of personal faith, and the worth of human life itself. Many find that their faith in a God that is always available to respond to one’s personal tragedy can be utterly shattered.

Soldiers and others who are unable to resolve such challenges find themselves lost in a spiritual flatland, which can take many nightmarish forms. They may feel abandoned by God, they reject or curse God, and they feel that God was powerless to help or even non-existent. They may even rationalize that their body mutilation, PTSD, or Traumatic Brain Injury was deserved punishment from God, or, in extreme, believe that their eternal damnation is God’s ultimate punishment. All too often, they feel they have no recourse but to numb their pain with drugs and alcohol. Their families suffer with them.

By providing the opportunity for introspection about the meaning of trauma for the client’s life, transpersonal psychology helps soldiers, their families and friends, and others who have experienced PTSD and other traumatic events, to renegotiate the passive and silent state of the sick role and regain a sense of journeying, integrating, and healing.

Dr. Koga will present “POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND SPIRITUALITY: A Transpersonal Therapeutic Approach” on Saturday, January 19, 2008, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 2391 Saint Marks Way, Sacramento, CA. 6 CEUs for LCSWs, MFTs, and RNs. This lecture and interactive workshop will include integrating spirituality in the overall PTSD treatment; differentiating between psychotherapeutic and pharmacological versus transpersonal approaches; the neuro-network of fear and survival and how it fits into the clinical picture and practice; spiritual resilience and toxic faith; cultural and religious modulators of PTSD and PTSD treatments; and tools for spiritual assessment: SAI; FICA, and HOPE instruments.

TO REGISTER, please mail checks for $90 ($80 early bird, before Jan. 12th) made out to TSR (Therapists for Social Responsibility) to: Elisabeth Bower, 3431 Clemens Way, Sacramento, 95864. Please include your license # for CE credits, phone # and email address. Register soon as space is limited. For information contact Elisabeth Bower 916/481-0674 or Marius Koga 916/307-2502.

This workshop is offered by Therapists for Social Responsibility

Marius Koga, MD, MPH, is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and an Associate Clinical Professor of Public Health at UC Davis School of Medicine. He is also a Professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto where he is directing a pilot center for trauma studies. Dr. Koga has developed courses in mental health and spirituality for Chapman University and has been the Course Director for Transcultural Mental Health and Spirituality at Tulane Medical School. A former political prisoner, torture survivor, and refugee from communist Romania, Dr. Koga’s interest is on PTSD in refugee populations and US military who are Afghan and Iraq war veterans. He has given numerous presentations, and workshops on spiritual dimensions of trauma in US and Europe.

Workshop Schedule:

“POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND SPIRITUALITY: A Transpersonal Therapeutic Approach”

CLIMATE CHANGE, DESPAIR, AND EMPOWERMENT ROADSHOW

We hope you will attend this empowering multimedia event that Therapists for Social Responsibility is bringing to Sacramento from New Zealand! It will take all of us working together to "cool down" the earth.

Date: Thursday, September 6th
Time: 7 to 9 p.m.
Place: Trinity Cathedral, Great Hall, 2620 Capitol Ave. Sacramento

Climate Change, Despair, and Empowerment Roadshow with Kelly Tudhope, is coming to the west coast from New Zealand! Multimedia presentations to help us understand our role in a climate changed world and empower us with a renewed sense of commitment to the actions required to address global warming. $5 donation. Drinks/snacks provided.

Cosponsors include Therapists for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sac., Grandmothers for Peace, International, Sac. for Democracy and others.

Information: www.climate.net.au
Local information: gushauna@yahoo.com 916/447-5706

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This event will also be shown in Grass Valley, CA.
Date: Friday, September 7th
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Unitarian Chapel, 246 S. Church St., Grass Valley

Cosponsors include APPLE of NC, Social Forum Film Series, NCTV, Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute and Peak Moment TV.

For more information, contact Ken Hale:
Kenh_ee@yahoo.com 530/273-3018

An all day follow-up workshop on Climate Change Despair and Empowerment will be held in Grass Valley on Saturday, September 8th from 1-8 pm at the same location. Dinner is included. For full details and cost, contact Nory Fussell: nory4u@sbcglobal.net 530/274-7765

IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

Helping Our Soldiers, Ourselves, And Our World

Therapists for Social Responsibility www.therapistsforsocialresponsibility.org is presenting a topical forum dealing with the personal experience of three Veterans who have returned from war, and the practical steps that therapists can take to help soldiers and their families. Since the V.A. is not prepared to deal with the huge numbers of returning soldiers with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and the personal and family devastation that it can bring, therapists are asking, “What can we do?” Collaborating with Give An Hour www.giveanhour.org and Veterans Village www.veteransvillage.org, we will find out how these two innovative organizations are helping to the remediate the problems.

The forum will be held SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2007 from 2:00 – 5:00p.m. at Trinity Cathedral Church, 2620 Capitol Ave., Sacramento, 2nd Floor.

Charlie Brown, candidate for Congress in 2006, George Main, president of Veterans for Peace, and Ray Bacigalupi, MFT will share their personal experiences of coming home from war, dealing with current world events, and transforming their struggles into positive action. Following Q & A and a break with snacks and drinks, the second half of the program will identify actions that we as therapists can take, including working with Give An Hour and Veterans Village.

Cost: $30 with 3 CEUs; $10 donation without CEUs. (A percentage goes directly to services for Veterans.) Space is limited. RSVP to Shauna L. Smith, MFT gushauna@yahoo.com or 916/447-5706.

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Bay area