| Love, Madness and Transformation: Humanistic Stories |
Saturday 30 June 2018, 10 till 5
Holloway Road Resource Centre, London N7 6PA
This conference will create a space for eminent figures in the Humanistic Psychology movement to tell their personal stories. Even the world of political campaigning is now starting to realise that personal, human stories can and do cultivate the deepest of human connection, and this day of deep sharing, experiential engagement and small groupwork will connect us all with both our own and others’ stories, and with Story as Archetype for what it means to be human.
Speakers will include Dr Dina Glouberman, Jill Hall, Jay Ramsay, Malcolm Stern, Dr Serge Beddington-Behrens and Julian Nangle. The conference will be chaired by Richard House and introduced by Lucy Scurfield.
The conference will also double as a book launch of Dina Glouberman’s latest book, Into the Woods and Out Again: A Memoir of Love, Madness and Transformation. Signed copies will be available to participants at a bargain price.
Into the Woods and Out Again is an inspiring memoir that – with honesty and down-to-earth humour – invokes the essence of a remarkable time and place by a woman who dared to make her dreams a reality.
Bookings: please book via Eventbrite. This promises to be a highly popular event, so we advise early booking to avoid disappointment.
Cost: £65 // £50 for AHPb members // £40 for concessions (seniors, full-time students and benefit recipients. Please note that the entitlement to concessionary status will be checked during registration on the day.)
Simple lunch, refreshments and CPD certification will be provided. This is also a wonderful networking opportunity for psychologists, therapists and allied workers, and for all humanistic therapists to connect with the very heart of our work.
See the AHPb annual conference 2018 programme page for details.
The conference flyer is available as a PDF download.
The Talks
Dina (Zohar) Glouberman: “Love, Madness and Transformation – My Story”
In her new memoir, Into the Woods and Out Again: A memoir of love, madness and transformation, Dina Glouberman describes the process of going mad, and traces her journey from a few wild, intense, and unforgettable months on a psychiatric ward through the thirteen intensely creative years in which she dared to make her dreams a reality, including co-founding the world-famous Skyros holidays and creating Imagework therapy. Dina will be talking about her experience of madness, making sense of what seems irrational, showing what was key to her healing process, and demonstrating the deep interconnectedness of madness, spirit, community, and the imagination.
Jay Ramsay: “Grit and Pearl”
What happens when a diagnosis tells you your life can never be the same again? How do we learn to see the journey? This talk (with poetry) by an acclaimed poet and psychotherapist considers the intervals of change and transformation.
Jill Hall: “My Thoughts on Love, Madness and Transformation”
What a title. Love is humanity’s definitive gift and the fulfilment of our being. It is, in itself, transformational. It calls forth a plethora of other noble qualities and stretches us to our limits. For the joy it brings it will also entail great suffering. Some could thus experience love as a form of madness or a daunting, terrifying trap.
Malcolm Stern: “The Empath as Therapist and Healer”
There is a growing capacity within the humanistic movement for the therapist to be able to stand in another’s shoes. The more life experience we are able to have as therapists, the more potent the ability to travel alongside our clients. In this presentation Malcolm will explore his own journey in parallel with his 30+ years of therapeutic practice.
Serge Beddington-Behrens:
Serge will introduce and facilitate the closing plenary sharings.
The Speakers
Dina Glouberman, Ph.D., is visionary co-founder and director of Skyros Holidays, world leader in holistic holidays and trainings. Author of the classic books Life Choices, Life Changes, Joy of Burnout and You Are What You Imagine, and former Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Dina leads Imagework training courses internationally, is Hon. President, International Imagework Association, and a psychotherapist, guiding people through turning-points and new beginnings. In her inspiring new memoir, Into the Woods and Out Again: A memoir of love, madness, and transformation (Sphinx, 2018) which is being launched at this conference, Dina opens up about her journey into madness in the early 1970s, as well as about the founding of Skyros holidays, the development of her Imagework approach, and, indeed, community, marriage, mothering, birth, death, imagination, and spirituality.
www.dinaglouberman.com; www.
Jill Hall was born in South Africa into an environment of extreme inequality and oppression, and has always been puzzled and fascinated about what it means to be a human being. Moving to London in her late teens, she was an actress until becoming a mother and philosophy student. Attracted to self-development in Humanistic Psychology’s early days, she later tutored at the Institute of Biodynamic Psychology. Jill now runs weekend residential groups in Norwich, and has been a guest lecturer for various professional bodies and universities. She is the author of The Reluctant Adult: An Exploration of Choice (Prism Press, 1993).
Jay Ramsay co-founded Angels of Fire in London (1983) with its Festivals of New Poetry, has published over 30 books of poetry, non-fiction, and classic Chinese translation, including Psychic Poetry – a manifesto, The Poet in You (his correspondence course, since 1990), Monuments, and Agistri Notebook (both 2014), and a poetry-music album, Strange Sun (2012). Editor of six poetry anthologies – most recently Diamond Cutters (with Andrew Harvey: www.tayenlane.com), and many collections for other poets under Chrysalis Poetry imprint – Jay is Poetry Editor of Caduceus magazine, is a UKCP-accredited psychotherapist and healer, and runs workshops worldwide (www.jayramsay.co.uk). His latest book is Pilgrimage – a Journey to Love Island (www.awenpublications.co.uk).
Malcolm Stern: a group and individual psychotherapist for 30+ years, Malcolm is Co-Director and co-founder of Alternatives at St James’ Church, London and runs groups internationally. His approach involves finding your heart is and accessing truth, and his London One Year Group, his work’s centrepiece, creates an environment of trust, integrity and community. He wrote Falling in Love, Staying In Love (Piatkus, 2004), and co-presented the Channel 4 series on relationships, ‘Made for Each Other’ (2003–4). Malcolm runs courses annually at Skyros (Greece), Cortijo Romero (Spain) and Finca Argayall (La Gomera), and teaches at Esalen (Big Sur, California) and Findhorn (Scotland).
Serge Beddington-Behrens MA. (Oxon.), Ph.D., KSML is a transpersonal psychotherapist, coach and mentor/spiritual friend for younger people needing guidance. As now he is mainly based in Mallorca, he does consulting sessions on Skype with people all over the world and continues to teach spiritual retreats, which includes ‘personalised retreats’ designed for individuals and couples willing to work intensively on their psychological and spiritual exploration. His speciality is helping people attune to nature and explore new ways of living with more heart as outlined in his recent book, Awakening the Universal Heart: a guide for spiritual activists. His website is www.spiritual-activism.com.