Equine Assisted Therapy Hosted by Altitude Meetings for Mental Health Professionals on Treatment Strategies for Military Women with PTSD and MST

Online, October 14, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Meet your new therapist, a horse. An equine therapy session consists of the following: Stand near a horse, gesture to that horse, and it gestures back. At first it might feel strange, but after a while, the women will begin to feel a cell-deep, almost telepathic communication between themselves and the horse.

This process is an awakening. An awakening of the ability to connect with the horse allows the women to understand themselves in entirely new ways and that understanding quietly can help to transform the lives of the women suffering with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

Altitude Meetings will be hosting upcoming workshops for Mental Health Professionals on Treatment Strategies for Military Women with PTSD and MST presented by Dr. Darlene Williams and Dr. Gloria Payne. Each workshop will fulfill continuing education credits (CE/CEUs) for those that attend. The amount of credit will be based on the hours of the workshop the professional attends.

PTSD/MST develops after a terrifying event(s) that involved sexual and/or physical harm or the threat of sexual and/or physical harm—not necessarily directly harm to them as it could be to a loved one or witnessing the event(s) that occurred.

PTSD/MST was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.

Dr. Darlene Williams, PhD, PA and Dr. Gloria Payne, PhD, LMFT, NBCDCH—have joined together to host these workshops—of which they have over 30 years of experience treating individuals with a wide-range of mental health issues.

The first two workshops will be held in the Tampa Bay area in Florida on October 19-20 and November 17-18.

About the Presenters
Dr. Darlene Williams is a licensed psychologist (PhD, PA), who practices clinical and forensic psychology. She has advanced training in hypnosis, forensic psychology, and equine-assisted psychotherapy, as well as 26 years of experience in treating individuals with a wide-range of mental health issues. In the forensic field, Dr. Williams has published journal articles and a book chapter. She is a former board member for PACE Center for Girls and presently serves on the board for the Institute for Survivors of Incest & Sexual Violence, Inc. Dr. Williams served as a Founding Member and Associate Trainer for both the International Academy for Advanced Clinical Hypnosis, and the American Institute for Rapid Trauma Resolution. Her areas of specialty include: trauma recovery, grief and loss, psych cardiology, couples and family treatment and transpersonal psychotherapy. Dr. Williams is certified in Hypnotherapy as well as Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Dr. Williams has served as a volunteer Clinician for www.Giveanhour.org since its inception. As a result, in 2010, she founded Horse Corps, a free, monthly, therapy group for military women with PTSD and MST utilizing equine-assisted psychotherapy (see www.horserecorps.com). Author of "Resurrecting Self: Understanding and Treating Military Women with PTSD & MST. A guide for survivors and those who love and care for them." Approved since 2009 by the APA to provide CEs in the area of PTSD / MST for mental health professionals. In addition, she is approved as a Mental Health Consultant, Department of Labor, and Center for Excellence, St Petersburg, FL. She is co-founder of Sun Song Healing Retreats & Workshops, Equusolutions (non-profit organization in process), and has been interviewed on broadcast and internet radio, television, and in print.

Dr. Gloria Payne, PhD, LMFT, NBCDCH - (Nationally Board Certified Diplomat in Clinical Hypnotherapy) has extensive experience in domestic violence, sexual violence survival and family counseling. Her resume includes stints with: Catholic Charities - play therapist and school counselor, Youth & Family Alternatives - counselor with the CINS / FINS Family Help Program, Charter Hospital - practicum student counselor. Her present board memberships are with - Institute for Survivors of Sexual Violence, Inc. Sunrise Rotary of Dade City, Founding Member and previously with Big Brothers / Big Sisters. Recent workshops and presentations: Clinical Hypnosis and Rapid Trauma Resolution, Presenter, Holistic healing, Civic and community presentations, 16th World Congress of Sexology, Paris, France. Dr. Payne is also owner and founder of Meridian Counseling Center, Inc.

After completion of the workshop(s), the attendees will be able to:
• Define trauma conceptually and outline its psycho-physiological sequel

• Teach self-hypnosis techniques to reinforce new ways of thinking

• Discuss how to transform re-traumatizing flashbacks and nightmares into non-threatening experience via Rapid Trauma Resolution™, and

• Will be introduced to equine co-facilitated therapy while participating in the powerful transformative technology for trauma recovery, amongst many other objectives.

For those interested, there will be a Full Moon Ceremony on the Friday evening, October 18 and a campfire meditation on Friday evening, November 16 at Temple Mound before each workshop.

Registration is limited and going fast. Please register at: http://altitudemeetings.com/payment-options/

About Altitude Meetings:
Altitude Meetings was founded with the goal of providing companies, small groups, and individuals with an alternative resource for planning and coordinating events and conferences. We specialize in speaker certification - through each speaker's respective licensing agency - the fulfillment of continuing education credits (CE / CEUs), and arrangements for speakers' travel and recreational needs. Planning and setup for events being held nationally or internationally is also part of our menu.

For more information on Altitude Meetings and the Presenters, please visit: www.altitudemeetings.com.

About Bound-by Marketing:
Owner, Lyndsay Johnson re-branded her agency in 2011 to Bound-by Marketing. Johnson brings a plethora of industry experience with her from; hospitality, restaurant, automotive/high performance, real estate, medical device, music, non-profit, civil engineering/city, healthcare, and consumer product goods. She has surrounded herself with over fifty designers, photographers, videographers, programmers, and developers across the nation. Beyond her infatuation with marketing, Johnson is a classically trained opera singer who additionally has a unique passion for hot rods.
For more information on Bound-by Marketing, please visit: www.boundbymarketing.com.

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