In our book on healing eating disorders we emphasize the benefits of a holistic approach to the treatment of issues such as disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, related mood disorders and more.  Action methods which involve the body as well as the mind, heart, and spirit are particularly effective and lend themselves to collaboration with several other modalities which we explore in our book:  art, music, mindfulness, Reiki and other energy work, acupuncture, yoga, and more.  Case studies and a variety of examples illustrate a number of creative options.

In a recent 90 minute workshop given at a yoga studio, I combined action methods, education, mindfulness, poetry, art and yoga so participants could experience the power of integrating these modalities.

Following introductions and group guidelines (confidentiality, self-care, freedom to choose one’s level of participation and an overview of class, and so on), I introduced the class to the concept of “the Witness Role”—the part of the self that can step back and observe thoughts, feelings, and behaviors without judgment and with compassion.

Prior to class, I had blessed the room with Reiki and placed a selection of artistic photograph cards (spring landscapes*) along the window sills.  Group members were invited to select a card that could “ . . . hold the Role of the Witness for you throughout today’s workshop.  Share the card and reasons for choosing the card with one other person in the room whom you do not know.”  Then, cards were placed somewhere in the room where each card could “hold the role of the Inner Witness” for the time of the workshop.

Then, returning to our circular seating arrangement, class members were instructed to look in their folder for a copy of a poem which I selected related to the theme.  After reading, members shared verbally which lines of the poem resonated with them.

Following this, was the teaching of basic yoga principles specifically as they apply to issues around making peace with food and the body and developing “the Self-Care Role”.  Topics included “Yamas” of non-harm to self and others; truthfulness to self and others; being authentic; discerning the difference between needs and wants; moderation; and releasing attachments to outcomes.  Next, the “Niyamas” for cultivating a healthy inner life:  external and internal purity; “the body is a temple of the spirit”; practice of contentment and maintaining equanimity—responding to life with love and faith, not from fear; cultivating passion for health rather than obsession with weight or appearance; practice of self-observation (i.e. Inner Witness Role) by taking time to pause and breathe to understand one’s reactions and triggers; and the practice of surrender.

Next, ways of incorporating these into life were explored, beginning with the breath and the experience of noticing one’s breath mindfully followed by yoga breathing.  Following this was meditation on and off the mat, both with movement and in stillness.  And following was brief teaching about the power of positive affirmations; journaling; the necessity of movement balanced with stillness; getting support and practicing gratitude.

All teaching points were covered in handouts including the research supported benefits of Hatha Yoga such as the elevation of serotonin, helping alleviate depression, ADHD, anxiety and yoga’s multiple physiological benefits.

The class drew to a close with members each returning to the space where “the witness card” had been placed.  “Take the role of your witness and look at ‘yourself’ (envisioned on the mat or bolster where they had been seated) and in a few sentences from the Witness Role, tell yourself what you observed and the ‘take home’ message from the workshop.”  After each participant did this, the circle re-formed and each person stated his/her name with a hand on heart re-affirming the pledge of confidentiality and self-care.  For closing, the word and gesture, “NAMASTE” which is a slight bow, hands held in “prayer pose” by the heart, meaning “The Light in me honors the Light in you.”

The workshop feedback forms showed a consensus of the group members’ experiences as:

“ . . . inclusive, thoughtful, gentle, non-judgmental . . . loved the learning and the helpful reminder of how to incorporate yoga into my recovery . . .”

*Thanks to Landscape photographer and poet Alma Nugent for providing these.

For more information or to buy Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods, please visit our website.

‘Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today.’

This week is Dementia Awareness Week in the UK, so we thought it would be the perfect time to share an extract from one of our classic books on using reminiscence to improve the quality of life for people with dementia.

This excerpt has been taken from the book Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today  by Pam Schweitzer and Errollyn Bruce, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Schweitzer and Bruce – ‘Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today’ - extract

Visit our website to get additional information or to order a copy of Remebering Yesterday, Caring Today by Pam Schweitzer and Errollyn Bruce.

Egg donation—how did it all begin? There are published records from as early as the late 1800s of experiments conducted on women who lost their ovaries at young ages. However, it was not until the arrival of in vitro fertilization in 1978 that physicians had a means for enabling a woman to become pregnant with another woman’s eggs. The first child born through egg donation was born in Australia in 1983.

In its early years, egg donation, though possible, was not readily available. The first donors were either sisters or cousins (of their recipients) or they were infertile women who were undergoing IVF. Since cryopreservation of embryos was not available to all, some of these women had “extra eggs” for which they had only two options: discard or donate to other infertile women. Another group of early egg donors were women seeking tubal ligation who were invited to donate their eggs in exchange for the cost of their procedure. Either way, donated eggs were relatively few and far between and for the most part, came from women whose donation was based more on practicality or expediency than on an affirmative decision to help an infertile couple. The scarcity of eggs made the experience challenging for would be recipients who had little way of knowing if and when donated eggs would become available to them. One mother of a now 23-year-old through egg donation recalls taking medications over an extended period of time to ensure her uterus was ready for implantation should a donated egg come along. She was literally “on call” for news that an egg was available. When the call came, there was no asking about who the donor was or what her genetic history revealed. The recipient was instructed to go immediately to the fertility clinic, where she underwent a full laparatomy (a surgical incision in the abdominal area) and a gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT procedure). The donor’s eggs were mixed with the recipient’s husband’s sperm and placed in her tubes.

Much has changed. Not only has IVF fully replaced GIFT as a vehicle for egg donation, but beginning in the late 1980s, women were actively recruited for voluntary egg donation. This began in medical clinics, some of whom continue to recruit donors. However, in the United States, independent “Egg Donor Agencies” rapidly replaced medical programs as the main source of donated eggs. By the late 1990’s it was common to see adds like the following in college newspapers:

“Make a dream come true. Help a childless couple become parents. If you are under 34, healthy, a non-smoker, please consider donating some of your eggs. You will be compensated for your time and effort.”

The arrival of these programs transformed egg donation from something extremely difficult to arrange to something that, with financial/health insurance resources and access to medical treatment, can be launched with a few visits to internet web sites. One need simply type in “Egg donation” to be connected to agencies with names ranging from “Precious Wonders” to “Tiny Treasures” to “An Angel’s Gift” to “Peas in a Pod” and “Our Fairy Godmother.” As of this writing, there are 94 Egg Donor Agencies listed on the website of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Most have tantalizing websites that offer hope to infertile couples many of whose journey to parenthood as so far been filled with only disappointment and loss. They also offer the promise of financial and emotional reward to young women who are invited to undergo ovarian hyperstimulation and egg retrieval.

Just as there have been changes in the availability and accessibility of donors, so also have there been shifts in the way people think about egg donation. In the early years there was a real sense that the science was advancing far more rapidly than our understanding of what it means for a person to be physically born to three people. Instead of taking note of what a seismic shift this marked in human reproduction, physicians presented egg donation as a treatment for female infertility. In so doing, they missed the opportunity to examine, make sense of and ul†imately celebrate what egg donation means for identity formation and our understanding of kinship. Sadly, egg donation was pushed into the shadows, spoken of in hushed tones and burdened by secrecy.

The experiences of parents through egg donation, their children and their donors changed significantly with the arrival of the Donor Sibling Registry in 2000. This US based worldwide registry was founded in 2000 by Wendy Kramer and her son, Ryan, who was conceived via sperm donation. The registry helps people connect with donor relations.  In the 12 years since its founding, the DSR has helped connect over 9200 individuals with their donor relations. Wendy Kramer reports there are on average two new matches every day. For egg donation families, this has meant that parents have connected with donors, donors with offspring and as the name of the DSR suggests, offspring with other offspring.  As word of the DSR has grown and with it, people’s appreciation of the significance of genetic connections, families have been turning to the DSR in new ways. As of this writing, there are several egg donor agencies in the US that include the DSR in their donor-recipient contracts, making it possible for people who want anonymity (or at least to start out with no identifying information) to remain in touch and share photos and updated medical and social information.

Where Are We Today?

Looking at egg donation today we see a very different picture from what we saw even as recently when we prepared our 2005 edition of Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation.  In addition to the changes noted above, we see changes in the way ED parents feel about their path to parenthood. The secrecy that prevailed in the past has lifted and been replaced with honesty and privacy. True, there are some ED parents who still feel they have something to be secretive about, but increasing numbers are treating their child’s story as an open but private matter. They don’t go around saying “my egg donor baby” etc, but acknowledge donor conception when there is a reason to do so. In talking about it in a natural and appropriate way, most find that others are fully accepting of and comfortable with egg donation. Accompanying this more open approach to egg donation in general has been increased comfort with the donors.  As one mother through egg donation put it,

“When I first heard about egg donation, I did not want to meet my donor because I thought that I would see her face in my child and it would upset me. Now I feel the opposite. I have twins and one looks just like the donor. I love it because it is a constant reminder of the remarkable woman who helped make us a family.”

With increased comfort and familiarity with egg donation has come increase use of this option. Or perhaps it is the reverse—as more people have become parents through egg donation, more of them have become comfortable speaking openly about it. Either way, the use of egg donation is on the rise. In 2010, the most recent year for which the SART (Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology) statistics are available, there were 9, 321 transfers using donated eggs. Over 55% of these result in live births. This is the official SART number. Wendy Kramer of the DSR found, in surveying parents through egg donaton, that 42% were never asked to inform their clinic whether they had a live birth. Some did so voluntarily and others did not. If we add in the pregnancies that resulted from frozen embryo transfers, there were over 8,000 births in the US alone (in 2010) from donated eggs.

So egg donation in the US is accepted. It is also common. And it is available. All that said, it can still feel overwhelming to embark on a path to egg donation. Recipients must identify a medical program that they have confidence in, figure out how they will afford the medical treatment and often, donor and other fees and they must find and secure a donor.  All of this is do-able but it takes time, wherewithal, money, stamina and information.

Although egg donation has enjoyed widespread acceptance and relatively little scrutiny in the United States, this is not the case throughout the world. In Italy, for instance, a law was passed in 2004 completely banning oocyte donation, banning as well use of donor sperm and helping women past childbearing age becoming pregnant via ARTs. The road to this law started in 1994 when Italy made headlines when Dr. Severino Antinori used donor eggs to get 63 year old Rosana Della Cortes pregnant. Robin Marantz Henig’s New York Times article (2004) states,

“We are learning the wrong lessons from our earlier misadventures. Things got a little out of hand, yes, but that is because governments around the world adopted a hands-off policy towards the whole affair. It was too complicated to reach consensus about what steps were too intrusive, about when human life begins, about what risks were worth taking for the sake of having one’s own biological child. So governments turned their backs on reproductive technology and allowed the field to be taken over by cowboys.”

Still, unable to come to a consensus about exactly what should be accepted and what should not as far as egg donation, countries like Italy, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have also nearly eliminated ovum donation. While such strict laws serve to call everyone’s attention to the potential for ethical abuses in egg donation, they also create new social problems. There now exists what has been termed “fertility tourism”—people living in countries that ban oocyte donation are traveling to other countries to obtain eggs.

Visit our website to get additional information or to order a copy of Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation 2nd edition by Ellen Sarasohn Glazer and Evelina Weidman Sterling.

If you’d like to print off a copy of the booklet, simply click here to download and print.

To receive a free copy of the catalogue, please sign up for our mailing listand we’ll get one out to you right away. You may also request multiple copies to share with friends, family, colleagues and clients–simply note how many copies of the catalogue you would like (up to 20) in the ‘any additional comments’ box on the sign-up form.

We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to get more information about our outstanding new titles such as Dementia – Support for Family and Friends by Dave Pulsford and Rachel Thompson and Can I tell you about Dementia? by Jude Welton. The catalogue also features information on bestselling titles such as Leadership for Person-Centered Dementia Care  by Buz Loveday and Playfulness and Dementia by John Killick, as well moving personal accounts of the experience of dementia such as Dancing with Dementia and  Who will I be when I die?  from Christine Bryden.

Click this link to see a listing of new and recent titles from Jessica Kingsley Publishers’ Dementia list.

To request a copy of the JKP catalogue of books on Dementia and Elder Care, please click here to fill out our sign-up sheet. Please be sure to click any additional areas of interest as well. You should receive a copy of the catalogue within two weeks.

The launch of the book The Art and Science of Motivation: A Therapist’s Guide to Working with Children was an evening of shared celebrations with an enthusiastic and supportive array of guests. The popular, multiple award-winning Riverbend Bookshop in Bulimba, Queensland was the beautiful venue for the event. Suzy Wilson, proprietor of Riverbend, introduced speakers and reflected on the interest which the book had already attracted.

Editors Anne Poulsen, Jenny Ziviani and Monica Cuskelly

Dr Peter Steer a well-respected pediatrician and, CEO of Children’s Health Queensland,  was glowing in his review of the text, recommending it as required reading for hospital staff. Particular attention was drawn to aspects of the book that he felt would resonate deeply with all service providers. These included the highly accessible practical tools and vignettes in the book, as well as examples of language and behaviors that enhance therapeutic relationships.

The authors celebrate

The book authors were overwhelmed with the support from therapists, teachers and medical staff who attended the launch. All the Queensland contributors were present –traveling many kilometres to attend. The party continued late into the evening – a memorable night for everyone.

Vanessa Rogers

They say that there is a book in all of us, and judging from the number of emails and Tweets I get from people in the youth work and social education field inspired to write their own, it would certainly seem to be true. So this is a collective response to those of you who have asked me for ideas of how to start writing, and to share my personal experiences of writing a book. I hope it is useful – but please remember this is only my way, which I made up as I stumbled along the way.

When I start a new resource book it is because the subject holds a compelling fascination for me. For example, ‘Working with Young Women’ (Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN 9781849050951) came out of lots of girls’ groups that I was facilitating at the time. The young women came to the group because they had been identified as at risk of offending and aggressive behaviour, but the more I got to know them the more I thought that a lot of their behaviour was actually a response to the bad relationships they had with their peers, parents and boy/girlfriends. It seemed to me that their anger and aggression was a coping mechanism that until now had worked for them. So, this made me question how young women can build a sense of self, gain confidence and assertiveness, look at the role models they have and their aspirations for life – in a way that is interesting, non-judgemental and fun. After all, through the group work I was basically asking them to change their existing coping behaviour, (which whilst not necessarily socially acceptable to all, gave them the kudos and ‘respect’ they sought), to take a chance of being vulnerable and exploring things that hurt to find a better way with me. But it seemed that this was the foundation for everything else – e.g. if you value yourself and your body you are more likely to respect it and look after it.

So from here, as for every other book I have written, I devised a series of questions that I wanted to answer. These help me keep focused and distill the essence of what I am trying to do.

After that, I spend about 3 months researching the topic. I do this by reading around the subject and trawling the Internet for ethical and correct data and statistics, but also by speaking with other practitioners and as many young people, or in the example above as many young women, as I can, to ask my questions and test out some of my theories. By now I usually have at least one box file filled with clippings and stuff, as well as my trusty notebook (I always have at least one hardback notebook on the go) filled with points to remember and ideas for games, quizzes or activities.

One thing; all of my session plans have to be tried out with young people before I will include them. For me, this part is one of the rules of my work to keep it ethical and grounded – it has to have been tried and tested and I have to know that young people will learn from it and more importantly enjoy doing so.

As I write constantly this means that I often have ideas stashed on my computer that are developed later when the opportunity presents itself. I try my best to include lots of learning styles in the activities and this might mean that I write the same learning outcomes three times, with three different ideas for delivering them. So, as I try them out with young people I use the one that goes best and dump the rest. I also ask young people to give me feedback as the book comes together, which I value as they don’t hold back if they think it won’t work!

Once this is done, I stick my main points on bits of paper around my desk and tell everyone that I am going to be ‘writing’. To my family this means that I am likely to be distracted, a bit bad tempered and the dinners will be rubbish for a while – but the good news is that I will be in the house for days on end and easily tempted to buy take-aways!! To my friends it means that if I do see them I am probably going to bore them witless by obsessing over my blossoming (or not) book. All training and other work is put on hold. And then – I write it.

I tend to write ‘all over’ my books – meaning that I might write part of the intro, then get a bit stuck so move on to one of the later chapters.  It may look chaotic but it isn’t – more like putting a jigsaw together, because by this stage I know exactly what I want to write and how it will look at the end. I tend to really get into this bit so write day and night, with no adherence to office hours – I actually prefer working through the night so it is pretty usual for me to be writing between 2 and 5 a.m.

Once it is done – which usually takes about 7 days end to end – I put it away for at least 3 days before getting it out and editing / doing the final writing.

Then it is off to Jessica Kingsley Publishers …… and I miss it like mad …… get a bit sad, like at the end of any relationship …… do any edits or re-writes asked of me by the editors and proof readers ….. and leave the printers to get on with it. In my head it is over.

I try and build a break in at this point so that I can have fun with friends and family and shake off the topic that has been all consuming for what might have been up to a year. And then, just when I think that I have had enough of writing, something sparks my interest – and the whole cycle begins again.

I hope this helps – but as I say all writers are different and I am sure you will find your own way of working. My only advice would be, write for you and choose a subject you feel passionate about – if you aren’t at the start, you definitely won’t be at the end! My very best wishes and good luck with it – let me know how you get on.

Since the last edition of this book, published early in 2009, the profile of safeguarding adults has risen. Accordingly, this new edition continues to consider neglect and abuse across a broad spectrum of settings, circumstances and law. Yet, in early 2013, one issue warrants singling out following the public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. It is systemic poor care and neglect in health (and social) care, and suffered by older people. It is a pressing matter for several reasons.

First, the evidence of the last 15 years points beyond reasonable doubt to a problem serious in its nature and extent.[1] The type of health care exposed at Stafford is no isolated instance or mere outlier.

Second, to delineate the problem in this book is not to criticise unduly the National Health Service and local authorities but to point out pitfalls to avoid, with a view to maintaining all that is good in these services. Of this good, there is a great deal. But the existence of the good does not preclude the bad.

Third, those many deniers, and evaders of accountability, within the NHS, local authorities and central government, have much to answer for. An unacknowledged problem cannot be solved. The ills gain ground before they break out virulently, as has happened at Stafford and elsewhere in the NHS.

Fourth, we look to the State, the NHS and social services, to safeguard vulnerable adults from external threat, for example, the dishonest neighbour or sadistic carer. But the State must look to itself as well; State perpetrated poor care and neglect raises the stakes – legally, morally and of course politically. In tackling these ills, “safeguarding adults” as an activity is currently on the side-lines, a bystander raising the occasional shout. This is the harsh conclusion reached if one compares the magnitude of the problem with the limited inroads made into it – by the NHS, local authorities, the Care Quality Commission, Health and Safety Executive, General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Lastly, safeguarding adults boards, responsible for steering local safeguarding activity, need to ask themselves searching questions about their direction and priorities in relation to systemic poor care and neglect. This is so particularly if those ills flow from key partners within the local board itself, that is, the NHS and social services who, through provision or commissioning of care, may be causing the very harm they are meant to be combating.

If these boards are to grasp the nettle, they will have to take on vested interests and be prepared to upset people. In the wake of the Stafford public inquiry, they could do worse than read an incisive article published in Private Eye: Return to the killing fields: a chronicle of deaths foretold.[2] Amongst other things, it indicates the forces you are up against in challenging poor care, neglect, death, denial and lack of accountability in the NHS. If in doubt, turn also to Dr. Heather Wood, undaunted inspector of the Healthcare Commission, who has written of the “deep rooted pathology [which] is the stranglehold that managers, many apparently devoid of an ethical code and certainly without a regulatory body, have on the NHS”.[3] Or to Professor Brian Jarman’s equally eye-opening When managers rule.[4]

Formidable obstacles may be, but to be worthy of their name and the statutory status which they will in future enjoy, safeguarding boards surely need to develop hard hitting strategies to counteract systemic poor care and neglect. For instance, at present they conduct serious case reviews when individual, vulnerable adults are abused or killed by acquaintances, or perhaps when a person dies of self-neglect. They need to be hunting bigger game as well.

The event was hosted by the Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP and the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust (ALMT), and also celebrated the work of the ALMT and their collaboration with bereavement counsellor and co-author of What Does Dead Mean?, Jenni Thomas.

It was both a moving and uplifting evening. Speeches were given by Keith Vaz, the authors of the book Caroline Jay and Jenni Thomas, and Nick Lawson, the founder of the ALMT. Two short films were shown, the first of a young boy, bereaved of his sister, reading and talking about the book. The second of a six year old boy and his sister talking about their mother who had recently died of breast cancer. The film was shot 20 years ago, and the young boy, now grown up, was at the event.

These moving films, as well as the reading of a beautiful poem written by a bereaved mother, served to highlight the importance of a book that helps children to try to understand what ‘dead’ means, and to talk about their feelings. Jenni Thomas, a bereavement counsellor of many years’ experience, spoke of how important it is that children can ask questions about death and be given clear answers.

After the speeches and films, Keith Vaz very kindly treated us all to a wonderful tour of the Houses of Parliament, complete with tour guide patter, jokes, and greetings to politicians, Baronesses and others that we passed along the way! After a visit to the gallery of the House of Lords, where we happened to enter as John Prescott stood up to speak,  we were ushered on to the floor of the House of Commons, where we practiced our ‘hear hears’ and jeers!

The following day, Keith Vaz tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons which mentioned What Does Dead Mean? and noted that it helps adults to talk to children about death and dying.

You can read the Early Day Motion here:

http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/1049

Hosted by the three editors of the book, Stella Compton Dickinson, Helen Odell-Miller and John Adlam, and attended by many of those who had authored individual chapters, the evening brought together not only music therapists, but many professional musicians, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and other mental health professionals. We were treated to an evening of beautiful music by the Henry Lowther Quartet followed by two solo oboe recitals. The editors, and Dr. Gill McGauley, Consultant Psychiatrist at Broadmoor Hospital, spoke about the ground-breaking work that the book sheds light on, and the proven effectiveness of music therapy with those in secure settings, especially in encouraging feelings of empathy. They also spoke about the rarity of being able to obtain informed consent for case studies involving high security offenders, another factor which makes this book unique.

Click below to see a video of Stella Compton Dickinson’s speech at the celebratory evening:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

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