The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® with Cathy Lipsky, RN, Holistic Nurse Practitioner
2022-05-18 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | ZOOM – You will be provided details upon registration
Take some time for yourself during these stressful times to learn a self care technique that will support you throughout your life. Learn information about your body that will make you ask “why didn’t I know this before?”
Equally beneficial for men as it is for women, the Arvigo Technique of Maya Abdominal Therapy® aims to relieve stagnation of blood, lymph, chi and nerve conduction.
Abdominal massage has been practiced in many cultures for centuries. Malpositioned pelvic and abdominal organs can be coaxed into correct position by using your hands. This technique helps to enhance blood and lymph flow to relieve symptoms. Examples of this type of stagnation would be low back pain, menstrual cramps, fibroids, prostate, digestive and other maladies. It is non-invasive and is taught to clients so they can do self care at home.
Join Cathy Lipsky as she shares the history of this work and explains causes of common ailments symptoms and how this particular massage, done daily, supports balance in many organ systems.
In this presentation you will learn:

The origins of this therapy
Basic anatomy of the upper and lower abdomen
Common reproductive and digestive conditions
Learn how self care enhances physical, spiritual and emotional health

This presentation has passed.
Cathy provided this guided meditation for all to benefit – to breathe in and let go…

Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at https://katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.

“I’m a nurse practitioner with over 50 years of experience taking care of the adult population. Since 1997 I learned from my mentor Rosita Arvigo how valuable ‘self care’ is as part of a healing practice. Since then I have used the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® in my practice of holistic therapies in New York. I am a certified practitioner as well as an advanced teacher teaching all of the advanced classes.
I have also studied traditional Chinese Medicine in the form of AMMA Therapy®, Mantra therapy, yoga and Tai Chi. I offer one-on-one therapy to assist with posture, movement, breath work or mantra.”
Contact:
Cathy Lipsky, RN, Holistic Nurse Practitioner
https://holisticnp.com/
The Healing Collective NY in White Plains at 267 A Central Ave.
You can reach me at 914-912-2351

Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at https://katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.

The Four Rivers – Ancient Jewish Healing Wisdom – with Rabbis Miriam Maron, PhD and Gershon Winkler, PhD
2022-06-15 18:30 - 20:00
Healing is about restoring – not necessarily fixing.
You can’t replace a limb, but you can restore the person who lost it.
We are comprised of many parts, not only in terms of organs, sinews and ligaments but also in terms of what we embody on psychic and emotional planes. In our attempts to heal, we endeavor to reconstitute the scattered fragments and treat the issue as if we are in search of a misplaced item or two. This way of understanding illness allows us to avoid focusing on bandaging the symptom and instead honing in on the underlying vacuum.
In this brief journey, Rabbis Maron and Winkler will introduce lesser-promulgated ancient and early medieval Hebraic and Aramaic sources of wisdom on the interplay of ailing and healing, and on the long-neglected trauma of existing.
The sharing of this timeless wisdom is welcoming of people of all backgrounds, religious affiliations, cultures and belief-systems.

This event is has passed. If you registered, you will receive a link to the recording.
The Rabbis encourage all from KSG to their books and other offerings. Download this pdf for more info
Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.

Rabbi Miriam Ashina Maron, PhD, MA, BSN, RN, holds a doctorate in Kabbalistic Healing and is an erudite scholar, author and teacher of ancient Judaic Mystery Wisdom. Her academic background and her experience in in-patient and out-patient psychiatric as well as medical-surgical units, combined with her immersion in pragmatic Judaic life wisdom, has helped her clients bridge their internal islands of body, mind and spirit toward more holistic resolution of bio-psychosocial health and relationship issues. Her book, Ancient Moon Wisdom, encapsulates her decades of research and teachings on Judaism’s rich treasury of wisdom around the lunar cycles and their relationship to Hebraic tribal totems. She is also the co-author of Spiral of the Three Mothers: An Aboriginal Jewish Wisdom Guide to the High Holydays, and The Invitation: Living A Meaningful Death – Ancient Jewish Teachings on Death and Dying and their Lessons for Enriching and Deepening the Quality of Living.
Learn more about Rabbi Maron’s Faces of the Sapphire courses and become a member at Patreon.com/facesofthesapphire
Visit Rabbi Maron’s website at miriamscyberwell.com

Rabbi Gershon Maron Winkler, PhD is a widely recognized pioneer in the restoration of aboriginal Jewish Mystery Wisdom. Author of fifteen books on themes of Jewish lore, law, history and mystery, his refreshing teachings are harvested from more than four decades of immersion in ancient Judeo-Aramaic and Hebraic source texts and oral traditions. He is the author of Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism and served many years as Hillel Director, Circuit-Riding Rabbi, Prison Chaplain, as well as Guest Lecturer at numerous colleges and universities and communities across the U.S., Central America and Israel.
Learn more about Rabbi Gershon’s work at walkingstick.org

This event is has passed. If you registered, you will receive a link to the recording.
The Rabbis encourage all from KSG to their books and other offerings. Download this pdf for more info
Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.

Living Fully with the Finish Line in Sight - with Mark Banschick, MD & Penny Cohen, MSW
2022-09-21 18:30 - 20:00
So much happens as we age.
We slow down.
Gain perspective.
Understand what is precious.
Perhaps let go of some things while we embrace others.
As we round the bend, going into the final stretch, we are confronted with physical, psychological, relational and spiritual challenges.
This transition might mean coming to terms with demons that need to be put into their place. Or …reconnecting to old, dear friends… or distancing from those that no longer serve you well.
Sometimes we need to honor and act on our personal dreams… or for some, finding humility and paying attention to others after a period of neglect.
This passage may be about our relationship with physical pain, the medical world… or finding an abiding reason for being.
The shadow is always there; as well as the challenge of discovering a new kind of freedom.

In this workshop, with psychiatrist Mark Banschick and psychotherapist Penny Cohen as our guides, we’ll explore the energetic impact of aging and discuss ways to let go of what no longer works, while embracing what truly does.
We’ll unpack how aging is affecting us, our clients or loved ones – and how we can seize happiness and live a more conscious life.
After all, we are all in the same special boat – the boat of this life.
There is a reason that aging is left for older people. We’ve got what it takes.

Space is limited to the first 100 registrants.
This webinar is FREE of charge, but you must register.
This webinar will be recorded, but you must register to receive a link.
A confirmation and Zoom link will be sent to you upon registration.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMucuytqj0pHdKdieNLICwW2pGicwYWTo-_
*****So that KSG can continue bringing you quality events, please consider making a contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more via our online form.******

Mark Banschick, MD is the co-founder of The Katonah Study Group. He is a psychiatrist working with both adults and children, and the co-author of The Intelligent Divorce book series. These books can be found on Amazon and also on Goodreads.
Dr. Banschick completed his residency in General Psychiatry at Georgetown University Hospital and a Child Fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Banschick is also a contributor to Psychology Today with fourteen million readers to date. He is in private practice in Stamford, CT – and can be reached at 914-714-0954.

Penny Cohen, LCSW has been counseling, lecturing, and conducting workshops internationally on personal, relationship, career, and spiritual development and Kabbalah for the over 30 years. She holds a Master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, is a licensed psychotherapist, certified hypnotherapist, EMDR and Energy Psychology Practitioner, and Life and Spiritual Coach and is the author of Personal Kabbalah: 32 Paths To Inner Peace And Life Purpose. She has a private practice and works with individuals and groups in person, onsite or virtually.
Visit her website at www.PennyCohen.com, contact her at Penny@PennyCohen.com, or phone: (914) 764-1708.

Optimizing Mental and Sexual Health with Barbara Bartlik, MD
2022-10-19 18:30 - 20:00
Join us as we learn how optimum diet, targeted micronutrient supplementation, restful sleep, not smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and frequent varied exercise, all are sex-positive and mental health enhancing habits.
Many medications produce side effects that can impact psychiatric and sexual health. Medications for anxiety, arrhythmias, constipation, contraception, depression, fertility, hair growth, hypertension, insomnia, pain, seizures, corticosteroids, and even over-the-counter antihistamine and acid-blocking medications are culpable. If used chronically, many of these medications deplete vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy sexual function, good mental health and vitality.
Without adequate amounts of essential nutrients, those who take medications are more likely to suffer from nutrient depletion, low mood, low energy, and sexual dysfunction. Integrative medicine (IM) can often prevent or mitigate many health problems and lead to reduced dosages of medications — thus avoiding side effects.
Taking vitamins, minerals, and botanical supplements can support health and wellness and positively impact sexual and mental health. For example:
• Nitric oxide (NO) boosts blood flow to the genitals and other parts of the body including the brain. NO bioavailability is enhanced by increasing the consumption of specific foods and supplements, e.g., beets, leafy green vegetables, vitamins C and B12, magnesium, potassium, and L-arginine. Increased NO is associated with reduced homocysteine, an inflammatory substance detrimental to sexual and mental health and cognition.
• And Vitamin D can improve sexual desire and arousal in women… and levels of testosterone and erectile ability in men. It also is necessary to produce dopamine, the “feel good” neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, focus, and sexuality.
These are but a few examples that Dr. Bartlik will discuss.
We hope you’ll join us to learn more about how consuming key nutrients in foods and as supplements may reduce the need for pharmaceuticals.

Space is limited to the first 100 registrants.
This webinar is FREE of charge, but you must register.
This webinar will be recorded, but you must register to receive a link.
A confirmation and Zoom link will be sent to you upon registration.
REGISTER HERE
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqfu6rqDItG9dGRY7GJbg5an0Lm_I3ugfz

*****So that KSG can continue bringing you quality events, please consider making a contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more via our online form.******

Rated one of New York Magazine’s Best Doctors in Psychiatry, Barbara Bartlik, MD is a recognized expert clinician and author in integrative medicine, psychiatry and sexual health. Dr. Bartlik is in private practice in Manhattan and has treated men, women and couples with a broad range of psychiatric and sexual problems for over 30 years. She is an editor and author of Integrative Sexual Health (2018), a volume in the [Dr. Andrew] Weil Integrative Medicine Library, OUP. Dr. Bartlik has a special interest in near death experiences and welcomes discussion with persons who have had them. Dr. Bartlik received her M.D. degree with distinction in epidemiology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1981, where she studied neurology with the late Dr. Oliver Sacks. She completed her psychiatry residency and research fellowship at New York University Medical Center / Bellevue Hospital (now NYU Langone Health). She also treated severely mentally ill patients with the New York State Office of Mental Health. Dr. Bartlik is certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; in integrative medicine from the American Board of Physician Specialties; and in sexology from the American Board of Sexology. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was recognized by Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors. She is a member of the voluntary faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
Barbara Bartlik, MD
Tel: (212) 749-2684
dr.bartlik@gmail.com
http://www.drbarbaramd.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBartlikMD/
Dr. Bartlik would like to invite the KSG community to learn more about these 2 upcoming events:

Buiding a Healthier NY – 2022 NYANP Annual Conference Oct 15, 2022
Personalized Nutrition 2022: Mental Health Matters | October 26-29, 2022 in San Diego, CA hybrid

Adiós Prozac! How Psychedelic Drugs Are Revolutionizing the Treatment of Mental Illness - with David Feifel, MD, PhD
2022-11-16 18:30 - 20:00
Drugs that induce a distinctive, subjective altered state of consciousness—broadly referred to as “Psychedelics”— stand to revolutionize the treatment of mental disorders.
At present only one such drug, Ketamine, is FDA-approved for human use and, therefore, can be prescribed (off-label) to treat mental illness. However, many more psychedelics are under development including MDMA and Psilocybin, which have been given “fast track” designation by the FDA.
In this presentation, Dr. Feifel will provide an overview of these drugs, their approval status and how they will be used to impact on the treatment of mental illness.

This virtual event is FREE, but in order to attend or receive a link to the recording, YOU MUST REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtd-2pqzkjHdEDpNYGQWfOQ6AslCtMqsEC
After you register, you will be emailed a link to the event.
We will also send you a reminder via email on the morning of the event.
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

About David Feifel, MD, PhD

Dr. David Feifel is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at UC San Diego. He received his MD and PhD (Neurobiology) from the University of Toronto and he is certified in General Psychiatry as well as Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry.
The focus of Dr. Feifel’s career has been on advancing the treatment of mental illness. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed research papers and his work has been featured in many publications and media resources such as the New York Times, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Popular Science, Scientific American. In 2008, while at UCSD, he established the world’s first clinical ketamine infusion program to treat depression, and in 2017, he founded Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute, in La Jolla, California, focusing on administering and innovating advanced treatments such as TMS, ketamine and psychedelic therapies. Among the ongoing or upcoming projects at KADIMA are clinical trials of psilocybin, LSD and DMT for psychiatric disorders.

David Feifel, MD, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego
Director, Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute
Certification::General Psychiatry / Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry
linkedin.com/in/davidfeifel

3252 Holiday Ct, St. 112, La Jolla, CA, 92037
Phone: 858-412- 4130
kadimanp.com

This virtual event is FREE, but in order to attend or receive a link to the recording, YOU MUST REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtd-2pqzkjHdEDpNYGQWfOQ6AslCtMqsEC
After you register, you will be emailed a link to the event.
We will also send you a reminder via email on the morning of the event.
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

Why do Narcissists and Borderlines Get So Much Attention? with Dr. Andrew B. Klafter
2022-12-14 18:30 - 20:00
Back by popular demand! We’re so pleased to announce that Dr. Klafter has agreed to return to KSG to give this illuminating talk – suitable for psychotherapy professionals and the general public. Learn more about the features and traits of narcissism and borderline personality disorders, including:

What is personality, what is a personality type, and what is a personality disorder?
What do we mean by “Borderline” and “Narcissistic” when we describe a personality type or disorder?
How do we identify Narcissism and Borderline states with our loved ones? Is it the same process how we diagnose these issues with our patients?
How do people with Borderline and Narcissistic problems make us feel?
Why do they make us feel this way? Is it their fault? Is it our fault? Does everyone feel this way about them?
Why is there so much attention in the media about Narcissism lately?
Why do most therapists dread Borderline patients? (Why do some therapists love them?)
Which term is a bigger insult: Narcissistic or Borderline?
Is everyone a little Narcissistic? Is everyone a little Borderline? Or, no, are these problems really beyond the normal range of personality function?
What do people with Borderline and Narcissistic problems teach us about ourselves?

This event is FREE, but you must register to attend or receive a link to the recording.
REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lceirrDsuHdTDc-i5v70RMu_PFC0HQr6T
If you are registered, you will receive a link to the recording approximately one week after the live event.

Dr. Andrew B. Klafter is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice, treating patients locally in Cincinnati OH, as well as New York, New Jersey, and California. He specializes in the intensive treatment of adults and adolescents suffering from complex disorders which have not responded well to more typical treatment interventions, including patients suffering from the difficulties associated with Narcissistic and Borderline Personality.
In addition to his practice, Dr. Klafter teaches psychotherapy and psychoanalysis at the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute to advanced psychotherapists who are seeking to deepen their skills in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. He has published and lectured nationally on the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theory and technique, the interface between religion and psychiatry, and the interface between depth psychology, culture, and the arts. In his private life, Dr. Klafter is an accomplished musician and photographer.
Andrew B. Klafter, MD
נחום בנימין קלפטר
*7537 State Road
Cincinnati, OH 45255
phone (513) 474-8900 fax (513) 231-0653
www.klafter.com
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at https://katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

Learning to Regulate Your Nervous System with Candice Winterboer, Life Coach
2023-02-15 18:30 - 20:00
Join us for Learning to Regulate Your Nervous System – An Embodied Experience
What is regulation? How does it feel in your body? Why is knowing how to regulate important? All these questions and more, will be answered in this experiential talk!
We have no control over what we will face on a day-to-day basis, who we will come into contact with or how we will be triggered. Having the tools to support our nervous systems back into regulation after they have been activated, empowers us to face an increasingly uncertain world with a degree of confidence while at the same time building our resilience to adversity.
In this talk we will explore simple, somatic practices that can be used in daily life to help restore calm to the body and the mind.

TO REGISTER GO TO…
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItdeCtpjktGNNFcpmn1rc3GsXbzp5z245M
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

About Candice Winterboer
Candice Winterboer is a trauma-informed life and business coach holding a credential with the International Coaching Federation. She is also a dedicated student of Somatic Experiencing, currently in her final year of becoming a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Candice’s own life experience and her dedication to self-development and the unpacking of her own challenges with trauma and stubborn behaviour patterns, has her working with clients from all over the world. Using embodiment practices, coaching tools and somatic exercises, she works with clients to re-establish meaningful, respectful relationships with themselves, their families, communities and the environment.

Website: candicewinterboer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Return2TheSelf
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/know.the.self/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candicewinterboer/

TO REGISTER GO TO…
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItdeCtpjktGNNFcpmn1rc3GsXbzp5z245M
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

Springtime Renewal: An Herbal/Nutritional Approach – with Bonnie Rogers, Clinical Herbalist & Wellness Coach
2023-03-15 18:30 - 20:00
Every Spring, nature supplies us with lots of cleansing, detoxifying and mineral-rich herbs. By incorporating them into your menu you can increase your life energy and come out with a revitalized body.
Healthy, balanced nutrition and herbal medicine can clear out what doesn’t serve you and refresh and rebuild from within. In this class you’ll learn which revitalizing foods/herbs can help you flush out the body and feel lighter and renewed. You’ll learn ways to lighten up with delicious spring greens and herbs – many growing right outside your door!
Many worry that seasonal “cleanses” can be very harsh on your body. Bonnie reassures us that they can be very gentle. Instead of being harsh on your body – these seasonal rituals can nourish and restore you.

TO REGISTER GO TO…
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsd-CqrDMqHtI1_FB45UmWD7IKCOZhOysT
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

About Bonnie…
Are you sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? Are you ready to let go of the health issues that are holding you back from being all you’d like to be? As a Biomagnetism Practitioner and Clinical Herbalist, Bonnie will help you to remove the obstacles that are keeping you stuck by restoring a natural pH to the body.
Bonnie’s passion is helping people like you relieve and manage your pain so you can feel good again! She specializes in helping her clients with:

Digestive issues such as GERD, IBS, colitis, gas and bloating
Chronic pain and pelvic pain disorders
Sleep disorders, anxiety and stress-related problems
Menopausal symptoms
Balancing the body so you feel great

Bonnie’s healthcare philosophy is: in most situations, using a combination of food, herbal medicine, biomagnetism and energy work, we can come up with a program to bring you to a place of wellness. She believes that alternative medicine was made for the people, by the people and that everyone can benefit from it.
Visit Bonnie’s website at bonniesherbals.com or call/text Bonnie 914-522-4221

Better Food = Better Detox with Dr. Penelope McDonnell
2023-04-19 13:00 - 14:00
Katonah Study Group is pleased to offer our “Better Food = Better Detox” in collaboration with Sharp Again Naturally.
Please note: it will be held at a special time in the afternoon, from 1pm-2pm Eastern. This presentation will be recorded and the recording will be available for registrants.

Food and Detox
Dietary Do’s and Don’ts to help your body become a Detox Powerhouse!
While our bodies are built to detox, we sometimes need some extra help. Exposure to toxins, increased stress, poor sleep, poor diet, etc. all can contribute to slowing down our detox mechanism. In this webinar, Dr McDonnell does a deep dive into diet to discuss both specific foods that positively impact our ability to detox and those that impair the process.
THIS EVENT IS FREE, BUT YOU MUST REGISTER AT
https://sharpagain.org/event/better-food-better-detox/
This presentation will be recorded and the recording will be available for registrants.

Dr. Penelope McDonnell graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia School of Business and worked on Wall Street for many years. After taking time off to start a family, she decided to switch careers to become a naturopathic doctor. She attended the University of Bridgeport School of Naturopathic Medicine in Connecticut, a leading accredited university that offers a four-year program in science-based natural medicine. Dr. McDonnell focuses on prevention as the primary strategy for maintaining health. Her treatment plans generally include a combination of natural medicines and specific lifestyle changes designed to bring balance to every system of the body. Dr. McDonnell is particularly interested in treating challenging health concerns such as cancer coping and recovery support, lifestyle nutrition planning, women’s health such as hormonal imbalance, fertility, and menopause, as well as SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). To learn more, visit Dr. McDonnell’s website.

THIS EVENT IS FREE, BUT YOU MUST REGISTER AT
https://sharpagain.org/event/better-food-better-detox/
This presentation will be recorded and the recording will be available for registrants.

Who are you? Experience Past Life Regression Therapy with Saundra C. Blum
2023-05-17 18:30 - 20:00
Please join us for an exciting evening exploring the healing potential of Past Life Therapy
Discover that current illnesses and challenges may stem from trauma in prior lifetimes, and how these manifest and can be released. Saundra will use case studies to help illustrate how past live work can be helpful and facilitate a past life regression wherein the audience may gain insight into a past life and how unexplained issues may become more clear in the present.
Saundra will share her journey into past life regression, her teachings in India, Italy and Israel, along with the growth of the modality today. In addition, she will draw from her book, Footsteps Through the Sands of Time, which touches on before and afterlife, life scripting, life lessons, last thoughts before we pass, karma, relationships, soul mates, and the healing process.

TO REGISTER GO TO…
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsceGqqDgiHtX54cYA7qP1WTNmibkuZ5Uu
PLEASE BE SURE TO LOG ON AT 6:30 PM EASTERN.
Because of the nature of the program, registrants attempting to log on after 6:45 pm Eastern will not be allowed to enter. However, all registrants will receive a link to a recording a week after the event.
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

About Saundra C. Blum
In private practice since 1989, Saundra C. Blum is a certified Ericksonian Hypnotherapist, Past Life Regression Therapist, Reiki practitioner, author and international lecturer. Her formal education consists of a Masters of Science degree in Special Education and Counseling and a Bachelors of Science degree in English and Education.
Saundra C. Blum was on the Advisory Board for Western Connecticut State University’s Institute for Holistic Health and is the co-founder of the Katonah Study Group for Integrative Medicine. Saundra also sat on the Patient Advisory Board for Northern Westchester Hospital. She has a private practice in Moorpark, Ca.
She also trains and certifies Past Life Regressionists in northern Westchester County, NY, Ventura and LA county, as well as internationally in mind-body-spirit-centered cultures such as India and Italy.
Ms. Blum ‘s first book, Footsteps through the Sands of Time – Past Life Dramas, Present Life Lessons, a compilation of her client’s stories, their lessons, and their healing using this deep and sacred work, was published in November, 2013.
Saundra has embarked on a journey with some of her clients who have been going back to the time of Jesus to work through their issues of today, and has another book forthcoming called, The Bible Stories Through the Eyes of Past Life Regression.
Saundra works with clients all over the United States using Zoom to connect.
“Yes I can feel and release the energy over the internet,” Saundra says, “It’s amazing!”
Ms. Blum lives in Ventura County, Ca., with her husband, Michael. They have two grown children, Jordan and Briana, and grandsons Sawyer and Hudson.

Contact Information
Saundra C. Blum
Phone: (914) 420-9349
Email: cindypastlife@gmail.com
Website: saundracindyblum.com

TO REGISTER GO TO…
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsceGqqDgiHtX54cYA7qP1WTNmibkuZ5Uu
*****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us/ so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.******

The Four Sentinels of Night - Ancient Mystery & Healing with Rabbis Miriam Maron, PhD and Gershon Winkler, PhD
2023-06-14 18:30 - 20:00
Thank you for registering and/or attending our June 14th Event.
Learn more about the Rabbis’ upcoming series
The Great Mother
A Daring Journey into One of the Most Ineffable
Realms of Ancient Jewish Mystery Wisdom

Thursday evenings 5-6 PM Pacific Daylight Time/USA
July 13 through August 24, 2023

Learn more…click to download the flyer

Ancient Jewish Mystery Wisdom speaks about four phases along the journey toward healing. In this sharing, Rabbi Dr. Miriam Ashina Maron and Rabbi Dr. Gershon Maron Winkler will introduce us to the ancestral Hebrew understanding of healing as a mystical unraveling of four particular layers of the spirit embodied by our personas. Their teachings are based on early Hebraic and Aramaic text sources and oral traditions, from the Scriptural to the Talmudic, and from the Kabbalistic to the Midrashic, spanning 4,000 years of a rarely promulgated body life-lessons for biding our time in this magical life.

This event is free, but you must register to attend or receive a link to the recording. Please register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAodeGhpz0sH9cnBAmDljMBIV9sbGT4QwdK
****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.****

Rabbi Miriam Ashina Maron, PhD, MA, BSN, RN, holds a doctorate in Kabbalistic Healing and is an erudite scholar, author and teacher of ancient Judaic Mystery Wisdom. Her academic background and her experience in in-patient and out-patient psychiatric as well as medical-surgical units, combined with her immersion in pragmatic Judaic life wisdom, has helped her clients bridge their internal islands of body, mind and spirit toward more holistic resolution of bio-psychosocial health and relationship issues. Her book, Ancient Moon Wisdom, encapsulates her decades of research and teachings on Judaism’s rich treasury of wisdom around the lunar cycles and their relationship to Hebraic tribal totems. She is also the co-author of Spiral of the Three Mothers: An Aboriginal Jewish Wisdom Guide to the High Holydays, and The Invitation: Living A Meaningful Death – Ancient Jewish Teachings on Death and Dying and their Lessons for Enriching and Deepening the Quality of Living.
Learn more about Rabbi Maron’s Faces of the Sapphire courses and become a member at Patreon.com/facesofthesapphire
Visit Rabbi Maron’s website at miriamscyberwell.com

Rabbi Gershon Maron Winkler, PhD is a widely recognized pioneer in the restoration of aboriginal Jewish Mystery Wisdom. Author of fifteen books on themes of Jewish lore, law, history and mystery, his refreshing teachings are harvested from more than four decades of immersion in ancient Judeo-Aramaic and Hebraic source texts and oral traditions. He is the author of Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism and served many years as Hillel Director, Circuit-Riding Rabbi, Prison Chaplain, as well as Guest Lecturer at numerous colleges and universities and communities across the U.S., Central America and Israel.
Learn more about Rabbi Gershon’s work at walkingstick.org

This event is free, but you must register to attend or receive a link to the recording. Please register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAodeGhpz0sH9cnBAmDljMBIV9sbGT4QwdK
****Please consider making a voluntary contribution of $10-$15-$25 or more – via our donation form at katonahstudygroup.org/support-us so that we may continue bringing you quality KSG events free of charge.****

A Conversation With Jake Samoyedny, The Compassionate Medium
2023-09-26 18:30 - 20:00
Spend an interactive evening with a well-respected medium who will answer questions, and create an atmosphere for deepening our understanding of what lies beyond what we call physical life.
A lifelong autodidact, Jake has spent much of his life pursuing an answer to some of our most compelling questions:

What happens to us when we die?
What are the differences between what we call psychic versus mediumistic?
Why do some people possess extraordinary abilities that are stronger than others?

We will explore how a natural born medium can use their abilities to help others in their grieving processes or struggling with life choices. All pain is valued with no pain greater than another.
Join us for what will be an upbeat interesting conversation where your questions may lead to new levels of comfort and understanding.

This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US).
If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.

Please Make a Contribution to Help Us Cover Expenses — Thank You!

Jake Samoyedny has worked voluntarily with law enforcement on cold cases and current investigations. He was invited to speak with personel at the Pentagon regarding communication outside of “the norm.” Once referred to as the medium’s medium, having been asked to provide sittings for so many other working mediums, Jake was presented with the title of The Compassionate Medium for his gentle caring manner that has now helped thousands of people struggling at their lower points in their lives. A proud provider for Helping Parents Heal.org Jake does an unusually high volume of sessions for parents who have a child in the Spirit side of life.
Born a medium, Jake has trained with some of the best mediums alive today. Jake also studied at the prestigious Arthur Findlay College in Stansted, England. Jake is a Registered Medium in Lily Dale, America’s oldest Spiritualist community. Jake was recognized by The New York Times Square Press as the Most Recommended Medium in the United States for several years. He was inducted into the Lightworkers Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jake is the author of eleven books of which seven are currently available on Amazon and Kindle; four books on mediumship and spirituality, and seven novels of which three are currently published, with four more sitting on his editor’s desk for future releases. Jake writes a bi-monthly column for a regional publication about spirituality and life issues for the last eight years.
Jake lives a spiritual life and has devoted himself to serving others through evidential mediumship, bringing comfort to those wanting to know that our lives and bonds of love are everlasting. Jake resides in the suburbs of New York City providing in-person readings or readings by Zoom.
Learn more about Jake at compassionatemedium.com
Or call 914-227-5398

Understanding the Potential of Artificial Intelligence, with Avi Olitzky, Consultant, Coach & Speaker
2023-10-18 18:30 - 20:00
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are becoming ubiquitous – touching on all aspects of our lives. As is the case with all new technologies, the prevalence of AI may require a paradigm shift for many, as did the printing press… the car… the computer… the internet… and on and on.
While we may have legitimate concerns, there are also opportunities to consider. Let’s dive in to take a closer look at the power of Artificial Intelligence, from introspection tools that can help us build authentic connections — to reshaping healthcare. This session will give a glimpse into how AI has the potential to enrich our spiritual, health and work life.
Join us for this enlightening journey where tech touches soul to get a better grasp of the AI-driven holistic revolution.
Most of us have questions – be sure to bring yours!

This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US).
If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.

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Avi Olitzky is the president and principal consultant of Olitzky Consulting Group. Over the course of his professional career, Avi has served as senior rabbi to one of the largest congregations in North America, successfully launched and grown innovative information technology and content-driven production companies and organizations, and was a founding board chair and board member for numerous non-profits. He is a master facilitator, design-thinker and strategic planner, innovator, speaker, and retreat organizer. In addition, he has served as an advisor and consultant to multiple membership organizations and non-profits, camps and youth organizations, synagogues and churches, for-profit executives, and general companies. He was appointed to and served on city Human Rights Commissions as well as hospital IRBs for Human Subjects Research. Avi’s expertise in engagement, organizational planning, and outreach is regularly called upon, especially as co-author of New Membership & Financial Alternatives for the American Synagogue ‐ From Traditional Dues to Fair Share to Gifts from the Heart (Jewish Lights).
Learn more about Avi at olitzkyconsulting.com and on LinkedIn

Strategies for Difficult Relationships with Lisa Twerski, LCSW
2023-11-15 18:30 - 20:00
In this virtual presentation, we will be exploring the topic of the difficult relationship. Difficult relationships come in many shapes and sizes. The difficult relationship in someone’s life may be involving a relative, a friend, a co-worker, etc.
The question becomes, why do people keep struggling? What gets people into a difficult relationship, keeps people in difficult relationships and what is there to do about them? The different possible profiles of difficult relationships will be explored using case scenarios.
Audience participation will be encouraged in looking at possible core struggles underlying these relationships and the difficulties people encounter in trying to handle these relationships in their lives. Finally, strategies for managing the difficult person and relationship will be explored.

This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US). If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.

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Lisa Twerski, LCSW, received her Masters in Social Work from New York University’s School of Social Work in 1990, and has advanced certification in pre-marital counseling and education. She has been working with victims of trauma including rape, incest and domestic violence for over thirty years and has held numerous positions in and out of the Jewish community . Mrs. Twerski is on the Board of Directors of Nefesh, The International Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professionals, maintains a private practice in Brooklyn working with individuals and couples and lectures locally and nationally on many subjects including domestic abuse, marriage, and dating. She is the author of a book for victims of domestic violence in the Orthodox Jewish community entitled, I’m So Confused, Am I Being Abused? Guidance for the Orthodox Jewish Spouse and Those Who Are Trying to Help. Her latest project is a website, thebinyanproject.com, dedicated to providing quality education on mental health subjects to the lay audience.
Look for her upcoming book on marriage education for couples by the same name, The Binyan Project: This is Marriage Education.

lisatwerski@gmail.com
www.thebinyanproject.com

Sacred Psychoactive Plants & Near Death Experiences - Lessons from Antiquity
2023-12-20 18:30 - 20:00
Please join us for this unique exploration of
The psychoactive herbs, healing temples, rituals and pilgrimages used in ancient Greece
•
The ancients’ understanding and philosophy about near death experiences and consciousness
•
Our own understanding of consciousness and transcendence today
Dr. Matina Chronopoulou will discuss the various literary and archeological references that point to extended use of a variety of psychoactive plants in ancient Greece. Cannabis, belladonna, poppies and other plants such as henbane or datura and hyoscyamus were used for ritual and medicinal purposes. Opium was used to induce somnolence in the incubation rituals practiced in the temples of Asclepius, who was revered as the God of Medicine. His successors practiced his art in a network of sanctuaries and healing temples named ‘Asclepeia’. Theurgic medicine in ancient Greece was magical in nature and concerned with both prognosis and prevention. It also made use of a number of rituals. The Greeks used rites of Katharsis to purge illness from the sick. During the celebration of the Greater Mysteries, pilgrims journeyed from Athens to Eleusis and participated in a night-time ceremony involved drinking Kykeon, a specially prepared hallucinogenic beverage. Classical authors describe various formulas involving wine and mandrake, belladonna, African rue, or black hellebore.
And… Dr. Barbara Bartlik will discuss the fascinating subject of near-death experiences (NDEs), where people undergo a grave medical situation and live to tell about it. The ancient Greeks did not fear death but saw it as a transition to the afterlife. In the Fourth Century B.C., the great classical Greek philosopher, Plato, was the first to record an account of an NDE. He wrote that after death, the soul chooses another life that provides challenges the soul needs to fulfill. Plato’s description closely mirrors modern-day accounts of NDEs — floating above the body, altered consciousness, traveling through a tunnel toward a bright light, a hyper-real, heavenly environment, encountering spiritual beings and deceased relatives, and an instantaneous life review. Individuals may be given instructions to spread the word about the knowledge they gained through their NDE.

This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
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About the presenters…
Dr. Matina Chronopopoulou is a practicing Naturopathic doctor, homeopath, acupuncturist and bioresonance therapist. She has been involved with natural remedies since the 1970s, both in Greece and the USA. She was born in Sparta, Greece and comes from a family of traditional healers, midwives and herbalists, whose herbal knowledge went back three generations.
Since 1995, she has run the Centre for Natural Medicine and Acupuncture in Athens focusing on naturopathic therapies, nutritional medicine, lifestyle modification, botanical medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, flowers essences and energy medicine. She’s the director of studies for Naturopathy at Warnborough College in the UK and also the head of complementary medicine for the Paris Graduate School with curriculums in Greek-Unani Tibb Medicine and traditional naturopathy. She splits her time between New York, USA and Athens, Greece.
Matina Chronopopoulou, ND | matinachr@gmail.com | drmatina.com | Dr. Matina Chronopopoulou on LinkedIn

Barbara Bartlik, MD is a recognized expert clinician and author in integrative medicine, psychiatry, and sexual health, in private practice in Manhattan. She has been rated one of New York Magazine’s Best Doctors in Psychiatry, and for over 30 years has treated adults with psychiatric and sexual problems. She uses an integrative approach: mainstream psychiatric treatments plus natural therapies – dietary modification, supplementation with vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and more. She uses her knowledge of anxiety disorders and near-death experiences to counsel non-suicidal patients preoccupied with thoughts of their own demise. Dr. Bartlik is an editor and author of Integrative Sexual Health (2018), Dr. Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library, Oxford University Press. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and has been recognized by Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors since 2019.
Barbara Bartlik, MD | 200 West 57th Street, NY, NY 10019 | 212-749-2684
drbartlik@gmail.com | DrBarbaraMD.com | Dr. Barbara Bartlik on LinkedIn

This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
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Gates to the Numinous: An Archetypal Understanding of Dreams, with Jungian Analyst, Michael Conforti, PhD
2024-01-10 18:30 - 20:00
“The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness extends.”
C.G. Jung
It is the simplicity of the dream, communicating to us in a language derived from the natural world that moves us so deeply.
Similar to the apparent simplicity of French composer Eric Satie’s music, we are mesmerized and taken to a realm far beyond everyday life into something that may be the domain of the Numinous. Just listening to the opening stanza of Satie’s Gymnopedie we sense that he was already transfixed, and needed to create music expressive of this world existing beyond the veil. Like the image, these sounds and rhythms convey the movement of the Self as it so gently transports us into relationship with the sacred.
In the dream, patterns of life, of growth, and of endings are revealed through a rich collective language. So too, the dream allows us to see that something in our life – perhaps a relationship, a job, or an attitude – is outdated, and that the Self, the soul is in need of renewal.
Carl Jung was once asked why the dream speaks through symbols and not in the language of everyday life. To this question Jung responded by saying that such a direct communication would fall on deaf ears, and that the Self speaks through an iconographic, pictorial voice of the ages, the language of the “Antique Soul.” So too he reminds us that from time eternal, humanity has been moved by images, by sounds, parables, and symbols.
Could the majesty and utter beauty of Satie and Debussy’s music or DaVinci and Michelangelo’s art ever be conveyed in words?
Offering a glimpse into the world of the archetypal, and closely alighted to Jung’s and von Franz’s work, this presentation promises to enrich your appreciation and understanding of the archetypal images in dreams and the relationship between our personally created meaning of symbols, to their innate, archetypal meaning.

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Michael Conforti, PhD, is a Jungian analyst and the Founder and Director of the Assisi Institute. He is a faculty member at the C.G. Jung Institute – Boston and the C.G Jung Foundation of New York. A pioneer in the field of matter-psyche studies, Dr. Conforti is actively investigating the workings of archetypal fields and the relationship between Jungian psychology and the New Sciences. He has presented his work at The C.G. Jung Institute – Zurich and Jungian organizations in Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Indonesia, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, and Venezuela. He is the author of Threshold Experiences: The Archetype of Beginnings and Field, Form and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature & Psyche, which have been translated into Italian, Russian and Spanish.
Contact information:
Phone: (860) 949-0545
Email: mconforti@together.net
assisiinstitute.com

How Our Work As Therapists Changes Us As People with Andrew Klafter, MD
2024-02-21 19:00 - 21:00
Please join us for a special presentation in collaboration with the Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
Based on 25 years of intensive psychotherapy work with patients and intensive supervision, training, and consultation with therapists, Dr. Klafter will describe his observations about how psychotherapists are affected by their relationships with their patients. Drawing on object relations theories of psychological development, Dr. Klafter will devote specific attention to the impact of a professional psychotherapy career on the therapist’s real-life interpersonal relationships, adult personality development, marriage and romantic relationships, parenting, political views, religious beliefs, and friendships.

Note: While the presentation will be oriented towards the professional working in psychotherapy, the public is also welcome to attend.
Fee structure:

For NY Practitioners
LCSWs, LMSWs, LPs, LMFTs, LMHCs, LCATs, PHDs, PSYDs – who want to earn 2 CE hours, the fee is $45
For the KSG community not requesting CE hours, the fee is $15
(Use the code “DISCOUNT” at checkout)
If you are experiencing financial hardship and would like to attend, please contact assistant@wcspp.org for assistance.

Register for this event via Eventbrite

About the Presenter
Dr. Andrew Klafter is an adult and adolescent psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychoanalyst. He is director of the Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Training Program at the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute, and also serves at Track Leader for the Technique Curriculum in their Analytic Training Program.
Dr. Klafter has served as a psychotherapy supervisor and lecturer at the University of Cincinnati Psychiatry Residency Training Program, where he is a six-time winner of the Golden Apple Teaching Award. Dr. Klafter is also a 2024 winner of the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Esther Sabshin Teaching Award for his innovative techniques in teaching about psychoanalytic theory and technique.
Dr. Klafter has led trainings and seminars in the U.S. and overseas. He has published on various topics related to psychoanalytic theory and technique, as well as the interface between psychoanalysis and religion. In his private life, Dr. Klafter is an accomplished photographer and musician, the proud father of four girls, proud father-in-law of one son-in-law, and recently became a grandfather.

About the Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
The Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (WCSPP) provides advanced post-graduate psychoanalytic training to New York and Connecticut social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health practitioners. WCSPP also offers numerous continuing educational events open to the public that offer CE credits. If you completed psychoanalytic training elsewhere, you can join our community as an affiliate member of our Psychoanalytic Association. Learn more about WCSPP

Note: While the presentation will be oriented towards the professional working in psychotherapy, the public is also welcome to attend.
Fee structure:

For NY Practitioners
LCSWs, LMSWs, LPs, LMFTs, LMHCs, LCATs, PHDs, PSYDs – who want to earn 2 CE hours, the fee is $45
For the KSG community not requesting CE hours, the fee is $15
(Use the code “DISCOUNT” at checkout)
If you are experiencing financial hardship and would like to attend, please contact assistant@wcspp.org for assistance.

Register for this event via Eventbrite

The Artist & Healer Within with Caren Sacks, Creative Arts Therapist
2024-03-20 18:30 - 20:00
What is creativity?
Is everyone creative?
Does creativity spark joy?
Can we heal ourselves through creative work?
In this presentation, Art Therapist Caren Sacks will facilitate a discussion and explore the notion of how we are all creative beings. We’ll discover the joys and benefits of art making, and how we can go beyond our own judgements and expectations. We’ll re-envision art making for self-care, self-awareness, self- discovery, as well as for relaxation and just being playful. She will also explain the difference between Art Making with Art Therapy, helping us to develop a deeper understanding the therapeutic aspects of both.
Participants will have an opportunity to try their hand at drawing and tapping into their own well of spontaneity. Absolutely no art making experience or expertise is needed.
If you’d like to experiment, please have blank paper, pencils-variety of colors, pens or markers, any art material handy.

This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US).
If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.

Please Make a Contribution to Help Us Cover Expenses — Thank You!
Use this registration button to reserve your seat on Zoom.
Register for this Event

About Caren Sacks, the presenter
Caren Sacks, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT, ATCS, is a Licensed, Board Certified Creative Arts Therapist and Board-Certified Art Therapy Supervisor who has been providing clinical services in a variety of settings for more than forty years. In addition to a master’s degree in art therapy she completed a certificate in the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Program at the New Hope Guild Center and was a Full Adjunct Professor in the Art Therapy Master’s Program at The College of New Rochelle.
For more information, reach out to carensacks@gmail.com or visit www.carensacks.com
Follow Caren on Instagram @Drawpainttell

Caren’s Books
Draw Paint Tell

Draw and Discover, An Art-Making Journal for Kids

Vision and Voice, An Art-Making Journal for Teens

A Conversation about Life, Death and Heaven, with Leo Galland, M.D.
2024-04-17 18:30 - 20:00
Leo Galland, M.D., is a renowned physician and integrative healer. He is a graduate of Harvard University and New York University School of Medicine, and board-certified in Internal Medicine, and listed in Leading Physicians of the World and America’s Top Doctors.
In addition, he is the author of several groundbreaking books, including Already Here – A Doctor Discovers the Truth about Heaven, documenting his encounters with his son, Christopher, after his passing.
During his presentation to KSG, Dr. Galland will share his late son Christopher’s revelations that guided his own journey of discovery and opened the door for a deeper understanding of life and death, spiritual growth, and the concept of timelessness.
Dr. Galland’s presentation promises to be an enlightening conversation with a physician who has come face to face with mortality throughout his career. And now, during this rare interview, Dr. Galland will share his profound insights about the afterlife with the Katonah Study Group.
This is an exceptional opportunity for Dr. Galland to express what many yearn to know and understand. There will be time for questions and answers.
Although it is not required, it would be helpful to read parts of his book Already Here – A Doctor Discovers the Truth about Heaven, before the event. Links to excerpts of the book may be found online at Dr. Galland’s website and Already Here on Google Books

REGARDING THE FREE BOOKS
Katonah Study Group has shipped 10 free copies of Already Here – A Doctor Discovers the Truth about Heaven, to the first 10 people who registered. In addition we have sent email notices to these winners: Tatiana M, Reanne S, Robert M, Barrie J, Gannie T, Bobbe B, Pam E, T DiMauro, Susan S, Penny L.

Still want to read an excerpt of the book?
Go to Dr. Galland’s website or Already Here on Google Books

WE WILL BE HONORED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US!
Please this registration button to reserve your seat on Zoom.
Register for this Event

THIS IS A BY CONTRIBUTION EVENT
Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US).
If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.

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Acceptance, Compassion & Empowerment with Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R
2024-05-15 18:30 - 20:00
It’s common for us to feel trapped by our inner commentator or habitual patterns of behavior. From time to time, we all have regrets, struggle with relationships, or wrestle with a sense that something is not right. And, when faced with these challenges, it’s easy for self-worth to take a nosedive, causing us wonder where we went wrong, and to wish for a “do-over.”
Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R, will share how we can create a life of love and fulfillment and accept and integrate that which needs healing. Dr. Maidenberg’s approach – which she calls the ACE Method (Acceptance, Compassion, and Empowerment) – offers tools for those who feel slightly “stuck” and are seeking personal growth as well as those with more complex “stuckness” caused by trauma, cumulative stress, or other significant challenges.
During her presentation, Dr. Maidenberg will walk us through exercises to explore:

Emotional avoidance and how it shows up in your thinking and decision-making
A healthy way to engage with painful experiences and emotions so we can build better relationships
How our core values help guide us in making sound decisions to foster our satisfaction and contentment for a thriving life
How we cultivate self-acceptance, self-compassion and empowerment to increase our overall well-being

We hope you will join us for this inspirational presentation that promises greater self-awareness about our core values, and about a form of self-acceptance that’s radically liberating.

WE HOPE YOU’LL JOIN US!
Please this registration button to reserve your seat on Zoom.
Note: A recording will be available after the event, but you must register to receive the link.
Register for this Event

THIS IS A BY CONTRIBUTION EVENT
Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US), but if you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register.

Please Make a Contribution to Help Us Cover Expenses — Thank You!

About the Presenter
Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R maintains a private practice in Harrison, NY. She is also the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of “Thru My Eyes”, a nonprofit 501c3 organization that offers free clinically-guided videotaping to chronically medically ill individuals who want to leave video legacies for their children and loved ones, and is dedicated to mental health advocacy.
Michelle is a Certified Group Therapist through the American Group Psychotherapy Association and a Diplomate and certified member of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. She has advanced training in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Structural Family Therapy, Polyvagal Theory/Therapy, Mindfulness, and is a Level II trained Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist.
In addition to her practice, Dr. Maidenberg is adjunct faculty member at New York University (NYU), and teaches a graduate course in Mindfulness Practice. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross Crisis Team and the Westchester Trauma Network (WTN) in Westchester NY.
Dr. Maidenberg is the author of the award winning Free Your Child From Overeating, and a new book entitled ACE Your Life: Unleash Your Best Self and Live the Life You Want, available at Thriftbooks, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target and Amazon.
We invite you watch Dr. Maidenberg’s TED TALK: Circumventing Emotional Avoidance and visit her blog on Psychology Today. Be sure to subscribe to her guided meditation, posted every Thursday, on her YouTube channel.
Contact Information
Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R
914.301.9474
michellemaidenberg.com
600 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 400, Harrison, NY 10528

Healing Into Wholeness: Perspectives of an Integrative Psychiatrist with David Aftergood, MD
2024-06-19 18:30 - 20:00
As human beings living in a complex and demanding world, we all struggle…. patients and healers alike. Some of our symptoms are physical, some emotional, relational, or spiritual in nature. We wrestle with maladaptive belief systems and find health enhancing lifestyle changes difficult to achieve and sustain. It is easy to lose our sense of joy and vitality.
How do we heal? What is needed for healing? How do we as clinicians or patients, restore wholeness, balance and meaning?
Is it about getting biological support with medication? Is it through a healing relationship, where we are seen, acknowledged, and supported? Is it about gaining knowledge, insight, awareness and coping skills to deal with emotions, beliefs and behaviors? Is it embarking on a spiritual path?
How are these decisions collaboratively made between practitioner and patient/client? Are there models of care large enough to hold these multiple perspectives simultaneously?
Indeed, healing body and soul often requires a holistic approach. In his presentation to the Katonah Study Group, David Aftergood, MD, will discuss ways of integrating treatment gleaned from a forty-year career in psychiatry.
This online seminar will be both experiential and informative. Topics will include:

The differences between three models of care: medical, humanistic, and holistic/integrative.
Holding multiple roles in an integrative treatment: physician, therapist, and healer.
Transformational moments in Dr. Aftergood’s personal wellness journey that led to teachers and philosophies to guide his healing work with others.
Opportunity for reflection, either as provider or receiver of care, on what is in need of healing.

Dr. Aftergood will also encourage a deeper discussion about healing based on readings from his new book: Healing Into Wholeness: The Personal and Professional Journey of an Integrative Psychiatrist.

WE HOPE YOU’LL JOIN US!
Please this registration button to reserve your seat on Zoom.
Note: A recording will be available after the event, but you must register to receive the link.
Register for this Event

THIS IS A BY CONTRIBUTION EVENT
Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US), but if you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register.

Please Make a Contribution to Help Us Cover Expenses — Thank You!

David Aftergood, MD, received his medical training and completed his psychiatry residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1976-1984). He later served on the Einstein faculty as an associate clinical professor of psychiatry (1995-2011).
Dr. Aftergood has been in private practice of psychiatry since 1984. Over the course of his career, in addition to providing psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychopharmacology, he pursued post-graduate training in hypnotherapy, Buddhist psychology, mindfulness meditation, EMDR, mind-body medicine, attended healing retreats and immersed himself in the study of both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. These trainings, practices and studies led to the development of his practice of integrative psychiatry.
Contact: draftergood@gmail.com,
Web site: integralpsychiatry.net
Author of: Healing Into Wholeness: The Personal and Professional Journey of an Integrative Psychiatrist

Ketamine Care for Depression with Dr. Nico Grundmann
2024-09-18 18:30 - 20:00
In the last decade, ketamine has emerged as a highly efficacious treatment for depression and mood disorders. Ember Health co-founder Dr. Nico Grundmann will present a general overview of ketamine for depression, discuss various patient archetypes who may benefit from treatment, and consider how a collaborative care model contributes to positive outcomes of care.

This is a by-contribution event.
Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US).
If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.

Please Make a Contribution to Help Us Cover Expenses — Thank You!
Use this registration button to reserve your seat on Zoom.
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Dr. Nicolas Grundmann is an Emergency Medicine trained Physician, devoted to improving how healthcare systems operate for those who need it the most.
Working in emergency rooms from suburban California, to inner-city New York, to rural West Virginia, Nico grew frustrated by how frequently he was treating acute symptoms of mental health without helping his patients with more sustained, long term solutions. Many years of working with ketamine as a safe medicine for sedation prompted continuous research of the drug’s efficacy for other conditions, including depression. Nico founded Ember Health as a way to help individuals take control of their lives, and contribute to the shaping of a field in line with his values.
Dr. Grundmann pursued his residency training at Kings County Hospital / SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, and received his Medical Degrees and Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and family.
Nico Grundmann, MD MBA
Founder, Ember Health
nico@emberhealth.co
https://emberhealth.co/

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Non-Pharmaceutical Options for Optimizing Sexual & Mental Health with Barbara Bartlik, MD
2024-10-09 18:30 - 20:00
Join us to learn about non-pharmaceutical treatments for optimizing sexual and mental health with Barbara Bartlik, MD. We’ll explore how an optimum diet, targeted nutrient supplementation, a healthy lifestyle, and medical devices can be harnessed to promote sexual and mental health.
Many medications produce side effects that can impact mental and sexual health. These include medications for anxiety, arrhythmias, constipation, contraception, depression, fertility, hair growth, hypertension, insomnia, pain, and seizures; even over-the-counter antihistamines and acid-blocking medications are culpable. If used chronically, many of these medications deplete vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy sexual function, good mental health, and vitality.
Taking vitamins, minerals, and botanical supplements can support health and wellness and positively impact sexual and mental health. For example:

Nitric oxide (NO) boosts blood flow to the genitals and other body parts, including the brain. NO bioavailability is enhanced by increasing the consumption of specific foods and nutritional supplements, e.g., beets, leafy green vegetables, vitamins C and B12, magnesium, potassium, and L-arginine. Increased NO is associated with reduced homocysteine, an inflammatory substance detrimental to sexual and mental health and cognition.
Dopamine (DA), the “feel good” neurotransmitter closely associated with sexuality and focus, is enhanced by tyrosine in meat, poultry, and eggs; greens, berries, curcumin, ginkgo biloba, fava beans, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B6 and D3, and magnesium, and engaging in exercise, massage, and experiencing nature.
Medical devices such as pulsed electromagnetic frequency (PEMF) treatment and red light therapy also can help sexual and mental health. PEMF creates a magnetic field near an affected body part, stimulating cell growth and repair by increasing blood flow and oxygenation. It can help sexual and mental health. Red light therapy uses natural red or near-infrared light to stimulate the mitochondria, the cell’s energy-producing bodies. Red light enhances circulation, reduces inflammation, and promotes collagen formation and healing. When applied to the scalp, red light photons can penetrate the skull, reaching the brain and may help neuropsychiatric conditions. Since it improves blood flow, it can potentially enhance sexual function.

These are but a few examples that Dr. Bartlik will discuss. Your active participation is not just encouraged, it’s vital in understanding and improving your well-being.
We hope you’ll register to learn how critical nutrients in foods and nutritional supplements and using medical devices may improve sexual and mental health. If you’re interested in exploring these non-pharmaceutical treatments further, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with Dr. Bartlik.

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Rated one of New York Magazine’s Best Doctors in Psychiatry, Barbara Bartlik, M.D. is a recognized expert clinician and author in integrative medicine, psychiatry, and sexual health. Dr. Bartlik is in private practice in Manhattan and has treated men, women, and couples with a broad range of psychiatric and sexual problems for over 30 years. In addition to medication, Dr. Bartlik uses natural therapies such as vitamins, minerals, and botanical supplements, as well as medical devices such as red light therapy and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) to treat psychiatric and sexual ills. She obtains laboratory tests to detect nutritional and hormonal imbalances, mold, and other toxins.
Dr. Bartlik is an editor and author of Integrative Sexual Health (2018), a volume in the Dr. Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library, OUP.
She received her M.D. degree with distinction in epidemiology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1981, where she studied neurology with the late Dr. Oliver Sacks. She completed her psychiatry residency and research fellowship at New York University Medical Center / Bellevue Hospital (now NYU Langone Health). She also treated severely mentally ill patients with the New York State Office of Mental Health and for 30 years taught medical students and housestaff at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. Dr. Bartlik is board-certified in psychiatry, integrative medicine, and sexology. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has been recognized by Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors for several years.
Barbara Bartlik, MD
Tel: (212) 749-2684
dr.bartlik@gmail.com
http://www.drbarbaramd.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBartlikMD/

An Introduction to Hypnosis-Assisted Healing with Shalom Shore
2024-11-13 18:30 - 20:00
Certified hypnotherapist Shalom Shore will explain the concept behind Hypnosis-Assisted Healing, a hybrid of hypnosis and therapeutic techniques including Internal Family Systems, Gestalt, and Somatic Experiencing.
During his presentation Shalom will explore the theory behind Hypnosis-Assisted Healing and it’s potential for healing trauma and addressing internal resistance. This event will include an experiential component for integrating these ideas into one’s personal life or wellness practice.

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About Shalom Shore…
“My work with others is heavily informed by my own experiences. I am an ex-Orthodox Rabbi who was raised in a religious fundamentalist home and as a result, I’ve personally grappled with a plethora of mental health challenges myself. Consequently, I bring a very open mind and firsthand empathy to my work with others.
Hypnosis has had a remarkable impact on my own life. I am committed to helping others explore it and achieve similar benefits in their own lives.
I have a very existential and stoic approach to life. I don’t sugarcoat things, and I believe the biggest questions like death, suffering, and meaning, should be addressed head-on. Maybe with a bit of dark humor thrown in.
My development has included a two-year Master’s in Clinical Sociology program at the University of North Texas, nine months of hypnotherapy training, hundreds of hours of vipassana meditation, and over 10 years of various forms of therapy that I’ve explored myself. My treatment modality is eclectic and is informed by such modalities as IFS (Internal Family Systems), Gestalt, Existential, and Ericksonian Hypnosis.”
Watch an introductory video

Learn more about Shalom Shore at his website
Shalom Shore
Phone: 289-866-8666 | Email: hello@navyahypnosis.com
144 Locke St. S., Hamilton, ON, L8P 4A9

Understanding Neurodiversity in Relationships - A Panel Discussion moderated by Dayna Guido, MSW, LCSW, ACSW
2024-12-18 18:30 - 20:00
Join us for a panel discussion, moderated by Dayna Guido, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, with experts in neurodiversity, Benjamin Meyer, LCSW-R, and Ashley Brown, MSW, LCSW, CADC III.
While every brain and personality is unique, neurodivergent folks simply integrate the world a bit differently. For instance, some process slightly slower, but actually think with more depth. Others have difficulty with attention, or don’t quite “read the room” but have imaginations the size of Texas.
Neurodivergence is legitimately different and legitimately interesting.
In this webinar, we’ll dive into the wide range of neurodiversity, particularly in the realm of relationships with others. We’ll explore the many triumphs — as well as the challenges — that are encountered when the neurodiverse person connects with their non-diverse friends, coworkers, family members or partners.
From defining neurodiversity, to exploring the many ways neurodivergent folks can build successful relationships, the presenters will share their considerable experience with participants, contributing to a lively discussion with opportunities for questions and answers.

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About the Panel:
Dayna Guido, MSW, LCSW, ACSW is in private practice in Asheville, NC. She specializes in supervision and ethics. For over 40 years Dayna has been working with people who have neurodivergent traits, well before we used that word. She is the author of Creative Ways to Learn Ethics and the co-author of The Parental Tool Box. Learn more about Dayna at daynaguido.com

Benjamin Meyer, LCSW-R is a bilingual psychotherapist and coach in English and Spanish who specializes in helping neurodivergent adults adapt to employment and social demands and neurodiverse couples to build communication strategies. Trained in psychodynamic, family systems, neurodiverse couples therapy, and a certified neurodiversity sexuality professional, he provides a combination of practical and psychological strategies that focus on strengths and managing challenges. He has also been a social ambassador for the NVLD Project, an advocacy organization regarding Nonverbal Learning Disability, has written numerous articles and blogs, been featured on podcasts, presents regularly, and been cited in the Bored Panda. Learn more about Benjamin at benjaminmeyerlcsw.com

Ashley Brown, MSW, LCSW, CADC III is a licensed therapist with over 15 years of experience working with adolescents and young adults, particularly those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in the LGBTQA+ community, and those struggles with depression and anxiety. She is dual-licensed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist, with a specialization in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Currently, she works as a therapist, coach, presenter, and trainer within her private practice, Ashley Brown Counseling, and with Elevate Family, a program that helps young people transition from intensive treatment to real-world settings. Ashley’s approach is rooted in compassion, humor, and creativity, using art and somatic therapies to help clients express themselves, particularly when words are difficult. She is deeply committed to supporting young people, especially those navigating ASD. Outside of her professional life, Learn more at ashleybrowncounseling.com

The Gut-Brain Connection – What You Need to Know, with Leo Galland, M.D.
2025-01-15 18:30 - 20:30
Physicians are expanding their understanding of the gut-brain connection — a bi-directional relationship between the intestinal microbiome and the brain that can influence memory, mood, and cognition.
This dynamic relationship may be clinically relevant to a range of disorders, including alcoholism, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and restless legs syndrome. In addition, the role of the gut microbiome is being studied as an implication in multiple sclerosis and the neurologic manifestations of celiac disease.
In his internal medicine practice, Dr. Leo Galland has identified five mechanisms whereby the gut impacts the brain. It is through these varied mechanisms, gut microbes shape the architecture of sleep and stress reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
In addition to describing these five mechanisms, Dr. Galland will share microbiome treatments that can make a real difference, including changes in diet, probiotics, and prebiotics.
This session is not to be missed. We hope you join us for an illuminating presentation by a pioneer in his field.
Read Dr. Galland’s article that appeared in Journal of Medicinal Food, The Gut Microbiome and the Brain.

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About Leo Galland, M.D.
Leo Galland, M.D. is a New York-based internist and author who specializes in undiagnosed or difficult-to-treat illnesses. He received his education and medical training at Harvard and NYU. Regularly chosen by New York magazine as one of the best doctors in New York, as well as listed in America’s Top Doctors, he has appeared on Good Morning America and on CNN, Fox News, and PBS. Galland was awarded the Linus Pauling Award by the Institute for Functional Medicine in 2000. His research includes nutrition, chronic allergies, leaky-gut syndrome, and Lyme disease. He is the author of several medical books including Superimmunity for Kids (1989), Power Healing (1998), The Fat Resistance Diet (2006) and The Allergy Solution.
In March, 2024, the Katonah Study group was honored to have Dr. Galland join us for A Conversation about Life, Death and Heaven, (related to his book Already Here – A Doctor Discovers the Truth about Heaven)
We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Galland return to share his wisdom with us once again.

An Archetypal Perspective on the Aging Process with Jungian Analyst, Michael Conforti, PhD
2025-02-26 18:30 - 20:00
Intimations in the Night: An Archetypal Perspective on Psyche and Spirit in the Aging Process with Michael Conforti, Jungian Analyst
In our later years, many of us experience a profound lack of orientation. Perhaps our most meaningful early accomplishments begin to lose their luster, and those aspirations and dreams that once set our hearts on fire, are now eclipsed by new and strange emotions… unfulfilled desires suddenly emerging from the shadows.
The fires and passions of youth and the middle years are now reduced to smoldering embers… no longer warming our heart and soul.
The hunger for so much of what we wanted in life quickly fades into the domain of memory. Only the truly authentic intimations of this life begin calling us in our dreams, frustrations, symptoms, and cravings for what Rabbi Heschel calls the “ineffable.”
In the midst of a dark, wintry February, we welcome back the founder of the Assisi Institute, an internationally known Jungian scholar, Michael Conforti PhD.
Dr. Conforti will warm and enlighten us with teachings about archetypes, dreams, and literature – and the rich journey into our later years.
Bring your dreams.

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Michael Conforti, PhD, is a Jungian analyst and the Founder and Director of the Assisi Institute. He is a faculty member at the C.G. Jung Institute – Boston and the C.G Jung Foundation of New York. A pioneer in the field of matter-psyche studies, Dr. Conforti is actively investigating the workings of archetypal fields and the relationship between Jungian psychology and the New Sciences. He has presented his work at The C.G. Jung Institute – Zurich and Jungian organizations in Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Indonesia, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, and Venezuela. He is the author of Threshold Experiences: The Archetype of Beginnings and Field, Form and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature & Psyche, which have been translated into Italian, Russian and Spanish.
Contact information:
Phone: (860) 949-0545
Email: mconforti@together.net
assisiinstitute.com

A special invitation to two conferences offered by the Assisi Institute
“The Voice of Psyche in Clinical Practice” from June 2-6, 2025 in Giglio, Italy
Held on the picturesque island of Giglio in the Tuscan Archipelago, Dr Conforti speaks on the manifestation of Psyche and Archetypes within the therapeutic relationship, a domain within which wonder meets clinical wisdom. Together, with participants from around the world, we will delve into the beauty, suffering, and transformative potential of working with Psyche, while enhancing our understanding of archetypal dynamics.
“You Alone Are Real to Me, A Passion for Soul” from June 7-14, 2025 in Assisi, Italy
With presentations by our internationally recognized faculty including; Dr James Hollis, Dr. Conforti, Dr Richard Tarnas and Swiss Jungian Analysts, Dr Hansueli Etter and J. Duermuller, we will come to an even richer understanding of the need to bring Soul and passion back into our life. Here we will look at how Soul has called to us since the beginning of time, through archetypal images and emotions and why humanity has unknowingly turned from her gaze. Ultimately while the search for one’s Soul is a solitary journey, to do this with reflection from someone who cares so deeply about us is more than sublime.
The Katonah Study Group community will be elligible to receive a $200 discount.
Please use the offer code: INT
For more info and the registration forms, go to: https://www.assisiinstitute.com/Katonah_Italy_2025.html

A Fully Verified Past Life Regression with Saundra C. Blum, Past Life Regression Therapist
2025-03-05 18:30 - 2025-03-20 20:15
A Fully Verified Past Life Regression with Saundra C. Blum, Past Life Regression Therapist and author of the upcoming book, Unveiling The Gift: Synchronicities Through Divine Intervention
Please join us for a unique and compelling presentation that explores how our past lives impact the present.
Saundra and her client Yvonne will share a past life starting in the 1920s — and the subsequent journey that uncovered startling truths, healed wounds, and validated experiences beyond imagination.
In this riveting account, a client’s regression revealed:

A life in the 1920’s Virginia filled with extraordinary challenges: a mother’s electric shock treatments, a father’s betrayal, a devastating accident, and even a murder.
The shocking connections between her past life and the people in her present.
How unraveling these synchronicities profoundly healed her abusive childhood and changed both our lives forever.

After the year of healing, Yvonne and Saundra traveled to Virginia to see if they could find any clues to Yvonne’s past life. That journey that changed both lives forever when they found proof of everything and more. For Yvonne, the trip would validate her healing, and for Saundra, it would validate the Past Life Work to which she has been devoted all her life. (Note: neither Saundra nor Yvonne had ever been to Virginia.)
Attendees will hear the true story from Saundra and her client Yvonne. Everything that was uncovered in her regression was validated, and the journey to Virginia brought to light even more than anyone could have imagined. Yvonne’s psychodrama — once hidden out of fear of how others might react, — will be brought to light, and we will gain a deeper understanding of the profound power of past life exploration.
We hope you’ll join us for this Katonah Study Group presentation as Saundra and Yvonne reveal this incredible, transformative story and the truths that await in The Gift.
This event is free, but registration is required to receive the invite link. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a journey that’s as healing as it is unforgettable. A caution for the highly sensitive: There will be some disturbing aspects of Yvonne’s story that may make you uncomfortable.

About Saundra C. Blum
In private practice since 1989, Saundra C. Blum is a certified Ericksonian Hypnotherapist and Past Life Regression Therapist. Her formal education consists of a Masters of Science degree in Special Education and Counseling and a Bachelors of Science degree in English and Education. Saundra C. Blum was on the Advisory Board for Western Connecticut State University’s Institute for Holistic Health. She taught a certification course in the fall of 2014 for Past Life Regression Therapy at the University.
In 1998 she co-founded the Katonah Study Group for Integrative Medicine with well-known psychiatrist and author Dr. Mark Banschick. From 2007-2009, Blum was on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Research and Regression Therapy (“IARRT”), which was her Past Life professional organization and helped put together many conferences in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia. She was also a group leader for IARRT holding monthly experiential workshops and trainings in addition to managing her private practice that was in Somers, NY. at the time. Between her workshops and private practice, Ms. Blum has seen more than 8,000 clients over the past 38 years.
Due to her international reputation, Ms. Blum has been sought out to help organize and coordinate a number of conferences and workshops including two New York IARRT conferences, a conference workshop for the Edgar Casey Institute in Virginia Beach and Sturbridge, Massachusetts. She has created, organized and presented a new International Integrative Medicine Model for practitioners in Tuscany, Italy (2010).
Ms. Blum now lives in Moorpark, California with her husband, Michael. They have two grown children, Jordan and Briana, and two grandchildren, Sawyer and Hudson.
Ms. Blum ‘s first book, Footsteps through the Sands of Time – Past Life Dramas, Present Life Lessons (available on Amazon), was published in November, 2013. It is a compilation of her clients stories, their lessons, and their healing using this deep and sacred work.
Ms. Blum’s second book, The Gift – Synchronicity Through Divine Intervention, is scheduled to be released in the near future. The book shares a life-changing journey that she and a client took to factually validate the client’s past life experiences from the 1920’s.
Contact Information
Saundra C. Blum
Text or Call: (914) 420-9349
Website: saundracindyblum.com

From Trauma to Transformation with LuAnn Conforti-Brown, PhD, Certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst
2025-05-07 18:30 - 20:00
New Research that Helps Us Heal
Many experience trauma. It may be a small moment or an entire lifetime. Political. Personal. Sometimes it’s in our upbringing, other times it’s a terrible moment.
The soul naturally avoids this pain often to our detriment. We retreat and limit our exposure to the world. The trauma wins again. But what if we can use the pain for our benefit?
Dr. Conforti-Brown offers a psychologically intelligent alternative. Towards a higher self that abides within. She brings us practical methods for holding our experience and utilizing it for the good. It’s worth a good listen.
Carl Jung once wrote, “It is in those times when we are hard pressed, perhaps even at the point of death, when we surrender the ego…(that the) Psyche can come to our aid producing a miracle” (1960).
And miracles are what we need.
In this presentation Dr. Conforti-Brown will explore dark night experiences (trauma) through the lens of cultural myth, spiritual traditions, and narratives curated from her work and research on how trauma can lead to transformation.
This presentation will educate and help guide us to healing. Darkness is in our politics and our personal lives. It’s in random illness. It’s in families. We all wish to break free. Dr. Conforti-Brown brings decades of experience and quality research to this task. Spring provides an opening. Come join us with your questions and a new kind of hope.
View Dr. Conforti-Brown’s Reference List

THIS IS A BY CONTRIBUTION EVENT
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Dr. Conforti-Brown is a Certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst. She is a Board member for the Assisi Foundation of the Assisi Institute: The International Center for the Study of Archetypal Patterns. She holds a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from New York University and a PhD in Existential-Humanistic Psychology from Saybrook University. She is currently in private practice in the Tampa area of Florida. For 17 years Dr. Conforti-Brown was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Instruction at the University of South Florida, School of Social Work. During her tenure with the university, Dr. Conforti-Brown received the Social Work Educator of the Year award from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for outstanding teaching and mentorship. She is an expert in traumatology, and has published journal articles and book chapters on the importance of integrating spirituality into trauma treatment for military and Veteran populations.
Learn more at walkalongtampa.com

The Vitalist Sleep Method: Heal Insomnia Naturally with Dr. Carina Lopez & Sakis Stamou
2025-06-18 18:30 - 20:00
Insomnia isn’t just a sleep problem—it’s a signal.
The Vitalist Sleep Method helps you decode that signal and heal insomnia from the inside out.
In this 90-minute immersive workshop, Naturopath Dr. Carina Lopez and Healing Foods Educator, Wild Herbal Medicine Expert Sakis Stamou will guide attendees through a 3-part holistic approach towards restoring sleep rooted in homeopathy, elemental diagnostics, natural therapeutics, and sacred sleep rituals.
Dr. Lopez will discuss

homeopathy and the repertory.
how to use the Chinese Organ Clock as a diagnostic tool.
how specific times of night (e.g., waking at 2 AM) correspond to organ systems, emotional states, and unique homeopathic remedies.
how to track and interpret dreams as therapeutic insight using repertory rubrics—offering remedies for hormonal transitions, trauma, anxiety, and more.

Sakis Stamou will offer

a dynamic synthesis of ancient alchemy and modern science, revealing sleep as a nightly transformation process.
an introduction to the four elemental sleep types (Fire, Water, Air, Earth), matching herbal remedies, foods, and nervous-system rituals to support each.
a guided, sacred “descent ritual” for entering sleep as a state of conscious renewal.

Participants will leave with:

a personalized sleep diagnostic framework.
targeted remedies and food protocols.
rituals to enhance dreamwork and sleep quality.
a new relationship to insomnia—not as a flaw, but as a portal to deep healing.

THIS EVENT WAS WONDERFUL!
REQUEST THE SLIDES FROM THE PRESENTER

THIS WAS A BY CONTRIBUTION EVENT
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About The Presenters, Dr. Carina Lopez & Sakis Stamou
Dr. Carina Lopez is a licensed naturopathic doctor, licensed acupuncturist, homeopath, master herbalist, iridologist, and sclerologist trained under Leonard Mehlmauer. She brings over a decade of experience in integrative, traditional, and consciousness-based healing systems. Bilingual in Spanish and English, and currently studying Greek, she offers a cross-cultural, globally informed approach to patient care.
She earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and Master’s in Acupuncture from the University of Bridgeport, and is a graduate of the School of Natural Healing and the School of Integrated Iridology. She holds advanced credentials from the International Academy of Classical Homeopathy, where she studied under George Vithoulkas, recipient of the Right Livelihood Award. She is also trained in Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) by Dolores Cannon.
Her clinical insight is shaped by immersive experiences with indigenous healers in Belize and a homeopathic internship in India. These experiences ground her Vitalist Healing Method—a model that honors classical diagnostics, natural therapeutics, dreamwork, and soul-level healing. She currently maintains a hybrid practice between New York City and Pelion, Greece.

Sakis Stamou is a Healing Foods Educator, Wild Herbal Medicine Expert, and practicing alchemist dedicated to transforming human life—materially and spiritually—through sacred nourishment and ancient wisdom. His work integrates culinary alchemy, elemental healing, traditional Greek medicine, Ayurveda, and modern herbal science.
Originally trained in civil engineering, Sakis shifted paths to follow his deeper calling in healing through food and plant medicine. He has studied Eastern dietetics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, classical herbalism, and Western vitalist traditions, merging these into a holistic system of embodied wellness.
A devoted student of alchemical spagyria, Sakis trained under Brother Phoenix Aurelius and Robert Bartlett and is a member of The Inner Garden, a European guild preserving traditional alchemy. He continues to expand his expertise through ongoing studies in evolutionary herbalism, botanical medicine, and traditional astrology.
Now based in Pelion, Greece, Sakis co-leads Vitalist Healing Traditions with his wife, Dr. Carina Lopez. Together, they teach immersive workshops and global programs that bridge ancient practices with modern science—helping others reclaim sleep, vitality, and inner harmony through food, herbs, ritual, and alchemical principles.

For more information, contact…
Website: vitalisthealingtraditions.com
Email: vitalisthealingtraditions@gmail.com
Social Media: linktr.ee/vitalisthealingtraditions
