Presentations - August/September 2009

Targeted to the needs of men or women going through or anticipating divorce or dealing with other family law issues, this Clinic will give you an opportunity to discuss your own questions on such topics as:
• Divorce
• Separation
• Paternity
• Property Division
• Custody
• Spousal Maintenance
• Child Support
• Financial Settlements
• Co-habitation

Attorneys will volunteer their time and expertise for the benefit of those who attend. A nominal fee of $5 is charged for the public. Members of the Men’s Center receive a courtesy discount.

A Circle of Warriors
Presenter: Andy Mickel
When: Wed, Aug. 12, 7:00-9:00 pm

The Mankind Project is an organization of men working together to improve their lives and help other men. As New Warriors “We are an order of men called to reclaim the sacred masculine provides a model for men to generate and maintain a world in such a way as to include and yet rise above one’s own issues for the betterment of one’s self, one’s own family, tribe, nation and race.”
We are all familiar with a man’s physical tools (a hammer, a sword, a plow.....) Is this enough? What about integrity, commitment, action and clarity? I know that most men want and need these tools. The New Warrior Training Adventure can help. Join a circle of warriors to ask questions and hear how the adventure has changed men’s lives.

“The initiation of men is the hope of the world.” - Don Jones, former chairman, ManKind Project.

Dark Twins: Shame and Anger
Presenter: Bob Anderson
When: Wed, Aug. 19, 7:00-9:00 pm

Your anger often gets its destructive, compulsive charge from deep roots in personal shame and powerlessness. This workshop will help you see the connection, identify your own shame-based behaviors and trace their origins in family and culture. It will aid you in becoming more aware of your internal negative self-talk and the distorted thought process that fuels the shame cycle, and it will teach you some techniques to reframe your thinking, break the cycle and move toward a more empowered approach to living.

Bob Anderson is a long-time facilitator of the Men Helping Men with Anger program at the Twin Cities Men’s Center and author of Out of Denial: Piecing Together a Fractured Life.

Healing the Past
Presenter: Jim Amundsen
When: Wed, Aug. 26, 7:00-9:00 pm

Every human being desires to lead a life of meaning, pleasure, satisfaction and connectedness to a community. In order to attain a life with these qualities all of us have had to overcome some form of adversity in our history. Often some of these adversities prove too difficult to overcome without some sort of assistance. In fact, sometimes we are unaware of how our histories affect our present day lives.

This presentation will be a lecture and demonstration of a body/mind therapeutic technique (called Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor) that allows us to create new, “artificial” healing memories to help overcome past emotional wounds. Just as medical science has come up with ways to create new artificial joints, so psychology has come up with ways to create new, artificial memories.

Jim has been in private practice as a Licensed Psychologist in the twin cities for almost 30 years. He has presented workshops on PBSP around the United States and the world.

Family Law Clinic
Discussion Leader: Linda Wray
When: Wed, Sep. 2, 7:00-9:00 pm
Open to Men and Women

A Circle of Warriors
Presenter: Andy Mickel
When: Wed, Sep. 9, 7:00-9:00 pm

The Mankind Project is an organization of men working together to improve their lives and help other men. As New Warriors “We are an order of men called to reclaim the sacred masculine provides a model for men to generate and maintain a world in such a way as to include and yet rise above one’s own issues for the betterment of one’s self, one’s own family, tribe, nation and race.”
We are all familiar with a man’s physical tools (a hammer, a sword, a plow.....) Is this enough? What about integrity, commitment, action and clarity? I know that most men want and need these tools. The New Warrior Training Adventure can help. Join a circle of warriors to ask questions and hear how the adventure has changed men’s lives.

“The initiation of men is the hope of the world.” - Don Jones, former chairman, ManKind Project.

Body-Mind Psychotherapy
Presenter: Jan Jirak
When: Wed, Sep. 16, 7:00-9:00 pm
Open to Men and Women

Growing awareness of the mind-body connection is guiding psychotherapy toward approaches that include somatic (body) experiences in the resolution of psychological issues. These approaches can facilitate gentler, more thorough resolution of trauma and lead to more vibrant living.

Jan Jirak, M.A.,L.P., is the only licensed psychologist in Minnesota who is certified in one such approach, Somatic Experiencing. She previously has made Men’s Center presentations on communication and healing trauma.

EMDR Therapy
Presenter: Michael Pellecchia, LICSW
When: Wed, Sep. 23, 7:00-9:00 pm
Open to Men and Women

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) is a therapy found to be instrumental in helping people who have experienced trauma and all of its related effects in all stages of life. The audience can expect to hear a more detailed explanation about this therapy, its origin, developed by Francine Shapiro Ph.D., how it works, why it works, and how it differs from therapies traditionally used to treat people experiencing routine life difficulties.

Michael is a practicing clinical social worker with more than 20 years of broad clinical experience. He is working toward his certificate in the practice of EMDR. He has prior experience working with people with HIV/AIDS from the late 1980’s and 1990’s, transitioning to work with people having chemical dependency issues, persons in hospice care, the severely and persistently mentally ill population, as well as extensive experience working with the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Bisexual communities. He has also worked with many people who know the pain and suffering resulting from trauma due to past experiences. Additionally, he has worked with women and children with HIV/AIDS, along with related loss and grief issues. He earned his Masters degree in Social Work from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA in 1989.

How to be a BEING
Presenter: Daniel Braun
When: Wed, Sep. 30, 7:00-9:00 pm
Open to Men and Women

Have you read self-help books on well-being? Practiced the four agreements? The seven habits? The 11 lessons or 12 steps? I do not wish to denigrate any system; however the way to well-being and, ultimately, to self-actualization is a very simple Way--once you see it. The author of this evenings presentation has developed a basic technology that involves but one single step or principle: The ONE-Principle®. This principle is indeed simple; and, once you understand, its simplicity can lead you, relatively easily, to a new power in your life. With some practice you can have the relaxation and contentment of an actualized BEING... without any particular extra effort or “success”. You can recognize yourself as a BEING and not just some ‘thing’ that you have imagined yourself into being. Please, join us and bring your acquaintances, male and female, young and old.

The ecology movement of the 1960 & 70’s changed Mr. Daniel Farris Braun. How could humans be so destructive to their own living support systems? Eventually during a solo trek in the wilds, he experienced a revelation. He has traveled to the roots of great philosophical traditions looking for the essence. The essence is there, but it’s not where one would think it to be. As a writer and neurolinguistic philosopher, he has reduced the way to that essence to what he calls the ONE-Principle.

Family Law Clinic
Discussion Leader: Jim Gerharter
When: Wed, Oct. 7, 7:00-9:00 pm
Open to Men and Women