ASGPP St. Louis Conference Reflections

Thu Apr 2 15:50:11 CDT 2009

Hi Karen,
Thanks for this note. i really appreciate hearing this.

I am really hoping that the ASGPP can really look at the choices they are making about the conference- specifically about where to do it. Perhaps this does tie into when to do it as well, but I think there has to be a way in which more people can feel that they are able to attend without ripping through their wallets in the process. When I figured out how much it cost me to be at this 3 day conference, I was appalled. I did not go to the awards dinner for this reason (although admittedly I snuck in the door to see everyone receive their awards... why should that have been exclusive, I wondered?),and I never ate at the hotel. I was aware of how many people I was hoping to see said they couldn't afford to go to the conference.

Although costs are going up these days, I hope there could be a wider collaboration amongst us to strengthen the community by becoming more inclusive in terms of making the conference more available. Maybe its at a University (such as the expressive therapies conference in August), or a conference center attached to a university (such as the one at  UMASS Amherst) or a conference center  (Spirit Rock maybe????? Im not sure....)
I  think with all the wonderful energy and creativity and compassion that exists in the people in ASGPP, we can work our way through this. I hope that we can rise to that as I think watching our conferences dwindle, will ultimately cause more of a problem, than enhance the organization.
Processing... processing.... brainstorming too.

Cheers and thank you, for this forum.
Jen

Jen Kristel, M.A.
Expressive Arts Therapist
Playback Theatre Director/teacher

"Be the change that you want to see in the world" Mahatma Gandhi

> From: karenc at wi.rr.com
> To: list at grouptalkweb.org
> Subject: RE: ASGPP St. Louis Conference Reflections
> Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 13:23:15 -0500
> 
> I enjoyed the conference. It is wonderful to connect with colleagues - some
> for a meal and a good talk and even just for a moment for a good hug - as
> well as meet new contacts and make new friends. It was great to see three of
> my trainees present, including one trainee new to psychodrama who was
> enjoying every inspiring and energetic minute!
> 
> Although I did not participate with the color-coded small groups this year,
> I hope this wonderful feature will be offered again. As a psychodramatist
> now smitten with Systemic Constellation Work, I was pleased to note that was
> such an interest in that workshop that I presented with Ron Anderson - and
> also notice that more and more psychodramatists are pioneering and
> integrating some kind of energy work with their presentations and
> specialties - including Kate Cook, John Olesen, Jack Shupe, Georgia Rigg,
> Susan Aaron and of course, Donna Little who saw its possibilities long
> before me.
> 
> I really like Ed Schreiber's idea of turning the awards ceremony into a
> plenary session rather than an evening dinner - thanks, Ed - not only
> because the dinner is so expensive that it removes all but the elite with
> money but also because many people, including me, have specific diets and
> food plans that the traditional hotel meal does not accommodate.  It is good
> for all of us to observe and experience these honorees, allowing us to both
> celebrate their accomplishments and aspire to contribute our special gifts
> to the organization.
> 
> I did not attend the awards dinner. However, it was wonderful to know that
> my friends Kathy Amsden, who is doing some amazingly creative work with
> music in her corner of the world in Maine, and Kate Hudgins, who has been
> adding to her model after years of working in China, were among the honored
> professionals of our organization. I had the opportunity to talk with each
> of them later and congratulate them.
> 
> Although the Ritz Carlton in St. Louis is a lovely, lovely hotel, I don't
> attend for the fancy chandeliers, the marble floors and the restrooms that
> are big enough to house a family of four (as one of my acerbic friends
> noted!) I go to the conference to connect with colleagues and find out what
> people are doing and let them know what I am doing. I hope that next year's
> planners will continue to seriously explore how to make the conference more
> affordable and accessible to all ages, kinds of practitioners, geographic
> localities and income groups. 
> 
> I have a number of ideas regarding ways to create more interest in attending
> and updating the conference, and I would like to make these ideas available
> to whoever wishes to hear them. A number of these ideas have to do with
> marketing the organization, using the internet more creatively and
> languaging.
> 
> 
> Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP
>  
> Lake House Health & Learning Center
> 932 Lake Ave.
> Racine, WI 53403
>  
> (262) 633-2645
> karenc at wi.rr.com
>  
> www.lakehousecenter.com
> http://midwestpsychodrama.blogspot.com
> http://lakehouseracine.blogspot.com
> 
> 
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