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Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT

Brainspotting is a cutting edge, neurologically based form of deep and rapid healing

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      • BSP Phase 2: February 19-21, 2021 (ONLINE)
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      • BSP Phase 2: October 16-18, 2020 (ONLINE)
      • BSP Phase 1: June 5-7, 2020 (ONLINE)
      • BSP Phase 2: June 12-14, 2020 (ONLINE)
      • BSP Phase 2: April 24-26, 2020 in Keene, NH
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Category Archives: Site news

Pandemic In Review – One Year Later

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on March 3, 2021 by Katherine AllenMarch 4, 2021

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the first COVID case in New Hampshire. And not surprisingly, similarly to other disasters (9/11, Sandy Hook), everything changed that day. There was now a “before” and an “after”. My clients started cancelling like wildfire, afraid to be in “that area”. I remember panic setting in, fear, not knowing the roadmap or steps necessary to navigate this new thing called “Global Pandemic”. I felt very small and alone. I look back on posts and see the confusion, the waves of information heading towards us and the lag in fully digesting their meaning, the impact, the changes that lay ahead. We have new nomenclature like PPP, stimulus checks, mask-ne, social/physical distancing, mRNA, pods, Zoom-fatigue, quarantinis and the like. Who knew.

I was privileged to receive a PPP Loan, and it mattered quite a lot to me. Much of my caseload scattered to the wind as so many of my clients needed to a) suddenly be home with children full time or b) suddenly lost their low-paying hourly (sans benefit) jobs and were scrambling and panicking with the rest of us or c) stop spending completely as they saw their savings and portfolios flung into chaos and havoc, disposable income was no longer a thing.

And then it came – the huge tidal wave of need, of support, of seeking clarity in the universally bewildering murkiness of pandemic, lockdowns, closures, the re-imagining of countless aspects of our lives. For many, the steady reliability of sessions with a therapist offered a dry patch of rock in the swirling crashing wavy sea. (and all the while, the therapists were also navigating that very same swirling crashing wavy sea). Clients asked for ever more time. 90-minute sessions, multiple times per week. The wait lists became ethically unsustainable. Calls, e-mails for ever more sessions felt like stabs by tiny arrows from hearts seeking something to soothe their pain, and I had no ability to help ease their suffering as there were just no more hours in the day, the week. But that’s my job! To help ease suffering and pain of others. And I just couldn’t do more.

I was also re-tooling my practice, shifting overnight from in-person sessions with maybe 3-4 telehealth sessions sprinkled in per week to 100% telehealth. Plus teaching other therapists how to do this. Plus learning how to train colleagues online on how to work online. And believe me, I fought it as long as I could.

I miss my hair. Yes, I have lost quite a bit of it during this past year. I miss my reliable balance as I also have bouts with vertigo. Now, here I sit before my laptop stand with conferencing microphone and external speakers in a room, all alone. No tissues to refill or water bottles to restock. No hugs. No casual meetings in the hall with building colleagues. No lunches, no spontaneous “let’s meet at x for dinner tonight”. Everything is scheduled, formal, official. The pace and demands have been unrelenting, unparalleled.

For therapists there haven’t been any holidays, weeks off, vacations or breaks. I MISS SNOW DAYS! Working in telehealth means that weather is never an issue anymore, no more fun “free” days off, just shuffle down the hall, launch Zoom, and off to work you go. I now have clients that I believe I may –never- meet in-person. How strange is that? Unprecedented. (I think that is the word of the year). And every spare second of every day there is another “opportunity” for learning: a webinar, a seminar, a podcast. There aren’t enough hours in a day, even if you doubled them, to fit a fraction of everything in. I have stopped saving links and am leaning more towards quiet stillness at home.

But wait – there have been lovely gems that have gratefully appeared as well. I learned how to train colleagues well online and have now expanded my collegial pool to the entirety of the US, Canada, the UK and Europe, something that would probably never have happened if I had only been training in-person. I mean, New Hampshire isn’t a huge draw for travel. I have also been invited into so many clients personal spaces and am better able to witness systems and changes that I never would have been privy to in the traditional office visit model. Likewise so many clients have been able to access many more sessions due to the convenience of just switching screens versus needing to get dressed, drive to my office, wait in the waiting room, have a session, drive home, etc. I am also licensed in 4 states now, again expanding the reach of support I am able to offer.

Yesterday I had a tough day. I made mistakes, had technology snafus, and basically found myself strongly desiring a cry and a break, and a meal out at a restaurant. And yet here I am, in front of the laptop, launching the next Zoom session, a good therapist trying to do a good job.

 

 

Posted in Site news, Trauma | Tagged 1 year, alone, anniversary, breaks, crisis, disaster, existential, global, good, helping, hope, lonely, loss, pandemic, review, scared, support, telehealth, therapist, tired, Zoom | Leave a reply

Join me for Phase 2 Online in February!

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on December 11, 2020 by Katherine AllenDecember 11, 2020

Keep your Brainspotting skills sharp with a brief overview of Phase 1 technique, and then learn a new array of set-ups for you and your clients in Phase 2 Brainspotting training. We do an in-depth focus on the eye and how it guides and informs us to the client’s held trauma to swiftly and effective release it.

We also learn to “play and practice” all of the Brainspotting set-ups, to gain confidence and skill in practice.

There’s still plenty of room! Register soon to claim your spot.

Posted in Site news | 2 Replies

Thank you Castleton University!

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on October 5, 2020 by Katherine AllenOctober 5, 2020

I wanted to thank Castleton University for having me as a guest lecturer in their Introduction to Trauma Studies class, again.

I am so happy to do this kind of teaching as I believe it is the most important foundation of being a good therapist, really knowing how the brain and body react and respond to threat, and then the best part, how to actually heal from it.

The Castleton University Counseling Center has 3 trained Brainspotting practitioners, Martha, Linda and Amy, and they have created a unique and special resource for students who have experienced trauma. I am so proud of them and so proud to be invited back each year.

Posted in Site news | Leave a reply

First Tuesdays Supervision Group Beginning 9/1/2020

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on August 19, 2020 by Katherine AllenAugust 19, 2020

I am announcing a regular Supervision/Consultation group be held the first Tuesday of each month from 10a-12p EST. These will be held via Zoom.

Finally! I know it’s been tough to plan around my crazy schedule.

Group consults are $50 per person for the 2-hour group. These are for skills-building and community building and they do not count as hours towards your Certification (a question I get asked often). Come as often as you’d like, or not. I love seeing everyone and helping build our Brainspotting community.

E-mail me at k@bspkat.com to be added to the list and please share with anyone you think may also be interested in joining.

Posted in Site news | Leave a reply

Katherine is now Licensed in Vermont

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on March 19, 2020 by Katherine AllenMarch 19, 2020

I am now licensed in three states: Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for tele-sessions if you reside in any of these three states, it’s all legal now!

Posted in Information, Site news | Tagged Coronavirus, COVID-19, licensure, online sessions, tele-sessions, telehealth, Vermont | 2 Replies

Brainspotting Trainings Update: 10/15/2020

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on March 17, 2020 by Katherine AllenMarch 4, 2021

Things keep changing and this is my latest update regarding Brainspotting Trainings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have been directed to hold ALL trainings online during this physical distancing time of pandemic.

The June online trainings went swimmingly and I continue to be amazed to see how well it works both for the trainer and the trainees. And with the online format, I am so excited to meet practitioners from across the country and abroad. Likewise, assistants are stepping forward to help new trainees achieve really high-quality experiences. Our network is growing stronger. There are many blessings in this uncertain time.

The Keene, NH/Monadnock Family Services training planned for October 16-18, 2020 will be ONLINE. This will be a Phase 2 training, replacing the cancelled April one. I have posted a January 2021 Phase 1 and a February 2021 Phase 2, both ONLINE as well.

The overall desire it to have practitioners trained to support clients – and each other – through this pandemic, and then we as trained practitioners can support the impact of COVID-19 aftermath, being as the longer it lasts, the more support the population will need. We have added material in the trainings to address Limbic Countertransference, trauma shock, racial justice focus, and the environmental and global existential crisis we are in, and ways to work with it for our clients as well as for ourselves.

Please forward this information to anyone you may know who is interested in learning Brainspotting in Phase 1 or in expanding their Brainspotting skills with Phase 2.

Note that there are cancellation fees for cancelled registration, please be aware.

Please keep calling and sending me your e-mails and let’s keep in touch through this historically unusual time.

We are doing our best, this is new for all of us.

We are all in this together.

Posted in Information, Site news, Trainings | Tagged Brainspotting Training, continue, Coronavirus, COVID-19, going forward, in-person, Keene, Monadnock Family services, online, Phase 2

COVID-19 Business Update

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on March 12, 2020 by Katherine AllenOctober 15, 2020

Sessions are continuing via telehealth only here at kTherapy and Brainspotting with Katherine.

I would like to assure all current clients of the measures that I am personally taking for my own safety as I am continuing to come to my physical office daily, although I am only conducting sessions via telehealth.

All new clients will be exclusively online until the physical distancing guidelines of the pandemic have been lifted.

I have Clorox wipes that I use on door handles, chair arms, my phone, pens, headphones, pointers and anything else that a client or I may touch. I have alcohol-based spray hand sanitizer as well as organic/natural hand sanitizer.

I wash my hands 10+ times daily for a minimum of 40-seconds with soap, water, and then dry them thoroughly. I follow up with hand sanitizer as well.

I insist that you may not come to the physical office space.

We can set up video sessions, as I have with several clients already, to bridge the gap during the COVID-19 situation. I use the HIPAA-compliant version of Zoom (the popular video conferencing software) for these sessions. Zoom is free for clients to use.

The building management has informed me that they have 2 rounds of sanitation daily. They are using Lysol spray and bleach (separately) to address all interior and exterior door handles as well as elevator buttons, restroom handles and fixtures, and handrails in all stairwells. This occurs around 5:30-6:00am as well as around 8:00pm daily.

I am including the following video from DHMS as I feel it has great information and education. It is dated March 9 so the statistics are outdated, but the information is not.

This COVID-19 event will end, as all viral infection cycles do. I hope that we can all remain safe and measured in our response to this time and learn new methods of looking after one another that carry on long after it ends.

Posted in Site news | Tagged Coronavirus, COVID-19, HIPAA, social distancing, tele-sessions, telehealth, video sessions, Zoom | Leave a reply

Phase 1 Training in Hanover, October 26-28, 2018

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on September 20, 2018 by Katherine AllenMarch 19, 2020

Yes, we are doing it again! I am pleased to announce another Brainspotting Phase 1 training this October 26-28, 2018.

We have had such amazing interest and feedback from both the clinical population in the Upper Valley as well as the client population. We now boast 15 practitioners and we are looking to expand that, hopefully doubling the number of trained Brainspotting practitioners by the end of the year!

If you or someone you know is interested in getting trained, please fill out the registration form below.

I look forward to seeing you there!

BSP Phase 1 Hanover NH Oct 26-28

Posted in Site news, Trainings | Tagged 3-days, community, expanding, Hanover, October 26-28, Phase 1, training | 2 Replies

Welcome!

Brainspotting with Katherine Allen, LMFT Posted on February 8, 2015 by Katherine AllenMarch 19, 2020

Welcome to Brainspotting with Katherine – the blog.

Stay tuned here for posts from Katherine about the brain, trauma, healing, neuroresearch and the like. I look forward to serving you!

Posted in Information, Site news, Trauma | Tagged welcome | Leave a reply

Recent Posts

  • It’s Been a While…
  • Continuing Education in Brainspotting
  • Nelba, Bruce and Oprah
  • Pandemic In Review – One Year Later
  • 6 Spots Left!
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