Presentation to therapists

Next month I'm presenting to a renowned association of professional psychotherapists in Utah.

Last week, I wrote about how much Karen Fisher, and my 2nd therapist¹ helped me.²

Saved my life.

It’s an honor to be able to give something back to the therapeutic community. Next month I’m presenting to a fairly large group of professional therapists. They’ll get continuing ed credit, so it’s much more than “Hey, I’m doing well, enjoy your conference. Thanks for all the hard work.”

Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash

I drafted an outline and sent to the coordinators of the conference. Here it is:

Presentation Outline:

• Background of why I wrote the book

  Briefly, my therapist, Karen Fisher, strongly encouraged me to write it. She said that it showed the healing process from "beginning to end."

• What happened after it was published

  Enormous success, and sadly DARVO attacks. In 1992, when the book first came out, the DARVO acronym wasn't even developed yet. Sadly it happens too frequently to survivors, and I think it's important for therapists to be aware of it.

• My life since

  Lots of wonderfully ordinary stuff, except

  • One of my perps abducted, raped and murdered Kacie Woody.

  • Another one of my perpetrators abducted Elizabeth Smart.

  Then, my feelings of despair that I didn't do enough to help other victims/survivors.

• The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study

  How trauma in childhood causes health problems in adults. I've had 4 different types of cancer, and I have a strong hunch all this cancer relates to the trauma I suffered as a child. If therapists aren't aware of this study, I'd like to make sure they are aware of it.

• Why I re-released Paperdolls again.

  • Three reasons:

    • It was selling for $1500-$2500 online, and that made me mad because this was my gift to other survivors.

    • I promised my co-author I'd re-release it.

    • And, a way to help alleviate my angst about those perps who abused me and who went on to commit such horrific abuse to other children.

  • I wish I could have done more to protect Kacie and Elizabeth. One of the reasons I dedicated this release to Elizabeth Smart and Kacie Woody.

• Questions/Answers:

  I'd love to open it up for questions. I'll try to answer everything I possibly can. There might be some things that I can't answer, because I'm not a therapist. But, I'll try to answer anything asked.

My ask of you:

My message has always been for other survivors. I know how daunting and sometimes hopeless the healing journey can be. Karen Fisher and my co-author were the ones who addressed the therapeutic community. They are gone now, so it’s up to me.

So, I’m asking: Did I miss anything? If there is something you think in my experience³ would be beneficial for professional therapists to be aware of?

Please let me know your thoughts. Many who have a questions or comment drop me a private note or an email. Absolutely fine.

You can leave a comment on this post, if you want. I’m opening this particular post to everyone. I will delete any attacking or belligerent comments.

Thank you in advance for your help.

1. Currently, she works with perpetrators. She requested that I keep her name out of the public sphere.

2. Here is the post introducing the post I did for “Trauma To Strength”
Here is my Guest Post on “Trauma To Strength”.
I was touched by the response and comments about my post.

3. Please note: I’m still sticking to my experience. It would be inauthentic for me to comment on others’ experiences.