Workshops or seminars may be given over a period of one to three days. The most popular

format has proven to be workshops that start with a public lecture on Friday night and then

continue with a smaller group of participants on Saturday and Sunday. Workshops can focus

on Pre and Perinatal Psychology or Psychotherapy alone or a combination thereof. As in the

lectures, PPt presentations as well as experiential exercises provide for a stimulating learning

environment. Plenty of time is also set aside for discussion by participants.


Every time a child is traumatized or abused, the integrity of the circuitry of his brain is threatened;

if the trauma is powerful enough, the architecture of the brain will be permanently damaged.

Everything the pregnant mother feels and thinks is communicated through neurohormones

to her unborn child as surely as are alcohol and nicotine. Just as a computer virus gradually

corrupts the software of any system it infects, so, too, maternal anxiety, depression or stress

alters the intelligence and personality of her unborn child by gradually miswiring their brain.


The notion that genes determine almost everything is incorrect. It is the dynamic interaction

between nature and nurture that determines our personality.


From the journey down the birth canal to afternoons at the park, a child will register every

experience in the circuitry of his or her brain. Whenever a mother strokes her baby, whenever

a father plays with his daughter or son, those physiological acts will be instantly converted

to neurohormonal processes that transform the body and wire the brain of the child.


An Introduction to Pre and Perinatal Psychology:
New Directions in Understanding Early Human Development
 
This one-day workshop for health professionals explores the implications of the recent

explosion of knowledge about the earliest part of life for clinical practice, for understanding

human development, and for future research. It is imperative that we consider how environ-

ment shapes biology and how early experience affects present attitudes and behaviors.

New constructs for understanding adaptation, resilience and memory will be offered.


Seminar Objectives

1. To study the biology of reproduction and human development with particular emphasis

•••on the development of the nervous system;


2. To provide data on learning and memory functions in the prenate;


3. To further the understanding of the psychological factors that affect conception, pregnancy,

•••labor, delivery, and the postpartum period;


4. To investigate the reciprocal mechanisms of interaction between the pregnant mother,

•••father, and unborn and newborn child;


5. To explore how to both prevent pre- and perinatal trauma, and to resolve it therapeutically;


6. To elucidate the psychobiology of bonding and attachment.


The Pre and Perinatal Roots of Personality:
New Directions in Understanding Early Human Development
 
A two-day seminar/workshop for health professionals and interested lay people.
 

The news from the world-class laboratories at Yale, Princeton, Rockefeller and elsewhere

is breathtaking in scope. Starting from the moment of conception, a child's brain is wired

by his or her environment, which includes the thoughts, attitudes, and behavior of his or

her parents. Interaction with the environment is not merely one aspect of brain develop-

ment, as had previously been thought. In fact, it is an absolute requirement, built into the

process from our earliest days in the womb.


Womb Lessons: Life Lessons
 
A three-day workshop for Rebirthers and other professionals practicing psychotherapy or

counseling.


In this workshop, Dr. Verny will synthesize his extensive knowledge of these two domains

and explore their reciprocal relationship. Instruction will take place on many levels: didactic,

audio-visual, experiential and case presentations by participants. The workshop format is

highly interactive and flexible. Every effort will be made to respond to the needs of the

participants and to provide them with a wide range of opportunities for personal growth

and professional development.


Each participant is asked to bring to the workshop one or more examples from his or her

own rebirthing process or from working with clients on an issue that created a problem for

them, e.g. unexplained rise in anxiety, sadness or anger, loss of temper, irrational acts,

embarrassing sexual feelings, etc. other words, when something just did not feel right and

did not make sense.


It should be clearly understood that depending on the interests of the audience, their

questions and comments and the skills of the translator (in non-English speaking countries)

not everything on this list might be covered while other topics not on the list may be explored.