This is a small group workshop is based on the work of Ray Castellino, DC (retired), RPP, RCST®.  He originally trained a chiropractor, and then was influenced by formative teachers in the field of energy therapy, bodywork and trauma resolution, including Randolph Stone (founder of Polarity Therapy), Peter Levine (founder of Somatic Experiencing), Franklyn Sills (Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Pioneer), and William Emerson (pioneer in prenatal and perinatal psychology). His work is also highly informed by his training as a musician and music teacher.  Castellino is a master of sensing into the patterns that can arise from difficulties from the prenatal and perinatal period. He developed a training for a specific form where professionals could learn about the many patterns that can be generally associated with historical trauma, conception, prenatally, birth and attachment in the postpartum period.  His observations, somatic skills, and passion for healing early overwhelming events in the nervous system of the families he was seeing came about after he started treating babies. Seeing how families’ experiences affected the baby, he began to work with small groups to create a therapy that would help the whole family. The training he still offers creates practitioners in this field.  This small group workshop is the product of the training and form he developed. It is ideal for creating a safe container and experiential exploring prenatal and perinatal somatic patterns and your own early history, especially finding places where there is coherency, or health in the nervous system. Using your adult presence, the group consciously creates the blueprint in human development, one of flow, connection, and safety. We offer:

• Whole body learning
• Experiential interpersonal neurobiology
• Embodiment practices to access blueprint in the body
• Tools to improve your educational efforts in prenatal and perinatal somatic health
• Didactic debriefing for each pattern for integration and understanding
• Further resources for learning provided upon request

About the Early Period and Small Group Learning: The foundation of the Womb Surround Process Group is that whatever happens for the developing baby inside the mother is influenced by what went on around him or her as well has what organically arises in the womb.  There are many examples of how this can show up in an adult, including

• Our ancestral influences
• How we are conceived, and into what time, place or feeling state in our parents
• In utero development, including the events, feelings and emotions of the family around the developing baby
• Birth process
• Postpartum events, especially separations
• Attachment patterns

A small group of people comes together for each workshop and forms a “surround,” or a container for the person who wants to explore their history and repattern overwhelming events that have left an imprint that is still causing difficulty today.  Autonomic nervous system patterns are taught and discussed, then practiced. Overhwhelming imprint patterns can look like:

• Not feeling fully alive
• Difficulty with intimate relationships
• Deep feelings of ambivalence toward life
• Chronic pain or health conditions
• Patterns that often show up that talk therapy can’t seem to change
• Feeling held in chronic double binds, or feeling like there is no way out

These patterns are somatic, or held in the body, and implicit, or held in an unconscious way.  We can often still feel these patterns when something in present time triggers this deeply held body memory that is often coupled with overwhelming feelings, such as panic, anxiety, rage, dissociation and more.  The facilitator employs very specific principles and a form that allows individuals to drop into these early patterns and repattern, with the consciousness of the group mind.  The pace is slow, and the process pendulates between the present and the wellspring of coherency he or she first establishes, and the history that is overwhelming in small, digestible pieces.  Then, the facilitator debriefs the session later so that the person taking a turn  and the group can learn more about the pattern.  It is an excellent way to learn as well as heal.

These small groups offer an epigenetic form of healing while learning.  We now know that an environment around a cell can influence whether or not genes are turned off or on.  In a sense, working with positive, slow group energy, the issue at hand can be shifted with this experience.  Participants report greater clarity, better health, great insights, and positive connections with others.  It is also an opportunity to learn about helpful patterns around many of the issues of being human.  Teaching supports understanding our interpersonal neurobiology and how our younger selves made sense of our lives by bringing these patterns to consciousness.  It is great for parents as well as other curious adults, and for couples wanting to conceive.

Kate is highly trained in this process, starting in 1999 with William Emerson and his student, Karlton Terry. Kate completed a foundation training the birth process in the Emerson style.  She continued to train with Ray Castellino’s student, Myrna Martin, completing a full training in the Castellino method, assisting a second training, and assisting many smaller seminars from 2004 until 2014. She has continued to train with and assist Ray Castellino and is supervised by his clinical colleagues, Tara Blasco, PhD, RCST® and Mary Jackson, CPM, LM, RN, RCST® from the Building and Enhancing Bonding and Attachment clinic. She has also completed a full Somatic Experiencing® training, Verbal Skills Trauma Resolution Training with Anna Chitty, and is currently studying with Ray, Mary, and Tara and their Family Practitioner training. Kate has completed all the requirements to become facilitator for this work, including many process workshops and two practitioner trainings specifically for Womb Surround Process workshop facilitators. She teaches about prenatal and perinatal imprints, especially from an autonomic nervous system perspective, and is Founding Director currently Director of Education for APPPAH, the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health. This seminar is healing and continuing education in one.

Currently she and Maggie McIlvaine supports groups of 5 people plus one assistant, so this is a small group.  Fee $650 for 3.5 days if paid one month before.  $725 after that date.  Please send $150 to hold your spot.  You can do this via the internet. I can send you a way to reserve your spot.  We recommend you pay in full.  Here are the links to send a deposit, balance or in full:

• Deposit click here.
• Balance click here.
• Pay in Full click here.

“This is an elegant tool for discovering a blueprint for human health based on deeper rhythms in our bodies and in connection with others. When difficult patterns that loop in the body are identified, the pace slowed, and a new pattern felt and reflected in the process, a new pattern can emerge, one of wholeness that resonates with our true essence.  This is our birthright.” ~ Kate White

About the fees: Fees paid support Kate and Maggie as tuition. Lodging is not included. You can lodge at the Bridge Between the Worlds for only $60 per night as part of this experience! This is highly recommended as the Bridge is very nurturing in environment, surrounded by nature. Maggie is available for bodywork sessions. See Bridge Between the Worlds.

Disclaimer: Kate is a somatic practitioner and works with imprints through the lens of the autonomic nervous system.  She recommends you get support for your process after the workshop with a counselor or other professional to help integrate your experience should you feel the need for support. She is also available for online sessions.

Prerequisite:  Are You Really There For Me: 7 Skills of Self and Co-regulation. I will send you links to watch.

Times: Please arrive by 10 am the first day so we can settle and set intentions.  We start at 9 am each day after that.  Finish times each day vary from between 6 and 8 pm (sometimes earlier).  Locations for workshops are The Bridge Between the Worlds and Belvedere Integrated Healing Arts in Charlottesville, VA.  These small, 5 person groups are available on an as needed basis.  Inquiries can be sent to katercst@gmail.com.

January 9 – 12, 2020 (Thursday 10 am to Sunday noon) 5 spots
More workshops coming in 2020

Fees:  $650 if paid 1 month before, $725 after that.  Does not include lodging. You can make a deposit of $150 to hold your spot by clicking here.

Location: Bridge Between the Worlds Retreat Center, Keswick, VA. There is also Lodging available here. You can go to the website where you will see the lodging and other places near the center. You bring and prepare your own food. This location is ideal for womb surround work.

A word about time:  Each turn is on its own schedule, so we don’t have a time when we plan to stop.  The day ends when the sessions do. Debriefs of each session take as long as they need to as well. It is rich time of sharing and healing. Normally, days end around 7 pm.

What to bring:  Notebook, water, favorite pillow or blanket, snacks so you can feel nourished, and your curiosity!  Also, if you want the recording of your session, bring a thumb drive.

Please fill out the form provided below.  There is also an interview with Ray Castellino on his development of “The Principles,” a part of the form for Womb Surround Process workshops.

Cancellation Policy:  Please pay in full one month before the workshop.  If you can’t make it here are cancellation refund policies:
One month before:  Full refund
Three weeks before:  Refund half, or all if another person can be found to replace you
Two weeks before:  Refund $100, or all if another person can be found to replace you
One week before:  No refund, or all refund if another person can be found to replace you

Questions and Answers:

When should I consider a Process Workshop and what can I expect?
Most people seek out the process workshop when they have a pattern in their life that keeps coming around, and that other therapies can’t seem to touch.  A process workshop can have the effect of many hours of therapy.  It is a special time when you can explore an implicit memory and allow your body to participate in the experience.  Many turns include the prenatal or birth experience.  The facilitators are trained to recognize early implicit patterns in the body, and create conditions for your body to speak and be heard.  With awareness and care, the facilitators and the group will create conditions to you can choose a different experience in the now.  Sometimes even offering people the choice can change their nervous system.  You will have at turn to share relevant history and then work with the group to allow this early pattern to emerge and change.  You will then participate in the surround of other turns.  In essence, it feels like you have many turns (as many as people in the group), and over time, a special field is developed.  It is usually slower in tempo, soft and can be filled with the positive states of transformation like the feeling of a birth.  We know that those positive states are connected to neuroendocrine physiology.  We help you anchor those feelings states, and create a healthy social nervous system in the group.

We work primarily on the floor, so the room is filled with blankets, carpets, soft cushions.  The pace can be slower than what you are used to as an adult because when we drop into babytime, we go at the pace of the baby.  There will be times when go at an adult’s pace, especially when debriefing a turn.  These patterns are linked to early experiences.  There are distinct patterns that we have discerned over years of experience and observation.  The facilitators will inform you and the group about these patterns, and help you as the turn person integrate your experience into your adult life.  It is amazing, fun, and satisfying to have these early pieces named and sorted out.  Come with your curiosity and be prepared to have an experience like no other.

We also have a structure of support for you so that the change can take hold.  We explain this in the workshop.  Essentially, you and the other members of the group keep in touch for 4 weeks after the workshop in small ways.  You can also have sessions with Kate or Maggie either in person or via Skpye or Zoom.  In addition, you have the choice of having your session filmed.  We recommend you have it recorded so you can watch it later.  This will also help you make changes.  Sometimes, you can transcribe parts so that the pattern is more clearly brought to consciousness.

I am currently in crisis, is this a good time to do a Womb Surround?
It is best to come when you are curious and resourced about a pattern in your life that other therapies cannot seem to help.  This early time is very somatic, or in the body.  Often patterns there are coupled with overwhelming events that are still in operation today.  If you are currently feeling overwhelmed in your life, we suggest that you get a few sessions before you choose the womb surround process group.  These one-on-one sessions will help stabilize your nervous system, and build up a sense of presence and coherency in your body.  We have found that these conditions really help the body shift states and make changes in perspective.  New resources and patterns can arise more readily.  Email Kate to arrange private sessions: katercst@gmail.com or Maggie at mcilvaine@bridgebetweentheworlds.org.

I feel afraid of people, and concerned about my patterns being seen by others.  Should I still consider Womb Surrounds Process Groups?
Yes. We would like to normalize this for you!  Most early patterns are connected to feelings and experiences in our first relationships.  Some of these patterns can go back generations.  It is natural to be wary if you have not experienced these groups before, and if you have early overwhelming imprints.  The facilitators will make these patterns more explicit and differentiate the layers of them for you in your somatic experience and in the now.  We have the group together, and our faces, voices, and felt sense of our hearts make the social nervous system because we are together.  With awareness, we make this a positive state.  The group will be led to feel safe together through the Castellino method of The Principles and more.  You will always have a choice here; that is one of the Principles.  We have seen many ways for people to take turns, too! There is no one set way.  If you have further concerns or questions about this model and experience, please contact Kate White at katercst@gmail.com.

As soon as I made a commitment to come to the workshop, my life started to change, is this normal?
Yes.  Many times, the healing starts to constellate once you set an intention to come.  If you start to feel these patterns, please connect with Kate and have her normalize this process for you.  In essence, your turn can start before you arrive.  We will help you sort this out, and also, help you find that adult in you that can stay with you as you feel the younger, implicit parts emerge.  There is a sense of mastery that develops as you get in touch with early patterns, name them, become familiar with the states in the body they create and the thought patterns associated with them.  We have found the state change can be managed by you once you know how.  Somatic Experiencing is one of the therapies that we use, and it helps you understand sequencing, your story, and the patterns you feel in your body.  This is a holistic approach.  It is satisfying.  It allows the experience inside you to complete, and you can then make different choices.