As we concluded, this morning in Salem, our Board of Directors meeting with the Oregon Hypnotherapy Association, I am thrilled to announce we will be offering all of you, this coming March, an incredible event focused on understanding, addressing and working with anger management and challenging life transitions.

This one-of-a-kind educational event will be presented by leaders in the field of anger management and trauma resolution. You will gain solid understanding on how to best assist those going through difficult life transitions regain their bearings, inner-strength, balance and direction. Keep in mind clinical hypnotherapists do not independently work with medical conditions, diagnose, treat or prescribe. We do not practice psychotherapy, we teach and train our clients how to shift limiting beliefs, reach their goals and enhance their well being using hypnotic techniques. We only address diagnosed physical, mental and emotional symptoms with the authorization and under the supervision of medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners and social workers.

Steven Ruiz Bettencourt will be taking us on a journey into the understanding of anger management. A published author, Counseling Psychologist and Adjunct Professor in Psychology, Steven first discovered the field of psychology when serving in the U.S. Army. Upon returning to the United States in 1974, he dove into the study of psychology, graduating with an A.A. and B.A. in Psychology and a M.S. in Counseling Psychology in 1983. He is currently enrolled in a Psychology Doctoral Program. Steven received his early hypnotherapy training from Stephen G. Gilligan, a foremost student of Milton Erickson and the founder of Self-Relations Psychotherapy. Milton Erickson is noted for his approach to the unconscious mind as creative and solution generating. Steven’s hypnosis training and supervision was provided by Dr. Elizabeth Egan, M.D., a psychiatrist and Medical Director of Community Mental Health Services. He also studied Traditional Martial Arts for the last 45 years, achieving the Grand Master level of 8th Degree Black Belt.

Steven made the field of anger management his area of expertise for the last 32 years. He developed a unique approach to the design and implementation of anger management services for the US Department of Corrections. This approach includes a Cognitive-Behavioral-Psychodynamic model combined with various aspects of the disciplines of Traditional Martial Arts focus and mental acuity. His work resulted in the successful treatment of thousands of clients and patients. His book entitled “Anger Journal ~ An Adventure in Anger Management” (a Course in Emotional Awareness), was first published in 1998.

I have personally known Steven since the early 1990s, when he and I both trained together in martial arts under the late, renowned Grand Master Bong Soo Han at the International Hapkido Federation in Santa-Monica, California. It was a wonderful surprise to hear from him recently, when he reconnected with me to enquire about our activities with the Oregon Hypnotherapy Association. I am thrilled he accepted our invitation to share with all of you the scope of his knowledge and expertise. Look for his fascinating article entitled “An Adventure in Anger Management” in our upcoming issue of OHA Northwest ~ the Official Publication of the OHA.

Our second team of presenters, Linda Maddy and Kathy Crenshaw, who also reached out to me this year, will bring you equally rich information based on their clinical and governmental professional experience. Linda is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Portland State University. She has worked exclusively with Veterans for seven years and is a national Master Trainer on Veterans Post Deployment Reintegration issues.

Kathy has a Master of Education in Learning and Instructional Technology from ASU and more than 27 years in Talent Management, Leadership and Performance Consulting.

Together, they founded BelKat Solutions, LLC. and designed a course, process and tools focused on helping others understand and work with trauma sequels and symptoms, post-deployment trauma, PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. They will demonstrate how sequels of traumatic brain injuries often overlap with those of trauma and PTSD, and will give us practical training on how to better help clients going through challenging life transition issues identify and make use of their specific strengths, uniqueness and skills.

In a nutshell, this is one event you will want to attend. Join us around a succulent luncheon on Saturday, March 21st at the Fairfield Inn in Lake Oswego.

Details and registrations at: ohanw.org

We look forward to seeing you there!