|
 |
|
Personal Statement
Life is story. Our stories have been influenced by many factors. We create the themes and threads of our stories. Joseph Campbell referred to this as our “personal mythology.” We can get stuck in this mythology when we continue to use outdated belief systems. In other words, sometimes our stories stop serving us and begin to actually hinder our ability to live fully in the present. A three-fold process then must take place.
1) Remember what your story is.
2) Reconnect to it, honor how it has served you, and release it.
3) Restory your life in a way that is now in alignment with who you are and where you want to be.
I believe that behavioral change, without the accompanying emotional and psychological change, will be short-lived. I believe that through creative writing and art work, we can access the hidden parts of our psyches and begin the road to healing. This work combines my passions for language and helping others. I believe the power to heal and change lives within each of us. I feel my role is as a facilitator for each individual healing process. It is my privilege to witness the restorying of my clients’ lives.
Biography
Laraine Herring is an author, teacher, and certified Grief-Recovery Specialist. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Counseling Psychology. She has also developed numerous workshops which use writing as a tool for healing through grief and loss. She is also a playwright and editor, and her work has been widely anthologized. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her most recent book, Lost Fathers: How Women Can Heal From Adolescent Father Loss, will be released in May, 2005 from Hazelden Press. She lives in Prescott, AZ.
History of Breaking Free
I created Breaking Free as a pilot program in 1999 while working with women and men on probation through Maricopa Superior Court. The objective was to bring a non traditional grief counseling program to these parolees that also addressed the numerous issues of substance abuse.
I began with the Joseph Campbell quote, “If you aren’t the hero(ine) of your own life, you’re in the wrong story.” From that base, I constructed a program relying on personal story and storytelling in a non-combative, non-confrontational format that helped the participants review their lives and their choices without shame.
I have since built many different programs around the same premise. I have found that people do not need to be “writers” or even literate to understand how stories work. This concept can be adapted to fit in a classroom of honor roll students or in a half-way house with a group of probationers. Our lives are stories. We think in stories. To address deeper psychological issues in terms of story is a natural fit for people from all walks of life.
Breaking Free is not designed as a replacement for traditional treatments, but has been created as a valuable addition to any program.
|
What will you do with your one wild and precious life?
--Mary Oliver
|
Clients Served
• Maricopa Superior Court
• Women’s Central Network
• Girl Scouts of America – girls at risk
• National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
• Pregnant & Parenting Women’s Intensive Outpatient Program
• Crossroads for Women
• Staff & Professionals in Grief Counseling
• Rio Salado Community College Adult Education
• Phoenix Community College
• New Song Center for Grieving Children
|
|
 |
|
|
|
