ConferenceWorks! Presents Guided Imagery Workshops; Noted Author Belleruth Naparstek to Teach Groundbreaking Healing Techniques.

Health/Medical Writers/Education Writers

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 3, 2003

The ConferenceWorks! will present "Balance of Power from the Inside Out: Imagery for Healing, Stress and Trauma", a relaxation skills workshop led by noted psychotherapist, author and guided imagery expert Belleruth Naparstek, in the following locations:

-- October 11-12: Houston

-- November 1-2: North Falmouth, Mass.

-- Nov. 22-23: Denver

-- December 6-7: Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico 

Each nine-hour interactive weekend workshop, which is open to the public, is accredited for continuing education credits by several organizations for counselors, social workers, nurses and massage therapists.

Naparstek, the author of Staying Well with Guided Imagery (Warner Books) and Your Sixth Sense (Harper Collins), is best known as the cutting-edge creator of the popular Health Journeys audio series (Time Warner AudioBooks), which has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide. She has just completed a new book on imagery and posttraumatic stress for Random House, due out in 2004.

At her workshops, Naparstek will teach participants user-friendly, clinically tested self-help and wellness skills as well as groundbreaking new techniques for healing anxiety, chronic pain, phobias, panic attacks and posttraumatic stress. She will also detail the recent explosion of new brain research and cutting-edge "power therapies" and demonstrate imagery methods now in use at hospitals and heath centers across the U.S.

"People are suffering needlessly from intensely distressing conditions, many of which can be helped with stunning speed and efficacy," remarked Naparstek. "The therapeutic community is working hard to catch up to a dizzying number of recent discoveries, and the public is eager to find qualified practitioners and health tools. My aim is to help make such resources and information available through this forum."

Epidemiology studies show that posttraumatic stress (PTSD) is far more common than previously believed. According to Brian Doyle, M.D., Medical Director of the Anxiety & Depression Disorders Clinic at Georgetown University Medical Center, "The current estimates are that 40 to 90 percent of the general population will be exposed to at least one trauma during the course of their lives, and up to 25 percent of those will develop PTSD."

People with posttraumatic stress suffer from sleep and concentration problems, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts, depression, anxiety, irritability, suspiciousness and isolation. In addition, a startlingly high percentage of people with PTSD suffer from fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, chronic fatigue and other chronic pain conditions. As part of her seminar, Naparstek explains why and offers practical, realistic solutions.

To register for one of the workshops or for more information on continuing education credits, contact The ConferenceWorks! at 888/517-7089 or www.theconferenceworks.com.