We are all facing unprecedented changes in the way we live — in work, play, and school, and in our sense of community and connection to others.
As parents, our intention is to both protect our children and prepare them for life’s crises and challenges. While our intentions are good, we sometimes find that change and uncertainty lead to high intensity emotions in the family, preventing us from responding in a skilful way.
In this brief online course on mindful parenting, we explore how we can best foster qualities of self-regulation, compassion, and resilience, both in ourselves and in our children. Drawing on research-based disciplines including evolutionary psychology, positive psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and mindfulness interventions, we identify practical methods for thriving in this difficult time.
Week One
How We Flourish in Good Times and Bad
•Stress versus eu-stress (flow)
•The mind changes the brain
•Minding the mind: the social imperative
•Minding the body
Healthy Perspectives on Parenting
•Reducing parenting shame
•Identifying sources of parenting stress
•Viewing our struggles through an evolutionary lens
Week Two
The Mindful Parent – Creating Safety and Equanimity
•Attention: centering awareness in the present
•Attitude: kindness, curiosity, willingness to experience
•Intention: Being in skilful relationship with ourselves, others, and whatever life throws our way
•Understanding attachment theory for improving our relationships
Week Three
Nurturing Resilience – the Power of ‘Approach Mode’
•Making space for anxiety and other uncomfortable emotions
•Identifying, managing, and normalizing internal experience
•ACT – accept, center, take constructive action
•Understanding developmental stages and needs
•Educating our kids on the biology and neuroscience of how mindfulness helps
Week Four
Compassion and Effective Communication
•Compassion as the source of resilience, growth, and emotional intelligence
•Approaching problems, conflict, crises, and stress with skilful communication
•Messages that develop self-compassion and self-motivation in children
Discussion and Questions
Your hosts:
Carolyn Rathjen and Pamela Powers, both originally from New England, are colleagues in the Rome therapeutic community. Carolyn has two daughters in elementary school, and Pamela has a son, now 24.
Pamela Powers has thirty years of personal practice in meditation and mindfulness disciplines, and has been training individuals, schools, and organisations in mindfulness for the past fifteen years. Her professional qualifications include BA Psychology, Smith College, MA; THP, NSHAP London; certified MBSR instructor, Centro Italiano Studi di Mindfulness, Rome; certified .B teacher, Mindfulness in Schools Project, UK; and annual insight meditation retreats.
Carolyn Rathjen is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). She provides counseling services to children, adolescents, adults, and families, and collaborates with international schools and universities in Rome. Carolyn received her Master of Social Work at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work (Boston, MA) and became independently licensed to practice psychotherapy in 2009.
“To raise a child it takes an entire village.” ~ African proverb.
In honor of this proverb, we believe it is essential to create weekly meetings for mothers who have given birth and babies within the first year of life.
In our meetings there will be the opportunity to deal with the various issues that characterize this phase of motherhood. Crying, sleeping, breastfeeding, taking care of mom! Join us!
This group will be held in Italian but Karin does speak English.
Write to Karin De Lucia at ostetricakarin@gmail.com to learn more’.
Through Karin De Lucia‘s  pregnancy yoga classes, we prepare the mind to listen to our body and our body for the changes of these wonderful 9 months ahead of the big day! Yoga allows us to strengthen and enhance our overall state of well-being through specific postures (Asanas), and allows us to hold positions that will help us during childbirth. We already experience the close alternation of movement and relaxation, closure and opening, strength and flexibility from the beginning of pregnancy. We work on breathing, but also on emotions and provides us a space to dedicate to the relationship between you and your baby, shifting our attention from the outside to the inside, facing pregnancy with a relaxed, positive and present approach.
This course will be held in Italian, but Karin does speak English. For info and costs write to ostetricakarin@gmail.com will contact you shortly!
Through Karin De Lucia‘s  pregnancy yoga classes, we prepare the mind to listen to our body and our body for the changes of these wonderful 9 months ahead of the big day! Yoga allows us to strengthen and enhance our overall state of well-being through specific postures (Asanas), and allows us to hold positions that will help us during childbirth. We already experience the close alternation of movement and relaxation, closure and opening, strength and flexibility from the beginning of pregnancy. We work on breathing, but also on emotions and provides us a space to dedicate to the relationship between you and your baby, shifting our attention from the outside to the inside, facing pregnancy with a relaxed, positive and present approach.
This course will be held in Italian, but Karin does speak English. For info and costs write to ostetricakarin@gmail.com will contact you shortly!
We are all facing unprecedented changes in the way we live — in work, play, and school, and in our sense of community and connection to others.
As parents, our intention is to both protect our children and prepare them for life’s crises and challenges. While our intentions are good, we sometimes find that change and uncertainty lead to high intensity emotions in the family, preventing us from responding in a skilful way.
In this brief online course on mindful parenting, we explore how we can best foster qualities of self-regulation, compassion, and resilience, both in ourselves and in our children. Drawing on research-based disciplines including evolutionary psychology, positive psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and mindfulness interventions, we identify practical methods for thriving in this difficult time.
Week One
How We Flourish in Good Times and Bad
•Stress versus eu-stress (flow)
•The mind changes the brain
•Minding the mind: the social imperative
•Minding the body
Healthy Perspectives on Parenting
•Reducing parenting shame
•Identifying sources of parenting stress
•Viewing our struggles through an evolutionary lens
Week Two
The Mindful Parent – Creating Safety and Equanimity
•Attention: centering awareness in the present
•Attitude: kindness, curiosity, willingness to experience
•Intention: Being in skilful relationship with ourselves, others, and whatever life throws our way
•Understanding attachment theory for improving our relationships
Week Three
Nurturing Resilience – the Power of ‘Approach Mode’
•Making space for anxiety and other uncomfortable emotions
•Identifying, managing, and normalizing internal experience
•ACT – accept, center, take constructive action
•Understanding developmental stages and needs
•Educating our kids on the biology and neuroscience of how mindfulness helps
Week Four
Compassion and Effective Communication
•Compassion as the source of resilience, growth, and emotional intelligence
•Approaching problems, conflict, crises, and stress with skilful communication
•Messages that develop self-compassion and self-motivation in children
Discussion and Questions
Your hosts:
Carolyn Rathjen and Pamela Powers, both originally from New England, are colleagues in the Rome therapeutic community. Carolyn has two daughters in elementary school, and Pamela has a son, now 24.
Pamela Powers has thirty years of personal practice in meditation and mindfulness disciplines, and has been training individuals, schools, and organisations in mindfulness for the past fifteen years. Her professional qualifications include BA Psychology, Smith College, MA; THP, NSHAP London; certified MBSR instructor, Centro Italiano Studi di Mindfulness, Rome; certified .B teacher, Mindfulness in Schools Project, UK; and annual insight meditation retreats.
Carolyn Rathjen is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). She provides counseling services to children, adolescents, adults, and families, and collaborates with international schools and universities in Rome. Carolyn received her Master of Social Work at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work (Boston, MA) and became independently licensed to practice psychotherapy in 2009.
Join us for free support, information and friendships for pregnant women and nursing moms in English.
La Leche League International strives to to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother. It is also a lovely way to meet other English speaking moms and to share your adventures of pregnancy and motherhood in a strange land.
Come for the support and information, stay for the friendships!
During this period of the Corona Virus outbreak we will be holding these meetings on Zoom online. If you would like to join, send a message to Sherrie at +39Â 370 1390 239.Â
“To raise a child it takes an entire village.” ~ African proverb.
In honor of this proverb, we believe it is essential to create weekly meetings for mothers who have given birth and babies within the first year of life.
In our meetings there will be the opportunity to deal with the various issues that characterize this phase of motherhood. Crying, sleeping, breastfeeding, taking care of mom! Join us!
This group will be held in Italian but Karin does speak English.
Write to Karin De Lucia at ostetricakarin@gmail.com to learn more’.
Presenting the Birth Course I wish I had had! Learn what happens during labour and delivery, what to know for successful breastfeeding and how to take care of your newborn. This series of six meetings will include information on how your body changes during pregnancy, prenatal testing, the hormonal and physical processes that occur during labour and delivery, pain management, Â and what happens when you are home with your little. We discuss birth plans and, for those of you delivering in Rome, we cover information on Roman hospitals, clinics and home birth and the clarification of roles of the Italian medical professions. Our mission is to arm you with enough information so you can have a birth as close to the one you desire as possible. This course is run by Gabriella Pacini, midwife, lactation consultant (IBCLC) and counsellor and Kiersten Miller her sidekick.
Wednesday evenings from 7pm – 9pm starting November 4th. All meetings will take place online following the government’s decree until further notice.
For this course we are asking those who have private insurance, to pay the full cost of the course. For those who do not have insurance, we ask to pay what they feel they can in this moment, no explanations necessary. Please send an email if you would like to join us to info@belliesabroad.com
Through Karin De Lucia‘s  pregnancy yoga classes, we prepare the mind to listen to our body and our body for the changes of these wonderful 9 months ahead of the big day! Yoga allows us to strengthen and enhance our overall state of well-being through specific postures (Asanas), and allows us to hold positions that will help us during childbirth. We already experience the close alternation of movement and relaxation, closure and opening, strength and flexibility from the beginning of pregnancy. We work on breathing, but also on emotions and provides us a space to dedicate to the relationship between you and your baby, shifting our attention from the outside to the inside, facing pregnancy with a relaxed, positive and present approach.
This course will be held in Italian, but Karin does speak English. For info and costs write to ostetricakarin@gmail.com will contact you shortly!
Through Karin De Lucia‘s  pregnancy yoga classes, we prepare the mind to listen to our body and our body for the changes of these wonderful 9 months ahead of the big day! Yoga allows us to strengthen and enhance our overall state of well-being through specific postures (Asanas), and allows us to hold positions that will help us during childbirth. We already experience the close alternation of movement and relaxation, closure and opening, strength and flexibility from the beginning of pregnancy. We work on breathing, but also on emotions and provides us a space to dedicate to the relationship between you and your baby, shifting our attention from the outside to the inside, facing pregnancy with a relaxed, positive and present approach.
This course will be held in Italian, but Karin does speak English. For info and costs write to ostetricakarin@gmail.com will contact you shortly!
