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Administration

The administrators introduce themselves below.

Who We Are

Introduction

Rudolf Steiner set a new course for understanding the human psyche in a series of lectures in 1909, 1910, and 1911. He added insights to this framework here and there in many other of his five thousand lectures up to his death in 1925. His style was to give hints on a topic—and he did so about education (resulting in the Waldorf School movement, 1500 schools worldwide), agriculture (resulting in biodynamic agriculture, with thousands of acres re-enlivening soil and nutrition), movement (pedagogical, therapeutic and performance “eurythmy”: schools  located in many countries), medicine. Professionals in each of these areas have developed Steiner’s hints further. For psychology, major contributions have come from Bernard Lievegood, Karl Koenig, Robert Sardello, Ad and Henreitte Dekkers, Dennis Klocek, James Dyson, William Bento, and others.

In 1997 William Bento, Ph.D., presented at the psychotherapy conference of the Medical Section of the  School of Spiritual Science in Dornach, Switzerland. From this initial connection with the international community, Dr. Bento became a founding member of the International Federation for Anthroposophic Psychotherapy Associations. He began to gather a faculty to teach anthroposophic psychology, initially a series of summer workshops, including the Psychosophy Circle, then a formal training originally envisioned as a master’s degree program. This diverse and committed faculty designed the present three-year (nine seminar) program, and has taken two cohorts of twenty students each through the first three-year programs. William Bento passed over the threshold in June 2015.


Faculty

The faculty introduce themselves below. For their publications, please go to the books page.

James A. Dyson, M.D., M.A.

James Dyson, MD, was a co-founder of one of the few English speaking anthroposophical medical clinics, Park Attwood in the UK where he worked from 1979 to 2003. He has practiced as a doctor in Steiner Waldorf Schools and in centers for social therapy. His areas of special interest are developmental psychology and adult mental health, and he is a regular contributor to anthroposophic therapeutic trainings in the UK, USA, and Australia. Dr. Dyson has added Psychosynthesis to his training and is a prolific lecturer of Rudolf Steiner’s body of work in the healing fields.


Roberta R. Nelson, Ph.D., L.P.C.C., L.A.C.

Certified Supervisor
EMDR Practitioner
Psychosynthesis Trainer
Faculty Chair: Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP)

Roberta brings the fruits of her heart, thought, and will forces to conversations with others. Schooling in counseling, human development, and the transpersonal, or spiritual, psychologies of psychosynthesis and anthroposophy have contributed to her personal and professional development.  She has a doctorate degree in Counselor Education from North Dakota State University. A doctorate in Counselor Education qualifies her to supervise, educate, and counsel. In addition, Roberta is dual licensed as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) as well as a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) in the state of North Dakota. Besides the above credentials and licensures, but not limited to, Roberta has been trained in following modalities:

•    Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR);
•    Non-violent Communication (NVC);
•    Beyond Trauma attributed to Stephanie Covington;
•    Dialectical Behavioral Therapy;
•    Psychodrama;
•    And, the spiritual or transpersonal psychology introduced by Roberto Assagioli known as Psychosynthsis.

Dr. Nelson has been employed at a residential treatment facility journeying alongside men and women who have co-occurring diagnoses starting in February of 2008. She resigned in October of 2015 taking a position as core faculty for Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP).

From Roberta: When asked about my professional involvement, I often say that I specialize in spiritual psychology. The enthusiastic listener’s reply is notable and revealing. Almost always the listener takes-off disclosing an extraordinary experience viewed as a spiritual episode. While these so-called “weird” events are invaluable and even life changing, I wonder if the listeners know that there is much more to spiritual psychology than having and sharing amazing stories. The psycho-spiritual psychology of Anthroposophy reveals a profound vision of what it means to be a human being. It is a vision that I longed for throughout my mainstream academic activities spanning from a bachelor’s degree through a doctoral degree. While being invaluable, none of these pursuits exposed the heights, depths, and widths of human makeup and development except for Anthroposophy.


David Tresemer, Ph.D.

Editor and contributor to The Counselor... As If Soul and Spirit Matter and Slow Counseling. Founding member of the International Federation of Anthroposophic Psychotherapy Associations (Dornach, Switzerland). 

With a doctorate in psychology from Harvard University, Dr. Tresemer has followed many paths of research into the transpersonal realms of consciousness, including the Diamond Heart method of A.H. Almaas, Psychosynthesis with David and Judy Bach, Jungian analysis, Star Wisdom (enlightened astrology), Barbara Brennan training, University of the Seven Rays training, and other techniques attuned to Anthroposophia (the angel mediating the possible human being – anthropos – and wisdom - divine Sophia). In 1989, he co-founded the StarHouse in Boulder, Colorado, for community gatherings and workshops ranging from music to personal development. It was completed in 1990 (www.TheStarHouse.org). He has led numerous workshops there over the years.

His writing has a wide range including: purely psychological works (such as Fear of Success, and several articles in psychological journals); "spiritual horticulture" (as in The Scythe Book: Mowing Hay, Cutting Weeds, and Harvesting Small Grains with Hand Tools); star wisdom (as in the astro-biography of Rudolf Steiner in Star Wisdom & Rudolf Steiner: A Life Seen Through the Oracle of the Solar Cross). Recently he wrote The Venus Eclipse of the Sun 2012, concerning the social-psychological impact of a rare celestial event that is still with us. With his wife, Lila, Dr. Tresemer has co-authored: the DVD, "Couple's Illumination" on energy dynamics in relationship; the DVD, "Brain Illumination"; the book, The Conscious Wedding Handbook; a trilogy of theatre scripts (which have all been performed in various places); and Illuminated Relationships (forthcoming, see www.IlluminatedRelationships.com). More recently they have pioneered the initiative of the Mountain Seas Arts and Wilderness Community in remote Australia (MountainSeas.com.au), and The Sophia Element Meditations (SophiaLineage.com, with a serialized workbook on that process available from the website). He also founded the Star Wisdom website (www.StarWisdom.org), and conceived of and wrote the Oracle of the Solar Cross, relating to the heavenly imprint received on a person's day of birth and its consequences for personal development. He has written several articles for the "Journal for Star Wisdom," making the connection between celestial phenomena and social-psychological events on the earth. He writes a column on anthroposophic psychology for the quarterly Lilipoh Magazine.


Karen Derreumaux

Karen Derreumaux, born and raised in Norway, between the lakes and the fjord, left her homeland for England in 1974. There, she completed her Eurythmy training in 1984. Karen completed a 2-year Seminar with Chris Schaefer in 1999 on "Groupwork, Facilitation and Conflict Resolution". She is currently teaching these subjects in the Camphill Academy in upstate New York. Karen has engaged with the work of William Bento since 1996 and completed the 4-year Psychosophy Seminar in 2004. She has practiced Social Therapeutic work in Camphill Centers in England, France, Norway, and the USA for a total of 28 years. Currently, Karen is a free-lance eurythmist, giving courses in her local area of upstate New York, in a variety of contexts and also across the country. She is currently serving as a faculty member and eurythmist for "Resonare," a year-long course for understanding music through the lyre instrument. Karen is also currently serving as an adjunct faculty and eurythmist for the Association of Anthroposophic Psychology.


Gabriel E. Cannon 
Registered Psychotherapist, MA

Gabriel currently works with the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP) as the Program Coordinator. He is the main contact for participants, outside institutions, and venue rentals. Gabriel assists faculty to build curriculum that is in alignment with the standards for Continuing Education. 

At Pacifica Graduate Institute, Gabriel Cannon attained his Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology.  His Bachelor's Degree in Human Development and Adventure Education was achieved at Prescott College. Over the past 15 years, Gabriel has worked with a variety of educational and therapeutic organizations. 

His most recent work with Golden Bridge in Boulder, CO is aimed at developing educational and therapeutic programs using somatic-based dance practices and other various art mediums. At Golden Bridge, Gabriel works as the Director of Organizational Development, Program Director, and Lead Mentor.

In the past, Gabriel developed curriculum, taught classes, and offered supervision in a variety of therapeutic, environmental, and adventure education programs. Gabriel co-founded the Maasai Field Guide Training Program in a remote region of Kenya, which serves to educate native Maasai in eco-tourism practices and natural science. Gabriel worked as the Outpatient Treatment Manager at a dual diagnosis clinic for adults on the island of Oahu, HI. Gabriel also worked in a variety of other clinical settings, which includes adolescent treatment centers, middle school counseling, and other youth support programs. 

Gabriel currently operates BoulderMentors.com, offering therapeutic mentorship services to youth, young adults, and families in Boulder, CO. He has a unique approach with clients, which provides support beyond the office setting.


William Bento, Ph.D.
(Founder, Deceased)

The founder of this initiative, crossed the threshold on June 5, 2015, just before his 64th birthday. He had created many different relationships with many clients as a psychologist, a mentor, and one who consulted the workings of the heavens (astrosophy — astro, star — Sophia, wisdom). In the late 1990’s, with James Dyson, he organized a series of seminars on the East coast on anthroposophic psychology. This became a four-year intensive, three seminars a year, with a committed group of people. It evolved into the Psychosophy Circle which continues to meet annually. At the same time, in Boulder, Colorado, he created working relationships with the StarFire Research Group, who applied intelligent astrology to individuals and world events. At the same time, he nurtured the development of psychology at Rudolf Steiner College, where he worked for several years.

He presented at an international congress on psychotherapy in Dornach, Switzerland, in 1997, creating links with the Dekkers. He was a founding member of IFAPA. He taught seminars in Brazil.

He wrote Lifting the Veil of Mental Illness, contributed to Signs in the Heavens: A Message for Our Time, contributed to The Counselor … As If Soul and Spirit Matter. Every year, many would await his Holy Nights Journal that tracked those important nights between December 24 and January 7, helping many find insights into the year past and the year to come. His final achievement was the establishment of the foundation of AAP, for which he gathered an excellent faculty who continue to offer this program in the United States. His legacy continues to inspire AAP.

Read an obituary of William Bento’s life by Ad Dekkers and Henriette Dekkers-Appel.


Administration

The administration team introduces themselves below.

Michele Guarino
Business Manager

Michele Guarino is the Owner and Founder of A Second Office, LLC. Michele brings 33 years of experience supporting top-level executives in the corporate, legal, real estate, financial, leadership, and software start-up markets.

She has held such positions as Paralegal, Executive Assistant to C-Level and other top level executives, Office Manager, Facilities Manager, and Supervisor. Her responsibilities encompass: Executive Assistance/Management, Office Management, Operating Systems and Procedures, Project Management and Administration, Licensing Agreements and Compliance Processes, Contract Initiation and Management, Right-Hand Support for Mergers and Acquisitions, IPO Process, Employee Supervision and Training, HR Administration, Liaison with Board Members and C-Level Executives, Maintaining Corporate Records, and other related areas too numerous and diverse to list here.

Michele is a Business and Professional Women (BPW) leader.  Since 2010, she has volunteered for this organization and served as a Board Member of BPW Colorado and BPW Boulder.  Michele was the President of BPW Boulder for two years and served in the following roles:  President-Elect, VP of Marketing, VP of Technology, Strategy Team Leader, Social Media Chair, Webmistress, Recording Secretary, Communications Chair, and Grant Review Committee.


Megan Shellman
Marketing Advisor

Megan Shellman lives in Arvada, Colorado with a packed household: husband, two young children, two cats, two dogs, many houseplants and an organic vegetable garden. She was born and raised in Southern Colorado, but has found a home in Boulder, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, France and Sanborn Western Camps. Megan’s children attend a Waldorf-inspired charter school, Mountain Phoenix Community School. The entire family volunteers at the school to help make it the special place it is for educating our future generations.

Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts, communication major, from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Science, organizational leadership major, from Colorado State University. Megan has more than 20 years of experience in a wide variety of disciplines. She brings her former experience in the entertainment industry, strategic and green event planning, advertising sales, print and digital marketing, retail sales, publication and book production, nonprofit leadership, business development and operations management to bear as the owner of her own company: Simple Synergy Consulting. She offers remote business assistance and management, as well as many other professional services to nonprofits, small businesses, and entrepreneurs.

Megan is a Business and Professional Women (BPW) leader. She serves as the Sub-regional Coordinator for BPW International and on the national, state, and local boards for BPW. This volunteer work provides her with the opportunity to be a leader among working women and to utilize her connections in an effort to improve her business and life as a mother, mentor, and mentee.


AAP Logo

Although in our courses we teach about three-fold ways of understanding the human being, also seven-fold (and four and twelve), the AAP logo has five swirls of energy, out of respect for the orbits of Venus—how Venus appears from the earth in an eight-year period forms a perfect pentagram:




We are also moved by the teaching diagrams of Leonardo da Vinci:



and those by Agrippa von Nettesheim:



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