connect with Shannon
Relationship Gardening by Shannon Batts
  • Couples
    • Antiracism Groups
    • Walk & Talk
    • Black, Trans Authors
    • About >
      • Shannon
      • Rates
  • Women's Groups
  • Spouses Resource Center
    • Couples and Families of Trans >
      • Transgender >
        • Trans Quotes
        • Trans in Couples
        • Gender Letters Portland
    • Spouses Group
    • Spouses Stories >
      • Partners of Trans Online Support
  • Reviews
  • Telehealth
  • Resources/Events
    • Events for better relationships >
      • Retreats for couples >
        • workshops for better relationships
    • Rethinking Psychiatry-alternatives >
      • Coming Off Psych Drugs
  • Store
    • Free Gift
  • Blog
    • IRL Misfit Mom Over 50
  • HIPAA
  • Hypnosis

Are you looking for withdrawal information?  If so, then go to my page:
http://relationshipgardening.com/coming-off-psych-drugs.html
 
Read on and get inspired to instigate change in you, your family, and community- one friend, one book group, one doctor, or clinic- at a time to transform the mental health paradigm.  Many psychiatric survivors have already found the difference between medicating and healing and know now that we can do better.  Look to success for clues.  Here are some leaders in this area of change...(there are MANY more).

Picture
 Welcome to ideas and information about mental health that will blow your mind, but in a good way!
 You can find incredible informative and helpful updated conversations with the following experts by searching for their videos online. And when you do, you may be surprised at how soon you will start to grow your hope and path forward.

The work of Dr Chris Palmer, an esteemed Harvard researcher and Dr is connecting a lot of the dots for the world of mental health in noting that metabolic health is what we need to be looking at, researching, supporting. His book Brain Energy is a fabulous audio book in his own voice! If you follow him on social media, others who have found their own mental health recovery frequently comment and point out how they found healing through things like ketogenic approaches. Quite a bit of networking goes on in the comments.
 
https://www.chrispalmermd.com/

In Portland, Oregon you can find folks from Rethinking Psychiatry providing or noting events, films, alternative treatment locations, and survivor organizations for healing mental and emotional conditions.
www.rethinkingpsychiatry.org

Here is a look back to highlights of prior years' Rethinking Psychiatry Symposiums and how so much interest grew in Portland, Oregon for growing alternatives to psychiatric drugs and forced medication.

 At the bottom of the page, watch excerpts from attorney James Gottstein's keynote in Portland, OR at Rethinking Psychiatry.  He reveals his first episode with psychotic symptoms after he had graduated from Harvard and was a practicing lawyer.  Once he learned to navigate schizophrenic symptoms, he eventually was instrumental in many important contributions in the field-see below to read more.. 
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights), and Zyprexa Papers podcasts, many with Jim Gottstein can be found at
 
https://thezyprexapapers.com/podcasts/
             ··························································

 Robert Whitaker, the Rethinking Psychiatry first keynote speaker was an is an inspiring gift! His work is critical to getting clarity on what the psychiatric industry has done to manipulate consumers and what is being done to come out of the fog nationally and locally.
In 2011 Whitaker delivered to Rethinking Psychiatry Symposium eye opening discoveries about psychiatric drugging of America covered in detail in his award winning book, Anatomy of an Epidemic. In 2012 he presented a fascinating follow up information night on the uphill battle since the book's release. The best news of all was his work with those who set national policy for psych meds, and their big aha, although begrudgingly, to create safe withdrawal protocols for children.

In the 2012 symposium here in Portland, Oregon, Relationship Gardening (Shannon Batts!) was included in the Saturday workshops!  We covered everyday and conflict management tools that alleviate relationship stress so that taking action for wellness is made easier.  This is the same excellence you get in couples counseling in the Gottman research based approach which I use at home and as a therapist. No symposium was offered for 2013, however small meetings and film events continued. 

The Rethinking Psychiatry event is an inclusive forum for mental health professionals, organizations, and those seeking to learn more about holistic and integrative treatment options for mental health issues. 2012 highlighted personal stories, practitioner experiences, and clarifying individual’s legal rights.

Forced Medication, Psychotropic Drugs & Children.  James Gottstein, attorney and founder of the PsychRights Law Project for Psychiatric Rights, was the 2012 keynote speaker.  The overuse of medication in the mental health system, especially with children, was examined.  Mr. Gottstein’s talk was followed by a panel discussion.

Since late 2002, Mr. Gottstein has devoted the bulk of his time pro bono to the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) whose mission is to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock across the United States. Starting, in 2004, Jim has made addressing the alarming and horrific increase in the psychiatric drugging of children and youth a high priority. 

Mr. Gottstein has won four (as of 2012) important Alaska Supreme Court cases, including a June 2006 decision, Myers v. Alaska Psychiatric Institute, which ruled Alaska’s forced drugging procedures unconstitutional.  Myers has been called “the most important State Supreme Court decision” on forced drugging in 20 years.

Mr. Gottstein is most known around the US and internationally for subpoenaing and releasing the Zyprexa Papers in late 2006, resulting in a series of New York Times articles and an editorial calling for a Congressional investigation.  In January of 2009, Eli Lilly pled guilty and agreed to pay $1.4 Billion in civil and criminal fines for the activities revealed by the Zyprexa Papers.  Dr Gottstein openly discusses his schizophrenia and how he finds his way through it. 

Articles by James Gottstein:
  • A Three Pronged Approach to Mental Health System Change
  • Multifaceted Grassroots Efforts to Bring About Meaningful Change to Alaska’s Mental Health Program
  • Psychiatry: Force of Law
  • Psychiatrists’ Failure to Inform: Is there Substantial Financial Exposure?
  • Ethical and Moral Obligations Arising From Revelations of Pharmaceutical Company Dissembling
Video by James Gottstein:
  • The Psychiatric Drugging of Children & the Elderly
    
Our 2014 Symposium gave us key note speaker Dr. James Gordon, 
https://jamesgordonmd.com/ Harvard educated psychiatrist and world renowned expert in using mind body medicine to heal depression, anxiety and psychological trauma. His strategies felt so good in just the demonstration with all of us that I later did the Mind Body Skills Group series to learn more experiential stress relief and problem solving.

Here is a more recent interview about individual and poulation wide healing brought to communities (2021).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2ONMa5PROQ Dr Gordon talks with his latest Executive Director and Managing Director of CMBM, Rosemary Lombard about pandemic impacts on family and education and her systemwide work. Rosemary boosts communities to deal with trauma, inspiring grassroots positivity. The organization has diversified and addressed own prejudices while as usual building community across the world.

Dr. Gordon is the founder and director of The Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington DC.  He is also the author of several books, the latest one being a very practical must read for skills we all need, "The Transformation, Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma." Nationally and internationally, Dr. Gordon has created ground breaking programs of comprehensive mind-body healing for physicians, medical students, and other healing professionals as well as for people with cancer, depression and other chronic conditions, and for traumatized children, families and individuals recovering from the trauma of natural disasters and war.  

Sample the main Mind Body tools I also use to relieve suffering and bring in more peace, calm and joy in the midst of chaos at 
https://cmbm.org/thetransformation/resources/




email Shannon
New Enhanced Relationship Check-Up now available with streamlined 30% less questions, an easy way to reassess progress if we'd like, and plenty of information about strengths and what to repair. Available for $39 (to Gottman Institute) for clients of Approved Member therapist Shannon Batts.
DONATE to "Relationship Gardening by Shannon Batts" by clicking here to go to the checkout Square site where you can enter your donation of any amount and support resource redirection of free services to
​marginalized clients. 

​Or donate via Paypal.me/shannonbatts
​Thank you!
 
Gottman Approved Member



​TESTIMONIALS. WOWEEEEE!
(results not guaranteed)
 http://relationshipgardening.com/couples-therapist-reviews-portland.html
Proud Member of TherapyDen
Picture
How to find a good marriage counselor?  Ask Shannon Batts in Portland, Oregon.  Note from Shannon: Make sure they have advanced training (not just degrees and licenses) with couples, can describe what they learned and how they deliver it to you, and are also HAPPILY married!

​Can they speak to their privilege or marginalizations and how they impact counseling with you?


​

1. Oppezzo M, Schwartz DL. Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2014 Jul;40(4):1142-52. doi: 10.1037/a0036577. Epub 2014 Apr 21. PMID: 24749966.

​2. Calogiuri G, Evensen K, Weydahl A, Andersson K, Patil G, Ihlebæk C, Raanaas RK. Green exercise as a workplace intervention to reduce job stress. Results from a pilot study. Work. 2015;53(1):99-111. doi: 10.3233/WOR-152219. PMID: 26684708.

3. 
What moves you? Physical activity strategies in older women
Marily Oppezzo, Lauren Wegner, James J Gross, 
Daniel L Schwartz, Tessa Eckley, Abby C King, Sally Mackey, Marcia L Stefanick
First Published May 18, 2021 Research Article Find in PubMed
https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053211014593
Looking for a Marriage Counselor who studies and applies awareness of intersectionality, and the importance of examining her own hidden bias?
Shannon is a Race Talks Facilitator in Portland, Oregon, intentionally under (completed) training (100s+ hours) and ongoing mentorship by Donna Maxey (retired) and Shaina Pomerantz, JD, MSOL.
  





​Shannon Batts, Licensed Professional Counselor of Portland, Oregon, lic# C2379, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for Californians, lic# MFT 34477, is Marriage Friendly, with better than neutrality toward the outcome of your life long love commitment. Shannon Batts is a Portland, Oregon counselor, with advanced skills, education and training in assisting couples (extremely rare among counselors). Lesbian, gay, trans, mixed gender identity, questioning gender, nonbinary, and straight couples of all ages seek out tools and support for their relationships from Shannon Batts. Shannon trains ongoingly to be antiracist and is a facilitator and consultant at Race Talks PDX. Transgender, Black Americans, or unhoused clients will find amazing flexibility in counseling rates if you need it because you've been through enough!


​

www.couplesintransition.com
www.spousesgroup.com
www.spousesresourcecenter.com
www.spousesresourcecenter.org
www.relationshipgardening.com
all arrive at Relationship Gardening by Shannon Batts, and Spouses Resource Center so as to increase options for couples, including those facing gender transition to have excellent support for making it through transition together.
Couples with no LGBTQ identities also benefit by Relationship Gardening.
Click to set custom HTML
Electronic/internet based communication is not a guarantee of privacy as it is always subject to security breach or hacking. You do maintain the right to email, text or video chat regardless of the risk.
 Shannon, a Covid conscious therapist, with lived experience of Long COVID, is the counselor's counselor all about growing a happy relationship, with Gottman research based relationship and marriage help and telehealth video sessions. Clinical hypnosis available as Shannon completed the 100-Hour Comprehensive Training in Applying Clinical Hypnosis in Strategic Psychotherapy intensive by Dr. Michael Yapko. Marriage Counseling, marriage therapy, couple's therapy, couple's coaching, premarital counseling, help for transgender or non binary coming out in marriage, support for spouses of transgender or non binary partners, couples group for transgender partners and cisgender spouses, questioning gender in your marriage, marriage retreats, marriage workshops, antiracist coaching for engaged couples, antiracism groups for white people, antiracism couples groups, antiracism groups for professionals, custom antiracism groups, marriage affairs or adultery, porn or sex addiction or compulsion in your marriage, couples communication training-whatever you call it-make sure your best marriage counseling choice in CA, or in Portland, Oregon has Advanced Gottman Institute aka Relationship Research Institute training.  A Gottman trained therapist like Shannon Batts knows how to move couples from sticky negativity to a garden of new possibilities from the very first couples' session.  Services available by Zoom for all of CA and OR. Walking sessions for individual meetings. relationshipgardening.com spousesresourcecenter.com 

Photo from bagsgroove