Teachings are based in Ray Castellino’s Family Support model, developed at the B.E.B.A. (Building and Enhancing Bonding & Attachment) clinic, Ojai, CA, USA.

At its heart the B.E.B.A. model supports the integration of the Prenatal & Perinatal period, offers deep listening to children and nurtures connection within the family.

An eight-part series for parents who want to improve and deepen their listening skills and support the healing of their child’s prenatal and perinatal experiences. The series is suitable for parents with children up to 10 years old.

This is not a professional training – if you’re a play therapist who is interested in the BEBA clinic’s family support model, please contact me for information on a course series coming up for play therapists.

Prenatal and perinatal foundational imprinting, and trauma, show up in the present in children in their:

• play
• non-verbal behaviour
• perceptions of people and the world around them
• nervous system
• emotional and somatic experiences
• attachment style and dynamics
• embodiment, groundedness and presence level.
• how they sequence through their day and experience transitions

A child’s early stories and experiences are active both within, and underneath, their behaviour and express largely through non-verbal communication. Parent’s can learn how to listen underneath behaviour to the non-verbal, and interact with their child in a way that’s healing, satisfying and nurtures deeper connection in the family. Non-verbal communications can take us into our child’s earliest stories and experiences. By creating a special play space in which we use child-centred, non-directive play we can begin to hear about what needs attention and love. Play is a child’s natural way of communicating.

Parents will be supported to ‘listen underneath’ through:

• 20 minute child-centred, non-directive play sessions at home with both parents, and their chosen child, present
• learning about prenatal and perinatal imprinting in the classes
• receiving support and feedback about the home play sessions throughout the series (these will be videod at home on Zoom and shown at the class
• teachings, and experiential content, for llistening underneath to ‘non-verbal’ information being communicated

Play is the natural language of children, yet we often expect children to come into our more verbal way of expressing. We can meet and hear children more deeply through play, and nurture some new ways of responding that may bring us closer.

During the series Castellino’s eight principles will be taught and practiced both in the group and at home, as participants learn how to hold space for this special kind of play and listening.

Class 1: The Principles

Ray Castellino’s eight principles will be taught and practiced together in the ongoing class series. The principles are a great parenting resource as they nurture deeper family connections, safety and respectful support for all family members: 1. Welcome 2. The Pause 3. Choice 4. Negotiating Touch 5. Mutual Support & Cooperation 6. Self-Care 7. Brief Frequent Eye Contact 8. Confidentiality.

Class 2: Prenatal & Perinatal Imprinting

Pre and perinatal foundational imprinting shows up in the daily lives of children, adults and in family dynamics. It is the deepest and most intense relational period of our lives and often requires relational healing. Within the play sessions support can be provided to integrate and resolve hurts and challenges from back then. We will begin to understand what children need, and how we can listen underneath behaviour to receive the story of their experiences coming in to life.

Class 3: Parents’ Prenatal & Perinatal Imprinting OR MIGHT BE HOW TO DO THE PLAY AT HOME

As we sit in witness to our child’s non-verbal stories and imprinting we will inevitably meet ourselves in those early places. We may also notice ancestral imprints arising in the home-play and feel their impacts in our own lives, relationships and parenting.

Classes 4 – 8: Listening Underneath: Viewing Home-Play Video Sessions

Parents will learn how to set up, and hold space, for a child-centred, non-directive 30-minute home-play session.

For the first home-play session Karen will be present to support the family. This session will be 30-minutes, followed within 1-2 days by a 30-minute debrief of the session with both parents. The session and debrief will be recorded on Zoom. With parents permission segments of the session are likely to be used in the class for teaching purposes. Each parent will be asked for written permission for use of video content, and may specify what clips can be used. Watching each others home-play video sessions is central to the series and will provide us with a very rich learning environment. Home-play session recordings are at the heart of this series as we build on experiences and share what we are learning at home.

Home-play sessions provide empathy and deep listening to your child which, supports healing and integration of unheard and unresolved issues and challenges. All of us need to be seen and heard so that we can land and settle in ourselves.

There will be space for four families, with a commitment from both parents to attend both the classes and the home-play sessions. Parents with more than one child will pick one of their children for home-play sessions for the duration of the series. The maximum group size is eight parents. The home-play sessions are focussed on one child only; childcare is required for siblings who may be in the home during both home-play or classes. The classes are for adults only.

Classes 8-10: Parents’ Prenatal & Perinatal Imprinting

We’re conscious, and sentient during our journey into life and we were having our own experiences, and responding to them, throughout. As we listen to our child’s early stories we’re most likely to hear the echoes of our own prenatal and perinatal journey arising. Our own early imprints affect our lives, relationships, and our parenting, and can also travel down our ancestral lines, particularly when early trauma is unresolved through the generations. Healing ourselves as parents is important as our child may be carrying our unresolved imprinting. When parents become aware of, heal and own their own unresolved imprinting it can lift from their child’s system.

Other important information for parents:  Only one child will be focussed on per class series. During home-play sessions siblings will need to have childcare in a seperate space from where the play is taking place.

I recommend that parents sign-up for the Bonus Offer below

Bonus Offer:  

Three one-hour sessions with Karen at a reduced total fee of $395.00 (normally $480.00) CONTACT KAREN FOR PRICES IN EUROPE/LOWER ECONOMY AREAS. 

Each session can be for one parent or both parents together. Each parent attending the series may purchase the Bonus Offer.