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2011 conference - update jan 30


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Greetings all:

I'm going to start a thread for conference updates.

As already announced, the conference will be in Chicago on the weekend of September 16.

It will be in the Rosemont area, near O'Hare, the hotel should be finalized shortly.

We are working on several things to make this the best conference yet.

Transportation, dinners, etc.......  stay tuned.

We will be adding details as they become available.

Please, ask any questions and post any ideas.

FG

PS:  First announcement in follows!!

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Perhaps once or twice a year, somewhere on our planet, there is a room filled mostly with Cluster Headache sufferers, along with a few loved ones and medical professionals. In that room, there exists a rare opportunity to better understand ourselves, each other, and our condition.

Such an opportunity will be possible at the ClusterBusters conference beginning September 16, 2011 in Chicago Illinois, led by a fellow clusterhead and licensed psychotherapist, Dr. Larry Schor.

Dr. Schor describes the sessions as this:

There are a number of common factors that are hard, if not impossible to explain to others. My sense is that nearly everyone with this condition has been psychotic. Apparently it is quite common during an attack to feel compulsions like, “Maybe if I get the pliers and pull some of these molars it would help” or “If I drill a small hole in my head it might relieve the pressure”

There also seems to be a pretty universal experience of assault by some otherly beast. The attached picture seems to capture this for many of us.

Suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completions are alarmingly high among CH sufferers. For many, it also seems that the suicidal ideation is not even so much about stopping the pain, but more as a way of killing “It” even if it means I will die in the process. There is a fear that this might sound like melodramatic hyperbole to outsiders.

The existential therapist, Irvin Yalom identifies the therapeutic factors of group work (see link below).

I believe these principles offer particular relevance for our group.

On the Saturday afternoon of the Conference, Dr. Schor will facilitate two group sessions.

Our first group meeting will focus on the theme of what we have in common that makes us an “us.”    What this means is that we clusterheads have all or mostly felt psychotic helpless, been misunderstood by people who suggested unhelpful things, been traumatized by the assault of a cluster attack, contemplated suicide, felt the need to hide for various reasons, etc.  There appears to exist a PTSD-like quality among some. The individual and cumulative effects of enduring attacks alter aspects of our lives.

Our second group meeting will explore “what helps.” Recognizing that no singular treatment works for everyone, we will share our successes and failures; medically, emotionally, and relationally as we collaboratively approach some of the difficult choices required to navigate through this condition.

Registration details will be available shortly.

Mark this conference date on your calendars, youÂ’re not going to want to miss this.

Link:

Therapeutic Factors in Group Work: adapted from (Yalom and Leszcz, 2005)

http://www.agpa.org/guidelines/factorsandmechanisms.html

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Cluster Headache, a Kid's View.

ClusterBusters is pleased to confirm a presentation by a young lady whose mother has cluster headache and of her personal journey into becoming a supporter of someone with this condition.

She will share how she felt the first time she witnessed a high level attack and how she now helps by assisting with the oxygen, ice and sitting with her parent during an attack.

Through this, they both have found decreased feelings of helplessness and have reduced the worries, frustrations and fears we all often experience around our cluster headaches.

"A Kid's View" will be a wonderful story from the perspective of a teen supporter, filled with moments of pain, insight and laughter. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

hi guys im from the uk . i am hoping to attend your confrence in the uk . money and head allowing hoping to get some multiple cranial nerve blocks start of sept (pre booked ) so head will make the journey. i can sort my flight out but need details of hotel and price so i can get all this covered as on a tight budget. anyone else coming from the u.k if so we can fly out together support each other on flight ect. looking forward to meeting the guys i speak to online . if you want to talk or let me in on a cheap way of staying in america for the confrence you can get me on facebook  name is GRAHAM MOORE look forward to hearing from you all ;D :D

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Hey Graham,

It'd be great to see someone make it here from the UK. Do you know Ben Kahn?

You're not going to get a much better price on a hotel than the $79 at the conference hotel.

Also, do you have any idea how many Graham Moores there are on Facebook? I stopped looking after about 100.

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Hi ya Darrell,

Great to see you posting and that you seem to be well enough/confident enough to attend our conference.

Have a good one mate.

Unless I have sent Graham a masx at some stage, I donÂ’t think we know each other.

Have a good one, all of you.

shocked

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