QUIET MINDS: Meditation may help children with mental healh issues

By Anne Calos

May 02, 2008 02:49 pm

— By Anne Calos
calos@gnnewspaper.com

Alisa Parlette was just a child when she realized she had a special “gift.”
“I saw people who had ‘crossed over’ when I was little. My mother didn’t want to hear about it, but I knew it was special, so I just developed it over the years,” Parlette said.
Since then, Parlette worked as a psychic medium, doing readings at homes and office parties and teaching meditation at the former Mother Earth at the Old Post Office. A very personal experience, though, brought her to offer a meditation class geared specifically to children with mental health disabilities and their parents.
Parlette’s two sons, Daniel, 18 and Christopher, 16, both have mental health disabilities. She found that meditation helped to calm them and allowed them to develop a special bond with her.
The class, which is now offered at her newly opened Parlette’s Place at Lockport’s Bewley Building, teaches a class in meditation to children ages 8 and older who are dealing with a host of mental health problems including autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Parlette is certified in the Satya Method of Meditation, a way of teaching children through meditation that focuses on the individual child’s needs. It stresses a relaxed atmosphere where the child can learn in their own way.
“The children can choose a symbol, such as a circle or star, at each session, which helps them relax. We start out with crafts and then they can draw a picture of their ‘special place’ where they can feel relaxed. Then we meditate for about 10 minutes and they can see their special place, which helps them focus,” Parlette said.
The children and parents are also given separate CDs they can listen to at home. The sessions last about 50 minutes.
Parlette said the sessions are part meditation and part parent/child bonding, and they teach families techniques they can use at home.
Angela Ritz of Lockport said she attended a six-week meditation session with her 9-year-old son J.J., who has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism.
Ritz said that she was happy with what the meditation did for J.J.
“I had heard about how the meditation could relax a child, so I decided to try it. It really did help. It was very relaxing for both of us, and it helped my son calm down,” Ritz said.
One of the most important parts of the session, she said, was when she and her son wrote down what they felt when they were there so they could take it home and remember what the meditation taught them.
“I would definitely do it again and recommend it for other parents. I felt very comfortable,” Ritz said.
A board member and participant at Camp Get-A-Way, a summer camp for children with mental health issues, Parlette learned a lot by attending the camp with her sons. The camp was started six years ago by parents of children with mental health issues.
Margaret Wright, vice president of the camp’s board of directors and family support coordinator of New Directions Youth and Family Services, said the camp was started by five parents of children with mental health challenges as a way to allow the families to go on summer vacation.
“We were all involved in the family support movement, and one thing that kept coming up was that it was very difficult to take our children on vacation. Other people didn’t understand and made critical comments to us about our children’s behavior, so we wanted to have a place where families could go where they would be accepted,” Wright said.
The all-volunteer camp, located in Varysberg, combines regular summer camp activities such as music, sports, arts and crafts, swimming, boating, nature walks and fishing with support group sessions run by mental health professionals. The camp is geared toward the whole family so they can enjoy activities and learn together. The camp’s Web site is cgaw.org
Parlette runs regular fundraisers for the camp and is planning an open house to benefit the camp and introduce people to her business from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 21.
In addition to the child/parent meditation class, Parlette’s Place offers a wide range of other classes, including beginners and advanced meditation for adults, psychic development and spiritual readings. She also teaches a psychic development class at the Dale Association. She soon will add classes in grief meditation and post traumatic stress disorder at her office.
Debbie Hastings and Stacey Poole are two adults who have attended the classes. Both say they find it brings a balance to their lives.
“I really like it. It brings peace to my life. It makes me more positive, and the world needs that,” Poole said.
Hastings agreed, saying, “Emotionally, it keeps you balanced. You just feel better after meditating.”
Parlette, an ordained spiritualist minister, said that being a psychic medium is a big responsibility that she takes seriously.
“There are a lot of ethics involved. I’ve taken classes where there are no morals taught, and that’s wrong. I take this very seriously.”

IF YOU GO
WHAT: Parlette’s Place
WHERE: 435 Bewley Building, Lockport
SERVICES: Meditation classes, group meditation circle, psychic development, spiritual readings and home parties
MORE INFORMATION: Call 940-5948, e-mail alisa@parlettesplace.com or visit parlettesplace.com

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