Kay R. (Organizer) sent a message to the Boston Emotional & Narcissistic Trauma & CPTSD Support Group mailing list
Welcome Message & Some Q&A’s
Good morning,
Hi all, we are the new organizers of this Meetup group and we wanted to take an opportunity to say hello and answer any questions you may have as to why the group transferred leadership. Here’s a quick breakdown.
Who are you guys and how did you become organizers of this group?
We are a group of seven organizers who initially began running a Narcissistic & Emotional Abuse, CPTSD & Codependency Group two years ago. The flagship groups were located in Pittsburgh and London, the two main hubs for the main organizer Kay R. Within six months, the groups had expanded to include over fifteen hundred people. At that time, Meetup began to ask us to take on fledging, ‘graveyard’ groups where the main organizer either stepped down or had not paid their fees. (You need to pay a monthly fee to run a Meetup group to those who are not aware) – during the course of the following year and a half, our group acquired over ten of these ‘graveyard’ groups to ensure that members who had come to rely on a group or organizer would not be left and/or abandoned. (Fear of abandonment is prevalent in our population) – We posted our meetings in the groups we picked up and allowed those members who had attended meetings with their former organizer to access our free unlimited support groups. You are a member of one of those ‘graveyard’ groups that Meetup asked us to organize.
What happened to Michelle?
I am a person who believes in full disclosure and transparency in this situation as things were posted within the group which were blatantly untrue. Quite frankly, Michelle did not pay her Meetup fees and as a result, the group entered an organizer-less state last week. Either way, it was Meetup who removed Michelle as organizer, not anyone from our group. Last Thursday, our group received notice that this group needed an organizer and we stepped up to help. That is the long and short of it.
Michelle was removed from the group entirely because of profane messages we received from her after Meetup transferred leadership.
I’ve heard you charge for meetings…what is that about?
We do not charge for our Support Group meetings, point blank period. They are complimentary and you can attend as many or as few as you would like. However, if you are a NEW MEMBER (meaning you have never attended one of Michelle’s meetings before, nor any of ours), there is a REQUIREMENT you attend a First Timer’s Meeting which is a meeting where we charge a one time registration fee of $10.00 to assist in covering Organizer costs and fees. (We have seven organizers in this group, all of whom pay Zoom and Meetup fees to organize). The First Timers meeting is one hour long and covers all of the rules and regulations necessary to ensure our group is a safe and secure atmosphere. You will also be provided time to share your story so we can point you in the direction of a good support group for your situation as we have 15 plus meetings per week available. Once you have attended this event, you are not required to pay a fee and remember if you have attended one of Michelle’s events in the past we can look it up and confirm so you will not have to attend the First Timer’s meeting and can incorporate into a regular group (of course if you’d like to sign up for one to meet us, you are more than welcome to.)
What kind of groups do you offer?
We deal with trauma – all kinds of it ranging from Narcissistic Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Trauma, Women’s Issues, Men’s Issues, Parental Narcissism and Abuse, CPTSD and Codependency. Our weekly offerings are as follows: (all times are Eastern Standard)
- Three Weekly Support Groups running on Tuesdays at 7 pm, Thursdays at 8:30 pm and Fridays at 7 pm
- Two Weekly Parental Narcissism Support Groups running on Mondays at 2:30 pm and Wednesdays at 7 pm
- Two Intimate Partner Narcissistic Abuse which run on Mondays at 7 pm and Tuesday at 4 pm (Straight Talk with Nataliya)
- Three Women’s Groups running on Sundays at 5:30 pm and two on Wednesdays at 2:30 pm and 8:30 pm
- One Men’s Group that runs on Sunday nights at 5:30 pm
- A monthly Book Club (this month we will be exploring “The Deepest Well” by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
- And coming soon…a Cultural Narcissism group which will focus on how narcissism runs prevalent in certain cultures run by Sara and Saleh
- One Monthly Meeting for those who cannot attend regular meetings
Special Events:
We do offer workshops throughout the year that focus on specific issues and provide coursework on prevalent problems with trauma healing. Currently we have a CPTSD group starting on July 24th and a Mini Codependency Workshop which runs on Thursday evenings at 6 pm.
Dr. Ramani Dursavela does come to our group for bi yearly Q&A Zoom sessions and the next group is scheduled to take place on October 28, 2022, so mark your calendars.
All the above events are pay by event or class as they are workshops. They are not regular support meetings.
In addition, we do provide free guided meditation on occasion with Dr. Leyla Rafieani-Tahieri from Leeds, UK. When a meeting is posted for guided meditation, we will advise you – these sessions are complimentary. If you’d like to attend Dr. Leyla’s weekly guided meditation sessions on Thursdays at 1:30 pm, please PM me and I will direct you were to sign up.
In conclusion, we believe in ‘staying in our own lane’ (you will hear that expression a lot) and wanted to make sure you knew who we were and what we are about and can hopefully offer you some peace and forward movement in your healing process. Should you have ANY questions at all, my PM’s are always open. Our organizers are ALL trauma survivors, but we are not licensed therapists. We ALWAYS recommend supplementing groups with sessions with a trauma informed licensed therapist of your choice. This journey is a tough one, but sometimes knowing you’re not alone is a stepping point in recovery. Can’t wait to meet you all soon.
x Kay R., Roby, Nataliya, Debby, Saleh, Christine & Kay O.