1) Membership: We discussed how to increase attendance at meetings. Some points touched on were:
• Our mailing list (snail-mail and email combined) consists of 180 people—both dissociative peers and therapists.
• The meeting is drop-in. There are about 12 people who come to meetings at one time or another, with an average of 4-6 people at any given meeting. Last month, no one except the moderator came to the meeting.
• New Landscape costs consist of: meeting-room rental, duplicating, postage, envelopes. There is no charge for attending meetings, but members may make a donation if they wish. (At present, the moderator, Vivian, is absorbing most of the costs.)
• There are many people who like getting the mailings, but who don’t come to the meetings.
• Possibilities of why people don’t come to meetings: The time is inconvenient. Some people feel connected just by getting the mailings, and aren’t comfortable coming in person. Some people may want to come to meetings but can’t.
• New Landscape is primarily for people who come to the meetings. We are glad that other people get some benefit from the mailings alone, but that is not our primary reason for existing.
• We will create a questionnaire to send to the 180 people on the mailing list. The questions to be included will be discussed at the May meeting.
• It was felt that even if one person comes, we’ve done some good.
• The question of having therapists who don’t dissociate attend meetings was raised again. Again, we decided that we want to keep it a peer support group only.
• We might try reaching people with other dissociative disorders, such as depersonalization and derealization.
• It is a Catch-22: the more people who come, the less share-time each person can have. (It was agreed that at present, our problem is too few people rather than too many.)

2) Monthly Meeting Announcement: We agreed to expand the wording of who New Landscape is for. The new wording is:
New Landscape is a peer-led support group for anyone who is healing from DID/MPD or another dissociative disorder, who is in the process of re-claiming self and life, and who would like to share experiences, thoughts, and feelings with peers.

3) FAQ Change:
Do you have to be integrated to come to the group?
Old answer: No.
New answer: No. In fact, most people who come to the group still have a dissociative system and are not integrated.

This was the first time since we began in November 2004 that no one came to the meeting except the moderator (“V”). Several people told “V” ahead of time they wouldn’t be there, but as New Landscape is a drop-in meeting (you can come to some meetings and not others), she stayed the entire time—in case anyone came late, as sometimes happens.

“V” used the time to work on an article about New Landscape that will appear in the April issue of Many Voices. The theme of that issue is support groups. (For anyone wishing to subscribe to Many Voices, please contact: www.manyvoicespress.com; Many Voices, PO Box 2639, Cincinnati, OH 45201-2639, (513) 751-8020.)

1) Defining who this group is for (dropping the term “almost-better”):
The group had been in agreement for several months that we should drop the “almost-better” description. We have now finalized a new description. It is:
• New Landscape is for anyone (male or female) who is healing for DID/MPD or another dissociative disorder and would like to share experiences, thoughts, and feelings with peers.
• New Landscape participants are in the process of re-claiming self and life. They may still have a dissociative system, but they have a framework for understanding it. They may still have abreactions and crises, but they are able to cope with them outside the group. (New Landscape does not provide crisis support.)

2) New Members Pamphlet:
We finalized the wording of the New Members pamphlet. It has sections for:
• Who is New Landscape For?
• What Participants Get Out of Meetings.
• FAQ.
• Some Topics Discussed at Past Meetings.
• Meeting Format.
We will send one copy to everyone on the New Landscape mailing list. (Those on the snail-mail list will get a folded pamphlet. Those on the e-mail list will get 2 pages which should be printed back to back, then folded in 3.) If the e-mail people would like to receive a hard copy by snail-mail, they may contact us at newlandscape1@yahoo.com. Bulk copies may also be requested (there will be a nominal charge to cover postage and printing for bulk orders). Lynn W. of Many Voices has agreed to include the pamphlet in one of the Many Voices mailings.

1) Sharing-time allocation:
This was the first meeting where we tried out the new time-allocation formula for the sharing portion of the meeting.  The group agreed unanimously that they liked the new format.  (Formerly, each person, when recognized by the moderator, could talk as long as he/she wished, and each person could share several times.  Under the new format, each person may still share several times, but each individual share is allowed a maximum of 6 minutes.  The moderator gives a warning at 4 minutes, and another at 5.  Of course, the person sharing may stop before 6 minutes if he/she wishes.)  

2) Changing the term “Almost-Better” to something else:
We are still in the process of wording the phrase that describes who this group is for.  We agreed that we would drop the term “almost-better.”  Some suggestions for replacing it were: “healing,” “reclaiming life.”   We did not want to use “in recovery,” because it sounded too much like AA.  

3) New Members Pamphlet:
The majority of time was spent on the wording of the New Members Pamphlet. It is intended for people who are considering participating in New Landscape. It will give them an idea of who we are, what happens at meetings, etc.