By Rich Simon It seems astonishing that even just two or three decades ago, parents not only pretty much knew what was expected of them to turn their offspring into civilized adults, but they could actually count on society to back them up. Even more astounding, kids seemed to understand this, too. Even if they rebelled against, yelled about, or sullenly resented how “unfair” adults were, they seemed to acknowledge adult authority and realize that they would just have to wait until they turned 18 to get for themselves the keys to the kingdom of grown-up independence.
NETWORKER EXCHANGEBest Thursday Learning Moment or Workshop?It’s not often that I get the opportunity to imagine my life as a landscape. Comments Dan Goleman's Friday Morning KeynoteWow. Well, that was a wake-up call! I consider myself pretty savvy about environmental issues, and I know that many "green" products are mostly a marketing scam. But a resource like "goodguide.com" feels like a revelation. Read moreComments Best Friday Workshop or Learning Moment?When Dan Siegel’s kids were teenagers, and they would whine, “I’m bored” as teens are apt to do, he would respond, “Why don’t you try a new firing pattern?”
03.19.2010 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By Psychotherapy Networker
It’s not that we don’t use most of our brains, he explained during his joint workshop with Natalie Goldberg, it’s that we don’t use many of our neuron firing patterns. Read more Comments Ron Taffel's Friday Lunch AddressWhat an amazing, moving presentation. Right from the start, those video clips were powerful. For me, the first news and movie clips were depicting events and time periods that I've only learned about - they happened before I was born. Read moreComments Natalie Goldberg's Friday Dinner AddressI feel so lucky because not only did I get to hear Natalie Goldberg speak, I got to hear her speak twice in one day. Read moreComments Dan Siegel's Saturday Morning KeynoteI have never been a “science person”. Science has always intimidated me; knowing that I won’t fully understand, terms like “neurons” usually make my eyes glaze over. But, Dan Siegel’s presentation “The Neurobiology of We” was absolutely fascinating. Even though he threw a few of those scary science words at us, he added jokes and vivid examples to make his ideas significant and clear. Read moreComments Best Saturday Learning Moment or Workshop?What a unique opportunity I was given today, to be able to participate in William Doherty’s ethics workshop based on the popular TV show The Sopranos!
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03.19.2010 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By Psychotherapy Networker
Comments Jerome Kagan's Saturday Lunchtime AddressMy mind is reeling after Dr. Jerome Kagan's lunch presentation: "Human Nature and the Possibility of Change." People are wired from birth to have certain dispositions, but are we condemned to these traits? Kagan said, "Science is at an early age for understanding temperament," and that there is an extremely large number of possible temperaments. Read moreComments Barbara Ehrenreich's Saturday Dinner AddressFrom the moment Barbara Ehrenreich stepped onto the stage for tonight’s dinner address, she had the audience cracking up. Her speech protesting positive psychology-well, it was positively striking.
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03.19.2010 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By Psychotherapy Networker
Comments Tara Brach's Sunday Morning KeynoteI can see why Tara Brach was chosen to lead us on the last leg of our Symposium experience. Her presentation about awareness and opening our hearts was very thought-provoking. Even her voice is soothing and even, as if she is perpetually leading meditation.
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03.19.2010 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By Psychotherapy Networker
Comments Favorite Sunday Workshop or Learning Moment?As lively and energetic as it can be to have many people with diverse opinions, perspectives and backgrounds participating in a workshop, my experience Sunday was different because it was such an intimately small group. Comments Afterward: Most Useful/Valuable Thing You Learned?Wow. What a weekend. Rich was right, it was like a festival. I had such a phenomenal time since the moment I arrived Thursday morning.
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03.19.2010 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By Psychotherapy Networker
Comments Afterward: Most Memorable Symposium MomentMaybe it was grand and public - a moment of unmatched eloquence from a keynote speaker. Or maybe it was small and mundane, but unexpectedly moving - or downright hysterical. What was YOUR most memorable moment at Symposium 2010?
03.19.2010 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By Psychotherapy Networker
Comments It's A Therapists' LifeToday was typical and atypical for a Wednesday. It usually starts with heavy breathing and lots of sweat but my personal trainer was out of commission, having undergone reconstructive knee surgery for the second time in 6 months because of basketball-related injuries (or should I say injuries due to delusions of immortality). So I slept in – and loved it. Yesterday had been a seven-client day and I had gone to bed exhausted from lugging projections from session to session. Sometimes you can leave it in the office and other times, it gets in you and stays in you. Even my yoga class the night before had been only mildly restorative. At times, the breath is no match for seven hours of potent and unsavory unconscious attributions. I was told once that the key to being a good therapist is finding a way, when you’re getting covered in shit during a session, to keep one eye open so you can see where the shit’s coming from. Certainly some days smell sweeter than others, but there does seem to be truth in that advice.
06.02.2009 Posted In: NETWORKER EXCHANGE By meghan oconnell
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