All Day Workshops |  Morning Only |  Afternoon Only

Friday, March 27

Download PDF Friday Workshops here.

All Day (2-Part) Workshops

10:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

201 & 301 - The Language of Discovery, Part 1 and Part 2

* David Whyte

The language of everyday life is so often debased by jargon, self-serving polemic, and manipulation that we become numbed to the genuine power and beauty of words. Language well used--whether in poetry, stories, or other forms of literature--can awaken us, open our senses to all the richness and glory of the world, even comfort us when we're in pain. In this conversational workshop, you'll hear poetry and prose, learn about the kinds of imagery and rhythms that move and transport people into different ways of being, and come to understandings that will help you deepen and strengthen your own therapeutic voice, while learning to appreciate the deep qualities of silence. We'll talk about how to have and generate the "courageous conversations" too often buried in the preoccupations of our everyday lives. (This session will continue with Workshop 301.)

David Whyte, a poet, corporate consultant, and marine zoologist, has led natural history expeditions around the world. He's the author of The Three Marriages: Work, Self & Other (forthcoming) and Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity.

202 & 302 - Changing Brains, Changing Minds, Part 1 and Part 2
Neurobiology in the Consulting Room

* Louis Cozolino

It seems obvious that psychotherapy must have an impact on brain processes, considering the extent of the brain's inherent plasticity. But how does psychotherapy change the brain and what do therapists do--or what should they do--to be more effective in bringing these changes about? In this workshop, we'll discuss the psychological conditions of therapy that promote neurobiological change: how a safe therapeutic relationship creates the neurobiological context necessary for change, how clinically controlled states of cognitive and emotional arousal lead to neural protein synthesis, and how therapeutic narratives seem to develop new neural circuits. You'll learn the ways in which the language and metaphors of different models of therapy tap into different brain processes, and what our current state of neurological knowledge suggests about how to have a direct impact on particular brain functions. (This session will continue with Workshop 302.)

Louis Cozolino, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Pepperdine University. He's the author of The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships, The Making of a Therapist, and The Healthy Aging Brain.

203 & 303 - Dealing with Your Most Difficult Clients, Part 1 and Part 2

Bill O'Hanlon

Clients with borderline issues, trauma survivors, and those with other chronic problems frequently are paralyzed by ambivalence and impulses toward self-hatred and self-harm. Suggestions, interventions, and proposed solutions are often met with "Yes, but" or "You don't understand." In this workshop, you'll learn how to widen your clinical lens so that you'll neither be rigidly attached to any pet theory nor overinvested in having your clients change. You'll discover how to be with clients in their ambivalences and contradictions in a way that permits them to choose to step into the possibility that things can be different. We'll explore stories, task assignments, and techniques of inclusion and permission that can move therapy forward with your most difficult clients. (This session will continue with Workshop 303.)

Bill O'Hanlon, M.S., has given more than 2,000 workshops internationally since 1978 and coaches people to become compelling, successful presenters in his Presenter's Boot Camp. He's written or cowritten 29 books, the latest being Write Is a Verb and A Guide to Trance Land.

204 & 304 - Mindfulness and Depression, Part 1 and Part 2

Susan Woods

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an innovative treatment that integrates the effectiveness of mindfulness practices in changing clients' relationships to their thoughts and moods with the precision and empirical rigor of cognitive therapy. In this workshop, we'll explore how helping clients see thoughts and emotions as transient events rather than intractable facts can strengthen their tolerance for difficult feelings and help them become more self-accepting. You'll get a pragmatic overview of MBCT, a treatment model that includes methods for developing a different relationship to emotions and depression-generating cognitions and behaviors, identifying relapse triggers, and living with minute-to-minute awareness of life. We'll discuss the benefits to the therapist of maintaining a personal mindfulness practice and how to find the time to integrate one in a busy schedule. (This session will continue with Workshop 304.)

Susan Woods, M.S.W., L.I.C.S.W., has practiced meditation and yoga since 1981. In her practice, she teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) groups. She's a contributor to the Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness.

* Symposium Featured Speaker