March 26, 2010

All-Day Workshops | Morning Only | Afternoon Only

Friday All Day Workshops 11 am - 1 pm and 3 pm - 5 pm

201 301 - Treating the New American Family, Part 1 and Part 2: Negotiating the Paradoxes of Modern Parenting

Ron Taffel and Martha Straus

Today’s post-boomer parents and their children typically are the products of the same lifestyle experiences, and the rules that once defined parent-child relationships--top-down hierarchy, unquestioned parental authority, clear boundaries--are increasingly irrelevant. Yet, children still need authoritative leadership in the form of parental guidance and love. Using case examples, we’ll offer an approach that balances contemporary chaos with positive interdependence and stunning disrespect with mutual empathy. You’ll learn concrete tools to get high-risk, attention-deprived kids and parents to listen to and learn from each other, build genuine resilience in troubled kids without phony praise, and lower the level of aggression in fragmented homes. We’ll focus on identifying a child’s natural listening, conversational, and learning style and using them as guidelines to create meaningful limits and communication that fosters autonomy. (This session will continue with Workshop 301.)

Ron Taffel, Ph.D., is chairman of the board of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York. His latest book is Childhood Unbound: Saving Our Kids’ Best Selves.

Martha Straus, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University New England and adjunct instructor in psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School, is the author of Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Intervention and Hope.

202 302 - Rethinking PTSD, Part 1 and Part 2: A Blueprint for Treating Complex Trauma

Mary Jo Barrett

Trauma experts now distinguish between PTSD as a reaction to a single traumatic event and complex trauma as a far deeper, more pervasive phenomenon rooted in a person’s developmental and early-attachment history. In this workshop, we’ll discuss a practical, three-stage model that provides clear principles for gathering information, structuring treatment, and matching interventions to a client’s specific needs. You’ll learn if, when, and how to integrate techniques like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Thought Field Therapy (TFT), and yoga centered therapy into your work with a particular client. Because early attachment disruption and/or betrayal are so important in the histories of these clients, we’ll also explore the crucial importance of the therapist-client relationship in treatment. (This session will continue with Workshop 302.)

Mary Jo Barrett, M.S.W., is director of the Center for Contextual Change and teaches at the University of Chicago. She’s the author of Systemic Treatment of Incest and Treating Incest: A Multiple Systems Perspective.

203 303 - Beyond Pills, Part 1 and Part 2: Effective Psychotherapy with Depressive Clients

Michael Yapko

Although the pharmaceutical industry and medical establishment insist otherwise, there’s very little evidence that depression is a primarily a medical illness, best treated with medications. On the contrary, the latest research clearly demonstrates that depression is caused more by social factors and negative interpersonal patterns than individual biochemistry. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the many ways that therapy can help change the physical, mental, emotional, and social patterns that cause and maintain depression. You’ll learn well-researched strategies for dealing with sleep disturbance, reducing anxiety, changing attributional thinking, and targeting dysfunctional behavior and thoughts. We’ll explore how to strike a balance between being supportive and gently challenging clients and the importance of assigning homework that gives regular practice in depression-fighting skills. (This session will continue with Workshop 303.)

Michael Yapko, Ph.D., is internationally recognized for his work in the strategic treatment of depression. His latest book is Depression Is Contagious. Others include Hypnosis and Treating Depression and Hand-Me-Down Blues: Overcoming Depression in Families.

204 304 - Mindfulness for Two, Part 1 and Part 2: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Practice

Kelly Wilson

Ever discover yourself not really listening to a client? Ever find yourself getting caught in self-defeating patterns in sessions? In this workshop, you’ll learn how to develop a richer understanding of your clients and a more openhearted and deeply present way of engaging them using the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Through the day you’ll learn the six fundamental processes or qualities of attention defined by ACT: purposeful focus in the present moment; witnessing and accepting even unacceptable thoughts; recognizing without fusing or being limited by the story; bringing a sense of meta-consciousness to your self-awareness; recognizing the deepest values you hold and wish to live by; and reorienting yourself toward the values that mean the most. You’ll leave knowing how to create a greater vitality within the therapeutic encounter (This session will continue with Workshop 304.)

Kelly Wilson, Ph.D., is associate professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi. His numerous publications include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Two.

205 305 - The I in the Storm, Part 1 and Part 2: Healing in an Age of Extremism

Richard Schwartz

We live in scary times filled with economic meltdown, terrorism, global warming, and crime. No matter what their presenting problems, our clients’ feelings of stress, grief, powerlessness, and despair will undoubtedly be dialed up in this atmosphere of generalized fear and loathing. In this workshop, we’ll discuss Internal Family Systems, a model that explains how people try to protect their most vulnerable and frightened inner “parts” by exiling them to unconsciousness and responding to perceived threats with fury, impulsiveness, and aggression. You’ll experience that deep within ourselves, beneath these frightened and reactive parts, is a calmer, wiser Self--a core of equanimity, openheartedness and inner leadership, with the power to lead, heal, and integrate all the others. We’ll explore the clinical relevance of this model and you’ll learn how to help even your most agitated clients find their own inner source of strength that can generate genuine empathy and compassion for self and others. (This session will continue with Workshop 305.)

Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Self Leadership and the originator of the Internal Family Systems Model. His books include Internal Family Systems Therapy and The Mosaic Mind: Empowering the Tormented Selves.

206 306 - Men in Therapy, Part 1 and Part 2: Mending the Broken Mirror

David Wexler

Many men think therapy just isn’t a “guy thing.” Unfortunately, therapists generally have reinforced this perception by being slow to recognize the distinct strengths and defenses that men exhibit and bring to relationships. In this workshop, we’ll use a self-psychology perspective to focus on the common “broken mirror” phenomenon in men: their unmet needs for external validation and affirmation, particularly from women, and feelings of failure, incompetence, and rage when they don’t get them. We’ll discuss how to help men learn to recognize and label internal states and deal with their tendency to become emotionally flooded in the face of “unmasculine” feelings. You’ll learn how to empathize with men in ways they can accept (honoring their courage for seeking help, for example), make use of male-friendly metaphors, and provide a therapeutic mirroring experience that helps them become more grounded in genuine, realistic self-respect. (This session will continue with Workshop 306.)

David Wexler, Ph.D., executive director of the Relationship Training Institute, is the author of five books, including Men in Therapy: New Approaches for Effective Treatment and When Good Men Behave Badly: Change Your Behavior, Change Your Relationship.

207 307 - Getting to the Heart of  Persistent Pain, Part 1 and Part 2

Maggie Phillips

More than half of all individuals over the age of 50, and many others at younger ages, suffer from chronic pain, which standard medical approaches--including drugs, physical therapy, surgery, acupuncture, and biofeedback--may actually worsen. In this workshop, we’ll explore the latest research on the psycho-neurobiology of pain, a complex intermingling of physiological factors, unresolved psychological trauma, and toxic emotions, which often underlie and maintain pain. You’ll learn a toolkit of easily learned, mind-body techniques and skills (mindfulness, breathing techniques, “Heart Math” or heart-rhythm control, energy psychology, Somatic Experiencing, and others). These approaches help clients discover the source of their pain, self-regulate, reduce their vulnerability, find greater inner resiliency, and change the life conditions causing their pain in the first place. (This session will continue with Workshop 307.)

Maggie Phillips, Ph.D., director of the California Institute of Clinical Hypnosis, is the author of Reversing Chronic Pain. Other books include Healing the Divided Self and Finding the Energy to Heal.

208 308 - Magic Moments in Couples Therapy, Part 1 and Part 2

Pat Love and Eva Berlander

Positive emotion is the marker for the salience that’s essential to trigger change in couples who are emotionally wired to expect conflict and disappointment. In this workshop, you’ll learn a method for helping couples find “limbic resonance” together--experience profound moments of emotional connection in sessions--which actually begins to rewire their brains to expect and attract more such positive experiences from each other. We’ll discuss how to create contracts with couples that force both of them to articulate what they want and also reveal the emotional blocks standing in their way. You’ll learn how to structure dialogues and exercises that can create relationship-altering moments in therapy, as well as homework techniques that increase the probability that these changes can be maintained outside the session. (This session will continue with Workshop 308.)

Pat Love, Ed.D., a relationship consultant and licensed marriage and family therapist, is the author of The Truth About Love and the coauthor of Hot Monogamy and How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking about It.

Eva Berlander, a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, presents workshops internationally, inspiring couples to see conflicts as opportunities. She and Pat Love have produced the DVD Magic Moments.

209 309 - Buddha’s Brain, Part 1 and Part 2: The Practical Neuroscience of Mindfulness

Rick Hanson

Today’s unprecedented meeting of modern brain science and ancient contemplative wisdom offers therapists powerful new tools for changing the neural wiring and neurochemistry of the brain--thus soothing the mind and making us less susceptible to a host of emotional and physical problems. In this workshop, we’ll focus on how to use contemplative neuroscience in three down-to-earth ways: to help clients become more mindful, to weave positive experiences into the fabric of the brain and self, and to stimulate and strengthen the three neural circuits of empathy. You’ll also learn how to adapt mindfulness training to the specific temperament of each client. Throughout there’ll be practical examples and experiential activities you can use in your practice, and handouts to adapt as client materials. (This session will continue with Workshop 309.)

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist with a keen interest in the concepts and skills found at the intersection of psychology, neurology, and Buddhism. His new book is Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom.

210 310 - Interrupting the Anxiety Cycle, Part 1 and Part 2

Danie Beaulieu

Anxiety is perhaps the number-one presenting problem in therapy, as well as one of the most difficult to address, since anxiety about anything can invade the client’s entire life, becoming anxiety about everything. To interrupt this endless loop, you must be able to distinguish between the many different sources of anxiety and address each as it arises. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to distinguish between the distinct sources of anxiety--cognitive (thoughts or beliefs), biological (inherited temperament, hormonal disruption), situational (as with phobias), existential (a sense of meaninglessness)--and appropriately address each one. You’ll learn a variety of multi-sensorial techniques that make use of enactments and physical props (paper, rubber bands, modeling clay, marbles, old cassette tapes) to help clients give shape and concreteness to otherwise amorphous anxieties, take some physical action to address the anxiety, and gain some control over it and freedom from it. (This session will continue with Workshop 310.)

Danie Beaulieu, Ph.D., is the founder of Academie Impact, a training institute, publisher, and producer of therapeutic aids. Her books include Impact Techniques for Therapists, Impact Techniques in the Classroom, and Eye Movement Integration: The Comprehensive Guide.

211 311 - Brain to Brain, Part 1 and Part 2: The Therapist as Neurobiological Regulator

Janina Fisher

Instead of experiencing therapy as a haven of safety and peace, traumatized and attachment-disordered clients often bring into sessions ingrained somatic reactions of hypervigilance, alarm, and vulnerability that make it too threatening for them to form any real connection with a therapist. In this workshop, we’ll discuss an approach based on attachment and neurobiology research that integrates body-centered therapy with talk therapy to help clients regulate and soothe their emotional and physical reactions. You’ll discover how to become more attuned to your own body’s response to challenging clients and then how to use “somatic” interventions--posture, physical distance or closeness, facial expression, voice tone, affect--to help clients rewire their brains and enhance their capacity to tolerate intimacy. You’ll also learn a range of sensorimotor interventions that help clients reach out, set limits, or distance themselves appropriately without the need for words. (This session will continue with Workshop 311.)

Janina Fisher, Ph.D., assistant director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute and an instructor at Boston’s Trauma Center, is coauthor, with Pat Ogden, of “Sensorimotor Psychotherapy” in the forthcoming book Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders.

212 312 - Compassion and Self-Compassion, Part 1 and Part 2

Christopher Germer

Therapy sometimes has been given a bad name for encouraging people to wallow in their pain. Yet, it’s precisely because life is heartbreaking that our profession has persisted, even thrived, in the past century. Often our most healing gift to clients is our ability to convey deep compassion for their suffering and help them experience compassion for themselves, while coming to recognize that pain is an inevitable and inescapable aspect of being human. In this workshop, we’ll explore Self-Compassion as a form of mindfulness that helps our clients avoid the shame, self-criticism, defensiveness, and denial that often exacerbate the problems that brought them to therapy. You’ll learn how to use Self-Compassion as a clinician to stay fully present with clients who are in great distress without getting emotionally swept away yourself. We’ll focus on techniques for stilling the mind, calmly but compassionately witnessing our clients’ pain, and fully embracing the sorrows of life without being overwhelmed by them. (This session will continue with Workshop 312.)

Christopher Germer, Ph.D., a clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School and faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, is the coeditor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and author of Mindful Path to Self-Compassion.