Each of us has a central unconscious question that organizes and colors all our experience and behavior. A poorlyworded question can result in pervasive frustrating problems, while a well-worded question provides a solid foundation for an interesting productive life. Experience how to discover and revise or replace your core question.
This "playshop" will consist of experiential clinician development exercises. While it is widely agreed that the person of the therapist is central to patient change, there are limited methods for developing ways to BE a therapist. This program centers on eliciting and developing therapist acuity. Dr. Zeig will present a systemic modeling method that can be easily transferred to make therapy and supervision more powerfully experiential.
Many therapists dread working with adolescents because of their unpredictable high risk behavior. Although adolescents may appear disconnected and uninvolved, they are extremely sensitive to family moods, expectations and conflicts and their behavior is often a refection of what is happening in the family at any given time. This family centered approach is focused on identifying and changing the triggers both inside and outside the family that lead to destructive behavior such as substance abuse, self-mutilation, violence, depression and suicidal symptoms. Guidelines for clarifying issues, correcting distortions, opening up significant areas of communication and establishing positive interactions with family members will be demonstrated with video tapes that show the step-by-step process of change.
This workshop focuses on the specific use of cognitive-behavioral strategies as an adjunct to the many treatment modalities of couples therapy. It offers a basic overview of the theories of cognitive-behavioral therapy, particularly as it applies to couples. Participants will learn first-hand techniques and strategies for working with difficult couples and how to integrate these strategies with their respective modes of treatment. The presentation is followed by a videotape showing how to implement techniques.
A key idea in Milton Erickson's work was that a person's problematic experiences and behaviors can be skillfully accepted and utilized as the basis for therapeutic change. Self-relations psychotherapy develops this idea further, emphasizing symptoms as indicating the death of an old identity and the impending birth of a new identity. Thus, we don't try to "get rid of" depression, anxiety, or "acting out/acting in" expressions, but instead invite them into a human relationship of "sponsorship", where their healing and helpful nature may be realized. We will see how a therapist can generate a ritual space where symptoms and other disturbing experiences can be "midwifed" into new identities.
BT06 Workshop 14 - Psychotherapy Relationships That Work: Tailoring the Relationship to the Individual Patient - John Norcross, PhDPsychotherapy will maximize its effectiveness by targeting the most powerful sources of change, the therapeutic relationship and the patient him/herself. This practical workshop will provide an integrative structure for customizing therapy relationships to individual clients. Participants will learn to reliably assess and rapidly apply four evidence-based guidelines (patient preferences, stages of change, resistance level, real-time feedback) for constructing the "relationship of choice."
Adolescent self-harming behavior is on the rise and one of the most challenging presenting problems therapists will face today in their clinical practice settings. Therapists referred these clients are often intimidated by their cutting and burning behaviors, the DSM IV labels they have been given, and the army of helping professionals involved with them and their families. many of these adolescents have experienced multiple treatment failures, feel emotionally disconnected from their parents, and come from families where there may be difficulties with marital or post-divorce conflicts, invalidating family interactions, gender power imbalance issues, or family secrets. In this hands-on, practice-oriented workshop, participants will learn a collaborative, strengths-based therapy approach that capitalizes on the strengths and resources of the adolescent, family members, concerned peers, adult inspirational others, and involved helpers from larger systems to rapidly co-construct solutions
Given the increasing popularity of spirituality in the culture, this workshop will address the relationship of spirituality to mental health. We will combine discussion with experiential exercises demonstrating practical methods of spiritual inquiry. Participants will learn to identify common problems associated with spirituality and strategies for encouraging healthy spiritual growth.
It is said that one in three couples experience a sexual desire gap, a difference that often wrecks havoc in every aspect of marital life. When you add to this the compelling statistic that one out of ten couples has a sexless marriage, it's easy to understand why so many couples are losing tough both literally and figuratively. A marriage that is void of healthy intimacy and physical connection risks divorce and/or infidelity. Learn what you can do to help couples bridge the desire gap and bring passion back to marriage, and also help couples heal from infidelity.