BT12 Short Course 44 – Brief Therapy with Single Mothers: The Transformational Alchemy of Metaphor – Bette Freedson, MSW

Description:

Therapists working with single mothers often hear stories of abandonment, disempowerment, loneliness, hopelessness, victimization, rage and unrelenting stress. Disturbing perceptions and emotions such as these, and the distorted interpretations that result, may rigidify into psychic schemas comprised of patterns of dysfunctional reacting and compromised coping. Identifying negative schemas, and harnessing the mind’s powerful potential to transform them, will be the dual focus of this course. Participants will explore the way in which the quiet mind, combined with the evocative and rhythmic language of hypnosis, can fuel a subconscious shift from confusion to clarity. Participants will experience the way in which sympathetic identification with transformed metaphors, drawn from the substance of personal stories, can fuel an alchemical shift that decreases stress, increases ego strength, and paves the way to inner peace.

Educational Objectives:

1. List three elements of psychic schemas that affect the way single mothers experience and cope with life.
2. Describe two adaptable and effective tools for facilitating an alchemical shift that can transform confusion into clarity, and negative emotions into wisdom.
3. Given a patient, describe how to experientially explore the way in which sympathetic identification with new metaphors can assist in creating psychic schemas that decrease stress, increase functioning, and lead to inner peace.

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*