The client's task is to try to be open to his/her inner experiencing, disclosing it to the therapist. A client discovers difficulties in doing so, thus disclosing the resistances which are isomorphic with the client's difficulties in life more generally. The therapist's task is to teach and monitor this process.
During the five decades that I have been a psychologist, I have seen a series of psychotherapeutic practices come and go. Today, one in three Americans has visited one or another of the 250,000 accredited practitioners making offerings. Not only has the number of therapists burgeoned, but also the varieties of therapy have become a veritable smorgasbord. Assumptions underlying various bursts of therapist zeal will be explored and linked to prominent cultural and social forces in recent history.
How does one master the practice of psychotherapy? Should training emphasize theory, technique, or research? What about the personal growth of the clinician? We will identify seven essential "postures" through a series of graduated, Psychoaerobics exercises. Attendees will participate in growth games and group hypnosis to explore the merging of discipline and spontaneity that occurs in the most artful and effective clinical work. The program focuses on refining the therapist's lenses (perception), muscles (therapeutic power), heart (compassion), and hat (social role).
Educational Objectives:
(1) List three therapist postures that were especially well-developed in Erickson.
(2) Given a case, describe how to use a Psychoaerobic exercise.