Educational Objectives:
1) To describe how therapists can connect clients to a calm, centering inner state.
2) To describe how connection to the inner self can allow new resources and solutions to develop.
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. In this workshop, we will see how a therapist can generate a ritual space where symptoms and other disturbing experiences can be "midwifed" into new identities.
Educational Objectives:
1) To describe how therapists can connect clients to a calm, centering inner state.
2) To describe how connection to the inner self can allow new resources and solutions to develop.
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.
For therapy to have value, it must be able to activate and work with disconnected parts of a person's self-identity. We will examine different ways to access and stay connected to these "neglected selves" during therapeutic work. The clinical concept of the neglected self will first be overviewed, followed by exercises for identifying and transforming a neglected self, followed by a brief therapeutic demonstration.
This session explores various methods for eliciting hypnotic trance in a therapy situation. The relevance of utilizing key aspects of a client's resources and symptoms, as well as different ways to gage and incorporate ongoing feedback will be emphasized.