Those suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder are convinced that great harm will come if they do not comply with rigidly set rules of safety. The therapist can reframe the nature of the problem and incorporate all interventions within four simple but provocative guidelines. Then, utilization and pattern disruption lead to new experiences that challenge the dysfunctional beliefs of the client.
Couples in our society are very isolated from other couples and from "what is normal" in a relationship. Couples workshops provide a unique opportunity to de-mystify relationship stress and change destructive cycles quickly. Attendees will have an opportunity to experience effective exercises used in couple's workshops.
Brief Adlerian Couples Therapy will be described in detail. The key components of Adler's approach as they apply to couples therapy will be highlighted, including the numerous strategies and techniques that are unique to this approach. The program also will show how to integrate the strategies of other theories into this model. The core skills of effective relationships will be discussed and integrated into actual treatment protocols. Several examples from actual couples therapy sessions will be used to show the process as well as to demonstrate the strategies. The program will conclude with ideas that can be used to help couples prevent relapse after an effective intervention has been made.
Latinos experience many life transitions spanning from migration, acculturation, attaining higher education, and the ongoing process of personal development. Competencies to work in culturally responsive ways include: understanding the collective identities of Latinos, assessing barriers, using culturally relevant tools, exploring Latino worldviews, and applying appropriate interventions.
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.
The Basic Foot Print is a process model of change in therapy that represents and identifies Erickson's method for change. It is a general umbrella under which we should be able to place any step of change or intervention. Encounters that follow the Basic Foot Print create change and any therapy that steps through these stages reflects Dr. Erickson's approach and echoes his legacy. The steps are: matching/connecting, blending, utilizing, introducing ambiguity (disrupting stasis), reframing and co-creating outcomes. An in-depth understanding of steps within the Basic Footprint will be taught, demonstrated and practiced.
Conducting brief therapy places additional and special burdens on the person of the therapist. This workshop puts the Socratic dicta of "know thyself" and "heal thyself" into practice. We shall focus on 12 self-care strategies that are clinician-recommended, research-based and practitioner-tested. Come join us for focused lectures, copious handouts, group demonstrations, thought experiments, interactive discussions and participants' own material.
Within the enormous complexity of human experience, the reflex to connectedness rescues the person from fragmentation. Dr. Polster will portray connectedness along four dimensions: 1) person to person, enhancing relational experience and belonging; 2) moment to moment, restoring continuity and fluidity; 3) event to event, recovering life's storyline; 4) Characteristic to characteristic, integrating the self.
Recent neuroscience research suggests that empathy, rapport and transference may be mediated by our mirror neurons. this new view of the basic talent of all psychotherapists will be explored during group processes and individual demonstrations utilizing Rossi's innovative approaches to therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy.
Despite all the earnest efforts of researchers, therapy remains at least as much an art as a science. Seasoned practitioners know that when the therapeutic process becomes too cautious and mechanical, drained of risk and creativity, clinical effectiveness suffers. But how do we avoid being paralyzed by our clients' chronic difficulties and resistant clients? How can we step outside the box and bring more of our creative and playful selves to our work? This workshop will present several guidelines for developing a creative partnership with clients that taps both therapist and client inventiveness. Through the use of videotape examples and skill-building exercises, participants will discover their own signature strengths as therapists and how best to mobilize them in session. We will discover how to use humor, stories, drama and imaginative family play and art experiments to create a therapeutic climate ripe for change in your clinical practices.