Lies and deception wreak havoc in couples' relationships. To work successfully with couples after significant betrayal, the therapist must use attachment and differentiation-based interventions. Learn to identify three patterns of deception; when deception can be repaired and when it can't; and what is the essence of successful repair.
Participants in this workshop will explore ways to apply the understanding of attachment, trauma, brain and mind in diagnosing and treating relationship problems. A goal of the treatment is to accelerate the access to emotions in the more withdrawn partner, leading to more open communication between partners. Lecture, discussion and videotape demonstration will clarify how traumas of early disturbed bonding experiences can be seen and treated in a conjoint session.
This talk first briefly reviews the history of the Developmental, Self and Object Relations theoretical approach to the personality disorders as a preface to exploring the latest additions to the theory, i.e., Attachment Theory and Neurobiological Development of the Self in the Right Brain. Attachment Theory: The work of Ainsworth and others is described leading to the attachment categories in the infant and the adult. Many follow-up studies are presented validating the persistence of the categories over time. Neurobiologic Development of the Self in the Right Brain: The work of Alan Schore, Ph.D. is used to describe the development of the self in the right prefrontal cortex of the brain. Integration: The integration of the two theories with the object relations approach are described and illustrated through therapeutic alliance
This workshop discusses the brain circuitry of the three primary mating emotions: lust, attraction and attachment. It traces the evolution of these emotion systems and illustrates how their neural circuitry contributes to contemporary patterns of marital harmony and discord including adultery; divorce; stalking behavior; clinical depression due to rejection in love; and other issues brought to contemporary couples therapy.