The study of psychological trauma has been accompanied by an explosion of knowledge about how experience shapes the central nervous system and the formation of the self. The study of trauma has probably been the single most fertile area in developing a deeper understanding of the relationship among the emotional, cognitive, social, and biological forces that shape human development.
Dr. Houston will offer ways and means to profoundly make a difference for the betterment of people, communities, organizations and cultures worldwide. Drawing on her work in over 100 countries in training leaders in human development in the light of social change, she will offer liberating thought ways, as well as techniques of activating human and social potentials in sensory, psychological, mythic and symbolic, as well as, spiritual and integral levels of the human capacity. Together, these lead to enhanced abilities to creatively and effectively deal with present challenges. Dr. Houston will address the unique place that present movements in psychology have to offer in a world of radical shifts.
In this keynote address, the following topics will be covered: the development of cognitive therapy; applications to other psychiatric and medical conditions; the relationship of brain abnormalities to symptoms; the use of neuroimaging and cognitive therapy; and predictions of the future for cognitive therapy, and psychotherapy in general.
After a brief description of Family Therapy on the 1960s, and an equally brief description of where it is today, we will make a comparison of the success of family therapy in Europe and the shrinkage in the U.S. A new model of family assessment in four easy steps will be described.
The terror of death plays a larger role in our inner life and our psychological problems than is generally thought. Too often psychotherapists avoid inquiry into death anxiety; either because they do not know what they can offer patients or because they have not confronted their own anxiety about death. If we come to terms with mortality in our own personal therapy and familiarize ourselves with the topic, we can offer a great deal to patients terrorized by death. Individuals with much terror about death can be helped, not only to enjoy relief from fear, but also may find that an encounter with death will enhance their life. As wise men have pointed out through the millennia, death confrontation can awaken us to a fuller life.Awakening experiences, if we learn to recognize them, are amply available in everyday therapy. One important method of coping is to avoid large reservoirs of un-lived life.
Gestalt therapy and Ericksonian hypnotherapy are experiential methods of change. In Combination they can be synergistic. Psychotherapy is best when clients have a first hand experience of an alive therapeutic process. Such dynamic empowering experiences pave the way for dynamic understandings. Drs. Polster and Zeig will engage with each other and the participants to examine commonalities and differences in their work.
Gestalt therapy and Ericksonian hypnotherapy are experiential methods of change. In Combination they can be synergistic. Psychotherapy is best when clients have a first hand experience of an alive therapeutic process. Such dynamic empowering experiences pave the way for dynamic understandings. Drs. Polster and Zeig will engage with each other and the participants to examine commonalities and differences in their work.
A major challenge for any skills-oriented intervention is the issue of treatment generalization. Psychotherapists cannot just “train and hope” for transfer. In this presentation, Dr. Meichenbaum will discuss and demonstrate what needs to be done before, during and after interventions to make them more effective. He will discuss specific steps that psychotherapists should take to increase the likelihood of maintenance and generalization across settings and across response domains.
EMDR has been used worldwide over the past decade as an empirically validated trauma treatment. During that time, it has become clear that it is possible to simultaneously alleviate suffering, help stop the cycle of violence, and address the devastating effects of trans-generational transmission. The clinical implications for simple symptom reduction versus personal growth and resiliency will be explored.