Full Course Description

The 6 Most Challenging Issues in Therapy

Get practical guidance on a range of clinical methods that will help you overcome stagnation and create therapeutic movement with these hard-to-treat cases:

Treating the Highly Resistant Client
Treating the Narcissistic Client
Treating the Borderline Client
Treating Clients with Severe Attachment Disorders
Treating the Stuck and Self-Destructive Client
Customizing Therapy with the Resistant Client

OUTLINE:

Treating the Highly Resistant Client

Overview of the nature of client resistance
- Correcting past views of resistance in therapy
- Helping the therapist understand their role in the client's resistance
Discussion of how to overcome resistance
- Gathering the right details of where the therapist should focus for treatment
- Setting mutually agreed upon goals toward change
- Building the optimal therapeutic conversation
Concluding remarks from Clifton Mitchell
- Final remarks advice of how to build the therapeutic relationship to best overcome resistance
- Follow-up training opportunities with Clifton Mitchell

Treating the Narcissistic Client

Introduction to the narcissistic client
- Identifying who are the narcissistic clients
- Understanding the challenges of narcissistic clients
Strategies to work with narcissistic clients
- Developing a relationship with the client
- Assessing your own vulnerabilities and triggers
- Connecting clients with their inner child
- Using homework assignments to generalize therapeutic learnings
Concluding remarks from Wendy Behary
- Analysis of break-throughs with the narcissistic clients
- Follow-up opportunities with Wendy Behary

Treating the Borderline Client

Overview of clients diagnosed as "borderline"
- Discussion of client traps for the therapist
- Understanding the nature of what causes blockage and lashing out from the clients
Using the Internal Family Systems model of therapy to treat borderline clients
- Understanding the roles of each part within the client and how they contribute to the client's response
- Learning how to access the compassionate inner “self”
- Managing client anger and over-dependency
Concluding remarks from Richard Scwhartz
- Helping clients use the Internal Family Systems approach outside of the therapeutic session
- Follow-up opportunities and resources with Richard Schwartz

Treating Clients with Severe Attachment Disorders

Introduction to cases where challenges are not as straight-forward as expected
- Understanding the "cracks within the foundation" within our clients
Using somatic methods to overcome attachment disorders
- Intergrating clients with their inner child part
- Recognizing internal attachment disorders within clients
- Identifying feelings of shame and worthlessness
Concluding remarks from Janina Fisher
- Finding and identifying resolution of healing with clients
- Follow-up opportunities and resources with Janina Fisher

Treating the Stuck and Self-Destructive Client

Introduction discussion of when therapy stalls
- Identifying when momentum has stopped within a therapeutic relationship
- Recognizing when a client is no longer making effort toward healing
Getting the therapy moving again
- Identifying the things not to do to get a session moving again
- Acknowledging your own role as a therapist when treatment bogs down
- Repairing ruptures in the therapy relationship and moving toward progress again
- Discussion of how to do major confrontations with clients
Concluding remarks from William Doherty
- Seeing the therapist role as both "healer" and "consultant"
- Follow-up training opportunities and resources with William Doherty

Customizing Therapy with the Resistant Client

Introductory discussion of treatment method to disorder diagnoses
- Understanding the role that DSM diagnoses plays compared to methods customized to client
Getting the therapy moving again
- Assessment of client characteristics and individualizing treatment to client
- Discussing therapy preferences with clients
- Developing integrative therapy techniques that are adapted to client
Concluding remarks from John Norcross
- Discussion of evidence-based practices of healing and treatment
- Follow-up training opportunities and resources with John Norcross

OBJECTIVES:

List common behaviors that often mistakenly promote resistance.
Identify approaches to circumvent resistance.
Explain how to help clients find emotionally compelling reasons to change.
Describe the behavior and characteristics of narcissistic clients.
Recognize why it’s important to achieve leverage with such clients and how to do so in treatment.
Name techniques that are effective when working with narcissistic clients.
Summarize the challenges of working with clients who have borderline personality disorder.
Explain what Richard Schwartz means by vulnerable inner “parts.”
Describe how to contain feelings of defensiveness when working with clients who have borderline personality disorder.
Illustrate characteristics of clients who have attachment injuries and are self-loathing.
Define “disowned selves” and understand how to help clients embrace these parts.
Discuss how the therapeutic relationship can effectively heal attachment wounds.
Explain how to recognize when a client isn’t making any progress in therapy.
Discuss ways to help clients get back on a treatment plan or stop making self-destructive choices.
Recognize how to discuss clients’ unhelpful behavior in session without sounding like a disappointed parent and further injuring them.
List the six personal characteristics that enable therapists to best customize treatment.
Explain how to effectively match therapeutic techniques to clients’ needs.
Discuss the significance of customizing treatment to individual clients.

Program Information

Outline

Treating the Highly Resistant Client

Overview of the nature of client resistance
- Correcting past views of resistance in therapy
- Helping the therapist understand their role in the client's resistance
Discussion of how to overcome resistance
- Gathering the right details of where the therapist should focus for treatment
- Setting mutually agreed upon goals toward change
- Building the optimal therapeutic conversation
Concluding remarks from Clifton Mitchell
- Final remarks advice of how to build the therapeutic relationship to best overcome resistance
- Follow-up training opportunities with Clifton Mitchell

Treating the Narcissistic Client

Introduction to the narcissistic client
- Identifying who are the narcissistic clients
- Understanding the challenges of narcissistic clients
Strategies to work with narcissistic clients
- Developing a relationship with the client
- Assessing your own vulnerabilities and triggers
- Connecting clients with their inner child
- Using homework assignments to generalize therapeutic learnings
Concluding remarks from Wendy Behary
- Analysis of break-throughs with the narcissistic clients
- Follow-up opportunities with Wendy Behary

Treating the Borderline Client

Overview of clients diagnosed as "borderline"
- Discussion of client traps for the therapist
- Understanding the nature of what causes blockage and lashing out from the clients
Using the Internal Family Systems model of therapy to treat borderline clients
- Understanding the roles of each part within the client and how they contribute to the client's response
- Learning how to access the compassionate inner “self”
- Managing client anger and over-dependency
Concluding remarks from Richard Scwhartz
- Helping clients use the Internal Family Systems approach outside of the therapeutic session
- Follow-up opportunities and resources with Richard Schwartz

Treating Clients with Severe Attachment Disorders

Introduction to cases where challenges are not as straight-forward as expected
- Understanding the "cracks within the foundation" within our clients
Using somatic methods to overcome attachment disorders
- Intergrating clients with their inner child part
- Recognizing internal attachment disorders within clients
- Identifying feelings of shame and worthlessness
Concluding remarks from Janina Fisher
- Finding and identifying resolution of healing with clients
- Follow-up opportunities and resources with Janina Fisher

Treating the Stuck and Self-Destructive Client

Introduction discussion of when therapy stalls
- Identifying when momentum has stopped within a therapeutic relationship
- Recognizing when a client is no longer making effort toward healing
Getting the therapy moving again
- Identifying the things not to do to get a session moving again
- Acknowledging your own role as a therapist when treatment bogs down
- Repairing ruptures in the therapy relationship and moving toward progress again
- Discussion of how to do major confrontations with clients
Concluding remarks from William Doherty
- Seeing the therapist role as both "healer" and "consultant"
- Follow-up training opportunities and resources with William Doherty

Customizing Therapy with the Resistant Client

Introductory discussion of treatment method to disorder diagnoses
- Understanding the role that DSM diagnoses plays compared to methods customized to client
Getting the therapy moving again
- Assessment of client characteristics and individualizing treatment to client
- Discussing therapy preferences with clients
- Developing integrative therapy techniques that are adapted to client
Concluding remarks from John Norcross
- Discussion of evidence-based practices of healing and treatment
- Follow-up training opportunities and resources with John Norcross

Objectives

List common behaviors that often mistakenly promote resistance.
Identify approaches to circumvent resistance.
Explain how to help clients find emotionally compelling reasons to change.
Describe the behavior and characteristics of narcissistic clients.
Recognize why it’s important to achieve leverage with such clients and how to do so in treatment.
Name techniques that are effective when working with narcissistic clients.
Summarize the challenges of working with clients who have borderline personality disorder.
Explain what Richard Schwartz means by vulnerable inner “parts.”
Describe how to contain feelings of defensiveness when working with clients who have borderline personality disorder.
Illustrate characteristics of clients who have attachment injuries and are self-loathing.
Define “disowned selves” and understand how to help clients embrace these parts.
Discuss how the therapeutic relationship can effectively heal attachment wounds.
Explain how to recognize when a client isn’t making any progress in therapy.
Discuss ways to help clients get back on a treatment plan or stop making self-destructive choices.
Recognize how to discuss clients’ unhelpful behavior in session without sounding like a disappointed parent and further injuring them.
List the six personal characteristics that enable therapists to best customize treatment.
Explain how to effectively match therapeutic techniques to clients’ needs.
Discuss the significance of customizing treatment to individual clients.

Target Audience

Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Case Managers, Addiction Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 03/07/2013

The Challenge of Treating Complex PTSD: What to do When Things Get Messy and Uncomfortable

When working with trauma cases do you often see clients go into flight, fight, and/or freeze? Do they yell at you, insult you, or leave the session? Are there times you find yourself angry at your clients or just downright don’t like them? Do you recognize your own flight, fight, and/or freeze response? Welcome to the messy, often confusing world of trauma treatment. In this workshop, you’ll explore practical in-session techniques as well as a framework to help you recognize what’s happening when things heat up and get intense.

Focus on how to assess the client’s motivation, stage of change, and preferred mode of learning and how to build a therapeutic collaboration around it
Explore the importance of therapist transparency and how to empower clients by making the therapy process as safe and explicit as possible
Learn how to explore intra-family violence or include additional family members in your sessions

Objectives

Describe how to assess the client’s motivation, stage of change, and preferred mode of learning and how to build a therapeutic collaboration around it
Summarize the importance of therapist transparency
Explain how to empower clients by making the therapy process as safe and explicit as possible
Explore intra-family violence or include additional family members in your sessions

Outline
Introduction and overview of collaborative change model for trauma treatment

Introduction to collaborative change as a "meta-model" to other trauma therapies
Discussion how collaborative change model can help therapists overcome being stuck

Experiencing collaborative change therapy with trauma

In-depth study of the concept of ethical attunement
Workshop between participants to discuss techniques
Clinical feedback examples to support collaborative change model of therapy
Review of collaboration change model and lesson on techniques how to apply it to other models of therapy

Concluding remarks and question and answer session

Presenters answer specific questions about trauma model
Final consolidation exercise to use with clients

Program Information

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and other Behavioral Health Professionals

Copyright : 03/18/2016

Mastering the Anxiety Game: Teaching Clients to Welcome Their Fears

Therapists are supposed to make clients safe and secure, creating a cozy haven from a cruel world, right? Well, when it comes to treating anxiety, there’s growing evidence that the quickest, most effective approach involves instructing them to ramp up their fears while telling themselves how much they welcome the experience. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to help clients shift their relationship with their fears and override the responses that perpetuate them.

Objectives

Explain how to rapidly engage anxious clients in the therapeutic alliance and change their mindset toward their fears.
Identify why the first step to changing an overwhelming response to anxiety is accepting the perceived threat as something the client can approach and change.
Implement strategies to help clients transform their fear into a challenge to be met or a puzzle to be solved.

Outline
Introduction to anxiety disorders and treatment methods

Protocol to apply to all anxiety disorders
Overview of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other specific anxiety disorder treatment methods

Experiencing the treatment of anxiety disorders

Video demonstrations of cognitive behavioral therapy in-session
Summary and analysis video sessions
Discussion of anxiety and trauma

Question and answer session with Reid Wilson and concluding remarks

Final remarks about in-session videos
Reid Wilson answers audience questions about treating anxiety disorders

Program Information

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Case Managers, Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers, and other Mental Health Professionals

Addictive Behavior as the Problem

It’s no secret that many therapists consider the field of addictions treatment to be dangerous foreign territory with its own special language and methods. But increasingly, therapists and substance abuse professionals alike have begun to recognize the connection between addictive behavior and traumatic life experience. In this workshop we’ll present an approach to addictive behavior that:

Focuses on the interactive relationship between the underlying trauma symptoms and the impulse to “use” to regulate unbearable feelings and sensations
Provides a meaning-making component that lessens shame and offers inspiration to live a “life beyond trauma”
Integrates Sensorimotor Psychotherapy techniques that teach clients how to regulate their nervous systems, decrease anxiety, tolerate sadness and loneliness, and ground themselves both physically and emotionally
Engages the client’s right brain through drawing, diagramming, movement and gesture, as well as utilizing traditional cognitive interventions

Objectives

Focus on the interactive relationship between the underlying trauma symptoms and the impulse to “use” to regulate unbearable feelings and sensations
Provide a meaning-making component that lessens shame and offers inspiration to live a “life beyond trauma”
Integrate Sensorimotor Psychotherapy techniques that teach clients how to regulate their nervous systems, decrease anxiety, tolerate sadness and loneliness, and ground themselves both physically and emotionally
Explore the right brain through drawing, diagramming, movement and gesture, as well as utilizing traditional cognitive interventions

Outline
Introduction to co-existence of substance abuse and mental health issues within clients

Discussion of how trauma and addictions often exist within the client, which requires a greater knowledge-base for therapist
Introduction to trauma impacts on children

Experiencing Sensorimotor Psychotherapy with trauma

Discussion of shame and therapist's ability to guide clients toward reducing it and living a "life beyond trauma"
In-depth overview of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy techniques to teach clients how to decrease anxiety
Demonstration of how to engages client's creative side through drawing, diagramming, movement and gesture, as well as utilizing traditional cognitive interventions

Concluding remarks from Janina Fisher

Final discussion of Sensorimotor techniques to use with clients
Inspirational quotes and tips from speaker

Program Information

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers, Other Professions