Narcissism is prevalent in our culture and consequently often met in our work. In this seminar we will discuss:
the clinical signs of narcissism,
specific forms of narcissism ( malignant narcissism, masochistic-narcissistic dynamics)
narcissistic issues in relationships
and the difficulties inherent in psychotherapy with this type of clients.
This workshop aims to help participants find the answers to common questions they often raise as they begin to train as therapists. We use case studies and role-playing to elucidate the nature of the issues raised in this workshop.
What makes therapy different from other relationships?
How long should therapy last?
What qualities constitute a “ healing” relationship?
What is the role of the therapist?
Is it possible to change through therapy?
Is it always beneficial to express our feelings?
Do I run the risk to feel worse if I start therapy?
What theoretical approach works best?
How do I know that I am suitable for therapy?
What do I need to do to become an efficient therapist?
Many therapists believe that ethical issues seldom rise in the course of a treatment. Furthermore, they believe that since they behave ethically in all aspects of their lives, naturally their behavior will not provoke ethical conflicts in their professional work.
However, many issues of ethics are so common and so subtle that they slip by unnoticed, having managed to corrode the therapy process. In this workshop we will discuss some of the more salient issues such as the therapist’s self-disclosure, boundary problems, confidentiality when working with more than one client; we will also discuss more subtle forms of ethics such as the conflict between the values of the therapist with those of the client.
Actual cases will be presented to highlight these points and you can bring your own for discussion.
We often need to deal with crises in our private office. Situations such as severe physical abuse,
self -destructive behaviors, suicidal ideation, or psychotic breakdown call for a different intervention than the usual « psychotherapeutic» approach.
In this workshop we will examine common examples of crisis intervention through case studies and role playing. You are welcome to bring your own cases for discussion.
We often believe that all people who ask help are suitable for psychotherapy. However, in many cases, the problems confronting the person cannot be resolved through therapy alone. How do we investigate the suitability of a prospective client for psychotherapy?
What other resources should we look for to help this client? Are we the right person to help the specific client? What are the common mistakes made by therapists as they endeavour to help people?
At what point is a client ready to leave therapy? This important question puzzles not only beginners but also experienced clinicians and its appropriate resolution determines to a large extent the ultimate success of therapy.
In this seminar we will discuss:
Early indications for a client’s premature flight from therapy
Appropriate management of issues surfacing at the end phase of therapy ( what if the client gets worse? What if the client claims that she is ultimately disappointed with therapy? Are we going to slowly wean the client or continue having regular sessions till the last minute? Are we going to schedule regular follow-ups?)
Presentation of clinical cases where therapy gets into a rut or ends prematurely.
Advantages and disadvantages of short term vs long-term therapy.
Loss is an inevitable experience in human life and sometimes the after-effects of significant losses can touch much deeper layers of our psyche than those described by our favorite psychological theories.
We, as therapists, do our best to help clients work through their losses, but how many of those clients can actually process the loss?
In this seminar we will cover:
Different types of loss ( anticipated, traumatic, diffuse) and their respective effects.
Which clients have the capacity to work through their loss
The conditions that either facilitate either hinder the process of mourning.
Lay persons, as well as many therapists, believe that emotional expression is always beneficial. However, clinical experience indicates that this is not always so. Though appropriate expression of feelings is often crucial in therapy, some clients should not be encouraged to freely express their powerful emotions, since this has often adverse effects. In this workshop you will learn which clients under which circumstances can benefit from emotional expression and which cannot.
Some psychotherapy schools emphasize and explore the therapeutic relationship while others take it for granted. In this workshop we will find out how a transference relationship develops early in the therapeutic process independent of the theoretical perspective espoused by the therapist and the conscious feelings of the client for the therapist. Transference reactions which are not recognized as such block the therapeutic process, so it is useful for a therapist to be able to understand and work with these reactions as well as his/her own countertransferance feelings to the client.
