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Emotional expression in psychotherapy: Is it always beneficial?

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.

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    Mentalization

    Most psychotherapy models assume that the client has an inner world, a self and the ability to relate- regardless of how inadequate or blocked those may be.

    However, clinical experience has shown that we should not assume these attributes. Particularly borderline, psychotically  and psychosomatically organized clients manifest many problems in the area of mentalization and symbolization.

    In this workshop we will focus on the work of Peter Fonagy and other attachment theorists to study the mentalization process which takes place during infantile life and leads to the formation of their inner world. We will also discuss clinical interventions to use with adult clients with inadequate mentalization skills, which may help them develop further those skills and deepen their inner world.

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    Short term psychodynamic therapy

    In this seminar we will explore Malan’s model of short term psychodynamic therapy. We will discuss the selection criteria and the clinical problems which are more suitable for this type of intervention. Valuable qualities of this perspective include the careful diagnosis; focus on a single aim; and the intensive working through of client’s issues in the transference relationship.

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    Psyche and soma: Mission Impossible?

    Many individuals, because of difficult neonatal and infantile experiences,  have not been able to ‘enter’ their body. Their physical ego, the kernel of the self, has been formed in a problematic way lasting till adult life and appearing as body dysphoria, physical distress, organic disease or psychosomatic disorders.

    In this workshop we will examine the formation of the invisible membrane embracing the psychosoma during the first months of life and we will reflect on the negative outcome of an inadequate body-mind integration during childhood and adult life.

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    Transference

    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.

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    Clinical intuition

    Intuition is an invaluable asset for a clinician. Coupled with empathy, intuition helps the therapist to sense accurately the nonverbal messages of the client and to respond sensitively and appropriately to these cues.
    The aim of this workshop is to help participants understand and nurture their clinical intuition through the study of symbols, keeping a personal journal, using painting and guided imagery techniques.