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Dealing with borderline pathology

The aim of this seminar is to introduce students to the particular challenges posed by clients with borderline personality structure and to provide information about expressive psychotherapy, a therapeutic approach developed for borderline clients by Otto Kernberg and the mentalization approach developed by Fonagy. Case material , both written and in role-playing, will presented to illustrate the points made at the seminar. Participants are welcome to present their own cases as well.

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Short term psychodynamic therapy
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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.

Ιn quest of our personal myth
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Ιn quest of our personal myth

For certain people life entails more than making a living, solving problems and managing daily affairs;  for such people life should be passionate, heroic and meaningful. However, even the most down to earth persons start to realize as they grow older that certain event sequences and relationship patterns keep coming up in their lives, creating a personal and deeply engraved life scenario. In this workshop we will look into the myth of Hero as developed by Campbell and Jung and we will get a glimpse into our own life dynamics pertaining to the hero archetype.

Mentalization
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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.

Our personal myth II: The ‘good’, the ’bad’ and the ‘ugly’ in our personal myth
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Our personal myth II: The ‘good’, the ’bad’ and the ‘ugly’ in our personal myth

In our life we often encounter difficulties and disappointments. Our goals and desires get blocked by the circumstances of our life or by our own passivity and procrastination. Despite our weariness, we keep watching endless repetitions of  “ the same old movie”.

Who is the dragon we need  to confront? Who is the evil witch who keeps us enslaved? What stops us from realizing our desires? In this workshop we will use the wisdom of folktales and psychoanalytic theories to trace the basic motifs in our life.

Symbolism and dreams
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Symbolism and dreams

Why do we have nightmares? Why do we keep having the same dream motifs, several years in a row? What is the reason we have anxiety dreams, though we feel quite comfortable in our daily life? Could we use our dreams as a guide to better understand ourselves?

In this workshop we will examine Freud’s theory on the formation of dreams and Jung’s theories regarding the archetypes, synchronicity and the ability of the unconscious to manifest future trends.

You can bring your own dreams for discussion.