Psychodynamics

Attachment theory can inform work with sexually abusive youth. This webinar will describe and discuss the use of attachment theory as a model and methodology by which to better understand the development of juvenile sexually abusive behavior and to better understand individual clients from an attachment-informed perspective. The webinar is not intended as a primer or introduction to attachment theory, but does ill provide a descriptive overview of relevant theoretical models, and includes case studies that highlight the use of attachment theory as a framework by which to understand and explore work with sexually troubled young people and their families. The webinar is designed for those wishing to learn more about attachment theory and its application in treatment with sexually abusive youth.

“This was my favorite webinar. I learned the most about myself as a therapist and a great deal about the borderline elicitation of counter transference. This webinar was a revival of things I learned in graduate school and that I needed a refresher course in.”-Jane K., Social Worker, New York

Recent research suggests that the therapeutic alliance and the ability to heal ruptures in the therapeutic relationship are key elements of successful treatment for individuals with personality disorders.  Yet, these patients tend to stimulate strong countertransference reactions that can derail the treatment.  This seminar elucidates common countertransference reactions to each of the personality disorders.  There is also discussion about how to manage these reactions and to use them to better understand the patient and thus, provide better care.

“The material was clearly presented and case vignettes were plentiful and helpful. I learned about the expanded information on the role the unconscious plays in symptomatology.”-Stephen K., Professional Counselor, Massachusetts

Psychodynamic therapy (PDT) is a widely practiced form of psychotherapy for a variety of different problems and disorders.  Nevertheless, the concepts and techniques used in PDT are often taught in a way that obscures rather than clarifies their nature.  In addition, a gap remains between the theoretical, clinical, and empirical literature of PDT.  This seminar presents a series of evidence-based psychodynamic techniques and processes, grounded in coherent theoretical formulations, systematic research, and applied clinical examples.  You will also learn about meta-analytic research on the overall efficacy and effectiveness of PDT.

Group therapy is a treatment modality in which unrelated people meet together with a therapist, in contrast to individual therapy or conjoint family therapy. Groups are not a second-rate approach to helping people change. In fact, groups are often the treatment of choice - especially when a client’s problem has an interpersonal component (which is usually the case). Groups offer a natural laboratory in which people can experiment with new ways of being and receive feedback from numerous others. There is great power in groups: members actually experience their interpersonal dynamics playing out in the group. A group therapist can implement techniques from other modalities in a group format. However, there are dynamics, processes, and stages of groups that are not shared with individual approaches and which offer distinctive benefits. Because so many of the problems that people seek mental
health services for involve dysfunctional interactions between people, having group members actually interact with others in the group affords an opportunity for deep, experiential learning and development that is not possible in individual therapy. This seminar will emphasize how to facilitate such “here and now” interactions and processes in group work.

“The presentation was great.  The speaker gave great insights. I would have not changed anything about it. I learned different ways to view personality disorders to help better treat them. This will help me better serve individuals who make up this population.”-Nicolas F. Social Worker, Maryland

Personality disorders are a common co-occurring condition in about half of the patients seeking outpatient mental health treatment. While most clinicians regularly see patients with a personality dysfunction, it is not always identified and may complicate treatment. Left untreated, personality disorders place a great burden on health care systems, families and communities. When you are equipped with a basic knowledge of personality disorders and their treatment, you can incorporate strategies to increase effectiveness in reducing therapeutic ruptures and achieve better outcomes. Personality dysfunction complicates and reduces efficacy of first line treatment approaches to clinical syndromes such as anxiety, depression, and addiction, as well as increasing the challenge of working with couples and families. When patients with personality dysfunction are unidentified and untreated, therapist frustration may ensue and lead to unintended therapeutic ruptures and treatment dropouts. Early identification and appropriate treatment reduce susceptibility to addictions and other comorbid disorders. Clinicians who understand and identify personality disorders and possess a cohesive conceptual framework can effectively treat personality dysfunction, optimize treatment and Improve outcomes. This seminar provides you with the foundation necessary for identification, conceptualization, effective management, and treatment of personality dysfunction. 

Psychological functioning is always embedded within the context of interpersonal relationships.  Maladaptive patterns that bring clients to psychotherapy are often learned in early attachment relationships.  The interpersonal context of psychotherapy can help clients explore and understand relational patterns.  Clients can practice new ways of relating in therapy and, hopefully, these more effective ways of being can be generalized to new contexts.

This seminar will teach both interpersonal conceptualization and intervention methods.  Interpersonal conceptualization will be described as way to understand interpersonal patterns in the present.  In order to promote a unified approach to treatment, the seminar will highlight how relational patterns shape cognition, emotion, and behavior.  Diversity is addressed in this seminar by describing the way cultural contexts shape relationships. 

Foundational interpersonal skills will be described and demonstrated with role-play videos.  These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of current patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. 

At a more advanced level, this seminar will explore the source of interpersonal patterns.  This section will use attachment theory to understand the roots of internalized relational models.  A video demonstration of exploring deeper patterns will be used to illustrate how this idea can be enacted with clients.  Both transference and countertransference will be explored as they are practiced within a contemporary interpersonal approach. 

This seminar is part of Level Two of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working contextually with external contexts and internal influences.  An essential part of a unified approach to treatment is understanding the impact of interpersonal patterns on dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and actions and fostering more adaptive responses.

High rates of adolescent depression and suicide present as a major international public health problem.  Suicidal adolescents are often a daunting population for clinicians to work with given their high-risk. Of the few effective treatments for this population, many are often multi-modal involving individual and group therapy, medication, etc.  An empirically supported family therapy for adolescents struggling with depression and suicide that requires only weekly sessions and which can be conducted on an outpatient, home-based, or inpatient basis is Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT).  ABFT emerges from interpersonal theories suggesting adolescent depression and suicide can be precipitated, exacerbated, or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal family relationships. It is a trust-based, emotion-focused psychotherapy model aiming to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective, secure-based, parent-child relationship. The therapy is trauma-focused while also being brief and structured. Treatment is characterized by five treatment tasks: a) reframing the therapy to focus on interpersonal development, b) building alliance with the adolescent, c) building alliance with the parents, d) facilitation conversations to resolve attachment ruptures and e) promoting autonomy in the adolescent. 

In this workshop, Dr Levy will use lecture and case studies to provide an overview of the theoretical principles, research support, and clinical strategies forABFT. Dr. Levy will review how attachment theory,emotional regulation, and trauma resolution informthe delivery of this treatment approach.  She will review the goals and structureof the five treatment tasks that provide a roadmapfor delivering this interpersonally focused psychotherapy effectively and rapidly in community mental health.

“Dr. Hannan was extremely informative, knowledgeable, and easy to listen to. His clinical examples enhanced the learning experience. Great presentation. I learned techniques on how to effectively engage in a therapeutic relationship with a BPD patient.-Shayna S., Professional Counselor, Illinois

This seminar will talk about the All-or-None Phenomenon in Borderline Personality (BPD), looking at it from both a psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral perspective.  The talk will define the All-or-None Phenomenon, as well as providing clinical examples.  It will also look at the reactions this elicits in treating professionals.  You will leave this webinar will techniques that are useful in helping patients who suffer from BPD.