NP (6) Nurturing the Resiliency of the Therapist and Special Topics
“There is no knowing for a fact. The only dependable things are humility and looking.” The Overstory, by Richard Powers
This 4-day training explores further details of working with “process,” for both you and your clients. The ability to sustain awareness with our own activation allows us to remain resilient in the face of challenging moments with our clients.Participants need to take NP 1 and 2 before taking this training, as we expand on that foundation. (It is not required to take NP 3, 4 or 5 to attend.)
We will again use a combination of presentation, discussion, exercises, demonstrations, and longer practicum sessions with personalized feedback. We will also do more short role plays, where you can bring in tough moments from your sessions. We will explore ways to approach, assess and work through them.
As with previous trainings, we focus on fine-tuning engagement with somatic processes, close tracking of nervous system reactions and resiliency, and judicious use of EMDR and other uses of bilateral stimulation. As before, we will engage in “trusting the process” of the drive for completion to allow the therapy process to flow organically.
Topics include:
Working with confidence and humility from a place of “not knowing”
Getting closer to our own subtle responses to “not knowing,” and how they impact usNurturing our own resiliency
When the work feels like a struggle, how do we find alignment again?
Strategies for self-assessing dynamics of difficult cases
Meeting “inevitable moments” where clients’ awareness is both fearful and needed
Turning tough processes into workable dynamics
Therapist’s anxiety with clients’ “stuck” momentsPacing and micro-agreements
Experiential exercises to raise personal awareness of our own caution and disconnection in sessions
Manifestations of “disconnections”
Signs to slow the process to heighten moments of nervous system activation
Experiential exercises to identify the dilemmas of moments of avoidance
Experiential exercises with “willingness” and “caution”
“Incongruities” as a doorway for non-presenting problems
Working the moments of disconnection vs. the fallout that follows
Establishing a clear focus for sessions
What makes this so difficult at times? And what does that reveal?
“Content” and “Process” foci
Getting clear agreements vs. trying to lasso or feeling like we are chasing
Dissociative Identity Disorders, from a somatic, process-oriented focus
Engaging the inner relational dynamics among all the “parts”
Eliciting and working explicit disconnections and process resources
Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health
How to keep your energy up and mind clear with good nutrition
How to notice “nutritional red flags” in your clients
Role Playing Difficult Scenarios from your Practice
Bring examples of your toughest moments for us to play out, dissect and strategize
Working with our anxieties with our clients’ “stuck moments”
Extended Practicums with Personalized Feedback
Practicums will invite each person to identify where they struggle the most in their work and take it on. Working at this level of engagement touches the unexpected in all of us. This is a chance to learn the most you can about your most difficult moments. When we all bring these forward, we all learn together.
Where do I get the most scared? What do I see in my own process there?
When do I feel the most competent? The most incompetent?
What clients and moments intimidate me the most, and how can I address them well?
What are the moments I don’t want anyone to know about? How can I learn from them?
We will address as many other specific topics as possible - send your requests to Craig.
These topics arose from challenging themes that often emerge in NP consultation groups.
Learning objectives:
___ Participants are able to identify 2 signs in their own nervous system that tells them they are more activated than they had realized cognitively.
___ Participants are able to list 3 foundational aspects of establishing a good focus for a session.
___ Participants are able to describe 3 signs that a client may have “disconnected”
___ Participants are able to describe 2 important factors for working with client “caution”
___ Participants are able identify 3 principles of working effectively with “dissociative identity disorder’
___ Participants are able describe 3 ways that it’s helpful for the therapist to take a stronger lead when clients have “disconnected.”
___ Participants are able to list 3 “nutritional red flags” that may call for a medical/nutritional referral.
___ Participants are able describe 3 advantages of gaining confidence with working from a place of “not knowing.”