People in Groups: New Insights on the Social Synapse

More about The Cultural Box with "Sasha" Juravleva & Toshie Suzuki

2011-05-07T01:47:00.005-04:00

Alexandra (Sasha) Juravleva, LMHC and Toshie Suzuki, LICSW contemplate the symbolism of the box and how it applies to the subject of culture and group therapy. She tells us how both facilitators created this idea and its relevance for group psychotherapy.
This workshop takes place in the morning of Saturday June 11th.

Meet Dr. Renee Hoekstra

2011-05-03T15:23:00.004-04:00

Mindfulness - do you think you really understand it? How do you explain the concept to your clients or students? How do you apply it in your own life and in your groups? Renee Hoekstra will explain it all to you in her workshop - Mindfulness for People Who Don't "Get" It: Effective Interventions for Teching Awarenss in Groups - which is being offerd on Saturday morning,June 11th. The workshop code is W-4.

To learn more, please listen to our conversation below.

Pamela Enders

Meet Dr. Alan Albert

2011-04-29T16:07:00.003-04:00

Today I interviewed Alan Albert who is offering a workshop on Saturday afternoon, June 11th, entitled: Beyond the Usual: Leading Support Groups for Adults Who Have Survived Catastrophic Trauma. This workshop is an expansion of what Alan will be discussing in the Saturday morning panel discussion chaired by Cecil Rice (Trauma and Healing Across the Lifespan: Resiliency in Adults, Couples and Children.

Sit back, pour yourself some tea (in honor of the royal wedding!) and listen!

Pamela Enders

More with Dr Steffen Fuller.

2011-04-28T00:55:00.006-04:00

Supervision and Marketing Group Psychotherapy Practice

Steffen continues the conversation already started by Pamela Enders. In this video he describes more elements related to his workshop "You Do Groups Too? How Marketing Your Group Skills Can Boost Your Practice". Here he indicates how his presentation he will also discuss different ways in which support is provided, indeed, when it comes to market one's group psychotherapy practice.

NSGP Publicity Committee.

Meet Dr. Lois Choi-Kain

2011-04-27T13:54:00.002-04:00

For the past several years, NSGP has offered special presentations - special events within the larger event of the conference. This year, the Special Presentation is called Your Mind in Mine: Empirical Foundations and Clnical Applications of Mentalization Therapies. The presenter is Dr. Lois Choi-Kain.

Lois is currently the Medical and Program Director of the Gunderson Residence at McLean Hospital and she has published research papers and presented with a number of the founders of the Mentalization-based treatment. In other words, she knows her stuff! If you listen to our conversation you will definitely want to sign up for this special presentation!

The program is tucked into the conference so it doesn't compete with any other offerings. It is being offered on Saturday, June 11th from 1 – 2:30pm and Sunday from 1:15 – 2:45pm.

Pamela Enders

Meet Dr. Cecil Rice

2011-04-26T19:10:00.005-04:00

Past NSGP President, recently awarded Distinguished Fellow of AGPA, and wonderful teacher to many of us, Dr. Cecil Rice is chairing the opening panel of a two-part program for NSGP's annual conference. The morning program, entitled Trauma and Healing Across the Lifespan: Resiliency in Adults, Couples and Children, will take place on Saturday morning, June 11th. (Workshop code - W-1).

Joining Cecil will be Drs. Alan Albert, Suzanne Phillips, and William Sharp. This workshop can be taken alone or in conjuction with one of the Saturday afternoon workshops offered by these panelists. The afternoon workshops should be mentioned here.

Alan Albert's workshop is Beyond the Usual: Leading Support Groups for Adults Who Have Survived Catastrophic Trauma.(Workshop code - W-9)
Suzanne Phillips's workshop is Responding to the Needs of couples in the Aftermath of Trauma and Combat Stress. (Workshop Code - W-10)
William Sharp's workshop is Emotional Tutors: The Place of School-Based Group Therapy in Overcoming Trauma and Building Connections. (Workshop Code - W-11)

It should also be mentioned that this program is being co-sponsored by The Children's Group Therapy Association, the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy School-Based Program, and Strategic Outreach for the Families of All Reservists (SOFAR). NSGP is grateful to these organizations for their support of this program.

Please listen to my conversation with Cecil!

Pamela Enders

Cultural Box: Exploring Culture in a Group Context

2011-04-25T13:26:00.001-04:00

Cultural Box: Exploring Culture in a Group Context is the only conference workshops this year with a multi/inter-cultural focus. Its facilitators – Alexandra (Sasha) Juravleva, LMHC and Toshie Suzuki, LICSW – contemplate the symbolism of the box and how it applies to the subject of culture and group therapy.

Boxes are versatile. We use boxes for varied purposes in everyday life. A jewelry box, for example, keeps and protects what we value. It hides our treasure from unscrupulous eyes. A mail box collects with the purpose of distributing further. A litter box holds waste to keep the rest clean. A box of chocolates provides guilty pleasure. A music box amuses and entertains. An old shoe box that has been transformed into a storage place for pictures now preserves tender memories. The symbolism of a box connects to its versatility and is manifold. For example, a coffin bestows a final resting place for the deceased, yet it aligns with life as much as it does with the death. It protects the remains of the loved one and at the same time – provides separation between the worlds of the dead and the living. This separation is important, not only for the deceased, but for the surviving family and friends who need to say suitable good-byes without being overcome by the fear of the death itself.

From a symbolic perspective, culture and a group can be represented as boxes. The walls of a bigger cultural box are established by cultural rules and norms. These walls can protect and at the same time oppress. They can restrict as well as liberate by defining clear boundaries. When we find ourselves put into a smaller, more clearly outlined box of a group, two contents start to interact—that of our cultures and that of the group. As a result, our boxed anxieties surface: Will “they” put a lid on me in this group? Will my bottom hold? Will I be shoved to the side and never be opened? From a clinical perspective, these anxieties can be conceptualized as cultural transference and counter-transference.

Our workshop is designed to explore these and related themes through experiential modalities and discussion. The importance of understanding cultural transference and counter-transference for clinical work has been extensively researched in literature (e.g., Abernethy, 1998). The researchers’ conclusion is that when the clinician is not aware of how his or her cultural background and that of a client impacts their work, the client’s emotional safety and the working relationship can be jeopardized; as a result, it would more likely to lead to the treatment impasse, dropout, and premature termination. Therefore, we find it important to examine our culturally-influenced responses to each other in the context of the group and we invite you to join us in that.

Alexandra (Sasha) Juravleva, LMHC, CPRP (http://www.sashatherapy.com) is the staff psychotherapist at the Northeastern University Health and Counseling Services, Boston. She is also in private practice at Harvard Sq., Cambridge. Sasha is a Co-Chair of the NSGP Conference Publicity Committee and an active member of the Japanese-Speaking Mental Health Professionals Group in Cambridge.

Toshie Suzuki, LICSW, is a clinician at Freedom Trail Clinic at North Suffolk Mental Health Associations and an active member of the Japanese-Speaking Mental Health Professional Group in the Greater Boston. Formerly, she worked at Berklee College of Music as a Personal Counselor/Multicultural Specialist and was a co-covenant for Asian Staff and Faculty Association.

Meet Dr. Rowell Levy

2011-04-25T12:21:00.003-04:00

If you ever wish you knew what to do or what to say during a particular group, Rowell Levy just might have the answer for you! His workshop - Building Your Toolbox: Integrating Skills into Group Treatment - is being offered on Sunday morning, June 12th. The code is W-22.

Rowell offered this workshop last year to a capacity audience and we're hoping for the same this year! Here is our conversation:

Pamela Enders

Meet Dr. Scott Rutan

2011-04-25T12:17:00.004-04:00

Scott Rutan and Dr. Eleanor Counselman will be offering their workshop - Longing to Belong - on Sunday, June 12th. The workshop code is W-18.

Scott, who is past NSGP and AGPA President and a well-known raconteur, spoke with me about the workshop. Listen to our conversation below.

Pamela Enders

Meet Dr. Suzanne Cohen

2011-04-24T17:56:00.003-04:00

Suzanne Cohen is a psychologist and Nia practitioner in Wellesley. If you don't know what "Nia" is, I encourage you to take her workshop or at least listen to our conversation below. She offers some compelling reasons for connecting with our bodies. Good stuff!

Pamela Enders

Meet Dr. Joe Shay

2011-04-24T17:45:00.003-04:00

Joe Shay is a psychologist in Cambridge who is known for, among other things, his entertaining workshops in which he uses clips from movies and TV to educate. This year, Joe is offering his workshop, Projective Identification Goes to the Movies (Workshop W-7).

Joe and I talked about his workshop recently and you can hear our conversation by clicking on the button below.

Pamela Enders

Meet Dr. Steffen Fuller

2011-04-23T18:34:00.003-04:00

Psychologist Steffen Fuller believes that all group therapists can benefit from learning about marketing. His workshop dispells myths and provides a hands-on experience that will forever change your attitude about marketing. Listen in as I interview him about his workshop - "You Do Groups Too? How Marketing Your Group Skills Can Boost Your Practice"

Pamela Enders, Ph.D.

Meet Dr. Steven Krugman

2011-04-23T18:25:00.004-04:00

Steven Krugman, Ph.D. is offering a workshop ("The Social Brain: Wired to Connect") and a Special Interest Experience Group ("Mentalization Based Treatment in Groups" with Dr. Nancy Lundy) at this year's NSGP Conference.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Steven about his workshop and institute. Please listen in and hear what he has to say. It's fascinating stuff!

Pamela Enders, Ph.D.

The Need to Be Liked: Day-Long Experience Group

2011-04-05T10:00:00.004-04:00

One of the Day-Long Experience Groups is ran by David Ward, LCSW, LADC, CGP and focuses on the therapist's need to be liked by his clients. Here is what David has to say about his group:

The need to be liked is universal for clients and therapists alike. Dale Carnegie made a living teaching others how to “Win Friends & Influence People.” We all certainly need to learn how to “play well with the other kids”, to get along. However, as therapists leading groups, this need to be liked can be out of balance for us and get in the way, diminishing our therapeutic effectiveness. Most therapists become therapists to help others, and rightly so feel good about forming a safe, trusting therapeutic alliance that includes empathy, compassion and kindness. We work on having our client’s best interests in mind, and staying mindful of our own countertransference. Most of us however don’t get taught in grad school how to tolerate and metabolize conflicts in group, or a client being angry or disappointed with us, and how to “hold” these emotions without becoming defensive or withdrawn, and use them therapeutically. That is our challenge though, just us much as “holding” all the nice emotions such as being liked.

Some of the reasons this issue can get out of balance can be learning patterns of avoiding conflict which can originate from our families and peers of origin groups, where either conflict was avoided or we experienced high conflicts. Examples of this need to be liked can manifest in a myriad of ways in our groups such as not paying attention to the boundaries of group, such as difficulties exploring the unconscious meanings of lateness or a client’s commitment, difficulty with setting fees and or following through with charging for missed groups, and starting or ending on time. On a deeper level, what happens to us internally when there is a conflict in group between members or towards us? Are we able to remain therapeutic and hold the feelings of the group, or do we also avoid? Can we direct the conflict to ourselves as the lightening rod for the group, especially in the early stages of group? Can we sit with our client’s disappointments of our quite human mistakes sometimes, without either becoming defensive, or giving in to our own shame?

In this special topic day-long experience training group, we will have an opportunity to stretch our “emotional muscles” and explore our need to be liked. If we have difficulty with conflict, or holding the difficult or negative transferences from clients, this experience group can help. Exploring this from a psychodynamic and interpersonal lens, we will practice together in the here and now of the group. We will hopefully gain more strength in Winnicott’s theory of creating a safe enough “holding environment,” to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly, all with the goal of becoming the “Good-Enough” group parent.

David Ward, LCSW, LADC, CGP is psychotherapist in private practice in Yarmouth, Maine, offering individual, couples, and group psychotherapy as an independently licensed clinical social worker, licensed alcohol & drug counselor, and certified group psychotherapist. He is a clinical member of NSGP, & AGPA, as well as graduate of NSGP’s group training program and the Boston Institute of Psychotherapy’s Group Observation Training Program. He is also the President for the Maine Association for Specialists in Group Work, (MeASGW). For more information, visit www.southernmainepsychotherapy.com

Day-Long General Psychodynamic Experience Group (8 years of experience +)

2011-03-23T16:30:00.001-04:00

At this year’s conference the Day-Long General Psychodynamic Experience Group for experienced clinicians (8 years of group therapy experience or longer) is facilitated by Joe Shay PhD, CGP, FAGPA who is known to his colleagues for his energy and creativity.

One of the Joe’s most recent creative endeavors in the group therapy field is moderating a 4-session teleconference that features eight renowned group therapists commenting on a video tape of one specific group session, looking at it from multiple perspectives. Two of the therapists are NSGP’s very own Scott Rutan and Eleanor Counselman. The other six are Walt Stone, Molyn Leszcz, Earl Hopper, Richard Billow, Priscilla Kauff, and Phil Flores. All the actors on the video tape are current NSGP members. The teleconference is offered through the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) and offers CEUs (for more information, go to http://member.agpa.org/).

Participating in this teleconference can be a good “warm up” before the NSGP Annual Conference in June. It can give you a flavor of the work done by the participating therapists, some of whom also plan to present at the NSGP Annual Conference (please check the NSGP Annual Conference Brochure for more information).

In Joe’s interview for the NSGP Conference Blog, he shared some of his thoughts on the importance of utilizing training opportunities such as the above teleconference or the NSGP Annual Conference for professional and personal growth.

According to Joe, he, like many therapists, has recognized that there are many perspectives from which to approach the same group and he tried to illuminate those by creating a video of the demo group that, as in famous Gloria tapes, can be analyzed by different clinicians through various theoretical lenses. Joe expects some overlaps in the analyses, as well as differences. He anticipates most differences among the experts to be on where they put their focus in the session – e.g., on the “here and now” of group dynamics at the moment they unfold in the group, or on the “there and then,” connecting group members’ prior life experiences to how they respond to each other in the group as the session progresses.

Having received his initial training as a psychodynamic group therapist, Joe does not consider himself married to any particular model and values the group therapist’s adaptability over his or her capacity to apply theory to technique. As an experienced clinician, he is able to work in an integrative manner and tailor his approach to what is happening in the group and who he is working with in the moment. He views the group therapy session as a “convergence of projections,” in which group members bring into the group narratives and templates from the past. If the group therapist creates a safe enough environment and helps group members develop a strong enough alliance, they are then able to examine those old templates, own their projections and relate to one another more in the present. In Joe’s opinion, this allows group members more freedom to interact authentically with each other.

The day-long experience group is a great opportunity to see in action some of the things Joe is talking about. As training first and foremost, the day-long experience group aims at providing not therapy, but a learning opportunity for its group participants. In Joe’s experience, most members find participating in a day-long group an energizing and fascinating adventure in which they learn about themselves more than they initially might have anticipated. According to him, people in later years may have forgotten the content but not the experience itself.

In leading an experience group for seasoned clinicians (defined at this Conference as having 8 years of experience or more) the leader can often move more quickly through the preliminaries and enter the active phase more quickly. In addition, in a didactic portion of the day-long group, Joe might focus more on complex group dynamics skipping some more rudimentary observations. In any group, Joe expects to be challenged as a leader. His approach to that is helping each group figure out what is driving the challenge, e.g., a mistake the group leader might have made, personal aspects of the group member, specific group dynamics, or a combination of some or all of the above.

As a group facilitator, Joe enjoys the “extremely intimate” atmosphere of a day-long group where people create trust for each other through personal sharing. He admits that he sometimes would like to just take off his “leader hat” and become a member when he feels particularly moved by what is happening in the group. He tries to keep a professionally appropriate distance with those who choose to participate in his day-long experience group, at the same time noting the often occurring deepening of the interpersonal relationship between colleagues who share this unique experience with each other.

Joe Shay, PhD, CGP, FAGPA, is in private practice in Cambridge. He is on the staff of the joint McLean Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital training program, and is an Instructor in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. He is on the faculty of the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, the Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Institute of New England, and the MGH Center of Psychodynamic Therapy and Research. He has co-edited Odysseys in Psychotherapy and Complex Dilemmas in Group Therapy (with Lise Motherwell). Joe has also co-authored the 4th edition of Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy (with Scott Rutan and Walter Stone), and has presented nationally and internationally on topics related to individual, couples, and group psychotherapy.

Early-Bird Registration Discount

2011-03-21T13:14:00.002-04:00

Don't forget to register early for the NSGP Annual Conference and save $30!! The early-bird registration date have been moved up this year to May 1st. Mail in your registration or go online now (http://www.nsgpregistration.com/) to register and take advantage of this great discount!

Weight Regulation Meets Group Psychotherapy

2011-03-21T13:06:00.005-04:00

One of this year's conference workshops is ran by Fran Weiss, LCSW-R, BCD, DCSW, CGP, a well-known expert in group therapy for those struggling with weight regulation. She offeres her workshop on Sunday, June 12, 2011, from 9:15 am to 12:15 pm. This is what Ms. Weiss has to say about her workshop:

Patients who come to your practice with over eating, weight regulation, and body image problems defy classical DSM IV diagnosis from an eating disorder perspective. They present daunting biochemical as well as self-regulatory problems. Although daunting, they come for our help and we are challenged to treat them.

Overeating and weight regulation are not considered eating disorders. Binge eating disorder (BED) has recently become a proposed diagnosis to be admitted to the DSM. However, all patients with eating issues do not quality for BED. Those who eventually come into a psychotherapist’s office have probably “failed” at institutional and commercial programs for weight loss.

Conceptually, I have moved from thinking about these patients from a strictly psychoanalytic and psychodynamic viewpoint, and begun unraveling their issues in line with the paradigm shift away from drive theory to interpersonal neurobiology and modern attachment theory. This shift incorporates development of self, attachment patterns, and development of self-regulation. In this shift, the symptom, overeating, becomes a high caloric regulatory and compensation mechanism. The resultant weight problem, which ensues, has a bio-chemical life of its own.

In the treatment realm, group psychotherapy had been vastly underutilized and has essentially been put in the background. Currently, cognitive behavioral therapy is considered to be the gold standard of treatment. But, sole use of cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to have its limits. Most patients lose, 5-10% of initial weight, the current standard of criteria for success. However, patients usually regain 30-35% of their weight loss in the year following treatment and many return to their baseline weight within 5 years. Success rates in obesity programs are grim.

What is missing in treatment? Looking at this cluster of patients from the traditional psychodynamic psychoanalytic model has its restraints. New technology has allowed us to access the brain, which has shown us that the development of regulation starts long before the drive models that Freud conceptualized. It is important not to throw out the baby with the bath water, so to speak, but add on to what we already know, and upgrade our work in current thinking. The current work in interpersonal neurobiology and modern attachment theory gives clarity to what is missing and can only add to the repertoire of a traditionally group trained psychotherapist. It is time that we begin apprehending these patients from a different model. Modern attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology lends to a different conceptualization and thinking about them clinically. These can be incorporated into group psychotherapy adding to the richness of this model. Group, utilizing these newer concepts, can be a regulatory mechanism for those challenged with regulatory problems. Active engagement in this newer thinking, can lead to developing fresh group strategies for those with these daunting problems.

About Fran Weiss, LCSW-R,BCD,DCSW,CGP, DPNAP

www.FranWeiss.com

Fran Weiss is an expert clinician with over three decades of experience in the treatment of weight regulation and body image among the obese and disordered eating population. Her subspecialty is in women's health issues, emotional issues surrounding a cancer diagnosis, trauma, interpersonal issues. She is known for her work in the health professions as a bridge, developing interdisciplinary teams. She is in Private Practice in New York City in, Individual, Couples, and Group Psychotherapy. She also developed a time limited workshop BITE® The Body Image Transformation Experience focusing on body image and weight regulatory issues. Her training and background is from a psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy perspective. Her current practice is informed by interpersonal neurobiology, modern attachment theory. She is also a trained Sensorimotor Psychotherapist.

She is an Associate Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and has been the Senior Psychotherapy Consultant to the New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, since 1979. She is also is the eating disorder book reviewer for The American Journal of Psychotherapy as well as a blind reviewer of articles. In addition she has been a blind reviewer for Social Work in Mental Health.

She was awarded Distinguished Practitioner by the National Academy of Practice (NAP) 2011. She is a Board Certified Group Psychotherapist (1994), Board Certified Diplomate (1988); Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (1987); Diplomate, the Former American Board of Psychotherapy (1988-1993); Board Certified Specialist with Children and Their Families. American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, (ABECSW); Member of the Book Review Staff, American Journal of Psychotherapy (1986), Member of the Academy for Eating Disorders.

For over three decades she has acted as the senior psychotherapy consultant to the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center (ORC) in their various clinical arms. One of which was the world renown Theodore B. VanItallie Center for Nutrition and Weight Management. The New York ORC is one of the first NIH funded Centers studying metabolism and obesity in the United States. Throughout her consultancy she has made numerous presentations; taught and supervised psychiatric residents, psychologists, social workers, nutritionists and nurses the psychodynamics of patients with weight regulation problems. She also developed and conducted a six month seminar series for premedical students from the Institute of Human Nutrition affiliated with Columbia Presbyterian, “Psychosocial Behavior Approach to the Treatment of Eating Disorders”. Her current involvement is with the NIH research studies Look Ahead Study and the Diabetes Prevention Program.

Her unique and pioneering work has been the clinical integration of recent advances in psychology, modern attachment theory, and neruoscience research with innovative clinical application in the treatment of the overweight disordered eating patient. This has been exemplified by her peer reviewed articles; her on-line articles; her book reviews; her presentations to Faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She has been a guest lecturer at NYU Medical Center, Teacher's College, Columbia University CUNY Sophie Davis School of Bio0Medical Education. She has been a resource person for NBC,CBS, and the New York Times in Body image of women and obesity. She has given presentations, run workshops, and taught courses at the national meetings of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, AGPA; the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Association, EGPS; and the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, NSGP. Her most recent contribution has been an on-line PsyBC Seminar Series, Mind Body Integration of the Self in Treating Weight Regulation: The Hollow Victory of Weight Loss which due to its popularity has become a continuous course.

Mike Devlin,MD, past president of the Academy of Eating Disorders has said “Fran's publications on body image assessment and treatment of body image disturbances are seminal. As far back as 1986, her American Journal of Psychotherapy paper on “The evaluation and treatment of body image disturbances among obese individuals” paved new ground and served as a major inspiration for experiential body image work. As it became clear that traditional psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches had limited ability to deeply impact body image, Fran and others began to mine the potential of combining traditional psychodynamically-based approaches with more powerful techniques that address the development of body self and the need for mind-body integration in order to bring about lasting change.”

Conference Publicity Committee is Asking for Help

2011-03-15T14:15:00.001-04:00

Conference Publicity is asking NSGP members to help with mailing paper conference brochures and other promotional materials to interested organizations. Your help will be greatly appreciated. The more helping hands we get, the faster the process will be. It is also a good opportunity to meet your colleagues and do something together for the organization.

What needs to be done:
Putting brochures and promo cards into envelopes, putting mailing labels on the envelopes, and bringing letters to the post office to mail them (postage will be compensated by NSGP)

When:
March 26, Sat from 3:30 to 6 pm

Where:
Belmont

Who to contact if interested in helping:
Conference Publicity at nsgppubcom@gmail.com

Re-educating violence, coping with trauma and the social synapse: The Rice Memorial Fund

2011-03-14T23:55:00.011-04:00

It is important to mention that a panel and three workshops at the NSGP 30th Annual Regional Conference (June 2011) are sponsored by The Rice Memorial Fund. The NSGP Foundation Rice Memorial Fund (NSGPF) seeks to understand violence and its prevention in and through groups. These four panel/workshops are co-sponsored by the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy School-Based Program, the New England Child Group Therapy Association and Strategic Outreach for the Families of All Reservists (SOFAR).

For more information on NSGPF, please, follow this link> NSGPF.

For more information on the NSGP 30th Annual Regional Conference, please follow this link to its brochure> NSGP 30th Annual Regional Conference Brochure

The events, as follows:

Panel on Trauma and Healing Across the Lifespan: Resiliency in Adults, Couples and Children
In the tenth anniversary year of 9/11, the panel will present on trauma, its impact and recovery, for adults, armed forces couples, and children in the Boston School System.

Chairperson: Cecil A. Rice, PhD, Past President, NSGP; President and Co-founder, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Needham, MA
Alan Albert, PsyD, CGP, Staff Psychologist, Neponset Health Center, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Newton Centre, MA
Suzanne B. Phillips PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychology Doctoral Program, C. W. Post Campus, Long Island University, Brookville, N.Y., Private Practice, Northport, NY
William Sharp, PsyaD, Director, School-Based Counseling Program, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, Boston, MA

Workshop- Beyond the Usual: Leading Support Groups for Adults Who Have Survived Catastrophic Trauma
This workshop will focus on the group therapist’s role in leading support groups for severely traumatized adults, especially those surviving catastrophic events. Considerations will include the leader’s need to understand the importance of safety, space and structure, as well as acceptance, respectful curiosity, and awe. Case examples and workshop participant experiences will be examined.

Alan Albert, PsyD, CGP, Staff Psychologist, Neponset Health Center, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Newton Centre, MA

Workshop- Responding to the Needs of Couples in the Aftermath of Trauma and Combat Stress
The marriages of military couples are often compromised by the separations, dangers, physical and emotional stress inherent in their missions. Homecoming is a treasured event and a complicated process. This workshop will illuminate the nature of trauma and stress faced by military couples and interventions
to support resiliency and coping skills.

Suzanne B. Phillips PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychology Doctoral Program, C. W. Post Campus, Long Island University, Brookville, N.Y.; Private Practice, Northport, NY

Workshop- Emotional Tutors: The Place of School-Based Group. Therapy in Overcoming Trauma and Building Connections
If your child struggles with math or reading, you get a math or reading tutor. What if your child struggles with classroom basics like talking, listening, and making friends? Therapy groups can be emotional tutors for children recovering from trauma. Examples of school-based groups will provide material for a discussion of how healing occurs in the social synapse.

Dr. William Sharp, PsyaD, Director, School-Based Counseling Program, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, Boston, MA

For scheduling , objectives and any additional information, please consult the 30th NSGP Annual Regional Conference Brochure

The Conference Brochure

2011-03-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

The conference brochure is ready for viewing at http://nsgp.com/PDFs/Conference/Brochure

Longing to Belong (Sunday workshop)

2011-02-18T12:17:00.000-05:00

One of the Conference 2011 workshops is going to be facilitated by Eleanor Counselman & Scott Rutan well-known to the New England therapy community. Here is what they have to say about their workshop:

As the poet John Donne wrote, "No man is an island." We are wired to belong, and the experience of belonging is important at all ages. Yet relatively little has been written or taught about the curative effect of belonging, or about the pathogenic aspects of not belonging. We instinctively avoid being outcasts; in the evolution of the species, being an outcast was a very dangerous situation. We need to belong and yet people often struggle with feeling they don't belong.

Current neurobiological research suggests that interpersonal connection takes place on the most basic neural level. That cellular level of connection is the basis for the ability to experience belonging, the earliest of which is the sense of belonging an infant experiences when the parent mirrors and responds. Ongoing experiences of belonging shape one's sense of self and other.

A particular kind of belonging occurs in therapy groups - a reciprocal connection where the person feels he or she matters to the other, and vice versa. This does not happen for all members in all groups, but when it does, it becomes one of the central curative features.

A member terminating after a successful experience in a therapy group of mine was asked what he would miss about group. Without hesitation, he said "Being part of this group. I will just plain miss belonging here."

Join our workshop and learn more about belonging in group therapy.

More on Social Synapse

2011-02-04T10:33:00.003-05:00

Hi NSGPers,

There's been some discussion of just what the "social synapse" is and even with the discussion and helpful psychology articles its remained hard for me to pin down. But David Brooks has come to the rescue with an article in the January 17th New Yorker called "Social Animal",
subtitled, "How the new sciences of human nature can help make sense of life" (for the full text of the article, go to http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/17/110117fa_fact_brooks). Its a lovely, even inspiring article that I think captures it.

Wanted to spread the word.

Thanks,

Ken

Little "Insights" into the different NSGP Conference 2011 Workshops

2011-01-30T22:49:00.007-05:00

The various conference workshops are designed as half-day programs. Workshops address topics and questions psychotherapy group leaders may face as they conduct their activities. These half-day programs are created as forums were discussions are encouraged.

Here, some of these programs:

Tune into Creativity and Turn Down Intellect: An Expressive Therapy Exploration

Dorothy Anderson-Perales, LICSW, CAGS, Private Practice, Cambridge, MA.

Sometimes a picture (rhythm, sound or gesture) IS worth a thousand words. In this experiential workshop, participants use their own creative energy to access inner knowledge and foster connection in a group. Expressive modalities utilized include: photography, art-making, drama, rhythm, poetry and movement. Experiential, Discussion, Demonstration.

Your Body is Your Supervisor: Understanding the Attachment System from the Inside Out

Suzanne L. Cohen, EdD, CGP, FAGPA, Private Practice, Wellesley, MA.

Our bodies give us information that is non-verbal. The attachment system develops pre-verbally, before we use words to process our experience. In this workshop we will use body awareness and expressive movement to music (the Nia Technique) to learn about the attachment system and how attachment is experienced and expressed in the bodies of the group therapist and the group members. Experiential, Demonstration, Discussion, Didactic/Lecture.

The Group Leader as Catalyst for or Impediment to Change

Jerome S. Gans, MD, CGP, DLFAGPA, DLFAPA, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Wellesley, MA.

Adam J. Silk, MD, Staff Psychiatrist, Medical Department, MIT; Private Practice, Brookline, MA.

Group therapists can: promote authentic member-to-member contact or short-circuit meaningful interactions with premature, cerebral interventions; encourage exploration with tentative hypotheses or shut down inquiry with dogmatic pronouncements; acknowledge mistakes or locate difficult exclusively in group members. This workshop will examine these and a host of other leadership interventions. Didactic, Demonstration group, Discussion.

For more descriptions of conference themes, schedule and learning objectives for each workshop, see Conference 2011 Brochure at www.nsgp.com

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com

Interview with Dr. Flores, Facilitator of the NSGP Conference 2011 Demo Group: Attachment Theory and Group Therapy

2011-01-18T08:11:00.007-05:00

This year's Conference Demo Group is led by Dr. Philip J. Flores, PhD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA and focuses on the attachment theory and its applications for group therapy. In addition to Demo Group, Dr. Flores also offers a Sunday workshop entitled Addiction as an Attachment Disorder.

Dr. Flores is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and holds a Certificate of Group Psychotherapy from the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is adjunct Faculty at the Georgia School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University and is supervisor of group psychotherapy at Emory University. As a practicing clinician, Dr. Flores offers group therapy in his private practice in Atlanta.

Dr. Flores authored two books: Group Psychotherapy With Addiction Populations by Haworth Press (which was just released in its 3rd Edition) and Addiction as an Attachment Disorder by Jason Aronson Press (which received the 2005 Gradiva Award Winner issued by The National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis). He has also presented numerous workshops nationally and internationally on these two subjects and has published numerous articles and chapters on addiction and group psychotherapy. To find out more about work of Dr. Flores, please go to his website at http://atlantagrouptherapy.com/index.html

Dr. Flores highlighted the importance of the attachment theory for group therapy and working with addictions in his interview with the NSGP Blog:

Question 1. What sparked your initial interest in attachment theory?

Early in my professional development, I was introduced into psychodynamic theory during my graduate training and soon became a convert. However at this time, psychodynamic theory was dominated by classic drive theory and I struggled with applying many of drive theory’s concepts to my individual and group therapy treatment, especially with addicts and alcoholics. I discovered that many aspects of drive theory were impractical in its clinical applications. I was eventually drawn to the relational models and soon fell in love with selfpsychology and object relations theory, because in part, they complimented and meshed so well with Irvin Yalom’s Interactional Group Therapy model; an approach I found both practical and comprehensive. I have never let a good theory get in the way of the practical, clinical application of treatment. However, I still had some difficulty completely integrating the relational models with Yalom’s recommendations. Eventually I stumbled upon Bowlby’s work and it all came together theoretically for me after that. Bowlby’s Attachment Theory was not only elegant; it also fit with my clinical experience and with the “data” that my patients were bringing me in both my individual and group therapy work.

Attachment theory, like self psychology, can be viewed as an offspring of object relations theory. While these three theories share important similarities, they hold different allegiances to classical drive theory. The most decisive factor that differentiates attachment theory from the other two theories is the degree to which it differs from classical drive theory on the importance of attachment. Attachment is a fundamental motivation in its own right and cannot be reduced to a secondary drive. Attachment theory holds firmly to the position that the pains, joys, and meaning of attachment cannot be reduced to a secondary drive. Attachment is recognized as a primary motivational force with its own dynamics, and these dynamics have far-reaching and complex consequences (Bowlby, 1973).

Attachment theory allowed me to be more fully engaged with my clients without having to worry about outdated concepts like technical neutrality and the fostering of psychological dependency. Not only did my patients respond better to my treatment, I enjoyed my work much more and found it a great more satisfying. When outcome research began to provide empirical support for the strength of the therapeutic alliance as the biggest contributor to successful treatment outcome, these findings further collaborated and confirmed my clinical experience.

Question 2. Many clients with addictions have difficulty with maintaining healthy relationships and regulating their affect in the context of the relationships. How do attachment theories conceptualize their struggles and what avenues for addressing these struggles do they offer?

For better or worse, an increasing number of individuals within our present-day society have become increasingly reliant on psychoactive substances to help them manage the fears and difficulties stirred up with interpersonal relationships. Fortunately, most individuals are able to use the substances mentioned above in ways that do not cause them prolonged harm or dire consequences. However, certain individuals, because of intrapsychic deficiencies related to genetic and biological substrates, are more vulnerable to develop disabling dependencies and addictions to substances that many of us either learn how to use less destructively, or stop using before the consequences of our use becomes too damaging.

However, the etiology of addiction is not a simple one-dimensional phenomenon. Evidence is mounting which reveals that prolonged substance use alters brain functioning, leaving many individuals unable to control their substance intake once they start. For some, this loss of control is rapid. For others, the erosion is more insidious and gradual. Substance use, which originally started as a way to help the individual manage the difficulties generated by interpersonal relationships, gradually impairs an already fragile capacity for attachment. Prolonged substance abuse, because of its toxicity, gradually compromises neurophysiology functioning and erodes existing psychic structure. Consequently, any interpersonal skills the person possessed early in his or her substance-abusing career depreciates even further. Managing relationships become increasingly difficult, leading to a heightened reliance on substances, which accelerates deterioration and addictive response patterns.

The recent work of attachment theory has taught addictions specialists that dysfunctional attachment styles interfere with the ability to derive satisfaction from interpersonal relationships and contribute to internal working models that perpetuate this difficulty. Experiences related to early developmental failures leave certain individuals with vulnerabilities that enhance addictive type behaviors and these behaviors are misguided attempts at self-repair. Deprivation of age appropriate developmental needs leaves the substance abuser constantly searching for something “out there” that can be substituted for what is missing “in here”.

Addiction from an attachment theory perspective holds one basic and simple premise about treatment. Until substance abusers are able to develop the capacity to establish mutually satisfying relationships, they will forever remain vulnerable to relapse and addiction. To successfully treat addiction, the addicted individual must learn how to establish healthy relationships. While this overly simplistic portrayal of attachment theory gets to the heart of the matter, it does not do justice to the intricate complexity of accomplishing such a modest maneuver. To keep the significance of attachment theory’s primary premise in perspective, it is important to remember that attachment theory holds the position that substance abuse is both a solution and a consequence of a person’s impaired ability in developing healthy attachments. Consequently, if the addict or alcoholic is to achieve abstinence and sobriety, he or she must first detach from their primary destructive relationship to substances and then develop the capacity for healthy interpersonal attachments.

Affect regulation theory carries with it the implication that everyone, not just addicts and alcoholics, need selfobjects to help provide affect regulation. Certain individuals, because of genetic and environmental variables are more vulnerable to disruption because they suffer more severe deficits in this capacity. Vulnerable individuals are more dependent on outside sources or do not have the necessary interpersonal skills and to obtain regulation the way our species are genetically hardwired to get it—through other people.Because of Kohut’s and Khantzian’s persuasive reasoning, affect regulation theory helped shift psychoanalytic thinking about addiction from the more classic drive or instinct theory to the relational models (Guntrip, 1955; Fairbairn, 1952) with its greater emphasis on adaptation, developmental arrestment, and deficits in self-structure. Building on the early theoretical observations of Kohut (1977), Khantzian provided an alternative explanation for the addiction process that is not only compatible with the disease concept, but also expands it while providing useful and practical theoretical formulations that can enhance the substance abuser's recovery and treatment. Attachment theory, with its emphasis on the psychobiological aspects of the attachment experience helped legitimize many of the aspects of affect regulation theory. Both attachment theory and affect regulation theory challenged a formerly unspoken bias that dominates our culture and the mental health model: dependency is bad.

In effect, attachment theory can be viewed as an attempt to update psychoanalytic theory in light of the recent advances in developmental neurobiology and the neurosciences (Diamond & Marrone, 2003). Recent progress in neurobiology powerfully validates many of the premises of attachment theory and confirms Bowlby’s emphasis upon the regulatory function of attachment relationships (Schore, 2003b). Strong attachment bonds impact and influence a person’s emotional state by either enhancing affect regulation, as with secure relationships, or increase dysregulation, as with insecure relationships (Schore, 2003b). Furthermore, strong attachment bonds relentlessly shape developmental phenomena including the physiological and neurobiological maturation of the brain (Polan & Hoffer, 1999, Siegel,1999), the capacity for affect regulation (Fonagy et al, 2002), and the internalized self-object representations (IWM) that organizes and influences a person’s behavior in relation to others (Diamond & Marrone, 2003), as well as self-esteem, and self-image (Lewis, J., 2000).

The CNS of all social mammals is an open feedback loop requiring ongoing stabilization: Attachment theory holds the position that our central nervous system is an open feedback loop, which requires input and external regulation from other mammals or “attachment figures”. We cannot independently regulate our own affect for extended periods of time. The degree to which we can regulate ourselves is determined by the length and strength of our earliest attachment experience. The more secure and stable the earlier attachment, the more success we have at self-regulation. With the absence of secure attachment, we remain more vulnerable to disruption and affect destabilization. This is true not just for children. Nurturing environments, or the lack of them, influence the development of brain circuitry. A primary biological function is to secure assistance and survival in the case of adversity. This is true for all social mammals and applies to parent-offspring relationships in other species, not just human beings. Attachment theory also contends that infants and their parents are biologically hard-wired to forge close emotional bonds with each other. These attachments serve important emotional regulatory functions throughout one’s life. All social mammals regulate each other’s physiology and modify the internal structure of each other’s nervous system through the synchronous exchange of emotions. This interactive regulatory relationship is the basis for attachment.

This requirement for external regulation and stabilization is a biological necessity and is not age or phase specific: It is important to remember that attachment theory is not so much a psychological theory as it is a biological theory. Natural selection favors mechanisms that promoted parent-offspring proximity in an environment of evolutionary adaptation. Research evidence also shows that complex neural patterns are characterized by extensive plasticity. During the critical period of neural development, new synaptic pathways are laid down so that the brain is literally shaped by experience. But existing pathways can be strengthened or weakened all through adult life. The capacity for plasticity of the CNS is an evolutionary adaptation that enables organisms to interact more effectively with a changing environment

Question 3. Carl Jung compares therapy to "meeting of chemicals," stating that if there is a reaction, then both the patient and the therapist are transformed. As a group therapist working from the attachment theory perspective, what kind of "reactions" (group dynamics) are you watching for and what kind of "transformations" do you notice in yourself and group members?

Few things prime the brain for change more than strong attachment bonds. If group psychotherapy is to become more grounded in empirical scientific theory, group therapists must pay closer attention to the vast amount of research evidence and information that the neurosciences are generating and providing about the human brain. Our task, as group theorists, is to integrate this information and translate these discoveries into meaningful and practical clinical applications to help inform more effective group treatment. One of the important contributions generated by this domain of study is the recognition that neurogenesis and brain plasticity are amplified by certain experiences and optimally enriched environments. Not all environments provide the types of activities and experiences that enhance brain plasticity, learning and change. First and foremost the proper environment must first be established to ensure that the brain will be primed for exploration and discovery, without which positive brain change, learning and retention of that learning is impossible. The group environment that best delivers these crucial elements is one that functions as a secure base. The neurosciences are confirming one of the most important paradoxes of attachment theory. Secure attachment liberates.

As child development studies have clearly demonstrated, just as a securely attached child will take more risks than an insecurely attached child in exploring a strange room or strange situation, so too will securely attached group members take more risks in exploring their internal world and take more risks in exploring the full depth of their experiences with each other in group. Since exploration and discovery are optimized by a secure base, one of the first objectives of group treatment from this perspective is to create an optimal group environment that will allow and promote the neurological underpinnings of brain change and plasticity to flourish. The type of environment that attachment theory has always promoted for effective group psychotherapy is one that operates as a secure base and is cohesive. New discoveries in the neurosciences are now confirming why this is so essential to enhancing brain plasticity. A secure base stabilizes the CNS, promoting affect regulation which is absolutely necessary for exploration and discovery without which there is no learning and behavior change.

Group Cohesion as a Secure Base: The concept of cohesion plays a dominant in attachment oriented group psychotherapy. Relationships are key factors in both the etiology and resolution of psychological difficulties. Group psychotherapy, with its myriad of relationship possibilities—member-to-member, member-to-group, and member-to-leader—provides a vehicle that not only examines individual member’s attachment style deficits, but more importantly furnishes a social culture that can be reparative. The optimal culture and emotional atmosphere that the group leader looks to establish is one that is cohesive. Cohesion in group has come to be recognized as those factors which refer to the essence of the attachment relationships that get established in group which provide the context within which therapy or treatment occurs. Cohesion is to the group psychotherapy what the therapeutic alliance is to individual therapy. Without cohesion in a group, little can be accomplished, just as individual therapy will be limited if a therapeutic alliance is not established.

However, secure base does not mean a rigidly controlled environment that sacrifices spontaneity, complexity, and diversity for an unrealistically imposed fantasy that relationships are always predictable and never messy or challenging. It is important to note that attachment oriented group therapy with its emphasis on cohesion or secure base does not mean an unrealistically supportive, safe environment. Rather, it pertains to creating an environment where personal agency and differences can be safely explored, which allows the inevitable conflict that arises in any authentic relationship to be addressed. The group is secure when it is predictable and members can protest, disagree and challenge each other and the group leader without fear of abandonment or violence. As Siegel (1999) and Cozolino (2005) remind us, the human mind emerges from patterns embedded within the flow of energy and information contained inside the brain as well as between and among brains. The group leader’s task from this perspective is to promote and integrate the diverse pieces of energy and information within the group into a coherent whole that allows the group to move between the shores of rigidity and chaos. The group leader’s aim is to foster a process of shared reflection that generates multiple perspectives on experience, helping group members from getting trapped in the “reality” of one view.

Non-Linear Systems & Attachment Theory: One tool for fashioning a non-linear and active theory of psychotherapeutic change comes from the essential insight of attachment theory which identifies how strategies for engagement with others in a relational dialogue are represented implicitly or actively without reliance on language and verbal symbols. Non-Linear Relational System Theory (NLRST) of therapeutic action and change describes more accurately how increased energy input into any self-organizing system (increased interactions between people in the group putting more energy into their relationships) leads to small incremental change which contributes to increased articulation in the constituents of the system. This increased articulation can lead to sudden emergence of new forms of organization.

Non-Linear Relational Systems Theory (NLRST) attempts to capture how people in relationships sense and negotiate how or where they can go together (“fittedness”) in their attempts to enlarge the breath and depth of the dialogue between them. Interpersonal strategies take shape as members of the group sense what they are able to do and what they are not able to do together. A properly run group expands the possibilities within the group. The recognition process is not a reflective one, but a specific acknowledgment by all parties that a certain fitting together has occurred in the service of progressing together in working toward mutually held goals. The change that occurs as a result of this process is not the result of the group leader acting as the therapeutic agent directing the change, as is often suggested by most linear models of change. Rather, whatever change occurs does so as a result of the relationships and the alteration of the implicit rules of relatedness that naturally unfold because of the negotiation that occurs among the parties pursuing their common goals.

NSGP Conference 2011 Workshops: Different Aspects of Group Dynamics

2011-01-12T13:55:00.004-05:00

Workshops are half-day programs designed to offer a focused exploration of themes or topics which therapists encounter in leading groups. Participants can expect to discuss various ideas within the frame of their own experience, as well as to expand their theoretical concepts of group dynamics and processes.

NSGP Conference 2011 offers a variety of workshops that allow their participants to reflect on different aspects of group dynamics:

The Looking Glass or A House of Mirrors: Exploring Action and Resistance in the Group

Mary Alicia Barnes, BS, OTR/L, Fieldwork Coordinator, Tufts University Department of Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Medford, MA.

Sharan L. Schwartzberg, EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Professor of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University Department of Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Medford, MA; Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.

Group therapists may be reluctant, or perhaps fearful, to use action to work through resistance and other antigroup phenomena that naturally occur in groups. The Functional Group Model offers an alternative to traditional verbal approaches for exploring and addressing factors that may facilitate or hinder group and group leader development. Experiential, Discussion, Didactic/Lecture.

Longing to Belong

Eleanor F. Counselman, EdD, CGP, FAGPA, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Belmont, MA.

Scott Rutan, PhD, CGP, DFAGPA, Faculty, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Brookline, MA; Private Practice, Newton, MA.

When a particular type of relationship – belonging – occurs in groups, it can have a powerful healing capacity. Using video clips and discussion, we will explore the concept of belonging: its neurobiological foundation, the role of early attachments, current social networking and the dark side of belonging. Ways to promote positive belonging in therapy groups will be described. Discussion, Audio/Visual, Didactic/Lecture.

The Social Brain: Wired to Connect

Steven Krugman, PhD, Group Solutions Network; Private Practice, Newton and Boston, MA.

Neuroscientists have established that interpersonal relationships shape the brain; we are “wired to connect.” How we make sense of the complex emotional information that allows us to be empathic and engaged, or vigilant and protective, is part of this new understanding of brain, mind and relationship. Clinicians will gain insights and strategies for tracking interpersonal connections, managing arousal and building collaboration. Didactic/Lecture, Discussion, Experiential.

Projective Identification Goes to the Movies

Joseph Shay, PhD, CGP, FAGPA, Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA; Private Practice, Cambridge, MA.

This workshop examines the concept of projective identification using movie and TV clips. Included are segments from Six Feet Under, Good Will Hunting, The Simpsons, Rebel Without a Cause, Breakfast Club, In Treatment and others. Objectives include sharpening the definition, recognizing its presence in couples and group therapy, and learning to intervene more effectively when it exists (Rated “R”). Didactic/Lecture, Audio/Visual, Discussion.

Working with Existential Issues and Ultimate Concerns in Group Therapy

Robert L. Weber, PhD, CGP, FAGPA, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School/MGH, Boston, MA; Group Solutions Network, Inc.; Private Practice, Cambridge, MA.

Existential factors bring us into contact with our human condition, our mortality, freedom, responsibility, isolation and our search for meaning. These are matters of “ultimate concern” that give life a sense of urgency and raise the question of purpose. In this workshop we will consider the emergence of such concerns in group and how to work with them for therapeutic benefit. Didactic/Lecture, Discussion, Case Presentation, Experiential.

For schedule and learning objectives for each workshop, see Conference 2011 Brochure at www.nsgp.com

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com.

NSGP Conference 2011 Workshops: Trauma

2011-01-12T11:40:00.004-05:00

Workshops are half-day programs designed to offer a focused exploration of themes or topics which therapists encounter in leading groups. Participants can expect to discuss various ideas within the frame of their own experience, as well as to expand their theoretical concepts of group dynamics and processes.

NSGP Conference 2011 offers a number of workshops that explore the effectiveness of group therapy for working with those affected by trauma:

Beyond the Usual: Leading Support Groups for Adults Who Have Survived Catastrophic Trauma

Alan Albert, PsyD, CGP, Staff Psychologist, Neponset Health Center, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Newton Centre, MA.

This workshop will focus on the group therapist’s role in leading support groups for severely traumatized adults, especially those surviving catastrophic events. Considerations will include the leader’s need to understand the importance of safety, space and structure, as well as acceptance, respectful curiosity, and awe. Case examples and workshop participant experiences will be examined. Discussion, Didactic/Lecture, Case Presentation.

The Trauma Recovery Group

Michaela Mendelsohn, PhD, Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge MA; Private Practice, Cambridge and Wellesley MA.

Judith Lewis Herman, MD, Director of Training, Victims of Violence Program, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge MA.

Emily Schatzow, MEd, Consultant, VISIONS Inc, Roxbury MA; Supervisor, Victims of Violence Program, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge MA; Private Practice, Cambridge MA.

Melissa Coco, LICSW, Senior Clinician and Supervisor, Victims of Violence Program, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge MA; Teaching Associate in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge MA.

Diya Kallivayalil, PhD, Staff Psychologist, Outpatient Psychiatry Department, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge MA; Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge MA.

This workshop describes the Trauma Recovery Group, a time-limited, goal-focused, and relational group for survivors of interpersonal trauma. After introducing the foundations and key elements of treatment, we will guide participants through the screening and implementation phases of the group with the use of case examples and role plays. Didactic/Lecture, Case Presentation, Demonstration, Experiential, Discussion.

Responding to the Needs of Couples in the Aftermath of Trauma and Combat Stress

Suzanne B. Phillips PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychology Doctoral Program, C. W. Post Campus, Long Island University, Brookville, N.Y.; Private Practice, Northport, N.Y.

The marriages of military couples are often compromised by the separations, dangers, physical and emotional stress inherent in their missions. Homecoming is a treasured event and a complicated process. This workshop will illuminate the nature of trauma and stress faced by military couples and interventions to support resiliency and coping skills. Didactic/Lecture, Audio/Visual, Experiential, Discussion.

The Rice Fund Memorial Program at the 2011 NSGP Conference

Co-sponsored by the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy School Based Program and Strategic Outreach for the Families of All Reservists (SOFAR)

Trauma and Healing Across the Lifespan: Resiliency in Adults, Couples and Children

Chairperson: Cecil A. Rice, PhD, Past President, NSGP; President and Co-founder, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Needham, MA.

Alan Albert, PsyD, CGP, Staff Psychologist, Neponset Health Center, Boston, MA; Private Practice, Newton Centre, MA.

Suzanne B. Phillips PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychology Doctoral Program, C. W. Post Campus, Long Island University, Brookville, N.Y., Private Practice, Northport, N.Y.

Dr William Sharp, PsyaD, Director, School-Based Counseling Program, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, Boston, MA.

This is the opening panel of a two-part program, the second being afternoon workshops. In the tenth anniversary year of 9/11, the panel will present on trauma, its impact and recovery, for adults, armed forces couples and children in the Boston School System. Didactic/Lecture, Discussion, Case Presentation.

For schedule and learning objectives for each workshop, see Conference 2011 Brochure at www.nsgp.com

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com.

NSGP Conference 2011 Workshops: Attachment

2011-01-12T11:14:00.004-05:00

Workshops are half-day programs designed to offer a focused exploration of themes or topics which therapists encounter in leading groups. Participants can expect to discuss various ideas within the frame of their own experience, as well as to expand their theoretical concepts of group dynamics and processes.

NSGP Conference 2011 is rich in offering workshops that explore the topic of attachment from different angels in the context of group therapy:

Addiction as an Attachment Disorder

Philip J. Flores, PhD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Adjunct Faculty, Georgia School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University; Supervisor of Group Psychotherapy, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

The emergence of attachment theory reflects a conceptual revolution that has evolved over the last ten years which synthesizes the best ideas of psychodynamic theory, the cognitive sciences, child development, and neurobiology. Attachment theory offers an explanation for the transformational powers inherent in all authentic relationships and provides a credible and practical way to understand and treat addiction.

Integrating Attachment Theory and Research into Clinical Practice

Barbara Kuerer Gangi, LCSW, CGP, PhD, Private Practive, NY, NY

Many clinicians are fascinated by infant/parent research, yet unsure how to apply it in practice. This workshop will clarify clinically applicable patterns, dynamics and concepts from attachment research. Workshop members, forming a consultation group, will use this material to address a question or concern about an actual case belonging to one of the participants. Didactic/Lecture, Demonstration, Discussion.

Integrated Group Psychotherapy: Accelerating Healing by Combining Group Effects

Jacqueline L. Kinley, MD, FRCPC, Diplomat ABPN, President-Elect of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association, Director, Halifax Mental Health Day Treatment Program, Capital District Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Psychotherapy Training Director, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia.

The roles attachment, separation and loss play in mental health will be clarified through discussion of a unique integrated approach that combines different groups, accelerating the process of working through. Weighting and timing different groups within an integrated psychotherapy program will be demonstrated using video tapes, patient work and outcomes. Case Presentation, Didactic/Lecture, Demonstration, Audio/Visual.

Weight Regulation Meets Group Psychotherapy at the Neural Cleft

Fran Weiss, LCSW-R, BCD, DCSW, CGP, Associate Clinical Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY; Senior Psychotherapy Consultant, New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center; Private Practice, New York, NY.

Weight Matters: what the effective ‘brain wise therapist’ needs to know about modern attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology and their affect on those struggling with weight regulation and weight control. Knowledge of cutting edge science will be integrated with somatic, experiential, and group psychotherapy techniques. Didactic/Lecture, Experiential, Demonstration, Discussion.

For schedule and learning objectives for each workshop, see Conference 2011 Brochure at www.nsgp.com

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com.

NSGP Conference 2011: Day-Long Special Interest Groups

2011-01-12T10:42:00.004-05:00

The heart of our day-long experience groups is the rich emotional and cognitive learning available to the participants. There is no better way to learn about group process than to be in an experience group with a skilled leader who presents a clear contract and well-articulated boundaries. This makes it a secure and effective environment to learn about both groups and oneself; it also means that the emotional experience can be intense.

We offer two types of experience groups. In General Psychodynamic groups participants have an opportunity to acquire general therapy skills relevant to leading groups. Special Interest groups, on the other hand, offer participants a chance to explore a particular theme in greater depth or to learn a new theoretical approach. For Special Interest groups, previous participation in a psychodynamic process group is suggested, but not required.

All experience groups, with the exception of two-year psychodynamic groups, are one-day events, with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 12 participants, unless otherwise noted. Members agree to attend the entire group, to actively participate, and to respect the privacy of the other members. During the group, members will experience and explore basic elements
of group dynamics including the contract, resistance, transference and termination. Didactic time at the end consolidates the learning. Observers from the Experience Group Subcommittee will visit the groups briefly but will not participate. After attending an experience group, participants will be able to identify how group process can illuminate the psychodynamics of individual group members.

In 2011, NSGP Conference offers the following Day-Long Special Interest Groups:

Mentalization-Based Treatment in Groups
Steven Krugman, PhD, CGP, Private Practice, Newton and Boston; Associate, Group Solutions Network
Nanacy Lundy, EdD, Private Practice, Concord

MBT is a psychodynamic approach grounded in Peter Fonagy's theory on mentalization and attachment. The model teaches patients to reflect on their thoughts and feelings, thereby improving their ability to self-regulate. This experience group will explore how mentalization can be developed through group process.

An Immersion in the Supervisory Experience
David A. Altfeld, PhD, CGP, LFAGPA, Co-Director, Supervisory Training Program, National Institute for Psychotherapies, NY, NY

Important aspects of the supervisory process will be examined through both live demonstration and experience group process, including the unconscious transmission of affect and parallel process. Current and future supervisors will encounter in the here-and-now and in-depth exploration of the clinical dilemmas they are often asked to help resolve.

The Transition Process in the Life of a Therapist
Bruce H. Bernstein, PhD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Private Practice, NY, NY

We are living in a time of instability and uncertainty. We work hard helping our patients deal with change, but how do we manage change in our own lives? In this group we will look at various aspects of the change process, consider the powerful role that loss plays, and seek the courage to head into the unknown.

Projective Identification and Countertransference
Barbara Keezell, LICSW, CGP, Staff, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy; Private Practice, Brookline, MA

As group leaders, we often find ourselves entangled in group dynamics that are messy and overwhelming. This experience group will explore the power of projective identification and countertransference, and how they affect the group process.

"A Course in Relationships": an Imago Group Model in Action
Carol J. Kramer Slepian, LCSW, Private Practice, NYC and Berkshires (Becket, MA)

IMAGO is a theory of primary love relationships in which unconscious relating becomes conscious, intimate, and healing. Using IMAGO dialogue, participants will explore how relationships can be transformed. In this ten session structured group model, group process will be integrated with didactic learning, guided visualization, writing, and experiential exercises.

Managing the Need to Be Liked and Becoming the "Good Enough" Group Therapist
David Ward, LCSW, LADC, CGP, Private Practice, Yarmouth, ME

The need to be liked is natural for the therapist as well as the group member. This experience group will explore clinical issues related to being liked versus being therapeutic. We will learn ways to manage transference and countertransference with the goal of becoming the "good enough" group therapist.

From Moments to History: A Rendezvous with Time
Macario Giraldo, PhD, Private Practice, McLean, VA; Faculty, Washington School of Psychiatry

In this group, participants will be invited to share key moments of their history and how their experience and gradual processing of these key moments have shaped their lives. In the discussion section, using central Lacanian concepts, we will observe how these moments have become part of the group narrative.

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com.

NSGP Conference 2011: Day-Long General Psychodynamic Groups

2011-01-12T10:27:00.008-05:00

NSGP Conference 2011 Demonstration Group: Attachment Theory and Group Psychotherapy

2011-01-11T17:02:00.006-05:00

Demo Group Facilitator: Dr. Philip Flores, PhD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA
Discussants: Dr. Eleanor Counselman, EdD, CGP, FAGPA and Dr. Joel Frost, EdD, CGP, FAGPA, ABPP

This Demonstration Group will illustrate experientially the ways that attachment theory furnishes an effective theoretical foundation for group therapy. Particular attention will be paid to the process of attachment and the inevitable rupture, repair, and reunion that occurs in all healthy, functional, and authentic relationships.

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com.

NSGP Conference 2011 Special Presentation: Your Mind in Mine: Empirical Foundations and Clinical Applications of Mentalization Therapies

2011-01-11T16:51:00.006-05:00

Presenter: Dr. Lois W. Choi-Kain, MD

Dr. Choi-Kain is a Medical and Program Director of the Gunderson Residence at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. She is both a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and a researcher, and has published research papers and presented with a number of the founders of mentalization-based treatment.

The concept of mentalization was introduced some twenty years ago by Peter Fonagy, PhD and several if his colleagues. It describes the way humans make sense of their social world by imagining the beliefs, motives, emotions, desires, and needs that underlies their own and others' behavior in interpersonal interactions. Using ideas from the fields of psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, attachment theory, and cognitive neuroscience, Fonagy and others have elaborated a theory of how the capacity to mentalize develops in early childhood, and how deviations from the normal developmental path of mentalization result in adult psychopathology.

Part I of this Special Presentation (Saturday, 06/11/11) outlines the theoretical and empirical bases of the concept of mentalization, and Part II (Sunday, 06/12/11) presents the essential components of mentalization-based treatment (MBT) in both individual and group psychotherapy.

To register for the conference, go to http://www.nsgpregistration.com.

"Insights" from the presenters at the 30th Annual Conference, June 2011

2011-01-09T15:39:00.008-05:00

Dear Reader:

One of the goals of the NSGP blog is to offer a forum where presenters at the 30th Conference (which will take place in June 2011) can interact in a virtual way with anyone "curious" and interested in finding out more about the conference itself, learn about the presenters, and maybe find out more details on specific presentations.

Some of the conference faculty responded to this reasonable curiosity. Some of these presenters are interested in providing "insights" in their work. From time to time (before the conference), you will find in this blog information in a matter of an interview, an essay, impressions, etc. related to "people in groups".

Maybe you can help us out by letting us know what is of your interest; we may be able to figure out a dialog from there. Please, if you are interested or have questions, please e-mail nsgppubcom@gmail.com.

The Conference Publicity Committee

What is Social Synapse?

2010-12-22T09:00:00.012-05:00

The title of the NSGP 30th Annual Conference is “People in Groups: New Insights on the Social Synapse”

We are often asked - what IS social synapse? The words synapse derives from the Greek sunaptein, which means "to join together." As we know from neuroscience, synapse is a space between neurons through which the neural communication occurs. In effect, it is a place where neurons join together to "talk" to each other through chemical means.

How does the above applies to group therapy? There are several levels to understanding of the conference title. One is the group in itself is a "joining place" for its participants in which interpersonal exchange occurs. Another level - is that by being in groups, either as leaders or participants, we strengthen those networks that are responsible for our ability to connect to others.

What is your take of this year's conference title? We welcome your take on it. If you would like to post a comment, please use a comment button or send us an e-mail at nsgpblog@gmail.com

Alexandra (Sasha) Juravleva, LMHC
Private Practice, Cambridge, MA

The 2011 Conference is taking shape!

2010-10-22T16:37:00.002-04:00

As Conference co-chairs, we’re gratified that the work of the Committee is already bearing fruit for an exciting Conference next June. We’ve invited Lois Choi-Kain, M.D. of McLean Hospital to deliver Special Presentations on theoretical advances, research, and practice implications of mentalization-based treatment—and she has graciously accepted. Phil Flores will show us his work on attachment via a Demonstration Group followed by discussion. (Attachment, Mentalization, and object relations theories are closely linked, by the way). Proposals for Workshops and Experience Groups are already coming in. The work of planning the fine details of the Conference will begin in earnest in November.

There’s still plenty of room for members, new and experienced, to propose Conference events, and to be involved in the work of the Committee as we plan and execute an event that we hope will be useful as well as enjoyable for NSGP members, group therapists who are not yet members, and therapists who don’t do groups but find them of interest for their patients and themselves. Call or email us if you have a bit of time and would like to be involved!

Peter Gumpert – 617-734-6500 - pgumpert@comcast.net
Karen Wischmeyer - 617-871-3834 - karen.w@verizon.net

People in Groups: New Insights on the Social Synapse

2010-09-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

This is the title for the NSGP Conference 2011 that was just announced. Conference Committee hopes that next year's conference will attract a lot of exciting presenters, both experienced and those who are trying to get their feet wet. We are also looking forward to stimulating discussions and exchange of ideas.

Enticing Aspects of the Conference

2010-08-28T07:49:00.002-04:00

First of all, I think this blog is a great idea! Kudos to our NSGP Conference Publicity Committee for making it happen. Very impressive! Very creative!

Let me admit up front that I love the conference. Reuniting with old friends, engaging in stimulating discussions, sharing humor—okay, sometimes off-color jokes—with NSGP members who would have seemed unlikely to participate, are all enticing aspects of the conference for me. While the atmosphere of conviviality would be enough to draw me in, add to that the inspiring offerings every year, and I’m there.

And I also enjoy making my own presentations. It wasn’t always this way, though. In fact, my very first presentation, many moons ago—before the very word “blog” was ever uttered—was cancelled for lack of interest. And my second attempt was not that well attended. Why I persevered is a story for the couch, but finally, people showed up, and the early period of drought proved worth it. I hope this can serve as encouragement to others reading this who have been thinking about presenting. The NSGP crowd is the most supportive, caring, and involved group I’ve ever had the fortune to be involved with.

So, I hope to see all of you at the conference!

Joe Shay, PhD

Excellent Learning for All Therapists, Not Only Group Aficionados

2010-08-24T13:07:00.002-04:00

I came to my first NSGP Conference right while working in the V.A. system right after grad school in 1984. I wanted to continue and deepen my experience and understanding of group work that began in my internship. Although I remain an avid group aficionado, I have recently reflected on the experiences of some colleagues whom I've persuaded to attend the Conference who themselves do not practice group therapy. It is clear to me that the Conference provides very important experiential training for therapists VIA THE GROUP MODALITY even when the therapist may not have any desire to become a group therapist.

Greg Chilenski, Ph.D.

Enlightening and Validating

2010-08-24T09:12:00.002-04:00

I found it enlightening, validating (and scary) to begin to share some
of my own feelings and hear those of other therapists in my first Day-
Long Experience Group. I anticipate the experience to continue to be
useful for my own personal growth, and in my work with clients,
especially reminding me how vulnerable they feel.
Maxine Sushelsky, LMHC

First Time to Lead: Nerve-Breaking but Educational!

2010-08-23T11:46:00.009-04:00

This was the first time for me to lead a day-long experiential group at the past NSGP Annual Conference that was held in June 2010 in Boston. As one experienced presenter put it, leading a group for your colleagues is very different from leading a group for your clients - the former REALLY shows you how good (or bad!) you are. My conclusion at the end of the day regarding my own performance as a group leader was that although I had things to offer, I still had a lot to learn! Having an Observer and hearing his feedback was very educational. In addition, being in a position of a group leader at the professional conference helped me develop more appreciation for seasoned clinicians who have been doing it for years. There is a lot of thought and effort that goes into this work that are not always apparent to the group members! I am truly appreciative of this experience that I leave humbled but determined. My determination is to continue challenge myself and grow professionally in this wonderful learning environment that the NSGP Annual Conference is - either as a leader, or as a participant!

Alexandra (Sasha) Juravleva, LMHC
Private Practice, Cambridge, MA

Tells us what you like about NSGP conferences?

2009-03-22T22:43:00.003-04:00

Welcome,

If you found this blog, you probably have either attended NSGP conferences before or you are interested in learning more about the conference.

Having gained a lot from NSGP conferences in the past, we created this blog to find out what other people gained from it as well and to offer an insight to those who are curious about what the conference could offer to them.

Please tell us about what brings you back to the annual NSGP conference year after year. Share your highlights and what you've gained from attending.

Thank you,

The Conference Publicity Committee