the washington school of psychiatry
is pleased to announce the 4th annual
summer school Immersion Course
in
Intensive Short-Term Dynamic
Psychotherapy
Featuring: Susan Warshow, MSW
Jon Frederickson, MSW
Sunday, June 7 - Friday, June
12, 2009
Imagine you
are studying with highly skilled Short Term Dynamic Therapy clinicians
within a group of devoted students, surrounded by the mountains of the
The Woman who Buried Herself
By Jon Frederickson, MSW
When working with someone who has been abused by her spouse we cannot but help having deep empathy for her suffering. The problem, however, is that this patient suffered under an abusive husband because she had an abusive superego. But where the husband was visible, her superego was invisible because it was projected onto her husband. This case will examine the central role of undoing the externalization of the superego. In particular, we will look at the breakthrough of guilt and grief that occurs when the patient no longer projects her superego, but instead acknowledges what she has done to herself.
As we view the case we will examine how the therapist provides a model of compassion, acceptance, and attention which stands in marked contrast to the patient’s internalized superego voice. Confrontation involves honesty with compassion, judgment of the pain the patient has suffered, not judgment of the patient. Through the process we help the patient develop a healthier relationship to herself, her feelings, and her past as preparation for her to have a healthier relationship with others. Through the process we see how she stopped enduring the abuse from her ex-husband and became able to stand up to him without anxiety.
From
Distancing Defenses to Emotional Closeness:
Traversing the Gap
By Susan Warshow, MSW
If the patient is to be known, a requisite if therapy is to succeed, the distancing defenses must be bravely relinquished. As therapists, we invite the patient to do the counterintuitive: move towards painful feeling and, in the process, towards us. By doing so, the unrecognized and unfelt parts of the self that have been frozen by trauma can begin to heal and intimacy becomes possible.
Central to the dynamic relational process that replaces self-hatred with
self-value, shame with openness, and fear with courage is the
transmission of compassion from therapist to patient.
Compassion
for self is the engine that makes deep, transformative work possible. This
force is inherent in humans yet often is deactivated and dormant as a result
of relational trauma. Therapists who sincerely care about their patients and
expend much effort to help them often become frustrated when the patient is
not invested in the partnership.
Mobilizing the will of the patient to care for the self is one of the great challenges in psychotherapy. Success rests on two sets of shoulders! How can we heighten the possibility that the patient will allow their therapist’s caring to become internalized so that ever-greater levels of vulnerability can be accessed?
Transmission of Compassion from
Therapist to Patient
The punitive parts of the self, i.e. the
superego-driven defenses, will attempt to block this process and must be
brought to awareness if the patient is to
build capacity and have the
choice to overcome them. We will consider the therapist’s language,
facial expressions, tone of voice, steadfastness in the process and
other factors that can increase the likelihood of a successful alliance.
“Your face comes to mind often when I am in one of my moods where I’m being unkind to myself and a voice comes up that says, ‘Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to this magnificent woman.’ I see your eyes and I see the compassion that comes from them and I ‘remember’ to be present and real in my gentleness, to stop the self-hatred and stop the sabotaging personality from making me miserable.”
Utilizing the Patient’s Inherent Motivation to Maximum Advantage
What does the patient want on the deepest level? How does the therapist heighten awareness of this potent, expansive force and help the patient to use it as leverage against the defenses? Remembering to remember the patient’s own words is one clue!
The Warrior Therapist
In reality, therapy requires a warrior team involving two courageous partners. Therapist and patient are both up against a perpetrator that resides to varying degrees in each of them. Avoidance of feeling and diminishment of the self are reinforced by widespread, powerful familial and societal norms. Several issues will be considered:
-
Surviving the learning phase while addressing formidable defenses; mistakes and misalliances.
-
Withstanding the tide of complex feeling and working with therapist anxiety.
-
Counteracting counter-transference based despair and doubt.
-
Sustaining tenacity and focus within the therapeutic alliance.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
1. Identify superego pathology.
2. Help patients turn against the superego.
3. Help patients internalize the
therapist’s empathy.
Who Should Attend
The course is open to all mental health professionals.
Faculty
Jon Frederickson, MSW, is the co-chair of the ISTDP training program at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He is the author of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Learning to Listen from Multiple Perspectives and several articles on ISTDP.
Susan Warshow,
MSW, runs a training program for ISTDP in
Summer School 2009 Schedule
Sunday, June 7 Arrival and registration
2-5 pm Jon Frederickson---The Patient who Buried Herself
Monday, June 8 9-1 Jon Frederickson---The Patient who Buried Herself
1-2 Lunch
2-5 Jon Frederickson---The Patient who Buried Herself
6:30 Dinner
Tuesday, June 9 9-1 Susan Warshow---From Distance to Closeness
1-2 Lunch
2-4 Susan Warshow---From Distance to Closeness
4-5 Group Process
6:30 Dinner
Wednesday, June 10 9-12 Susan Warshow---From Distance to Closeness
12-6 Play day: go for a hike, go on a horse ride, visit a local winery.
* Note - Registrants interested in a winery visit plus
extravagant lunch with wine sampling (your expense) should contact Jon at
jfrederickson@verizon.net by
May 10 to reserve a space. This is the best
winery in
6:30 Dinner
Thursday, June 11 9-1 Group Supervision
1-2 Lunch
2-5 Group Supervision
6:30 Dinner
8 pm Cabaret put on by participants
Friday, June 12 9-12 Group Supervision
12-1 Group Process and Goodbye
1 Afternoon departure.
* Note - Given Friday rush hour near
Location
Graves Mountain Lodge,
Syria, Virginia 22743.
This is a two and one half hour drive from Washington, D.C.
To learn more about Graves Mountain Lodge, go to www.gravesmountain.com From past experience we can guarantee it is far more beautiful than what you see on the web.
Housing
The fee includes tuition, housing and meals. Rooms are modest but nice, usually with a wonderful view of the valley, single and double rooms are available. The lodge is in the mountains and the temperature will probably be in the 70’s to low 80’s during the day and cool down at night into the fifties. Hiking, fishing, horse riding, and swimming are all possible at Graves Mountain Lodge.
Nota Bene
When we say this is out in the country, we aren’t kidding! There is no cell phone service available. You must drive about ten miles away to get cell phone service.
Meals
The fee covers dinner Sunday, all meals Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, breakfast and dinner on Wednesday, and breakfast on Friday. Meals are buffet style in a Southern country style. In the past, everyone found the food tasty and plentiful.
Travel
For those traveling by airplane,
CE/CME: 31
Fee: $1700 includes tuition, lodging, and meals.
Continuing Education
The Washington School of Psychiatry is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Washington School of Psychiatry maintains responsibility for the program and its content.
The School is approved by the Social Work Board of the
State of
The School is approved by the Medical Society of Maryland (MEDCHI) for continuing education for psychiatrists.
The School is recognized by the National Board of Certified Counselors to offer continuing education for National Certified Counselors. We adhere to the NBCC Continuing Education Guidelines. Provider # 6388 31 hours
Registration
Please call the School at 202-237-2700 to register. You can also use the conference registration form to register for this seminar by faxing it to WSP at 202-237-2730, or mail the form to: Washington School of Psychiatry, 5028 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20016.
Space is limited. Your space is reserved once we receive
your fee.
Cancellations and Refunds
Refunds will be made for cancellations received at the School office in writing prior to May 24, 2009 and are subject to a non-refundable administrative fee of $50.
For more
information, contact Jon Frederickson at
jfrederickson@verizon.net
Disclosure of Commercial Support and the Unlabeled use of a commercial product. No member of the planning committee and no member of the faculty for this event have a financial interest or other relationship with any commercial product(s) discussed in this educational presentation