NSGP Experiential Group June 8, 2012

Integrating the Mind, the Body and the Emotions in an experiential process group  

This group meets for three sessions, morning, afternoon, and early evening on June 8, 2012 at Simmons College.  There is a maximum of 12 participants.

Traditional group therapy  addresses cognitive and emotional processing and focuses on understanding and meaning making.  Sensory experience is a third domain that can be utilized in group therapy.  In this experiential process group we will learn to access present experience from all three domains (cognition, emotion, and somatic experiences), and  will see how  contributions from these three domains deepen self-awareness, interpersonal connection, and group cohesiveness.

See www.nsgp.com to see brochure and register

I will also be one of three discussants for the special presentation at the conference.

     

Workshop in NYC March 8, 2012

I will be giving a workshop on March 8 from 2:30 to 5 pm at the Sheraton Hotel, Midtown Manhattan.  Please see www.agpa.org to register.  Here is the detailed schedule:

Your Body is Your Supervisor: Using body awareness and expressive movement (The Nia Technique) to explore therapeutic dilemmas in groups

I. Introduction (20 mins)   objective #1

A.  Names, your interest in mind/body integration.  Review schedule of workshop. 

B.  Didactic presentation of somatic psychology

II.  Guiding participants in sensation focused body awareness  and discussion:(15 Minutes)  objective #1, 3

A.  Discussion to include:  word or phrase to describe what you are experiencing in your body, what you notice or noticed.

B.  Each person write down, from place of body awareness, a group issue or problem that comes to mind, a dilemma, an experience that is interesting, puzzling, that causes you to feel unsettled, which you�d like to explore today.

II.  Movement to Music (15 mins) Objective #2

Experiential movement to music with three levels of intensity:  easy and calm music and movement, more intense  rhythms, and quiet and relaxed music.

III.  Meditation  (10 minutes) Objective #2

Focus on  body sensations, emotions, energy in and out of the body; where energy flows and where it gets stuck; access felt sense, whole body experience

IV.  Focus on the issue or problem that participants wrote down earlier. (20 mins)  objective # 1, 2, 3

Focus on the body’s way of experiencing the problem.  Notice any sensations and emotions, images, thoughts, etc., that connect with the whole of it.  Any emotions.  In pairs, participants discuss their dilemma and listen with body awareness for insights and discoveries.

V.  Discussion, including principles of somatic psychology and application to therapy groups and leadership. Wrap Up with questions and answers; reviewing reference material for further study (30 mins) Objectives 1, 2, 3

VII.  Evaluations (10 mins)

Ongoing Consultation Group for Psychotherapists 2012

  CONSULTATION GROUP FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS:

Sensation Focused Experiential Psychotherapy

                         

I am offering an ongoing consultation group for psychotherapists that focuses on integrating the body into the therapy process, Sensation Focused Experiential Psychotherapy.  Traditional psychotherapy relies on verbal expression almost exclusively.  This consultation group  incorporates movement, body awareness, and verbal communication in a group format.  Group members meet for 90 minutes. The focus of the first segment of the meeting will be sensory based awareness and movement. The group will  transition into presentation of case material and self-study so that  members can develop their own ways of integrating the body into their psychotherapy practices.   The goal is for participants to develop embodied attunement.  There will be readings and homework assignments to supplement our work together.

By participating in this group, you will learn to assist yourself and your clients in individual, couples and group psychotherapy:

• to approach life and relationship issues in new ways,  when traditional talking-only psychotherapy has been of limited value for desired changes
•  to explore relationship difficulties with the added information from the body
• to access emotions and facilitate emotional expression
• to enhance body attunement and awareness of sensations
• to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression at a physiological and emotional level and develop  somatic resources

The group will meet every other Wednesday, from 3:30-5 pm in my Wellesley office.  There is a limit of 6 members.  

• Winter/Spring  2012 dates:  Feb 15, 29;  March 14, 28;  April 11, 25;  May 9, 23;  June 6, 20.

                                                                  

Membership requirements: all master’s and doctoral level professionals: nurses, social workers, psychiatrists, alcoholism counselors, school counselors and school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, expressive arts therapists, and psychologists; students in advanced training programs.   An individual session is required before joining at no additional charge.

About the group leader:   I am a psychologist and have been in private practice for over 30 years, working with individuals, couples and groups.  I am a Certified Group Psychotherapist and a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association.  I have supervised and consulted  for the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy Training Program, Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Harvard Medical School Residency Program; and faculty of both AGPA and NSGP institutes and conferences, leading workshops on somatic psychotherapy.  I authored a  paper entitled “Coming to our Senses:  the application of somatic psychology to group psychotherapy” which was published in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, July, 2011.

For the past twelve years I have taught classes and led workshops in The Nia Technique.  I have led therapy groups that integrate body awareness and expressive movement with dynamic psychotherapy.

For fees and more information, please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail.