In our Trauma Masterclass, three leading experts in trauma work present a range of perspectives on working with traumatised clients.

Tony Buckley: Keeping the Body in Mind

In this presentation Tony Buckley discusses a key somatic approach to trauma treatment. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy integrates cognitive and somatic interventions in the treatment of trauma, emphasising body awareness, practicing new actions and building somatic resources.

With an emphasis on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy’s “embedded relational mindfulness,” key components of this approach are illustrated: uncoupling trauma-based emotions from body sensations; building somatic resources; and developing a somatic sense of self.

With a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach attention is paid to safely preventing dysregulation through pacing, boundaries, and a gradual focus on the body.  There is an emphasis on how somatic interventions integrated with cognitive interventions can help change meaning and belief originating in past trauma, supporting the regulation of difficult emotions and physical symptoms in the present.

Tony outlines the key learning points which address interventions for all three-treatment phases in a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach to trauma treatment: stabilisation and symptom reduction, work with traumatic memory, and re-integration.

Miriam Taylor: The Well-Resourced Therapist

This presentation looks at trauma from a relational field perspective. The message is about the necessity for therapist self-care – it is not a luxury but an integral part of the work. Under the umbrella term Fields of Mutual Influence, two different dynamics are considered: the Traumatised Field and the Shared Mindful Field. The presentation focuses on the resources available to the therapist and how we can increase our resilience to more comfortably bear witness without either dissociating or being pulled into trauma contagion.

The Window of Tolerance model, a key to trauma therapy and to building resources, is reconceptualised to include the resources available to the therapist. Mirror neuron theory is a second neurobiological lens through which the therapeutic relationship is considered. Reference is made to the therapist’s own relationship to trauma, their mission as therapists, the Messiah Complex and to socially sanctioned altruism and self-sacrifice, each of which can emerge in the therapeutic relational dance.

Because trauma is fundamentally experienced in the body, of particular importance for both therapist and client are body-based resources related to safety, grounding and resilience, and attention will be given to how we can use these. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their range of resources and how they might develop them further, and on the gains of the work which might include mutual healing.

Clinical examples illustrate some of the main dilemmas for the therapist, and these are interspersed with some personal reflection points, developing both the Shared Mindful Field and somatic supports. The images that accompany the presentation include those designed to provide a sensory respite to trauma.

Dr Valerie Sinason: Trauma and Dissociation: What Determines Therapeutic Success or Failure

In her presentation, Valerie focuses on trauma and dissociation and what might help us to understand when treatment or intervention has been successful.

Testimonials:

The post Trauma Masterclass first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

In this presentation Dr Erin Hope Thompson will conceptualise grief in response to traumatic bereavements, with a focus on working with traumatic memories that arise in grief.

Erin will share;

• The use of metaphors in working with trauma memories
• A psychological model for trauma related work
• A compassion focused therapy approach to distressing grief memories
• Exercises for working with traumatic memories in grief
• Case studies

Testimonials:

“Erin was excellent and engaging and I particularly enjoyed learning about CFT.”

“Excellent, lots of useful theory and information on how complex grief works and the importance of facilitating self-compassion with clients as a path through the painful process of bereavement.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post Working with Traumatic Memories in Grief first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

In this presentation Tony Buckley looks at what happens when there are complications to the grieving process, and what happens when people get ‘stuck’ in their grief.

This might be for a variety of reasons, including those arising from Covid-19 restrictions, which may have denied relatives their usual and natural impulses, ways of being there, and responding to the needs of a loved one during critical illness, and subsequent loss. For some this may result in patterns of delayed, inhibited and complex grief.

Tony explores and shares a number of somatic focused skills, working towards completion of grief through gestures or actions which can resolve activation patterns of traumatic grief and bereavement complications expressed through the body.

Testimonials:

“Such a warm and accessible presentation from Tony. I really enjoyed his workshop. Good to have some tools and suggestions on how to work with clients involving the body.”

“Tony was excellent and he always offers some useful tools to work with.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post Grief Behind Perspex: Navigating Trauma and Complexity in Bereavement first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

Death is an inevitable part of life. All of us will experience the death of a loved one, be that through ill health, old age or tragic circumstances. As therapists we are highly likely to be working with someone who has been impacted by loss, through death, worsening ill health, sudden disability, redundancy, divorce, etc. In this video, our focus will be on working with bereaved clients, in particular those whose experience may have been traumatic or ‘complicated’.

Our three expert speakers will share their experiences of working with those who have been bereaved, exploring what might work and sometimes what doesn’t. We will explore working with traumatic memories, traumatised and complicated grieving, and be guided through some notable research about what works when offering therapy to bereaved clients, when so much evidence suggests counselling may not be that helpful after all.

Dr Erin Hope Thompson: “Working with traumatic memories in grief, with a focus on compassion focused therapy”

In this presentation Dr Erin Hope Thompson will conceptualise grief in response to traumatic bereavements, with a focus on working with traumatic memories that arise in grief.

Erin will share;

• The use of metaphors in working with trauma memories
• A psychological model for trauma related work
• A compassion focused therapy approach to distressing grief memories
• Exercises for working with traumatic memories in grief
• Case studies

Tony Buckley: “Grief Behind Perspex: Navigating trauma and complexity in bereavement”

In this presentation Tony Buckley will look at what happens when there are complications to the grieving process, and what happens when people get ‘stuck’ in their grief.

This might be for a variety of reasons, including those arising from Covid-19 restrictions, which may have denied relatives their usual and natural impulses, ways of being there, and responding to the needs of a loved one during critical illness, and subsequent loss. For some this may result in patterns of delayed, inhibited and complex grief.

Tony will explore and share a number of somatic focused skills, working towards completion of grief through gestures or actions which can resolve activation patterns of traumatic grief and bereavement complications expressed through the body.

Dr John Wilson: “Making Bereavement Counselling Effective: In spite of the evidence that it often isn’t”

In this presentation John Wilson will share the findings of research into bereavement by Stroebe et al (2001) and Neimeyer & Jordan’s (2003) (see references below). This research demonstrated conclusively that bereavement counselling is often ineffective and may even do harm.

John will go on to:

• Share the findings of his doctoral research into the efficacy of bereavement counselling,
• Discuss how his research confirms, rather than contradicts, the research evidence that most bereavement counselling is ineffective,
• Show how therapists can offer effective bereavement counselling which meets the unique needs of each client,
• Show how therapists can attribute what happens in sessions to the client’s measurable outcomes.

References:

* Schut, H., Stroebe, M. S., van den Bout, J., & Terheggen, M. (2001). The Efficacy of Bereavement Interventions: Determining Who Benefits. In M. S. Stroebe, R. O. Hansson, W. Stroebe & H. Schut (Eds.), Handbook of Bereavement Research: Consequences, Coping and Care (pp. 705 -737). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

* Jordan, J. R., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2003). Does grief counseling work? Death Studies, 27(9), 765-786.

Dr Erin Thompson’s presentation is available to purchase for hire individually HERE

Tony Buckley’s presentation is available to purchase for hire individually HERE

Testimonials:

“Informative and current. Thought provoking. I enjoyed exploring the topic from the different perspectives the trainers offered.”

“It was so informative, relevant and i gained a lot from it. Presenters very good at making it clear and interesting.”

“There was a good balance between theory and practice. It really clarified how to work with complicated grief, gave options and things to consider beforehand.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post Perspectives on Bereavement and Grief first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

Testimonials:

“This subject is an issue that has come up with several clients recently and I was feeling a little stuck in the work. I have left this event feeling inspired, with a new perception of the work and how we might move forwards thanks to Miriam’s practical and theoretical explanations and case study examples.”

“A really well developed and managed CPD event – just the right amount of theory, information, reflection and practical.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post Here We Go Again: Repeating Patterns in Trauma first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

In this presentation Tony Buckley will discuss a key somatic approach to trauma treatment. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy integrates cognitive and somatic interventions in the treatment of trauma, emphasising body awareness, practicing new actions and building somatic resources.

With a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach attention is paid to safely preventing dysregulation through pacing, boundaries, and a gradual focus on the body. There is an emphasis on how somatic interventions integrated with cognitive interventions can help change meaning and belief originating in past trauma, supporting the regulation of difficult emotions and physical symptoms in the present.

Tony will outline the key learning points which addresses interventions for all three-treatment phases in a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach to trauma treatment: stabilisation and symptom reduction, work with traumatic memory, and re-integration.

Testimonials:

“Tony Buckley was excellent. Very clear, informative and organic in delivery.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post Keeping the Body in Mind: The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Approach first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

Here we look at what the body can tell us, and how to apply this to therapeutic practice.

Testimonials For Nick Totton’s Training:

“Nick provided an excellent warm balance between teaching and experiencing. Just right.”

“I found the day very powerful. Great experiential learning. This has been an inspirational day and will really help in developing and affirming my practice.”

“Nick was interesting, inspiring, human and warm.”

“Lovely man. Articulated his views well and allowed a generous attitude to flow in the room.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post We Are All Body Psychotherapists first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

People who have experienced emotional neglect in the first months and years of life suffer negative consequences into adulthood. As psychotherapy clients, they require long-term work and delicate emotional attunement, as well as a profound understanding of the experiences that have shaped their inner worlds.

In this seminar, Dr Kathrin Stauffer will help us understand how to recognise “ignored children” and will outline some of the dos and don’ts of psychotherapy with such clients. Drawing on broad clinical experience, she will focus both on the client’s experience and possible ways of understanding this, and also on the experience of the therapist and ways of being of use to clients who were ignored children.

This video presentation supports Kathrin’s book “Emotional Neglect and the Adult in Therapy: Lifelong Consequences to a Lack of Early Attunement” (W.W. Norton, 2020), which provides therapists with an in-depth view of the subjective experience of such “ignored children” and a range of possible theoretical models to help understand key features of their psychological functioning.

The Trainer

Kathrin Stauffer PhD, is a UKCP Registered Body and Integrative Psychotherapist. She is the author of Anatomy & Physiology for Psychotherapists: Connecting Body & Soul (W.W. Norton 2010). Originally a research biochemist, Kathrin retrained at the Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy in London, and now works in private practice in Cambridge as a body psychotherapist, trainer and supervisor. She uses a humanistic approach to offer one-to-one body and integrative psychotherapy Additionally, Kathrin offers EMDR and biodynamic massage, and she supervises the Counselling and Trauma Service at London Underground.

Kathrin Stauffer is a former chair of the Chiron Association for Body Psychotherapists, and a current member of the Board of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP).

Buy a copy of Kathrin’s second book, “Emotional Neglect and the Adult in Therapy: Lifelong Consequences to a Lack of Early Attunement”, published in 2020, here.

Testimonials:

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post Emotional Neglect and the Adult in Trauma Therapy first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

Course Title: Trauma and Attachment: Ghosts and Angels from the Nursery, and the Problem with Burying Grief
Trainer: Kate Brown
Duration: 1 hour 19 minutes

Our trauma masterclass offers a range of complimentary perspectives, portraying concepts and different treatment intervention strategies for therapists working with the various manifestations of trauma in their client population.

Our three presenters each outline their own particular approach to trauma treatment (EMDR, Sensorimotor, and Attachment-based) as well as making some important distinctions between trauma, developmental injury and attachment trauma issues highlighting the need for a range of appropriate interventions tailored to the individual client.

Dr Kathrin Stauffer: “EMDR in the Treatment of Trauma”

EMDR is a very successful approach for treating the symptoms of post-traumatic stress and can be said to have revolutionised trauma therapy, especially through a dramatic shortening of the number of therapy sessions required. Whereas originally the approach was mostly applied to one-time trauma suffered in adulthood, in recent years practitioners have developed a plethora of modifications that allow many other applications including phobias, chronic pain, and early childhood trauma.

Kathrin presents an overview of EMDR including the range of applications and postulated modes of action, as far as we understand these. She uses clinical material from her own experience of processing trauma for which there are no explicit memories but only current body sensations, emotional flashbacks, or similar disturbances. Finally she outlines the differences between EMDR for adult trauma and EMDR for early trauma and presents some of her work with clients who were emotionally neglected as children.

Miriam Taylor: “The Well-Resourced Therapist”

In this presentation Miriam looks at trauma from a relational field perspective. The message is about the necessity for therapist self-care – it is not a luxury but an integral part of the work. The presentation focuses on the resources available to the therapist and how we can increase our resilience to more comfortably bear witness without either dissociating or being pulled into trauma contagion.

Two simple concepts drawn from neuroscience research are reconceptualised to help us consider the relationship in trauma therapy. Reference is made to the therapist’s own relationship to trauma, and Miriam thinks about the ways in which we as individuals get pulled into helping.

Because trauma is fundamentally experienced in the body, of particular importance for both therapist and client are body-based resources related to safety, grounding and resilience, and attention is given to how we can use these. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their range of resources and how they might develop them further, and on the gains of the work which might include mutual healing.

Clinical examples illustrate some of the main dilemmas for the therapist, and these are interspersed with some personal reflection points, developing both the Shared Mindful Field and somatic supports.

Tony Buckley: “Keeping the Body in Mind”

In this presentation Tony Buckley discusses a key somatic approach to trauma treatment. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy integrates cognitive and somatic interventions in the treatment of trauma, emphasising body awareness, practicing new actions and building somatic resources.

With an emphasis on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy’s “embedded relational mindfulness,” key components of this approach are illustrated: uncoupling trauma-based emotions from body sensations; building somatic resources; and developing a somatic sense of self.

Tony outlines the key learning points which address interventions for all three-treatment phases in a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy approach to trauma treatment: stabilization and symptom reduction, work with traumatic memory, and re-integration.

Bonus video:

Kate Brown: “Trauma and Attachment – Ghosts and Angels from the Nursery, and the problem with burying grief”

Kate explains aspects of trauma theory, such as how different sorts of trauma have different impacts on a person’s life and psyche, and how a person’s attachment style will often determine how a person copes with certain traumas.

The ground-breaking work of Judith Lewis Herman’s work ‘Trauma and Recovery’ is used to emphasise the impact of trauma in such symptoms as hypo and hyper-arousal, sensitivity to intrusive memories of traumatic events, and limiting of exposure of events which have reminders of previous traumas.

Kate will use clinical examples of how a client’s early traumas may be enacted in the therapeutic relationship, and how a therapist’s unprocessed trauma may impact the therapy. She concludes with exploring how our attachment styles impact how we process trauma, and the implications of Attachment Theory for our clinical work with traumatised patients.

Testimonials:

“Lots of confirmation and reevaluation of my own work.. was lovely to connect and to look at my own trauma responses.”

“The three speakers were all so different and I gained something from all of them.”

“Overall, the material was incredibly useful from all three trainers and has whetted my appetite for more in-depth training in EMDR and sensori-motor psychotherapy.”

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post The Art of Trauma Treatment first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

Nick Totton: “Body Psychotherapy’s Contribution to Social and Political Renewal”

Very many people would agree that we are in deep trouble as a society and as a species. I am going to be arguing that an important aspect of our predicament is that we have become disembodied – losing touch with the rich flesh that grounds our experience of and our relationship with the world. Among the effects are a loss of connection with the wild and the other-than-human; with our embodied intuition and empathy; and with our capacity for pleasure and relaxation.

These losses are not only bad for us; they are bad for the planetary ecosystem, since we are acting from a place of alienation and isolation. I will be suggesting that our disembodiment is largely a function of personal and collective trauma; and that embodied forms of therapy can make an important contribution to changing it, both on a small scale through individual and group therapy, and on a larger scale by being a public voice for rebalancing and renewal.

Morit Heitzler: “Somatic countertransference and the therapist’s body”

Over the last decades, the field of psychotherapy has increasingly recognise the centrality of the body and non-verbal communication in psychotherapeutic processes. Neuroscience’s contributions (mirror neurones, right-brain-to-right-brain attunement, etc) have emphasised the importance of the mind-body connection and helped us understand why awareness of the body is crucial in attachment and affect regulation. This has great implications for the practice both of therapy and of supervision.

Traditionally, psychoanalysts might have used the term ‘somatic countertransference’ to point to aspects of our internal experience as therapists and viewed it as an obstacle to the therapeutic space. These days, we do not see the ability to experience in our own bodies the unconscious messages transferred to us through non-verbal channels as a threat to the neutrality of the therapist, but as a precious form of communication that can support and deepen our understanding and attunement to the client’s body-mind system.

In this talk Morit will explore and demonstrate how as therapists we can attune to and process the information inherent in our ‘somatic countertransference’ so it becomes useful and transformative, and how by doing so we increase our capacity to function as the ‘regulatory object’ and a relational container for both our clients and ourselves.

Tony Buckley: “The Sequelae of Embodied Trauma – Latest Movie Release”

The movies provide an interesting metaphor for illustrating the impacts of trauma which later becomes a sequence of replayed activation in the client’s body in response to triggering stimuli. Defensive action becomes truncated, an incomplete script encoding only partial sequence of activation in response to danger and life threat.

Trauma can be characterised as an interrupted movie script which remains fixated as an incomplete sequence of immobilising or defensive life preserving action patterns, experienced as sensation, tension and impulse replaying like a looping but incomplete movie reel.

Dissociation can be understood as consciousness operating as a movie film board censor, editing and removing the most disturbing scenes which further interrupts the sequence and leaves free floating physiological sensations divorced from original imagistic content.

The phrase “latest movie release” represents a sensorimotor treatment approach which invites the client to access the interrupted sequence and allow the body to complete its sequence of activation where the client can become their own hero or heroine to triumphant outcome. This conference workshop illustrates the sensorimotor approach towards resolution of dysregulated states through exercises, slides and video highlighting the body’s natural sequencing processes.

Please note  that any mention in the videos about “handouts” or “printouts” by trainers, are in reference to printouts of the PowerPoint slides, which were made available to delegates who attended the LIVE workshop. These slides are included within the videos and are the property of the trainers. They are not available for download or redistribution with any video rental purchase.

The post The Somatic Masterclass first appeared on Therapy Education Online.