Teaching & Training
Supervision/Consultation
It has been said that ours is The Impossible Profession. It was Freud who declared,
“It almost looks as if analysis were the… ‘impossible’ profession in which one can be sure beforehand of achieving unsatisfying results.”
And while as an analyst I am far from Freudian, he did have a point!
When we work with couples or individuals the input and feedback from colleagues, either in a peer group or from a senior clinician, can help keep us on track. Inevitably there are times when we ‘fall into the soup’ of befuddling personal reactions or unexamined countertransference. While falling into the soup allows for a firsthand empathic experience with a patient, it is wise to not let go of the ladle. Individual or group supervision can help enrich the treatment for our patients and ourselves.
Study Groups
While couple cases are addressed in a study group, the primary focus is on readings from the literature on couple therapy theory and practice. The group I am currently leading examines a different seminal text each year. This year we are studying British Object Relations [Tavistock Group]. In previous years we have explored subjects including treating highly disorganized and dysregulated couples, the integration of systemic and psychoanalytic perspectives, and American Object Relation theory (Bagnini, Scharff & Scharff).
Case Seminars
These small group seminars focus exclusively on presentations of couple case material. The primary emphasis is on helping therapists overcome impasses that impede treatment. Gillian Walker [Ackerman Institute] has said that, hypotheses are not right or wrong, they’re just useful. The way we frame a couple’s issues is a hypothesis. If meaningful change is not occurring, a shift in focus is often enough to advance the treatment. A secondary emphasis of these seminars is to elaborate the theoretical underpinnings that each case brings to the fore thereby generating discussions relevant to all participants.
Private Seminars
I am available to develop seminars on specific aspects of couples treatment. A current seminar was designed for clinicians who wanted to become familiar with a family systems perspective when treating couples. Other seminars have focused on the beginning stages of couple therapy, blending families, managing the aftermath of affairs, treating dysregulated couples, Structural Couple Therapy, and Intergenerational Couple Therapy.
Educational Materials
PDF’s of articles and training videos of master clinicians [Salvador Minuchin, Betty Carter. Peggy Papp, Olga Silverstein, et .al.] These resources are available to supplement training experiences.
Supervision/Consultation
It has been said that ours is The Impossible Profession. It was Freud who declared,
“It almost looks as if analysis were the… ‘impossible’ profession in which one can be sure beforehand of achieving unsatisfying results.”
And while as an analyst I am far from Freudian, he did have a point!
When we work with couples or individuals the input and feedback from colleagues, either in a peer group or from a senior clinician, can help keep us on track. Inevitably there are times when we ‘fall into the soup’ of befuddling personal reactions or unexamined countertransference. While falling into the soup allows for a firsthand empathic experience with a patient, it is wise to not let go of the ladle. Individual or group supervision can help enrich the treatment for our patients and ourselves.
Study Groups
While couple cases are addressed in a study group, the primary focus is on readings from the literature on couple therapy theory and practice. The group I am currently leading examines a different seminal text each year. This year we are studying British Object Relations [Tavistock Group]. In previous years we have explored subjects including treating highly disorganized and dysregulated couples, the integration of systemic and psychoanalytic perspectives, and American Object Relation theory (Bagnini, Scharff & Scharff).
Case Seminars
These small group seminars focus exclusively on presentations of couple case material. The primary emphasis is on helping therapists overcome impasses that impede treatment. Gillian Walker [Ackerman Institute] has said that, hypotheses are not right or wrong, they’re just useful. The way we frame a couple’s issues is a hypothesis. If meaningful change is not occurring, a shift in focus is often enough to advance the treatment. A secondary emphasis of these seminars is to elaborate the theoretical underpinnings that each case brings to the fore thereby generating discussions relevant to all participants.
Private Seminars
I am available to develop seminars on specific aspects of couples treatment. A current seminar was designed for clinicians who wanted to become familiar with a family systems perspective when treating couples. Other seminars have focused on the beginning stages of couple therapy, blending families, managing the aftermath of affairs, treating dysregulated couples, Structural Couple Therapy, and Intergenerational Couple Therapy.
Educational Materials
PDF’s of articles and training videos of master clinicians [Salvador Minuchin, Betty Carter. Peggy Papp, Olga Silverstein, et .al.] These resources are available to supplement training experiences.