Description

A Self-relations WorkshopStephen Gilligan, Ph.D.Length: 5 1/2 hoursThis workshop focuses on two seemingly contradictory challenges in contemporary therapy: 1) how to make therapy briefer and more effective; and 2) how to make therapeutic work more soulful and cennective with life-affirming energies.Based on Dr. Gilligan’s book The Courage to Love: Principles and Practices of Self-relations Psychotherapy, the presentation will emphasize the self-relations approach to psychotherapy. Symptoms are seen as an awakening of a person’s soul or center, and the therapeutic conversations are seen as mediums for midwifing these awakenings to full realization.This deep life affirming approach describes methods and techniques for transforming a problem complaint into a soution outcome, in ways that clients learn to recognize the “non-rational” and unexpected events in their lives as gifts to be opened and enjoyed. It is based in part on the revolutionarly work of Milton Erickson, the last psychiatriast who developed many ways to utilize even the most negative parts of a person’s life as resources.Goals and objectives:Participants will learn:1. six principles for bringing “soul” into brief therapy;2. three exercises for accessing inner wisdom (in yourself and clients);3. how to develop and maintain mindfulness and bodymind centering;4. the generative principle and methods of sponsorship;5. a six-step brief therapy method for transforming a symptom into a solution.Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D. is a psychologist practicing in Encinitas, CA. In addition to his private practice, he travels around the world presenting his work in self-relations psychotherapy to both professional and general audiences. His books include The courage to love, Therapeutic trances, Brief therapy (with J. Zeig, Therapeutic conversations (with R. Price), and The legacy of Erickson.