2010 Schedule

February 12, 2010

What's Love Got to Do with It?

Tina Turner belts out the raw, aching lyrics. You remember the words, that time in your life, the movement in your body. At the heart of literature, poetry, song writing, dance, contemplative practice and psychotherapy is love, a kind of affective alchemy that enables and ennobles human growth, development and transformation. What does love have to do with our work and the therapeutic journey itself? In this evening, we will explore reflections on the varied experience of love through insights from neurobiology, poetry and meditation.

Gaea Logan, MA, LPC-S is a licensed professional counselor and clinical supervisor in private practice in Austin, Texas. She has been active in the dialogue between Buddhist psychology, contemplative practice and analytic psychotherapy for over thirty years. Gaea has presented nationally and internationally on healing trauma and has trained post-graduate therapists and lay counselors on issues associated with PTSD and secondary traumatization.

 

March 12, 2010

Healing Through the Imaginal: Jung's Method of Active Imagination

Working with the right brain through the imaginal function involves a conscious dialogue with the unconscious. Within the Jungian framework, this dialogue is central to the analytic process and is called active imagination. This was Jung's preferred method for exploring his own unconscious (see The Red Book) as well as those of his patients. Our guide for this process comes from the psyche itself which symbolically manifests in all art forms, movement and sensation, verbal dialogue, dreams and sandtray scenes. This evening will explore the appropriate use of active imagination in our clinical work and include film clips, dialogue and experiential exploration.

Erica Lorentz, MEd, LPC, Diplomate Jungian Analyst is in private practice in Houston, Texas. Also trained in dance/movement therapy, she integrates the expressive arts into her clinical work. She is a former adjunct faculty member of the Antioch School of Professional Psychology where she taught object relations. She has lectured and taught workshops in the US and Canada and is a training analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts.

 

April 9, 2010

Deepening the Connection: The Body in Psychotherapy

Somatic psychotherapy is grounded in an understanding of the importance of the body to psychological development and emotional health. In this evening, we will explore how psychological issues are reflected in our somatosensory style of self-regulation and how defenses live in our musculature. Based on this information, we will review active interventions for individuals and couples. Wear comfortable clothing and come prepared for some embodied exploration.

Barbara Davis, LCSW is in private practice in Austin, Texas. She has over 40 years of clinical treatment experience and integrates Somatic Experiencing, Bioenergetics and Emotionally-Focused Therapy in her work as a psychodynamic somatic psychotherapist. She is on the faculty of the International Society for Bioenergetic Analysis and has led numerous workshops, trainings and experiential groups in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Brazil.

 

 

May 14, 2010

A Path to Self-Regulation for Kids K-12

This evening will focus on a model for addressing complex trauma in school-aged kids with broader implications for effective treatment of adults. Complex trauma, a subset of psychological trauma, has its origin in early childhood development and is distinguished by a compromise of the individual's self-development including the capacity for self-regulation. The model incorporates interactive affect regulation, directed mindfulness and somatic intervention along with goals for behavioral change.

Patricia Tollison, PhD is a psychologist in private practice in Austin, Texas. She is the co-author of A Path to Self-Regulation with Kids K-12: Calming Minds and Behavior.

Gaea Logan, MA, LPC-S is a licensed professional counselor in private practice in Austin, Texas. See full bio above.

 

 

June 11, 2010

The Cultivation of Moral Consciousness in the Practice of Psychotherapy

The work of psychotherapy is a shared maturational process between patient and therapist. One aspect of this is the development of a moral consciousness within ourselves as practitioners as well as assisting our patients in finding their moral center. Through readings, discussion and experiential process, we will explore how our moral selves impact our clinical work.

Jay Erwin-Grotsky, LCSW earned his MSSW at the University of Texas in 1990 and a MA in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica in 1999. He has served as an adjunct professor at the UT School of Social Work, teaching both undergraduate and master's level courses. In addition, he served as faculty for the professional counselor program at the University of Santa Monica where he taught courses in psychopatholgy and ethics.

 

July 2010 – No meeting this month

 

August 2010 – No meeting this month

 

September 10, 2010

The Adult Attachment Projective as a Clinical Tool:

What Our Clients Want Us to Know and Help Them Know

The Adult Attachment Projective (AAP) is a measure of adult attachment that captures an individual's mental representations and defensive processes, providing us with a window into our client's state of mind regarding attachment. In this evening, we will review the underlying theory of the AAP as well as take time to explore it together more experientially.

Rebecca Hayhurst, MS, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Austin, Texas. Her graduate training in physiology and biomedical sciences informs her training in psychoanalytic theory, object relations, family systems and attachment theory. She works with adults individually and as members of couples and families in attachment-based psychotherapy.

 

October 8, 2010

When, Why and How to Bring Spiritual Science into the Clinical Setting

In this evening, we will explore the interface between neuropsychobiological science and religious science and address when, why and how this can be integrated into the practice of psychotherapy. The last hour will be reserved for an experiential exercise drawn from Sufism called "remembering God" in which one can bring a state of distress into connection with the Love, fostering a secure attachment with ones own experience of the Divine.

Sydnor Sikes, PhD, ABPP, CGP is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Austin, Texas. Her work with individuals, couples and groups is an integration of psychoanalytic and attachment theory, systems centered therapy (SCT) and Sufi healing. She holds a Master's Degree in Spiritual Ministry from the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism, teaches classes on Sufism and is active in the Austin Sufi Center Leadership Council.

 

November 12, 2010

Using Art and Symbol to Heal the Trauma of Loss

Loss and change in a person's life can lead to overwhelming feeling states which make it difficult to cope. Drawing scribbles, doodles, lines and shapes can help lead a person into the experience of feeling in control. We will cross the corpus collosum by using both hands to do an art therapy exercise that was used following the Katrina flood disaster. There will be time to process the experience throughout the evening.

Tracy McKullick, LPC is a licensed professional counselor and art therapist in private practice in Austin, Texas where she works with adolescents and adults in group and individual settings. She has worked with disabled youth in Austin schools through the Accessible Arts Program. She received her master's degree in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from the Pratt Institute in New York.

 

December 2010 – No meeting this month