The purpose of this workshop is to offer innovative methods of enriching the therapeutic and educational process through the use of experiential and active treatment techniques. Rather than just focusing on the “talking the talk” part of therapy and teaching, this workshop will also provide applied methods of “walking the talk” to use in individual and group therapy sessions, as well as other educational settings, to enrich more traditional approaches and assist clients in being more effective in reaching their therapeutic goals.
Based on more active approaches to treatment and learning, examples of experiential therapeutic techniques offered in this workshop include: building alliances, alignment, amplification, asset building, conflict, escalation, diffusing, conflicting world views, coalitions, boundaries, change processes, investment, collusion, hierarchy, double binds, emotional cutoff, enactment, homeostasis, joining, power, perspective building, reframing, rules, scapegoating, transfer, triangulation, symmetry, etc.
Workshop participants will actively learn and practice these techniques throughout the day. In addition, theoretical background, rationale, models, case studies, and contraindications for such techniques will be offered in order to improve the participant’s ability to apply them effectively (see kinestheticmetaphors.com for a sampling). Most importantly, participants will leave the workshop with effective techniques they can use in their next client or teaching session.
Target audiences:
(1) Counselors/Therapists/Direct care staff operating in traditional settings
(2) Therapists and field staff working in non-traditional settings
(3) Teachers/instructors/supervisors of therapists in training
(4) Educators interested in using experiences to enrich learning
Presenter: Michael A. Gass (Ph.D., LMFT) is a Professor and Coordinator of the Outdoor Education Program at the University of New Hampshire. He is the Co-Coordinator of the MSW/MS Dual Degree Program in Adventure Therapy at UNH.
To register: http://www.aee.org/conference/register/id/58/