Richard G. Erskine, PhD will hold education: Obsession, habitual worrying and repetitive fantasizing: a perspective from relational and integrative psychotherapy on March 24th, 25th and 26th 2023, at 6pm to 9pm (GMT/UTC + 1h).
Outpatient psychiatric practice “Bubera” will host this event with technical support of National Association for Transactional Analysis of Serbia – NATAS and Association “Belcounsel”.
Education will be held in 3 sessions on Zoom app. March 24th, 25th and 26th 2023, (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) from 18 to 21 Central European time (GMT/UTC + 1h) (Western Europe = 6-9pm; Eastern Europe = 7-10pm; UK = 5-8pm; North America Eastern time = 12-3pm; North America Pacific time = 9:00am-12:00pm).
This is the fourth consecutive year in which we have the honor to organize a education-training held by Dr. Richard G. Erskine, a world-renowned lecturer and psychotherapist who masterfully explains theoretical and demonstrates practical psychotherapeutic concepts.
We invite all professionals in the field of mental health, psychotherapists and trainees of various psychotherapeutic approaches to apply for this program, and especially trainees of Transactional analysis, Integrative Psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, Body psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.
Obsession, habitual worrying and repetitive fantasizing, either independently manifested or concomitant with shame, absorb much of our client’s mental activity thereby interfering with their spontaneity, intimacy, and living joyfully in the present. The psychotherapy of obsessions is complex because of the compounded and continually reinforcing multiple intrapsychic functions. A respectful and patient inquiry into the client’s phenomenological experience is required to learn the unique combination of intrapsychic functions.
Obsessions, recurring fantasies, rigid behavioral patterns, and habitualized feelings are all maintained by an individual because they provide significant psychological functions. In an effective psychotherapy, the functions of the repetitive behavior, feeling, or fantasy must first be identified and appreciated by the client prior to any lasting growth or even change. It is essential in an in-depth treatment of obsession to assess the origins and intrapsychic functions of the repetitive fantasizing and to validate how those multiple functions help the client to maintain psychological homeostasis.
Because, in the life of a young child, these psychological functions were originally relational in nature. As a result of relationship failure and the disruption of interpersonal contact, the functions became internalized, defensive, and attached to something intrapsychic, such as obsessive thoughts or feelings, the urge for compulsive behavior, or repetitive fantasy.
Through a relational therapy and phenomenological inquiry the therapist facilitates the client in gaining an awareness of relational needs, appreciating the intrapsychic functions of an obsession, transferring those functions to the therapeutic relationship, and engaging significant others in interpersonal contact.
We will explore the origin of repetitive fantasizing, habitual worrying and obsessions:
- the psychological functions, (as for example: predictability, identity, continuity, compensation, reparation, efficacy, integrity, stability and triumph);
- script beliefs;
- The processes of avoidance;
- archaic experience;
- relational-needs; and
- self-responsibility.
Dr Erskine will present a six-point therapeutic plan for the psychotherapy of clients who engage in obsession, habitual worrying and repetitive fantasizing.
The six-point therapy plan focuses on how obsession is often an attempt to disavow affect and engage in intellectualization rather than feel emotions.
We will discuss how methods of:
cognitive understanding, behavioural change, affective expression and relational psychotherapy can be applied in therapy planning – with a view to reclaiming of our client’s sensitivities to others and their personal sense of contentment.
Participants are encouraged to present their work with clients (in the way that respects confidentiality of the client) for case discussion (supervision) from Dr Erskine, because this workshop is envisioned as a way to apply theory directly in psychotherapeutic practice with clients.
This education will be in English and Serbian language with consecutive nonprofessional translation done by colleagues from mental health field. (You can read here about consecutive interpreting: what is consecutive interpreting).
Erskine, PhD, insists on consecutive translation, because this is the best way to attune alive with translators and participants – to monitor whether participants understand the content, to monitor participants and their reactions and potentially include them in the discussion.
Applications for participation should be sent no later than March 20th 2023, so that we can confirm with certainty the number of interested people to the lecturer.
This seminar is accredited as the I category professional meeting under registration number A-1-259/23 by the Medical Chamber of Serbia and brings 2 CME points. Participants will also receive a certificate of 9 hours of psychotherapy education.
Who is eligible for this education?
Psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers are eligible to participate at the education, but also all other professionals from mental health field (special pedagogues, andragogues, MDs, nurses…) provided that they are in the process of psychotherapy training, and that they have filled in application form.
Registration fee: 150 Euros for payments from abroad or 18 000 Dinars.
Please DO NOT make payments before you receive registration confirmation and payment instructions, as we will only send those when we have checked the submitted data and have a sufficient number of registered participants. If you pay before that, and it turns out that you do not meet the conditions for participation in the education or the education is canceled due to insufficient number of participants, we will be forced to refund your payment reduced, according to the General Terms and Conditions for participation in education.
Handouts, PowerPoint presentation and video recording of the education will not be included in the price.
Detailed information / application form:
For more information contact:
Zvonko (Zvonimir Ninić); Email: natasrbije@gmail.com
Phone/Text/Viber/WhatsApp +38163249239
Richard G. Erskine, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and Training Director of the Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy.
Originally trained in client-centered child therapy, Dr Erskine also studied Gestalt therapy with both Fritz and Laura Perls.
He is a certified clinical Transactional Analyst and a Licensed Psychoanalyst who has specialized in psychoanalytic self-psychology and object-relations theory.
His work is an integration of these concepts and fifty years of clinical experience which has included working with disturbed children, inmates in a maximum security prison, borderline and narcissistic clients, post-traumatic stress and dissociative identity disorders.
Recently his research and clinical practice have focused on the treatment of the schizoid process and on the psychotherapy of obsession.
He is the author of several books and scores of articles on psychotherapy theory and methods. His best-selling book (with Jan Moursund and Rebecca Trautmann) is “Beyond Empathy: A Therapy of Contact-in-Relationship” (1999, Brunner/Mazel). Recently he published The Art and Science of Relationship: The Practice of Integrative Psychotherapy 2022, Early Affect Confusion: Relational Psychotherapy for the Borderline Client 2021, A Healing Relationship: Commentary on Therapeutic Dialogues 2020, and now prepares the book about the Schizoid process
Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash