Continuing Education & Professional Development
Communication In The Therapy Context
Overview: Much is communicated by the client in a typical psychotherapy session, both overtly and unconsciously. We will explore the types of communication that are easily overlooked – stories that appear to be non-sequitors, jokes, slips of the tongue, where the individual or family position themselves in our office, even the daydreams that the therapist has. All these seemingly unimportant aspects of a typical therapy session can convey critical information about the client. We will discuss ideas from systemic therapies and psychoanalytic object relations theory such as counter transference, reverie, intuition, and induction. Using data from clinical cases and videotape of actual sessions, we will highlight this unconscious communication in action and illustrate how awareness of this provides for a more complete engagement between the therapist and client. This workshop will be most useful to the clinician working with individuals and families.
Objectives: Participants will: 1) learn to tune into multiple communications in therapy sessions; and 2) learn to engage clients using several strategies.
Method(s) of Instruction: Lecture, discussion, and video.
Fee: $125
CE Contact Hours: 5
Date: Thursday, April 3, 2008
Time: 9:30am–3:30pm
Instructor(s): Mr. Andrew Fussner & Mr. Neal Beatus
Andrew Fussner MSW is a family therapist. He is a consultant with the Pre-K HeadStart program within the School District of Philadelphia, and the family therapy consultant for the Astor Home for Children in New York. He teaches part time at the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
Neal Beatus, MSW, LCSW has a private practice as a child, couple, and family therapist. He is a graduate of Bryn Mawr School of Social Work.