This semi-clo sed group has been running for several years now (since 2015)\, with new p articipants joining the 'pool' of members as places become available. Led by one of the most experienced integrative trainers in the UK\, this group will provide an ideal relational container for your ongoing development a s a therapist. By immersing yourself in a diverse group of colleagues from different schools and orientations\, you will widen your perspective\, de epen your practice\, draw both inspiration and challenge from the co-creat ed wide-ranging experiential work and have a reference point as well as re sources and teaching to support your further development.
\nYou can find a detailed description of the format and objectives of this group on the dedicated pa ge.
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-GB:Integrative Psychotherapy CPD\,London\,proposed\,sche duled\,Workshop X-COST:£95 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-12233@integra-cpd.co.uk DTSTAMP:20240424T154759Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-GB:All Counsellors &\; Psychotherapists\,Training Courses\,Workshop Groups (10 +) CONTACT:Michael Soth\; +44 1865 725 205\; info@integra-cpd.co.uk DESCRIPTION:Finding your own style within the spectrum of 21st-century psyc hotherapy\n \n“Beyond our ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing\,\nthere is a field. I’ll meet you there.\nWhen the soul lies down in that grass\,\nt he world is too full to talk about.”\nRumi\nIn this session I will invite you to explore the therapeutic space beyond notions of right or wrong\, be yond ideas of best theory\, correct technique\, practice by the book or ma nual.\nI will invite you to use all your faculties\, all your knowledge\, all your woundedness and sensitivity to get a flavour of your own therapeu tic style\, that is free to draw fluidly and integratively from the wealth of therapeutic knowledge and expertise humans have accumulated.\nAs C.G. Jung said: “There should only be one Jungian therapist – me.”\nEverybody e lse - including you and me - we need to find our own style\, rooted in our own relational complexity and embodied in our own history\, wounds and li mitations as well as gifts and potential. As we can only find this in the moment\, rather than through thinking or theory only\, this session will w eave between experience and reflection\, between skills practice and discu ssion\, engaging you with your next step at your growing edge.\n \nWe may draw from the following themes what seems most relevant and urgent.\nCreat ing an open\, inviting therapeutic space\n‘Nothing human is foreign to me. ’\nWhat gets in the way of full engagement?\nWhat limits the client’s expe rience of the therapeutic space?\nPhenomenological enquiry into the therap ist’s internal process: how is the therapist behaving habitually in ways t hat are\, for example\, fixed\, limited\, restrained\, unresponsive or ove rly-giving?\nFocussing on the therapist’s ‘construction’ of the therapeuti c space.\nCreating an effective transformative therapeutic space\n‘Allowin g the client’s unconscious to construct me as an object.’\nWhat limits a f ull and deeply transformative process?\nPhenomenological enquiry into the therapist’s external effects: how are the therapist’s responses/interventi ons countertherapeutic?\nThe doctor-friend polarity\ntherapy as treatment (‘medical model’) versus therapy as collusive friendship\nobjectifying/pat hologising versus colluding/avoidant\ntherapy as relationship\nobjectifyin g – differentiating – identifying – colluding\nThe client’s conflict: habi tual mode versus emergency\n‘something desperately has to happen’ – ‘nothi ng has to happen/nothing to be imposed’\nthe client’s character conflicts / the ego-Self axis\nA broad-spectrum integration of approaches\nThe shatt ered and fragmented postmodern wholeness\nDrawing on the gifts and wisdom of the whole field (fragmentation of the field reflects the fragmented mod ern psyche – the integration of the client’s psyche into wholeness require s the integration of the whole field)\nThe history of schisms and conflict s in the psychotherapeutic field and how it affects us now\nintegration an d dis-integration\ncherry-picking approaches versus full-spectrum integrat ion\ntherapeutic approach cannot be grasped by theory and technique – unde rlying implicit relational stance\nThe therapist’s habitual\, wounded\, fi xed position\nMoving beyond a one-dimensional therapeutic position\nThe wo unded healer position\nThe therapist’s habitual position – inheriting the wounds of our family ancestors\, our therapeutic ancestors\, or cultural a ncestors …\nThe therapist’s shadow\nThe dangers of integration\nShifting f rom therapeutic approaches to relational modalities\nGomez\, Stark\, Clark son\, Michael’s Diamond model: what kind of therapeutic relatedness?\nGome z: humanistic ‘alongside’ stance versus psychodynamic ‘opposite’ stance\nS tark: ‘one-person psychology’\, ‘one-and-a-half-person psychology’\, ‘two- person psychology’\nClarkson: working alliance – authentic – reparative – transference/countertransference - transpersonal\nMichael’s Diamond model: include ‘medical model’\nunderstanding identifications - projective ident ification – transference and countertransference as systemic bodymind proc esses\nTranscending dualisms and binaries into paradox\nthe relational par adox: transcending treatment versus relationship dualism = paradox of enac tment\nI-it and I-I relating\nthe bodymind paradox: transcending mind-over -body versus body-over-mind dualism = embodiment/disembodiment paradox\nth e central paradox of therapy: the healing of the client’s wounding is inse parable from the enactment of wounding in and through therapy.\nThe fracta l self: a chain of nested matrices of parallel process\nintegrative/integr al\nrelational\nembodied\nsystemic\nparadoxical\n DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250305T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250305T170000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Proposed CPD workshop: Engaging beyond therapeutic approach URL:https://integra-cpd.co.uk/event/proposed-cpd-workshop-engaging-beyond-t herapeutic-approach/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://integra-cpd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Eve nt_Images/Narcissus.jpg\;128\;73\;\,medium\;https://integra-cpd.co.uk/wp-c ontent/uploads/Event_Images/Narcissus.jpg\;600\;342\; X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n
\n
\n“Beyond our ideas of right-doing and wr ong-doing\,
\nthere is a field. I’ll meet you there.
\nWhen th e soul lies down in that grass\,
\nthe world is too full to talk abo ut.”
\nRumi
In this session I will inv ite you to explore the therapeutic space beyond notions of right or wrong\, beyond ideas of best theory\, correct technique\, practice by the book or manual.
\nI will invite you to use all your faculties\, all your knowledge\, all your woundedness and sensitivity to get a flavour of your own therapeu tic style\, that is free to draw fluidly and integratively from the wealth of therapeutic knowledge and expertise humans have accumulated.
\nA s C.G. Jung said: “There should only be one Jungian therapist – me.”
\nEverybody else - including you and me - we need to find our own sty le\, rooted in our own relational complexity and embodied in our own history\, wounds and limitations as well as gifts and potential. As we can only find this in the moment\, rather than through thinking or theory onl y\, this session will weave between experience and reflection\, between sk ills practice and discussion\, engaging you with your next step at your gr owing edge.
\n\n
We may draw from the following themes what s eems most relevant and urgent.
\n‘Nothing human is foreign to me.’
\nWhat gets i n the way of full engagement?
\nWhat limits the client’s experience of the therapeutic space?
\nPhenomenological enquiry into the therap ist’s internal process: how is the therapist behaving habitually in ways t hat are\, for example\, fixed\, limited\, restrained\, unresponsive or ove rly-giving?
\nFocussing on the therapist’s ‘construction’ of the the rapeutic space.
\n‘Allowing the client’s unconscious to construct me as an ob ject.’
\nWhat limits a full and deeply transformative process?
\nPhenomenological enquiry into the therapist’s external effects: how are the therapist’s responses/interventions countertherapeutic?
\ntherapy as treatment (‘medical model’) ver sus therapy as collusive friendship
\nobjectifying/pathologising ver sus colluding/avoidant
\ntherapy as relationship
\nobjectifyin g – differentiating – identifying – colluding
\n‘something desperately has to happen’ – ‘nothing has to happen/nothing to be imposed’
\nthe client ’s character conflicts / the ego-Self axis
\nThe shattered and fragmented postmodern whol eness
\nDrawing on the gifts and wisdom of the whole field (fragmentation of the field reflects the fragmented modern psyche – the integration of the client’s psyche into wholeness requires the integration of the whole field)
\nThe history of schisms and co nflicts in the psychotherapeutic field and how it affects us now
\ni ntegration and dis-integration
\ncherry-picking approaches versus fu ll-spectrum integration
\ntherapeutic approach cannot be grasped by theory and technique – underlying implicit relational stance
\nMoving beyond a o ne-dimensional therapeutic position
\nThe wounded healer position
\nThe therapist’s habitual position – inheriting the wounds of our fam ily ancestors\, our therapeutic ancestors\, or cultural ancestors …
\n< p>The therapist’s shadow\nThe dangers of integration
\nGomez\, Stark\, Clarkson\, Michael’s Diamond model: what kind of therapeutic relat edness?
\nGomez: humanistic ‘alongside’ stance versus psychodynamic ‘opposite’ stance
\nStark: ‘one-person psychology’\, ‘one-and-a-half -person psychology’\, ‘two-person psychology’
\nClarkson: working al liance – authentic – reparative – transference/countertransference - trans personal
\nMichael’s Diamond model: include ‘medical model’
\nunderstanding identifications - projective identification – transference a nd countertransference as systemic bodymind processes
\nthe relational paradox: tran scending treatment versus relationship dualism = paradox of enactment
\nI-it and I-I relating
\nthe bodymind paradox: transcending mind -over-body versus body-over-mind dualism = embodiment/disembodiment parado x
\nthe central paradox of therapy: the healing of the client’s woun ding is inseparable from the enactment of wounding in and through therapy.
\nintegrative/integral
\nrelational
\nembodied
\nsystemic
\nparadoxical
\n\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-GB:proposed\,Workshop X-COST:£90 to £100 per day END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-12202@integra-cpd.co.uk DTSTAMP:20240424T154759Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-GB:All Counsellors &\; Psychotherapists\,One-off CPD Events\,Workshop Groups (10 +) CONTACT: DESCRIPTION:The bodymind connection in working with psychosomatic and physi cal symptoms\nA weekend workshop in Athens with Michael Soth\n\nEven thoug h counsellors and psychotherapists are traditionally expected to focus on emotional\, mental and verbal communications\, many clients invariably do bring their physical and psychosomatic symptoms into the session. \nThroug h including body-oriented ways of working into the talking therapies\, we can learn to work with many of these symptoms more directly\, more deeply and more effectively (and recognise other situations where the hope of cur ing illness through psychology is an unreasonable idealisation).\nThis CPD workshop is designed to expand your understanding of the bodymind connect ion as well as offering a wide range of creative and body-oriented techniq ues to include in your practice. \nWith some illnesses - like hypertension \, chest and heart problems\, digestive illnesses\, symptoms of the immune system - it is scientifically established that emotional stress contribut es to their origin. With many other psychosomatic problems\, like all kind s of pain\, tinnitus\, insomnia\, chronic fatigue and many other unexplain ed symptoms\, it is known that the intensity of the suffering can be ameli orated through psychological therapy that addresses the regulation and exp ression of emotion and de-stresses the mind.\nStress is the catchall phras e that supposedly explains the influence of our psychological body-emotion -mind state on illness. However\, what is less well understood\, is how ou r bodymind does not just respond to stresses in our current situation and lifestyle\, but carries accumulated stress from the past\, reaching all th e way back to childhood. A holistic and bio-social-psychological understan ding of stress needs to include lifelong patterns of the bodymind includin g developmental injury and trauma (what Wilhelm Reich originally called ch aracter structures).\nSometimes clients bring psychosomatic illness as a p resenting issue to the therapy\, sometimes these symptoms actually evolve in direct response to the unfolding therapeutic process\, and the therapis t gets implicated in them\, e.g. “After last session I had a headache for three days!”\nDirect links to body sensations and symptoms as well as body image come up as part of our work in sessions every day\, in so many ways : tangible pains\, tensions\, trembling and shaking\, breathing difficulti es (hyperventilation\, asthma)\, the physical side of unbearable feelings like panic\, rage\, dread or terror. There are obvious somatic aspects to presenting issues such as eating disorders or addictions. And then there a re the psychological implications of actual\, sometimes terminal\, illness es and psychosomatic symptoms and dis-ease.\n \nHow do we work with these issues and symptoms in psychotherapy? What ways are available to us for in cluding the client’s ‘felt sense’\, their embodied self states\, their bod y awareness and sensations\, their physiological experience in the interac tion ?\nThis workshop will give you a framework for thinking about the rol e of the body as it is relevant in your own style of therapeutic work\, ba sed upon the different ways in which clients as well as therapists relate to ‘the symptom’. Throughout the workshop\, we will use roleplay of actual issues and dilemmas brought up by your clients. We will also identify and practice ways in which you can explore the emotional function and 'meanin g' of your client's physical symptom or illness.\nDrawing on a wide range of humanistic and psychoanalytic approaches (including Body Psychotherapy\ , Process-oriented Psychology\, various schools of psychoanalysis and Jung ian perspectives) as well as the holistic paradigm underpinning most compl ementary therapies\, we will weave together an interdisciplinary bodymind approach which is applicable within the therapeutic relationship as we kno w it in counselling and psychotherapy.\n \nMichael has been working with t he psychological and bodymind connection of illness and psychosomatic symp toms for many years. In the 1990s he initiated a project called 'Soul in I llness'\, offering an integrative psychotherapeutic perspective\, drawing on the wisdom which the different therapeutic approaches have accumulated regarding illness\, both in terms of theoretical understanding and practic al ways of working. He has run CPD workshops for therapists on ‘Working wi th Illness’ many times\, and has developed a relational and embodied way o f engaging with the client’s bodymind. In 2005 he presented for the first time his model of ‘8 ways of relating to the symptom’\, which addresses th e client’s own relationship to their symptom\, as well as giving an overvi ew of the different stances taken by the therapist in the various therapeu tic approaches that correspond to each of the ways of relating to the symp tom. These eight ways of relating to the symptom\, including the correspon ding theoretical understandings as well as methods and techniques for inte rvention\, will form the underlying framework for this workshop.\n\n DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250521T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250522T180000 GEO:+37.98381;+23.727539 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Proposed CPD workshop: Working with Illness in Psychotherapy URL:https://integra-cpd.co.uk/event/proposed-cpd-workshop-working-with-illn ess-in-psychotherapy/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://integra-cpd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/201 6/12/working-with-illness-bear-in-pain.jpg\;176\;176\,medium\;https://inte gra-cpd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/working-with-illness-bear-in-pain .jpg\;176\;176\,large\;https://integra-cpd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/1 2/working-with-illness-bear-in-pain.jpg\;176\;176\,full\;https://integra-c pd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/working-with-illness-bear-in-pain.jpg\ ;176\;176 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n
Even thou
gh counsellors and psychotherapists are traditionally expected to focus on
emotional\, mental and verbal communications\, many clients invariably
Through including body-oriented ways of workin g into the talking therapies\, we can learn to work with many of these sym ptoms more directly\, more deeply and more effectively (and recognise othe r situations where the hope of curing illness through psychology is an unr easonable idealisation).
\nThis CPD workshop is des igned to expand your understanding of the bodymind connection as well as o ffering a wide range of creative and body-oriented techniques to include i n your practice.
\nWith some illnesses - like hypertension \, chest and heart problems\, digestive illnesses\, symptoms of the immune system - it is scientifically established that emotional stress contribut es to their origin. With many other psychosomatic problems\, like all kind s of pain\, tinnitus\, insomnia\, chronic fatigue and many other unexplain ed symptoms\, it is known that the intensity of the suffering can be ameli orated through psychological therapy that addresses the regulation and exp ression of emotion and de-stresses the mind.
\nStress is the catchal l phrase that supposedly explains the influence of our psychological body- emotion-mind state on illness. However\, what is less well understood\, is how our bodymind does not just respond to stresses in our current situati on and lifestyle\, but carries accumulated stress from the past\, reaching all the way back to childhood. A holistic and bio-social-psychological un derstanding of stress needs to include lifelong patterns of the bodymind i ncluding developmental injury and trauma (what Wilhelm Reich originally ca lled character structures).
\nSometimes clients bring psychosomatic illness as a presenting issue to the therapy\, sometimes these symptoms ac tually evolve in direct response to the unfolding therapeutic process\, an d the therapist gets implicated in them\, e.g. “After last session I had a headache for three days!”
\nDirect links to body sensations and sym ptoms as well as body image come up as part of our work in sessions every day\, in so many ways: tangible pains\, tensions\, trembling and shaking\, breathing difficulties (hyperventilation\, asthma)\, the physical side of unbearable feelings like panic\, rage\, dread or terror. There are obviou s somatic aspects to presenting issues such as eating disorders or addicti ons. And then there are the psychological implications of actual\, sometim es terminal\, illnesses and psychosomatic symptoms and dis-ease.
\n\n
How do we work with these issues and symptoms in psychoth erapy? What ways are available to us for including the client’s ‘felt sens e’\, their embodied self states\, their body awareness and sensations\, th eir physiological experience in the interaction ?
\nThis wo rkshop will give you a framework for thinking about the role of the body a s it is relevant in your own style of therapeutic work\, based upon the di fferent ways in which clients as well as therapists relate to ‘the symptom ’. Throughout the workshop\, we will use roleplay of actual issues and dil emmas brought up by your clients. We will also identify and practice ways in which you can explore the emotional function and 'meaning' of your clie nt's physical symptom or illness.
\nDrawing on a wide range of human istic and psychoanalytic approaches (including Body Psychotherapy\, Proces s-oriented Psychology\, various schools of psychoanalysis and Jungian pers pectives) as well as the holistic paradigm underpinning most complementary therapies\, we will weave together an interdisciplinary bodymind approach which is applicable within the therapeutic relationship as we know it in counselling and psychotherapy.
\n\n
Michael has been working with the psychological and bodymind connection of illness and psychosomati c symptoms for many years. In the 1990s he initiated a project called 'Sou l in Illness'\, offering an integrative psychotherapeutic perspective\, dr awing on the wisdom which the different therapeutic approaches have accumu lated regarding illness\, both in terms of theoretical understanding and p ractical ways of working. He has run CPD workshops for therapists on ‘Work ing with Illness’ many times\, and has developed a relational and embodied way of engaging with the client’s bodymind. In 2005 he presented for the first time his model of ‘8 ways of relating to the symptom’\, which addres ses the client’s own relationship to their symptom\, as well as giving an overview of the different stances taken by the therapist in the various th erapeutic approaches that correspond to each of the ways of relating to th e symptom. These eight ways of relating to the symptom\, including the cor responding theoretical understandings as well as methods and techniques fo r intervention\, will form the underlying framework for this workshop.
\n
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-GB:Body-oriented Psychotherapy CPD\,proposed\,Workshop X-COST:tbc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-926@www.integra-cpd.co.uk/integra-cpd.co.uk DTSTAMP:20240424T154759Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-GB:All Counsellors &\; Psychotherapists\,Training Courses\,Workshop Groups (10 +) CONTACT:Michael Soth\; +44 1865 725 205\; info@integra-cpd.co.uk DESCRIPTION:Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool\nAnd when he see s his reflection\, he’s fulfilled\nOh\, man is opposed to fair play\nHe wa nts it all and he wants it his way.\nBob Dylan: License To Kill\n \nNarcis sism has a reputation for being notoriously difficult to engage with in th erapy\, for a variety of good reasons\, not least because the very idea of ‘needing’ therapy is a humiliating insult to the grandiose self. As one o f the key modern ‘disturbances of the self’\, narcissism has replaced Vict orian repression as the psychological disease of the age\, which means tha t the original theories of our discipline from 100 years ago no longer qui te apply. As a dominant collective issue\, as exhibited by the celebrity c ulture all over the world and all over the media\, the term ‘narcissism’ h as entered pop psychology and lost all precision and meaning. In order to be clinically useful\, we need to have a clear\, circumscribed definition of narcissism\, and its origins and manifestations.\nBeyond commonplace ov er-simplifications\, the various therapeutic traditions have widely diverg ent ideas and theories about narcissism\, leading to quite contradictory r ecommendations for therapists. More than many other issues\, therefore\, n arcissism requires an integrative stance\, that can draw insights and unde rstanding from the various approaches and combine them\, to provide a comp rehensive understanding and therapeutic response.\nBecause the narcissist tries to approximate an image of perfection (attempting to manifest a gran diose self)\, this leads to a chameleon-like disconnection from the body\, and an objectifying\, ‘perfecting’ treatment of it. For many celebrities\ , the body becomes an advertisement of the False Self\, treated like one m ore fashion accessory. More than many other issues\, therefore\, narcissis m calls for an embodied therapy\, reconnecting the person to pleasurable\, ordinary human reality\, rather than pursuing the delusions of a disembod ied virtual self.\nBecause the narcissist was emotionally ‘used’ by their parent(s)\, their individuality was never fully seen and mirrored. Therefo re\, in the moment where we apply a generic diagnostic label and put the n arcissist into the same category with many others\, we are re-inflicting a lack of individual mirroring. More than any other issue\, narcissism reve als some of the shadow aspects and weaknesses of our discipline. In order to make therapy possible\, we cannot afford to rely on a reasonable and su pposedly realistic ego-ego alliance: we need a working alliance both with the wounded\, insignificant self as well as the inflated grandiose self.\n This course will provide condensed understanding extracted from the variou s therapeutic approaches\, specifically drawing from and integrating the v arious psychoanalytic\, the humanistic-embodied and the Jungian traditions . We will combine the theoretical input with practical\, experiential work \, based upon vignettes and case illustrations volunteered by participants \, to explore how these ideas may be applied in practice.\nWe will be draw ing on the following literature:\n\nJacoby\, Mario (2013\, Reprint edition ) Individuation and Narcissism: The Psychology of Self in Jung and Kohut. Routledge.\nJohnson\, S. M. (1987) Humanizing the Narcissistic Style. W.W. Norton.\nJohnson\, S. M. (1994) Character Styles. W.W. Norton.\nKohut\, H . (2009) The Analysis of the Self: A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanal ytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders.\nKohut\, H. (2009) T he Restoration of the Self.\nKernberg\, O. (1984) Severe Personality Disor ders: Psychotherapeutic Strategies. Yale University Press.\nKernberg\, O. (1996) Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism. Jason Aronson.\n Otto Kernberg\, On Narcissism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyP92WLLqIU \; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeVMtZns5Pw\nLowen\, A. (2004) Narciss ism: Denial of the True Self. Touchstone.\nSchwartz-Salant\, N. (1982) Nar cissism and Character Transformation. Inner City Books.\nShaw\, D. (2013) Traumatic Narcissism: Relational Systems of Subjugation. Routledge.\nTweng e\, J.M. & Campbell\, W.K. (2010) The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the A ge of Entitlement. Free Press. DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250521T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250521T170000 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Proposed CPD workshop: Narcissism in Therapy URL:https://integra-cpd.co.uk/event/proposed-cpd-workshop-narcissism-in-the rapy/ X-COST-TYPE:external X-WP-IMAGES-URL:thumbnail\;https://integra-cpd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Eve nt_Images/Narcissus.jpg\;128\;73\;\,medium\;https://integra-cpd.co.uk/wp-c ontent/uploads/Event_Images/Narcissus.jpg\;600\;342\; X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n
\nNow he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool
\n
\nAnd when he sees his reflection\, he’s fulfilled
\n Oh\, man is opposed to fair play
\nHe wants it all and he wa nts it his way.Bob Dylan: License To Kill
\n
Narcissism has a reputation for being notoriously difficult t o engage with in therapy\, for a variety of good reasons\, not least becau se the very idea of ‘needing’ therapy is a humiliating insult to the grand iose self. As one of the key modern ‘disturbances of the self’\, narcissis m has replaced Victorian repression as the psychological disease of the ag e\, which means that the original theories of our discipline from 100 year s ago no longer quite apply. As a dominant collective issue\, as exhibited by the celebrity culture all over the world and all over the media\, the term ‘narcissism’ has entered pop psychology and lost all precision and me aning. In order to be clinically useful\, we need to have a clear\, circum scribed definition of narcissism\, and its origins and manifestations.
\nBeyond commonplace over-simplifications\, the various therapeutic tra ditions have widely divergent ideas and theories about narcissism\, leadin g to quite contradictory recommendations for therapists. More than many ot her issues\, therefore\, narcissism requires an integrative stance \, that can draw insights and understanding from the various appr oaches and combine them\, to provide a comprehensive understanding and the rapeutic response.
\nBecause the narcissist tries to approximate an image of perfection (attempting to manifest a grandiose self)\, t his leads to a chameleon-like disconnection from the body\, and an objecti fying\, ‘perfecting’ treatment of it. For many celebrities\, the body beco mes an advertisement of the False Self\, treated like one more fashion acc essory. More than many other issues\, therefore\, narcissism calls for an embodied therapy\, reconnecting the person to pleasurable \, ordinary human reality\, rather than pursuing the delusions of a disemb odied virtual self.
\nBecause the narcissist was emotionally ‘used’
by their parent(s)\, their individuality was never fully seen and mirrored
. Therefore\, in the moment where we apply a generic diagnostic label and
put the narcissist into the same category with many others\, we are re-inf
licting a lack of individual mirroring. More than any other issue\,
This course will provide condensed unders tanding extracted from the various therapeutic approaches\, specifically d rawing from and integrating the various psychoanalytic\, the humanistic-em bodied and the Jungian traditions. We will combine the theoretical input w ith practical\, experiential work\, based upon vignettes and case illustra tions volunteered by participants\, to explore how these ideas may be appl ied in practice.
\nWe will be drawing on the following literature:\n