Mindful ISTDP

Getting together with loved ones during the holiday is sure to stir up many feelings in our clients and ourselves. This time of year, we are often visiting places and people we haven’t seen in some time. This can remind us of painful memories and create opportunities for conflict. Naturally, this could generate mixed feelings of anger, love, guilt, grief, and joy. These strong mixed feelings can create anxiety, and anxiety wants us to go away from our uncomfortable feelings. We all use lots of ways to soothe ourselves when we’re anxious, and around the holidays, one way can be eating. This is completely normal to reach for comfort food when we are anxious. If you have a client finding that overeating is an issue for them, help them notice their anxiety creating an impulse to reach for food (or other things). When they notice this impulse, invite them to take a moment to observe their body. What kinds of sensations do they notice? What feelings just got stirred up, and toward whom? Encourage them to be kind to themselves as they make space to process this information from their feelings. As they notice anxiety coming down – check back in with the impulse. Do they still want that piece of pie? If so, enjoy it! Paying close, loving attention to ourselves gives us more options that feel good to us and our bodies.

This self-compassion workshop will help you be good to yourself as difficult and painful feelings are surfacing about the election and holiday season. Learn how to process these feelings about these stressors in a way that centers and cares for you. You can register here: https://hubs.li/Q02XYfrQ0 Please email any questions to [email protected]

This election is causing anxiety in most of us, and we as therapists are not immune. Ruminating on these stressful events or venting with others can feel like you’re helping yourself process in the moment, however these behaviors can actually make our anxiety worse. Anxiety creates uncomfortable sensations in the body including muscle tension, headaches, stomach sickness, dizziness, lightheadedness, and can even lead to chronic pain. If you recognize this in yourself, or if you recognize this in your clients, it can be helpful to take some time to get to know your feelings under your anxiety, and to help your clients do the same. When painful things are happening outside of our control, facing feelings toward what has happened will bring our anxiety down. As you spend this time with yourself, you may feel a number of feelings like grief, joy, anger, love, healthy guilt, or healthy shame at the same time. Slowly approach each feeling. How do you experience this inside your body? What information does this feeling give you to help you be good to yourself in the face of this painful and stressful election?

It can be hard to prioritize self-care in the final months of the year. Put this workshop on your calendar now as a present to yourself to invest in your wellness! You can register here: https://hubs.li/Q02Whtqk0 Please email questions to [email protected]

Join us for this ISTDP-informed approach to addressing implicit bias in your clinical work. This training meets the Implicit Bias requirement for license renewal. You can register here: https://hubs.li/Q02SnVlW0

Did you know we offer free 1-hour Introductions to Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy? We invite you to join us to see how ISTDP-informed principles can compliment the good work you are already doing. Register for yours today at https://hubs.li/Q02RqB3c0.

Mindful ISTDP is a sponsor for this November's IEDTA conference in San Diego! Our Visionary and Founder, Leslie Auld, LMSW, ACSW, will be providing a workshop at the conference on the topic of therapist anxiety. The conference will offer training in: regulating early signs of anxiety, treating trauma, working with unconscious resistance, identifying and dismantling defenses, diversity, inclusion, and the therapeutic alliances, and addressing rupture and repair in the therapeutic relationship. Spots are still available! Register at https://hubs.li/Q02Rqvxj0

Spots are still available! Join us the week of September 23rd for this special week of training. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ejHvgpHp

Most of us were taught to follow our clients where they go in session. Although this approach sounds kind, it can lead us to avoid painful feelings that our clients need help addressing in therapy. This also creates burnout for the therapist, because listening to stories does not produce results - it can actually make the therapy stuck. This is one of the worst feelings for a therapist! ISTDP helps therapists identify when clients use defenses such as taking a passive stance, avoiding declaring a problem to work on, or looking to you to know the answer for them. This is important for both the client and the therapist: the client learns what maladaptive defense mechanisms are causing their problems, and the therapist feels more energized and capable of helping the client turn against these, and toward their healthy feelings. In our Foundational Therapist Training, we teach these skills that are useful for any therapeutic approach one uses. You can register at https://hubs.li/Q02NV9ZQ0

Mindful ISTDP is offering the first Core Training in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy in the midwest! You can find applications for both Pre-Core Training and Core-Training at https://hubs.li/Q02N2mvG0, under the Core Training tab.