I attended an InterPlay workshop recently, based on the principals of Interpersonal Neurobiology. We experienced firsthand how “mindfulness” can be fun. And “playfulness” is not an escape from reality. In this workshop, we played (connected, laughed, moved) and built (inter)personal awareness. Intentional play is an antidote for depression and anxiety.
Category Archives: continuing education
Additional Licensure
After completing a Clinical Supervision Training Plan this summer and passing the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam this October, I have achieved the highest level of licensure in my field: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.
Teaching Ethics Class
I am currently teaching Ethical and Professional Issues in Counseling at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In this class, we discuss client rights, counselor responsibilities, multicultural competence, and the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics.
Feedback Informed Treatment
I am enlisting two new tools to build collaborative client relationships! The Outcome Rating Scale measures a client’s life satisfaction–and any positive or negative trends during the course of treatment. At the end of each meeting, clients use the Session Rating Scale to provide feedback about the meeting’s topics and methodology. These tools are associated with the International Center for Clinical Excellence. This evaluation process encourages transparency, accountability, and “custom-fit” rather than “cookie-cutter” therapy.
Trauma & the Nervous System
This video describes autonomic nervous system responses to brief and chronic stressors. It helps viewers develop a map of their well-being and provides insight into the art and science of self-regulation.
Trauma Stewardship
I find great resiliency in a self-help book: Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others. This book provides a framework for managing vicarious trauma. The text outlines 16 possible imbalances within a caregiver or service provider–such as cynicism, deliberate avoidance, hypervigilance, and an inability to embrace complexity. Readers can self-assess their experience and make adjustments. This collection of research and anecdotes relates to various human services, including social work, law enforcement, education, and medical fields.
Book Synopsis: Heart of Desire
Stella Resnick wonderfully dissects sexual relationship problems in Heart of Desire: Keys to the Pleasures of Love. Although the book’s title is cheesy, Resnick offers insight based on research and clinical experience with couples. Resnick identifies variations of the love-lust dilemma–difficulty in maintaining a playful, pleasurable sexuality with a partner once they become family. She identifies family and sociocultural projections that contribute to the love-lust dilemma and guides readers through exercises to reconnect body and mind.
Somatic Experiencing Training
I recently took a somatic psychology training with Babette Rothchild, author of The Body Remembers Casebook. I gained knowledge about the body’s nervous systems and ways to reorient trauma and panic.
Sex Therapy Conference
I attended the Kansas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy conference last week. It was two days full of sex therapy information, presented by Stephanie Buehler of the Buehler Institute. We discussed the diverse, healthy range of sexual expression/sexual orientation/and gender orientations. I gained knowledge about sexual problems and ecosystemic contexts–including individual, medical, and intimate relationship interventions.