Treatment of Trauma
Wednesday evenings, April 3 to May 8, 2013, Online
With commentary by Ronald Siegel, Psy.D. and Joan Borysenko, PhD

Our understanding of Trauma Treatment continues to evolve, with profound implications for clinical practice. This free webinar series compiled by the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) offers practical insights from leading experts including  Bessel van der Kolk, Francine Shapiro, Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, Stephen Porges, and many others, and includes diverse ways that mindfulness practice can be used to enhance trauma treatment. After each webinar, Ron Siegel and Joan Borysenko join Ruth Buczynski for a TalkBack session, where they provide a comprehensive perspective on the ideas brought forth in the webinar.

See Details. (To register for the free program, scroll down the page to the grey registration button; or sign up for the paid membership to support the distribution of the program and get video, audio, and transcript downloads of the complete series, along with access to additional webinars.)  

Mindfulness: An Educational Retreat
June 24 - 28, 2013, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Sponsored by the New England Educational Institute

To incorporate mindfulness into our work and personal lives, we need an intellectual as well as an intuitive, visceral understanding of the practice. In this symposium, you will develop a solid theoretical understanding of mindfulness from both the Buddhist and western scientific perspectives. You will also receive instruction in mindfulness meditation and be given the opportunity for personal practice in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere.

Through lecture, demonstration, experiential exercise, and small group discussion, we will examine how mindfulness practice can enhance therapeutic presence and transform our understanding of the causes of psychological suffering across the diagnostic spectrum. You will learn when and how to introduce various mindfulness techniques to your clients or patients; how to utilize special techniques for treating anxiety, depression, chronic pain, stress-related medical disorders, and interpersonal conflicts; and how to creatively work with obstacles to mindfulness practice.

This experiential workshop will explore the many ways that mindfulness practice can enrich psychotherapy, enliven interpersonal relationships, and contribute to personal well-being. Psychotherapists, human-service professionals, and other psychologically minded people interested in personal development are all welcome to attend. You will learn:

• How to practice mindfulness yourself—both inside and outside your work setting
• Guidelines for tailoring various mindfulness techniques to individuals
• A step-by-step, mindfulness-based program for working with anxiety, chronic pain, and stress-related medical disorders
• How to use mindfulness to augment cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and systemic treatments
• Ways to deal with the obstacles and challenges that arise when working with emotional difficulties in yourself and others

12.5 CE’s are offered to most human service professionals.
See Details

Balancing the Mind:
An Intensive Mindfulness Retreat for Mental Health Professionals
August 16-24, 2013, Taos, New Mexico
Sponsored by Vallecitos Mountain Ranch.

With Bill Morgan, Psy.D., and Susan Morgan, MSN, RN, CS and Ronald Siegel, Psy.D.

During the week we’ll consider the five controlling faculties or mental qualities that are key to the development of our meditation practice. Each of these faculties - confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom - support and balance one another as practice matures. We will look at how to cultivate them, learn how to evaluate and re-calibrate their balance, and understand how they deepen the posture of therapeutic presence in our psychotherapeutic work.

This course offers an opportunity to practice with colleagues in a stunningly beautiful retreat environment. The teaching will be experience-near, focusing on the development of your own personal mindfulness practice as a means of deepening both meditative and therapeutic presence. There will be daily mindfulness meditation instruction, study modules most afternoons in combination with dyadic or small group discussion, and individual meetings with teachers. The rest of the time we will observe silence, including during meals, to facilitate a deeper contemplative experience. There will be one completely silent retreat day during the course.

Bill and Susan Morgan will be on hiatus from a four-year meditation retreat in order to teach this program.

20 CE credits available to psychologists, social workers and licensed mental health counselors.
See Details.