Fall 2008 Conference
Engaging “Difficult and Resistant” Children and Adolescents Who Are Not Interested in Therapy
November 15, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Salem, Massachusetts
Click here for registration details
This conference focuses on working with children who have not responded to therapy or who are not interested in participating in therapy. We explore ways of analyzing this “resistance” and describe ways of working that can diminish resistance. We, at the Salem Center, have a long history of working with children and their families who have not responded well to traditional inpatient or outpatient therapies. Typically, the children we meet have long histories of DSM diagnoses; like Bi-Polar Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, PTSD, and so on. Typically, these young people are having problems with school, parents, and peers, as well as their sense of themselves as problem people. Often they have long histories of psychotherapy and psychopharmalogical treatments that have not helped.
In this workshop we are interested in sharing our experiences of what we have found helpful when working with young people who experience these kinds of problems and histories. While we are concerned about these young people, we also are concerned about the effects for practitioners when they are not sure how to help. Some negative effects that can result include a sense of failure, powerlessness, and burnout. We want this conference to provide some possible antidotes for these problems.
We have found ways of working with difficult contexts and problems through novel and progressive ways of thinking about therapy and helping. These alternative ways of thinking can often be enhanced with creative, playful, and expressive ways of working. For this workshop, we will describe various ways of working that have been helpful with young people who are struggling severely with life, school, and family relationships, as well as self-mutilation, eating, anger, mental illness, and so on. Our intention is to offer our practice ideas and stories as a means for opening conversations with you about ways of working that will support you and the young people you might meet in your work.
CEUs available.
Conference Schedule
8:30 - 9:15 a Opening Keynote: Distinguishing Postmodern and Traditional Therapies with Children and Adolescents (Evan Longin)
9:15 - 9:30 aBreak
9:30 - 10:15 Workshop: Stories of Playful Work (Marjorie Roberts)
10:15 - 11:00Workshop: Stories of Work with Art (Debbie Nathan)
11:00 - 11:15Break
11:15 - 12:00Workshop: Stories of Work with Families and Therapy Teams (Evan Longin)
12:00 - 1:00Lunch
1:00 - 1:45Afternoon Keynote: Considerations of Young People and Identity Construction (Stephen Gaddis)
1:45 - 2:00Break
2:00 - 2:45Workshop: Stories of Work with School Communities (Frank Kashner)
2:45 - 3:30Workshop: Stories of Work with Personal Narritives (Stephen Gaddis)
3:30 - 3:45Break
3:45 - 4:30Closing Keynote : Reflections on fifteen years working with children and families from collaborative and dialogic perspectives (Marjorie Roberts)
To receive more information or to make a reservation, call The Salem Center at 978-741-2691 or email us at thesalemcenter@gmail.com.