2008 - 2009 Continuing Education Workshops
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Santa Monica
Traumatic Origins of Chronic Functional Illness and Strategies for Treatment
Presented by: Jane Wheatley-Crosbie, MSW, LCSW
Saturday, October 18, 2008
"Chronic ill health is poorly conceptualized, virtually ignored in Western medicine, and a major source of iatrogenic disease." Weiner Since Descartes, diagnostic classifications have split body from mind, environment, and soul (Meares, Bernstein), presuming debilitating symptoms are “all in your head.” Furthermore, medical specialists largely ignore the intricate web of interconnections within the body (Sternberg). Without a holistic perspective, consensus about biomarkers remains illusive for chronic conditions that reflect multisystem dysregulation, like irritable bowel, fatigue, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities among others (Pall).
As psychotherapists how do we respond effectively when bodily complaints dominate our clients' experiences? Remembering that "body is the instrument of soul" (Jung), within a safe-enough transferencecountertransference relationship we translate bodily suffering into meaningful feeling, by way of two primary mechanisms: 1) regulating traumatic affects and "fight-flight-freeze" responses in the body; and 2) symbolizing and reintegrating dissociated self-states in the psyche.
This workshop integrates somatic, psychodynamic, and Jungian approaches for treating chronic ill health. A case study of a patient with IBS, MCS, and panic illustrates the traumatic impact of early attachment disruptions on an infant's developing nervous system, while providing a context for application of concepts like regulation (Schore), allostatic load (McEwen), sensitization (Allen), somatoform dissociation (Nijenhuis), conditioned response (Scaer), somatic countertransference (Dosamantes), among others.
Experiential exercises foster skills in interactive regulation while participants learn about tracking somatic experience in themselves, linking it to affect and imagery (Levine's Somatic Experiencing).
Jane R. Wheatley-Crosbie is in private practice in Santa Monica and has offered embodied depth psychotherapy and consultation to individuals, couples, and groups for over thirty-five years. Her postgraduate training includes Jungian studies, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, traumatology, and interpersonal neurobiology. She also brings to this work her personal experience learning to live amicably with a chronic digestive disorder.
WHEN: Saturday, October 18, 2008 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica 1008 11th Street Santa Monica, CA 90403
FEE: $45.00 CSCSW Members $60.00 Non-members $65.00 All registrations after Oct. 10
Pre-registration is required.
Continuing Education Credits: This course meets the qualifications for 3 hours of CE credit for LCSWs and MFTs as required by the California BBS. PCE #1.
To Register: Call (800) 952-5579 to pay with a MasterCard or VISA number. Or mail your check along with your name, mailing address, license number, daytime phone number, and email address if you have one to CSCSW, 720 Howe Avenue, Suite 112, Sacramento, CA 95825.
NOTE: There will be a 15% administrative fee charged for all refunds requested in writing & received one week prior to workshop. After that date there will be no refunds issued. There is a $20 charge for returned checks or invalid credit card numbers.