The American Institute of Medical Education
FALL CONFERENCE
Hyatt Regency Hotel – Bethesda, MD
November 6 – 9, 2014
COMMERCIAL DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
The American Institute of Medical Education (AIMED) wishes to advise all learners in this
conference that unless you are advised at the time of a particular presentation, none of the planners
or faculty members have a relevant financial relationship/interest/arrangement or affiliation with
any corporate organization or commercial interest. Signed faculty disclosure forms are on file in
the AIMED corporate office. Further, our faculty members are aware of the responsibility to inform
learners of off-label uses if discussed during any presentation. The American Institute of Medical
Education does not accept commercial support for any of its programs and does not have financial
relationships with any commercial interest. Disclosure forms are on file from all in control of this
program’s content. This is not a commercially supported activity.
NEEDS, OBJECTIVES and OUTLINES
Thursday, November 6
8:30 am
TITLE:
NEEDS:
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SPEAKER:
FORMAT:
EVALUATION:
The Use of Ceremony in the Treatment of Trauma
Trauma based treatment requires the therapist to be creative and innovative
in aiding the patient to recover. Often these individuals have extremely
abusive and near death experiences, which create trust issues that interfere in
the development of a safe holding environment. The usual treatment
techniques generally skim the surface of the depth and severity of the trauma
and the extreme impairment to the self. Therefore it is incumbent upon the
therapist to build a treatment protocol that can involve not only approved
therapeutic techniques but also adjunctive therapeutic methodology, which
can include art, dance, music, bibliotherapy, hypnotherapy and ceremonies of
release and healing. Together with the client, the therapist develops and
designs a specific treatment program that addresses the client’s wounds
affectively, cognitively and behaviorally.
At the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to:
 Identify 3 methods to build a safe holding environment of the trauma
client
 Explain the way to build a healing and/or release ceremony
 Analyze effective treatment modalities for developing a healing and/
or release ceremony
 Select appropriate therapeutic techniques to facilitate a healing and/or
release ceremony
Joyce H. Vesper, Ph.D.
Didactic lecture enhanced by PowerPoint presentation
Standard Evaluation Form
ABSTRACT:
Trauma is destructive and life changing for many individuals. Although
some people are resilient and can move beyond the traumatic event(s), others
are left with scars that impact them socially, personally and intimately.
Trauma actually invades a person, rewrites the individual’s life cycle and
transforms the individual into someone who feels victimized, unworthy,
disgraced and shamed. The depth of despair and pain becomes the driving
force behind the person’s sense of self. Thus it is not unusual for these
individuals to become embroiled in tragic life experiences that are reenactments of the original trauma(s). The goal of trauma therapy is to
interrupt the repetition compulsion and introduce healthier methods of coping
with life’s challenges.
The use of ceremony is a method that is designed to release the trauma-based
client from the mental and emotional torment that the memories, intrusive
thoughts, troubled and interrupted sleep and self condemnation continue to
reinforce. By aiding the client to understand the components of the trauma,
the therapist teaches the client to master triggers, nightmares, faulty thinking
and dysfunctional behavior. The ceremony is used as a method to release the
years of impaired thinking and relationships to welcome in an improved life
filled with hope, health and self-appreciation.
9:30 am
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OUTLINE:
Janis Joplin: Narcissism and Self Hatred
Janis Joplin is a rock star who came upon the rock scene in the 1960’s. She
was a maverick and paved the way for other female singers. Joplin was well
known for her performing abilities, and her fans referred to her stage
presence as "electric". At the height of her career, she was known as "The
Queen of Psychedelic Soul", and became known as "Pearl" among her
friends. She was also a painter, dancer and music arranger. Rolling Stone
magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of
All Time in 2004, [1] and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers
of All Time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
In this presentation I will present Janis as a person who demonstrates “selfdestructive narcissism”
At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
 List 3 characteristics of borderline personality
 List 3 characteristics of Histrionic personality disorder
 List 3 characteristics of Narcissistic personality disorder
 Compare and contrast the characteristics of borderline, histrionic and
Narcissistic personality disorders
Tanya Radic, RN
Didactic Lecture enhanced by Power Point slides and YouTube videos
Standard Evaluation Form
I. Janis Joplin Biography
a. Personal life : family and hometown
b.Culture and time of 1950’s and Post War WWII
c. Identify narcissist quotes by Janis Joplin
II. Strange Coincidences
a. Janis or Janus The Greek God of Endings and Beginnings
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b.The Chinese Birth Chart of Janis Joplin: Fate, Destiny or
Coincidence
c. A reincarnation of Bessie Smith: The similarities and the
connections.
III. Rock Culture of the 1960’s
a. Jack Ketorauc and the Beatniks
b.The San Francisco Music and the Hippiesc.
c. Drugs, Sex.
d.Heroin addiction
e. Homosexual and Desperate attempts for love
f. Reunions and attempts at being “ normal”
IV. Arrested and Ridiculed (Out of time or out of place?)
a. High School reject
b.Obscene and vulgar words at performance Arrest pictures and
records
c. Janis Joplin wardrobe: Feathers and lace
d.Women: Janis Joplin and interview with Raquel Welch
V. YouTube presentation of Janis Joplin.
10:45 am
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ABSTRACT:
Benjamin Britten and His Operas: The Social Outsider and Innocence
Lost
Individuals may suffer from the aftereffects of a childhood trauma,
particularly a sexual assault, for a lifetime after the initial event occurs. The
effects of trauma are exacerbated when combined with a feeling of rejection
and ostracism due to homosexuality in a time and place where homosexuality
was not only considered a psychological disorder but a crime. Benjamin
Britten is an example of these combined effects manifested in art.
Understanding of the long-term effects of trauma and ostracism will help the
clinician and mental health professional treat patients with these problems.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 List 3 symptoms of childhood sexual trauma.
 Differentiate and explain 3 symptoms of real or imagined social
ostracism.
 Discuss the compounding emotional effects of trauma and ostracism.
Elden Dale Golden, PhD, JD
Didactic lecture enhanced by PowerPoint presentation
Standard Evaluation Form
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) is widely regarded as the most important
British composer of the twentieth century and his fifteen operas written in the
three decades after WWII revived the tradition of British opera. Two themes
run through nearly all of Britten's operas: the social outcast and trauma
resulting in loss of innocence. Both of these themes resonated in Britten's
own life as he saw himself both as the child whose innocence had been
traumatically destroyed and as the adult rejected from society.
Britten claimed to have been sexually molested as a child by an older
man but he never provided details. What is clear is that Britten had a lifelong
attraction to young men and boys. From 1937 onward Britten and the tenor
Peter Pears lived together as a couple even though homosexuality was a
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criminal offense in England until 1967. Despite international renown for both
of them, Britten and Pears chose to live in a small seaside village far from
London. Britten, more so than Pears, had a lifelong reticence in forming
friendships or allowing people to get too close.
At the same time it is hard to imagine an artist with greater public
validation and approval than Britten. He was a successful composer from an
early age highly regarded by critics, his fellow composers, and the public. He
was the acknowledged dean of British composers from the time he was in his
thirties and his career was capped with a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth.
While the themes of lost innocence and the outsider are clearly
present in a majority of his operas, the focus in this presentation will be on
his first great success, Peter Grimes (1945), and his final opera, Death in
Venice (1973). At the heart of both operas is the relationship between an
older man and a young boy. In many ways these two operas are mirror
images of each other.
11:45 am
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OUTLINE:
The Rise of the Wounded Feminine in the Media
Both our patients and we live in a historical and cultural context. Carl Jung
would assert that the individual psyche and the collective are interconnected
and that the individual unconscious and the collective unconscious are in
continual dialogue. It behooves us as clinicians to understand this
connection so we can better serve our patients. Presently, there is a
psychological tension between the patriarchal status quo and the rise of the
feminine principle that has been wounded over the years. To examine this
tension as presented in the media will enhance the clinician’s understanding
of the patient in cultural context.
At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
 Define the feminine principle psychodynamically.
 Define patriarchy and its psychological ramifications.
 Explore various themes in literature and the media that give voice to the
psychological tension between the wounded feminine principle and the
patriarchal culture.
 Clarify how the clinician may use the media to engage the patient in
psychological growth.
Kathleen (Kayta) Curzie Gajdos, Ph.D.
Didactic lecture enhanced by Power Point presentation
Standard Evaluation Form
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
History of Topic
Definitions
The Polarities at Play: Examples in the Media
Vignettes of the Feminine Principle
Conclusion and Guiding Questions for Clinician and Patient
4
2:00 pm – 3:30 (part of the 20 CE credit hours)
TITLE:
Afternoon Discussion Group
NEEDS:
These interactive discussion groups will give the participants an opportunity
to share and discuss on a deeper and more detailed level the important
psychosocial lessons taught in the morning lectures and so help them remove
obstacles they might face in treating their patients. The Discussion Groups
will be used to actively involve the participants in handling the concepts and
principles presented, and to allow for greater elaboration and refinement of
points made earlier
Chosen from the morning faculty
Interactive Group Discussions
GROUP LEADER:
FORMAT:
Friday, November 7
8:30 am
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OUTLINE:
Art: Hacking the Brain
Our clinical armamentarium is broad but still lacking. Psychopharmacology
has taught us a great deal about the brain at a neurotransmitter level. But,
drugs are clunky, underspecific, and suffer the pitfalls of any external
perturbation of a homeostatic system. Endogenous modulation, on the other
hand, is an underexplored but potentially very powerful intervention.
Psychotherapy, meditation, biofeedback are all tools to help the brain in a
way change itself.
Art is another potential modality in this set.
Understanding how external aesthetic stimuli enter our senses and directly
modulate diverse neurofunctional components is key to harnessing art’s
therapeutic potential.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 List the prominent neurofunctional areas involved in parsing aesthetic
stimuli.
 Explain the impact of such stimuli on hedonic, reward, and affective
states.
 Discuss how these stimuli might be incorporated into a treatment
modality.
Stan Mathis, M.D.
Didactic lecture enhanced by PowerPoint presentation
Standard Evaluation Form
I.
II.
Introduction
Background of Hacking
a. History
b. Conceptual model
III. Background of Art
a. History
b. How it works
IV. Art as Therapy
a. What’s been tried
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V.
b. What’s next
Summary and Conclusions
9:30 am
TITLE:
It Made Me Do It: How Technology May Be Influencing How We Act in
Public Places
Our clients often recount stories of jealousy, revenge, illness, triumph, and
shame regarding their uses of Social Media and new technology. From the
young pre-teen to the retired grandparent, many are turning to the Internet
not just as resource for information, but as a broader community of strangers
for an affirmation of the Self and a sense of belonging. In the Age of the
Selfie and the Viral Cat Video, many are asking if all the available
technologies that fill us with wonder are also fueling an increased fascination
with “going viral” and becoming famous at any cost.
At the end of this presentation the participant will be able to:
 List at least 3 examples of positive and negative uses of technology in
the public domain
 Describe and explain the emotional, physical, and financial perks and
costs of the above
 Compare the musical careers of two female artists, Amanda Palmer and
Kate Bush.
Imei Hsu, RN, LMHC
Didactic lecture primarily conveyed via Keynote (Apple) presentation and
audio clips
Standard evaluation form
NEEDS:
OBJECTIVES:
SPEAKERS:
FORMAT:
EVALUATION:
OUTLINE:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Definitions - types and examples of technologies
Social Behaviors and reactions to technologies
a. Stalking and Surveillance
b. Trolling
c. The Beloved “Open Letter” (Cher, Cyrus, Palmer)
d. The Selfie
e. Crowdfunding after injuries in Attempted Murder
f. Wearable Technologies, exploitation, paranoia, and violence
g. Highlighting compassion, benevolence, and charity
Brief bios of Kate Bush and Amanda Palmer
a. Examples of positive use of technology in creativity and
community building
b. Contrast of private and public life
Your client: tech savvy, averse, or naïve
Summary and Q/A
10:45
TITLE:
NEEDS:
A Divided Highway: Living with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD
Often as practitioners in the field of psychiatry, psychology, and
psychotherapy we receive much of our training and information through
didactic sources. During the course of direct patient care, there is limited
time to interact with patients, and due to many reasons, only limited
information is shared. It is truly only after interacting with a patient for years
6
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FORMAT:
EVALUATION:
ABSTRACT:
do we begin to have a fair amount of knowledge of our clients. Even after
much time, clients often keep many experiences private for multiple reasons.
Because of this as well as limits on time, course of treatment, etc. it is almost
impossible to truly get a glimpse of what every day life is like living with
serious mental illness. Through this presentation, participants will be able to
get an intimate glimpse of life through both the eyes of an individual with
mental illness, and her partner who is also a licensed clinician.
At the end of this lecture the participant will be able to:
 Compare perspectives on “life” with a SMI (serious mental illness)
from both the “patient” and her “partner”
 Discuss the subtle nuances of the totality of things affected by severe
mental illness from various perspectives
 Explain the emotive and pragmatic sides of caretaking for an
individual with SMI
 List at least 3 manifestations of symptoms of bipolar, and their affect
on an individual, and her relationships.
Jennie Abrams, LPC, ATR-BC and Casey Gilbert, BS
Didactic lecture
Standard Evaluation Form
This presentation will offer an unusually intimate look at “living” with severe
mental illness. The presenters, Casey and Jenn, have a unique perspective as
a couple where mental illness is often more like a “third person” in the
relationship, than it is a diagnosis. Casey herself has increased knowledge of
her own illness, as she worked as a social worker for about 10 years before
having to retire on disability. Jenn is Casey’s partner of 12 years, and has
both the perspective as a partner, but also as a clinician with almost 20 years
in the field of mental health. Casey and Jenn are very open about how
mental illness has affected their lives and their relationship. In this
presentation they will candidly discuss the nuances that are often not
discussed in “treatment,” and are most certainly not discussed in regular
interactions with others. This presentation will include discussion of some of
the darkest days that include hallucinations, delusions, suicidal thoughts,
mania, depression, self-harm, bizarre thoughts, and how these manifestations
of mental illness have been experienced by both Casey and Jenn. They have
experienced discrimination, alienation and the side effects of society’s stigma
on mental illness that is still very present. This presentation will provide
unusual perspectives on mental illness from “both sides” of the road.
11:45 – 1:15
TITLE:
NEEDS:
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What Happened To You?
Trauma is often overlooked in connection to our understanding of people
who are experiencing mental health issues or have been given a mental
health diagnosis. Many studies show that the impact of trauma, especially
childhood trauma, is profound and life-altering.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 Describe the connection between trauma and mental health
issues/diagnosis.
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
SPEAKER:
FORMAT:
EVALUATION:
ABSTRACT:
2:30 - 4:00 pm
Distinguish between trauma experienced in childhood versus
adulthood
 Explain the cause-effect relationship for those who experienced
adverse childhood experiences
 List 2 treatment options for this population
Brenda Vezina, LSW, CPS
Didactic lecture following documentary
Standard Evaluation Form
What Happened to You? is a documentary film focusing on the
cause-effect relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and
the challenges faced in life. This award-winning documentary includes an
interview with Dr. Robert Anda of the CDC, co-researcher of the ACE study,
the largest long-term study to examine this link.
(part of the 20 CE credit hours)
TITLE:
Afternoon Discussion Group
NEEDS:
These interactive discussion groups will give the participants an opportunity
to share and discuss on a deeper and more detailed level the important
psychosocial lessons taught in the morning lectures and so help them remove
obstacles they might face in treating their patients. The Discussion Groups
will be used to actively involve the participants in handling the concepts and
principles presented, and to allow for greater elaboration and refinement of
points made earlier
Chosen from the morning faculty
Interactive Group Discussions
GROUP LEADER:
FORMAT:
Saturday, November 8
8:30 am
TITLE:
NEEDS:
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SPEAKERS:
James Forrestal/Gatsby-Driven Patriot and Artist
A case study of the sustained pressure of war, politics, power, paranoia and
alcohol use, which precipitate mental conditions and illnesses. Undiagnosed,
unrecognized and untreated, these pressures often have tragic consequences
for the person in power and those who are affected by their choices. Treating
people in power, whether in governmental, military or corporate cultures has
its own unique perspective and application. How to approach this type of
patient/client will be addressed.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 List 2 concerns regarding diagnoses and treatment of those in power
 Explain the unique stressors on those in power and the stressors
confronting the care delivery team.
 Discuss the failure of the medical care delivery to those in power
 Compare the newer awareness with traditional treatments to the problems
of alcohol use by those in office and the effectiveness of intervention
Ronald E Smith M.D., Ph.D.
Captain, Medical Corps, United States Navy (RET)
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FORMAT:
EVALUATION:
ABSTRACT:
Didactic lecture enhanced by PowerPoint presentation
Standard Evaluation Form
Secretary of War James Forrestal was probably the man most
responsible for the success of the United States in winning WWII. His rise
from Princeton University to Wall Street to the Pentagon was captured in
three works of fiction. As the ultimate Washington Insider he structured the
post war world. His alcohol use, paranoia, untreated (in a timely manner) and
bipolar illness resulted in a suicide tragic for America and the World. His
life story is presented and the hesitancy and reluctance of the persons who
knew and cared for Secretary Forrestal to adequately confront and support
his medical care are reviewed.
9:30 am
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OUTLINE:
The Gift of ADHD: Impossible or I'm Possible?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has become a “catch-all” diagnosis
for many people today. This diagnosis, hardly new, has roots back to
Aristotle. During the 1960’s and 1970’s major medical strides were made.
Today, however, this diagnosis is often seen as a behavioral “problem” with
poor outcome where children are seen as oppositional. This presentation will
address the unique gifts and talents that the “ADHD” person holds that can
bring success, possibility, and excellence. To demonstrate this gift, the use
of live case examples and audience interaction will be incorporated in order
to allow the participant to “enter into the mind” of the ADHDer in a format
that seems chaotic and disorganized but is actually very creative, organized
and highly functioning within the ADHD mind. The target audience for this
workshop includes those with ADHD, or wonder if they do. Also, families
and caregivers as well as professionals who want to learn about success with
the ADHD client/patient.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to understand:
 Explain Medical / Psychiatric History / Medication History
 Identify what science Has taught us about ADHD
 Apply what artists have taught us about ADHD
 Recognize famous successful people with ADHD
 Describe the advantages of being an ADHD’er
 Utilize tools with those with ADHD to promote possibility
Cynthia Rollo-Carlson, MSW, MA, LICSW, LCSW, LADC, BCPCC,
CT, ACSW, ADHD
Experiential presentation enhanced by PowerPoint presentation
Standard Evaluation Form
I.
II.
A brief 5-minute video clip of an ADHD child taken from a home
movie will start the session, followed by a personal history. The
format for the session will include information in an experiential
fashion.
Music (songs) will be used to highlight certain points
a. “I Can See Clearly Now” Artist: Johnny Nash
b. “Do You Believe in Magic” Artist: The Lovin’ Spoonful
9
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
Several of the participants in the workshop will be given questions to
ask at certain points within the presentation and will be cued at
certain points throughout the session to ask these questions.
The reason for the format of this presentation is to also help the
participants understand the way the mind of an ADHD individual
works.
This may seem like a chaotic and unorganized format for a
presentation but it is, in fact, very organized and it is addressing
important points that experientially bring the participants into the
inside workings of the mind of the ADHD individual.
The term ADHD and ADD interchangeably and will also include the
term ADHDer rather than Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered
Individual.
Questions and Answers incorporated throughout.
10:45 am
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OUTLINE:
Intuition, Ingenuity, and Gay Identity: The Life & Death of Alan Turing
Suicidality is a serious risk among individuals who identify as gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, or queer. Confronted with unrelenting discrimination,
many have chosen to put an end to their otherwise meaningful, creative, and
generative lives. Alan Turing, the logician and computer scientist who helped
secure victory for the Allied Powers during World War II, met such an end.
When it was discovered that he had sexual relations with another man, the
British government sentenced Turing to a humiliating regimen of estrogen
treatment. Furthermore, he was stripped of access to both classified and nonclassified arenas, essentially barring him from his life’s work. Understanding
the social and cultural milieu that cultivates heterosexism—and the power of
creativity to instill a sense of purpose—will be of value to clinicians working
with queer patients.
At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
 Explain the importance of human creativity to scientific endeavor.
 Describe the rational and emotive components of creativity.
 List 3 adverse effects of heterosexism on queer mental health.
 List 3 risk factors for suicide.
Mike Alvarez, MA, MFA
Didactic lecture enhanced by PowerPoint slides
Standard Evaluation Form
1. Introduction
2. Childhood and Adolescence
a. Emergence of scientific potential
b. Emergence of gay identity
3. Adulthood and Wartime Years
a. The Enigma encipherment machine
b. The Turing machine
4. Post-War Persecution
a. Chemical castration
b. Disavowal of wartime contributions
5. Death by Suicide
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a. Usurpation of agency and bodily integrity
b. Snow White and the poison apple
6. Implications for Treatment
7. Summary and Conclusions
11:45 am
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Mended by the Muse: Creative Transformations of Trauma
Patients who have experienced massive psychic trauma such as, physical
and/or sexual abuse, severe chronic illness, or genocide, often seek
psychotherapy. A depth examination of the relationship between trauma and
the creative process has important implications for the clinician and mental
health practitioner. When psychotherapists encourage self-expression
through the arts they promote psychic mending.
Some individuals, however, who suffer from trauma do not seek
psychotherapy but turn to the arts as means of self-healing. Understanding
such individuals and their experience can lead to improved knowledge and
skills in the clinical domain.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 Identify and compare at least three major psychoanalytic concepts of
creativity.
 Explain the new relational perspective on trauma and the creative process
and its therapeutic action.
 Identify the prevailing faulty generalizations about survivors of massive
psychic trauma.
 Compare the healing potentials of three different art forms (writing,
painting and music).
Sophia Richman, Ph.D., ABPP and Spyros D. Orfanos, Ph.D., ABPP
Didactic lecture enhanced by animated clips.
Standard Evaluation Form
The relationship between trauma and creativity has been underexplored. The
presenters will overview selective psychoanalytic theories of creativity and
offer a new relational perspective on the creative process. Dissociation and
witnessing are core concepts in this new view. Current dichotomous thinking
and sweeping generalizations about survivors of catastrophic trauma will be
challenged. Two case studies will illustrate how art can be used in the service
of healing, mourning, and memorialization. This multimedia presentation
will feature the creations of these artists in the form of memoir writing,
painting, and music
Sunday, November 9
8:30 am
TITLE:
NEEDS:
Story Business: Changing the brain through building narrative
competence, the intersection of art and neuroscience
A burgeoning neuroscience of story is emerging including evidence that
building narrative competence changes the brain through neuroplasticity. A
mesial circuitry exists for the negotiation of story, including the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate gyrus, the precuneus, and areas of
parietal and temporal cortex that manage theory of mind and empathy. Being
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OUTLINE:
able to tell a good story about our experiences is essential to human
relationships. People who cannot tell good stories often receive a variety of
psychiatric diagnoses. We review how working together with clients to learn
how to tell better stories about their lives and experiences changes their brain
and improves the quality of their lives.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 List 3 brain areas involved in comprehending and producing
stories.
 Explain what is meant by narrative competence.
 Discuss how psychotherapy can build narrative competence.
 Compare different types of story telling disorders and what
psychiatric diagnoses come to be associated with them.
Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, Ph.D. and Barbara Mainguy, MA
Didactic presentation enhanced with PowerPoint
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Definitions
Narrative Competence
- How do we learn how to tell good stories
- What happens to people who don’t
- Diagnosis and narrative competence
- Varieties of dysnarrativia
Neuropsychology of Story
- Default brain mode
- Medial prefrontal cortex
- Orbitofrontal cortex
- Precuneus
- Posterior Cingulate Cortex
- Temporal poles
Psychotherapeutic approaches to building narrative
competence.
- Creating story together
o Using software such as Celtx
o Using puppets
o Using masks
o Using computer generated avatars
- Using the six-part story format to build narrative
awareness
- The hero finds self-agency and self-efficacy
- The hero surmounts the obstacles
- The hero tolerates and passes through the “dark nights of
the soul”
- Good stories teach us how he/she does this.
- Summary and Conclusions
9:30 am
12
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ABSTRACT:
Hand in Hand - A Mother and Son’s Voyage from Diagnosis to Recovery
Have you ever had a conversation with someone and felt you weren’t heard
or responded to? Often professionals, parents, and individuals engaged in
dialogue are so focused on their own point of view, they are unable to hear or
thoughtfully respond to the speaker’s message. This causes stress and
misunderstanding. An example of this situation will be presented in a handson role play technique stressing the importance of words and body language
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 Describe two communication processes utilized
 Explain the Art of Listening
 Integrate these processes in their practice
Sonia Usatch-Kuhn, BA, Author and Lance Ross Tabakman, AAS
Case Study enhanced by role play, prose and poetry
Standard evaluation form
The focus of Hand in Hand is the voyage traveled by mother and son from
diagnosis through recovery over a period of thirty plus years. The son will
share his story outlining the steps he took to achieve recovery. The mother
will, through the expressive arts, reveal the poetic strides she took relative to
the emotional states of confusion, anger, fear, stigma, lost and regained hope,
humor, and the small joys as the symptoms abated.
10:45 am
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OUTLINE:
The Food Mood Connection: Using Food To Compassionately And
Creatively Heal The Mind And Body
Many healthcare professionals from doctors to mental health therapists don't
discuss nutrition or diet with patients, yet the food we eat affects us on a
short-term daily basis (how food makes us feel, ie guilty, irritable, labile,
anxious, etc) and a long term basis (disease caused by diet). Educating
healthcare professionals on how food affects us both in the long term and the
short term can allow them to open dialogue with patients in the care setting,
so patients begin to think more critically and compassionately about the food
that they put into their body.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 Discuss how incorporating diet into treatment could benefit the overall
care of patients
 Explain where most people get their information on nutrition
 List 5 ways food changes mood for good and bad
 Discuss benefits of eating whole foods
Sarah Fleming, LICSW, LISW
Didactic lecture enhanced by Power Point
Standard Evaluation Form
I. Personal Story and incorporation into practice
1. Food as medicine, food as disease
II. Food paradigms in Society
1. Lack of education, correct education, information overload
a. Media
b. Professional lack of training
2. Cultural implications
a. Mourn, celebrate, gather with food
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3. Emotional and disordered eating.
a. Food used as a coping skill or distraction
b. Feelings of guilt after eating, cyclical eating
4. Misalignment of personal values and eating habits
a. Not taught to think critically about how food makes us feel
emotionally and physically
III. Food and Mood-Why is food so powerful?
1. Sugar
a. brain education, addiction and cravings
b. imbalanced eating leads to both emotional and hormonal
changes
2. Processed food
3. Meat and dairy
IV. What to eat?
1. Nutrition basics
2. Five whole foods five ways, colorfully and creatively
3. Mood boosting foods
V. Summary and Conclusions
11:45 am
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Unleashing Creativity through Journaling
There is a creative force that exists within each one of us. Sometimes we
know it; sometimes we have to find it. It can be manifested in the form of art,
writing, poetry or acting (among other forms of creative self-expression). At
other times, we doubt whether we can even call ourselves “creative”.
Journaling is a tool that can enhance that creativity especially in times of
feeling “stuck’. It is a wonderful tool that can be safe and fun at the same
time.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
 Be able to list at least 3 ways to prompt creativity through
journaling
 Describe at the therapeutic benefits of Journaling.
 Discover a path to combining Creativity and Journaling.
Anjali Mani, LMSW
Lecture, Workshop/Experiential Exercises with Powerpoint
Standard Evaluation Form
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Introduction to Journal Writing
The Therapeutic Benefits of Journaling
Journaling and Creativity - How does it work?
30 Day Creativity Challenge
Journaling Prompts for Creativity
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