Webinar: The four steps of the therapeutic experience in children & adolescents therapeutic groups

Summary 

I believe that the therapeutic group ( with children and adolescents) is like a safe laboratory to express new behaviors, with the support and guidance of the therapist.
As in any laboratory, we have a structure and tones of creativity. When we plan a certain group experience we aim to offer to each participant the possibility of a nourishing, reparative experience. Whether we talk about the well-known exercise of the “Safe space” or any other projective/ sensorial experience that we can use with children and teens- the way we conduct the experiences must always have as a goal the organismic self-regulation- reaching a natural balance in our psychological needs.
Within the workshop, we will start to look at different types of therapeutic experiences using creative arts as methods of expression ( like drawing, painting, clay, music etc.). We will choose one of the methods presented to work in a self-exploratory way. Further on, I will present the structure of creating a therapeutic experience ( Oaklander, 1969, Mortola,2013) presenting the four steps of intervention that can lead to increased awareness and psychological change within the children/ adolescents from the group. Discussions and small group exercises will take in order to deepen the learning experience by itself.

Learning otucomes – what will participants learn from the workshop?

• learning & brainstorming about different types of therapeutic experiences in the children& adolescents therapeutic groups.
• learning about the four steps of the therapeutic experience
• practical experience with applying the four steps of the therapeutic experience
• reflecting on how to create a balance between structure and creativity when working with children and adolescents

Why do you think it is important to talk about this topic? What motivated you to create this webinar?

One of my motivations for proposing the theme of the therapeutic experiences we offer in child and adolescents therapy groups is facing as a therapist the dilemma of how one can facilitate deep and transformative changes within the group and how we combine structure with creativity in order to lead to emotional integration ( Siegel, Pearls, Piaget).
Faced with the flexible and yet not totally formed script of the children and adolescents I believe it’s important to reflect on how we can use our knowledge in order to facilitate transformative therapeutic experiences within the group by creating the space for the children/teens to connect with unresolved issues that brought them to therapy.

About Alina Comendant, the presenter: 

Alina is psychologist, TA psychotherapist. She works in private practice setting with individuals, couples and groups, age 2 to 65. She is qualified to work as a psychoterapist with children and adults, brief or long term intervention, and also to develop educational programs and strategies for educational centers and schools.

Facts:

– Certified in Transactional Analisys (CTA-P) and currently finishing my certification in Gestalt Play therapy ( West Coast Institute, US)
– I have more than 10 years in private practice as a psychotherapist
– I am an experienced educational psychologist, more than 6 years of experience in this field
– 13 years of experience in working with children ( various settings: schools, kindergardens, educational centers, foster care, disabled children centers) of which 4 years of intense parenting with my own child.
– I have a multicultural training background: my trainers are from all over Europe: UK, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain,France, Austria and from USA. My supervisors are from New Zeeland and California, USA
– I enjoy working in a multidisciplinary team
– I am a qualified adults trainer
– I am interested in childhood trauma, developing emotional intelligence and coping ways to stress

I bring to my work curiousity, strong ethics principles, eagerness to learn about human mind, empathy and kindness.

Webinar je namijenjen: psihoterapeutima i savjetodavnim terapeutima, studentima psihoterapije, psiholozima, socijalnim pedagozima, psihijatrima, edukacijskim rehablitatorima, socijalnim radnicima te drugim srodnim strukama.

For whom is this webinar attended for: mental health professionals

When: Thursday, 09.06.2022. od 19.00 do 20.30

Fee: 150,00hrk (21.5eur)

Paying the fee, you booked your place on webinar.

What will you get: written materials and confirmation for attendance

Please contact us by email for any further assistance: [email protected]

Webinar will be in English without translation.