Past Catalyse Events
A CAT Perspective of Trauma and Dissociation
A one day workshop led by Dr René Bosman
This event has now passed
Date: Friday, 29th April 2016
Time: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Venue: Dalton Ellis, Victoria Park, Manchester M14 5RL
Fee:
ACAT member :: £125.00
non-ACAT member :: £140.00
The workshop includes lunch, refreshments and course handouts.
Aims of the training:
CAT therapists have an important role in society in bearing witness to the stories and experiences of people who are vulnerable with complex needs, often against a background of severe interpersonal trauma. Fostering and modelling therapeutic relationships is fundamental in individual and team-work. Dissociation is a key concept in understanding mental health and well-being. In this workshop we examine how dissociation as an everyday, developmental, protective strategy can also lead to the development of severe prolonged duress such as in complex post traumatic stress disorder, borderline presentations, eating disorder and dissociative identity disorder. We will consider the continuum of dissociative identity disorder that can develop following severe abuse and neglect, particularly in the absence of good enough attachment. Practitioners or indeed the service as a whole may become confused, fragmented and/or polarised in trying to help vulnerable and fragile people. We propose an integrative and relational framework based on recent theory and neuroscience that can inform clinical practice in both formulation and intervention. The workshop is structured around the following components:
- The resourceful practitioner
- Building the therapeutic relationship
- Mapping the internal and relational world
- Developing a coherent narrative
- Safe trauma work
- Integration
The workshop offers a pragmatic, creative and optimistic approach to working with trauma and dissociation. CAT offers a grounding framework that can elegantly integrate other ideas such as those gleaned from the theory of structural dissociation, sensorimotor psychotherapy and Jungian psychology. The practitioner is invited to critically consider a multi-dimensional perspective and keep an open mind to what is possible and helpful.
We will provide a balance between information sharing, reflection, active participation and exercises, open frame questions, audio-visual material and hand-outs.
Learning Outcomes:
- To have knowledge of the impact of trauma on brain development
- To appraise how to keep resourceful in working with emotive and distressing material
- To have an understanding of dissociative disorders and how they can affect everyday functioning
- To relate the concept of dissociation to the CAT model.
- To be familiar with an integrative and relational framework for working safely with trauma and dissociation
- To have access to specific tools, skills and resources that can inform and enhance clinical practice
- To promote a realistic yet optimistic appraisal of working with complex trauma presentations
Skills and Learning:
The workshop is aimed at enhancing and adding to the practitioners’ repertoire of skills. Participants will be encouraged to relate and critically evaluate ideas and suggested activities to their understanding and clinical work. A good understanding of dissociation will facilitate both relational quality and therapy outcome.
Outline of the day:
The morning session will focus on the latest neuroscience research in child development and considers healthy development of the mind as well as what happens in trauma. We will discuss the continuum of the phenomenon of dissociation and how this is present in everyday life and mental health and well-being. The development of dissociative identity disorder and its impact is illustrated by examples from clinical practice. We attend to the basic premise that we need to keep resourceful in working with emotive and distressing presentations.
The afternoon session will outline a framework of working with trauma with key principles and specific tools that have proven to be helpful and effective. Thought-provoking exercises aim to access participants’ resources and enhance clarity and focus, compassion and creativity.
Timetable:
09:30 registration and refreshments
10:00 introduction
10:15 overview of theory and research
10:45 refreshments
11.00 understanding dissociation and dissociative disorders
12:30 lunch
13:00 an integrative framework
14:00 helpful strategies 1
14:45 refreshments
15:00 helpful strategies 2
16:30 close
Who is it for?
CAT Practitioners and Psychotherapists, other therapists who are familiar with CAT concepts
About Dr René Bosman:
Dr Bosman has worked as a Clinical Psychologist in NHS mental health and learning disabilities services for 25 years. Since 2014 he has worked as an independent consultant psychologist, offering psychotherapy, training and consultancy. He is a CAT Practitioner (2002) and Supervisor (2005), Trainer of NLP (2010) and a UKCP registered Neuro-linguistic Psychotherapist (2015). René has a particular interest in working with complex mental health needs, including eating disorder, trauma-related dissociation and borderline presentations, on the level of strategic and service development as well as direct clinical services. He is particularly keen to utilise and develop the grounding and integrative power of CAT. He has provided CAT related workshops for more than 10 years, for example on the Postgraduate Diploma courses, CAT Skills courses, CAT conferences (2010, 2013), in-service training to a wide range of multi-professional audiences. Dr Bosman also provides training in psychological skills for both the statutory and private sector.
