Many of our complex trauma and dissociative clients have difficulties when their therapists take time off for a myriad of reasons such as regulation dependency, fear of abandonment, developmental wounds, insecure/anxious attachment styles and/or punishing introject states. Vacations, medical time off, and/or traveling for conferences all become challenging times for both therapists and their traumatized clients. Often clients become unstable, participate in self-harm, display aggression upon therapist return, or and may even have to be hospitalized for suicidal ideation. Therapists can struggle with guilt and anxiety on how to address their need for educational, personal, and/or recreational time off and may even feel controlled by their client’s dependent nature.
This program will address important considerations within the realm of ego state work to understand their client’s ‘panic’, and to foster healthier absences for both client and therapist, including developmental repair, addressing attachment styles, fostering concept of object constancy for younger states, promoting ego state self-regulation, strengthening and cooperative strategies.
This course is based on the recorded webinar, Please Don't Leave Me: Strategies to Promote Healthier Absences for Clients & Therapists created by Wendy Lemke, MS, Licensed Psychologist in 2020.
Publication Details
Publication Date:May 2020
Course Material Author
Wendy Lemke, MS, Licensed Psychologist
Wendy is a licensed psychologist with a clinical and consulting practice. She also serves as adjunct faculty for St. Cloud Technical Community College. She is an American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) certified approved consultant, current secretary, and a former Vice President for ASCH. She is also an active member of the Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis (MSCH) and has served on the Board and various committees for both organizations as well as teaching basic, intermediate, and advanced workshops at regional and annual conferences.
She has received numerous awards including a journal award for publishing, a Merit award, and most recently a Presidential award for her continued efforts to expand clinical hypnosis education to the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. She was also honored with the Daniel P. Kohen M.D. Outstanding Clinician Award in recognition of outstanding leadership in the clinical practice, teaching, and utilization of therapeutic hypnosis by the Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis.
She is a fellow and an active member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD).
She has published articles in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, and the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. She also wrote and produced: You’re Not Crazy & You’re Not Alone: Inside the Inner World of Dissociative Identity Disorder as well as two Self-hypnosis CD’s: Self-hypnotic Mental Vacations, and Peaceful Mind, Peaceful Sleep.
Wendy Lemke, MS, Licensed Psychologist authored the material only, and was not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.
Sandi Cardaman has been a Licensed Mental Health Counselor for more than 15 years. She has worked with eating disorders, domestic violence and clients who are working with the dependency system.
Target Audience
Counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and social workers. This course is appropriate for intermediate levels of knowledge.
Learning Objectives
After taking this activity, you should be able to:
1
Describe the role of attachment theory at play during therapeutic absences and upon return.
2
Illustrate several strategies based on ego state theory to assist in self-regulation during absences.
3
Demonstrate use of transitional objects for absences and ways to reinforce their success.
4
Demonstrate ways to foster concept of object permanence for young ego states to help alleviate fears of no return.
5
Describe ways to elicit ego state cooperation and collaboration to manage absences.
Disclosure to Learners
CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited
Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity –
including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial
relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).
The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and
the reviewer:
Planners and Reviewers
The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.
Material Authors
There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Course Creator
Sandi Cardaman – None to report.
Commercial support
There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.
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