The TA Conference Programme & Workshops


 

Introduction


Keynote Address


"A safe group for growing and belonging"


Marijke Arendsen Hein TSTA (P) from the Netherlands. Janne Blarke TSTA (P) from Denmark
 

Morning Workshops


Money


Marion Umney

Where does money figure in your life? Do you earn to live or live to earn? Does money make your world go round or is it the root of all evil? How does money influence your connections - with family, with friends, with colleagues? This workshop will provide the opportunity for you to explore the influence of money in your script and in your relationships. (TA Knowledge Required = None)

Choosing to Connect with our Dreams


Karen Michele Shireen Minikin

One way of thinking about dreams is that they are ways in which we both connect and disconnect to our unconscious.  This workshop will touch on how we might think about dreams and work with them to discover more about ourselves and our relational dynamics. (TA Knowledge Required = Basic)

Feeling Safer - reviewing our support networks


Peter Hugh Sanders

For me, Choosing to Connect touches on how to differentiate between  healthy connection on one hand and potentially unhelpful or abusive encounters and relationships on the other. How do we know the difference? Using intuition and safe experimentation, children and adults can avoid harmful contact and move towards safer,  healing relationships. The Protective Behaviours Process is a commonsense  approach to personal safety. In this workshop, I will explain the Two  Themes and Seven Strategies of PBs and then respond to individuals' own queries about how these principles can be applied at home, school, work and in Counselling. (TA Knowledge Required = Basic)

Kinaesthetic Connections


Joanne Garner

What happens when Connection is involuntary or not verbalised?  This workshop offers a different perspective on a phenomenon I call a kinaesthetic (physiological) stimulus/response loop between two people. Participants are  encouraged to contribute their own experience, as we explore the ideas together.> The material is drawn from my unpublished MSc thesis ( My Body Your Body - Our Process? 2002)   which proposed a link between Classical TA (Berne's Energy theory), ideas on transference/counter-transference from various  humanistic and psychoanalytic writers, complementary medicine, Energy Psychology, and  ideas on information exchange fields from theoretical physics.  And if you've seen  Avatar,  so much the better! (TA Knowledge Required = Basic)


The abandoned therapist


Birgitta Heiller

On a few occasions I have felt like someone whose partner had dumped them via text or email when a therapeutic relationship unexpectedly ended, often with the client owing money. As therapists, do not even have the recourse of going through the small claims court because of the onfidentiality agreement involved. But this is nothing compared to the emotional impact of feeling 'discarded', and the professional questions that arise from it. In this workshop I want to dare share my own experiences and explore the implications, and hope to hear from others with similar stories. (TA Knowledge Required = None)

The Shame of Therapy


John Renwick & Karen Cesarano

Shame is something (nearly) all of us and our clients experience, it is often used as a 'control' by parents and in the education system.  Sometimes  the shaming is deliberate and sometimes unconscious.  In this workshop we will explore the meaning of shame to our  clients through Erskines' concept of shame.  We will look at how to work  with our clients in their shame. (TA Knowledge Required = advanced training)
 

Afternoon

Discussion Panel - Regulation


  • Chaired by Mark Head BSc Hons, CTA (P) UKCP Reg. Psychotherapist PTSTA (P)
  • David Pink is the Chief Executive of the UKCP
  • Professor Diane Waller OBE is an art psychotherapist and chairs the Professional Liaison Group on the regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors at the HPC.
  • Dr Birgitta Heiller is a psychologist, TA psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer
  • Dr Lynne Gabriel is the BACP Chair, Reader in Counselling and Ethics, and Head of Counselling and Psychology at York St John University

After lunch there will be a discussion panel regarding the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy. We are honoured to have such a prestigious group of professionals on the panel and invite you to make the most of the opportunity to have a collegial discussion on this relevant and important topic. The panel represents a range of views on the subject and will have up to date information that affects us all. Questions will be requested in advance from participants and will be put to the panel on the day.


The panel will also facilitate a smaller group discussion in the afternoon in one of the workshop slots. See below for details
 

Afternoon Workshops

The Body and Movement as a focus for working with overweight clients


Kathy Leach

Overeating is about feeding psychological hungers. A large body size can manifest a need to be big in the world and to gain “protection” from the physical armouring. In many cases overweight clients lose contact with their body selves, discounting feeling and sensation and movement is often limited. As the psychological self and body self develop interdependently, it is clear that psychological change will result from work on freeing the body. Re-attunement is key. We will explore this idea in discussion and experientially using movement and sound. (TA Knowledge Required = Basic)

The use of a genogram at assessment- exploring connections

 

Mary Davies

I have found the use of a genogram at assessment as a vital supplement to the usual intake information. This deceptively simple tool allows both current day and historical connections to be explored in a process that draws your client in to the process of self discovery from the outset. In addition I use techniques suggested by Muriel James to explore the content of the client's Parent ego state, and enquire about their early life experiences. (TA Knowledge Required = None)

An observing Space: Mindfulness and TA based approaches to Change


Jane Nixon

Mindfulness is an acceptance based approach to change and to managing personal difficulties. It is rooted in the Buddhist tradition of being willing to approach, welcome and accept what is. In the TA tradition, we often seek to change what is. TA skills promote mastery of, for example, our interactions with others, and the reframing of experience we find difficult. Come and experience a session of mindfulness meditation and take an observing space with yourself and others. There will be time to compare your direct experience with a TA approach to change and growth. (TA Knowledge Required = Basic)

Men are from Venus, Women are from Mars: Erotic Transference


Peter Britton and Louise Witney

Drawing on TA and Jungian theory, our experience as practitioners and our own processes we attempt to unravel some of the mystery surrounding what happens when we fall in love and crucially what happens when clients think they have fallen in love with their therapist. Who exactly are we falling in love with? As well as stimulating debate, we invite participants to share their own experiences with colleagues and gain peer support around dealing with this often delicate area. (TA Knowledge Required = Basic)

Introduction to an INTERVISION GROUP



JANNE BLARKE (TSTA) AND MARIJKE ARENDSON HEIN

(TSTA)

We have experienced how important it is to have a safe place where peers can learn and grow from each other. A place where all the members are present and dedicated to the group and to individuals within that group. A place where confidentiality provides protection, where members feel understood and appreciated – and experience a holding environment when recognizing and working on their issues. In an intervision group members receive and give honest & caring feedback with the purpose of personal growth for all the members involved.  In this workshop we look at:

  • Why you might want to form such a group.
  • The criteria needed to form such a group. What are the do’s and the don’ts.
  • How the group can continue to be attractive and challenging for its members.
  • How to select members.
  •  How to find an optimal balance between content and process of the group.

(TA Knowledge Required = None)

Regulation and you!


David Pink
(Chief Exec of UKCP)


Diane Waller
(Arts Therapist and Chair of PLG HPC)


Lynne Gabriel
(Chair of BACP)


Birgitta Hellier (TSTA)

This workshop will be an opportunity to discuss in more detail issues around regulation. The facilitators have a range of views on the subject as well as a wealth of knowledge and experience. This is an opportunity for you to really understand where we are as a profession, where we are likely to be going and how this affects you as a practitioner. This will be your chance to talk over your thoughts, concerns and ask any questions that you have regarding this issue in a small group environment with people who have up to date information

(TA Knowledge Required =none )