Workshop

Love & Its Discontents: A Neurobiological-Relational Approach to Couple Therapy

Description

Couples often come to therapy feeling reactive, disconnected and disempowered. In this workshop, we will explore couples' dances of reactivity, and the neurobiology that underlies these self-defeating cycles. Processes that are at the heart of couples' dilemmas will be explored, as we address the individual, interpersonal, cultural, and neurobiological factors fueling these cycles. Interventions informed by neurobiology and by a relational view will be offered; these interventions are geared to increasing partners' relational competence and generosity with each other.

Particular focus will be on emotion regulation, empathy, and thoughtful choice for each partner. Issues of attachment and power will be addressed in ways that facilitate couple equality and intimacy. We will consider how to harness the power of neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to change—to form relationship plasticity, as couples work together to co-create patterns of interaction that more closely match their values and goals.

Faculty:  Mona DeKoven Fishbane, Ph.D., directs the couple therapy training program at the Chicago Center for Family Health.  She lectures nationally and internationally, with expertise in couple therapy, intergenerational relationships, and neuroscience. Her published articles include “The Vulnerability Cycle: Working with Impasses in Couple Therapy,” “Differentiation & Dialogue in Intergenerational Relationships,” “Wired to Connect: Neuroscience, Relationships & Therapy,” “News from Neuroscience: Applications to Couple Therapy,” “Facilitating Relational Empowerment in Couple Therapy,” and “Neurobiology and Family Processes.” She is currently writing a book on neurobiology and couple therapy.

Date: Friday, June 8, 2012
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuition: $128
CE Credits: 5