[Audio Only] BT08 Workshop 47 – The Problem is the Solution: Symptoms as Identity Transformers – Stephen Gilligan, PhD

Description:

A key idea in Milton Erickson’s work was that a person’s problematic experiences and behaviors can be skillfully accepted and utilized as the basis for therapeutic change. Self-relations psychotherapy develops this idea further, emphasizing symptoms as indicating the death of an old identity and the impending birth of a new identity. Thus, we don’t try to “get rid of” depression, anxiety, or other “acting out/acting in” expressions, but instead invite them into a human relationship of “sponsorship”, where their healing and helpful nature may be realized. In this workshop, we will see how a therapist can generate a ritual space where symptoms and other disturbing experiences can be “midwifed” into new identities.

Educational Objectives:

1. To describe the basic principles and methods of self-relations psychotherapy.
2. To describe how these methods might be used to transform symptoms into positive solution and resources.

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*