THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HUMAN EMOTION: From Biology to Clinical Intervention - Part I

7 Continuing Education Credits available for psychologists, social workers, and chemical abuse counselors. A ONE-DAY SEMINAR INTRODUCING:

• Cutting-edge material on the biology and psychology of human emotion.
• The "nature and nurture" of affective connections and empathy.
• Clinical techniques that directly address your clients' emotional suffering.
• The integration of affect-based interventions with cognitive and behavioral approaches.

Conference Objectives:

Those who participate should be able to:

1. Identify the affects responsible for motivating an individual to seek psychotherapeutic treatment and help the client identify and understand those affects.
2. Develop new psychotherapy skills based on a clear understanding of innate affect and the life scripts produced by affective experience.
3. Identify and treat a wide range of shame-based disorders.
4. Provide a rapid formulation for disturbances of intimacy and present a coherent program for remediation of these problems.

Who may attend: Any mental health practitioner.

Clinicians and graduate students currently enrolled in a training program are welcome. Those who do not have such training may write for special consideration.

FACULTY:

Jonathan L. Grindlinger, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and specializes in psychotherapy for individual, couples, and families. As Training Director of the Silvan S. Tomkins Institute, he has become a widely recognized consultant to psychotherapists from all realms of practice.

Brett E. Schur, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Southeastern Pennsylvania. He has specialized in Rehabilitation Psychology and Geropsychology as well as offering his clinical services to individuals, couples and groups. In the past, Dr. Schur has taught courses in Psychology at the University of North Dakota and at Drexel University. He is Chief Psychologist for the Silvan S. Tomkins Institute.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute is dedicated to the enhancement of the understanding of human emotion. The Institute supports research on affect psychology and the systems of psychotherapy it makes possible, as well as the development of a teaching program that makes this information available to clinicians.

The work of the Institute is based on the theories of Silvan S. Tomkins (1911-1991), an American psychologist and philosopher, who revolutionized psychology with his discovery of the mechanisms responsible for human emotion. His affect psychology offered new understanding of the relation between thought and feeling, of the full range of human motivation, and of the complex forces involved in social interaction.

Schedule of Presentations

• 8:00 - 8:30 Registration and Continental Breakfast
• 8:30 - 8:50 The Psychology of Emotion: One Hundred Years of Theory
  An overview of how the field of psychology has approached the question of affect and emotion from the days of the James-Lange hypothesis to current infant-centered theories and the advances of modern neuroscience.
• 8:50 - 9:00 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 9:00 - 10:15 Introduction to Affect Psychology
  This presentation will provide an in-depth overview of the neurobiology of innate affect, including its function for the organism and its critical role for consciousness.
• 10:15 - 10:25 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 10:25 - 10:40 Refreshment Break
• 10:40 - 11:55 Introduction to Script Psychology
  Personality is the complex interplay between the basic biology of innate affect and the personal histories experienced by each individual. This presentation provides an in-depth overview of how the basic biology of innate affect becomes the complex biography of emotion that we see after infancy.
• 11:55 - 12:05 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 12:05 - 1:05 Lunch
• 12:50 - 1:15 The Dynamics of Emotional Connection: From Empathy to Therapeutic Rapport
  The neurobiology of innate affect provides a nonverbal, biologically-based, and essential means for genuine connection and intimacy between individuals. This presentation will describe the fundamental affective phenomena underlying emotional connection, spanning the realm from the infant-mother bonding process to adult empathy and the therapeutic relationship.
• 1:15 - 1:25 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 1:25 - 2:00 Shame Affect: Recognition and Targeted Clinical Interventions
  Over the past 10 - 15 years, our field has recognized the critical importance for the concept of shame. Unfortunately, most of these concepts do not precisely distinguish between the affective and cognitive components of shame emotion. Because shame and its mismanagement is a fundamental attribute of depression, anxiety, and personality disorders, a clear understanding of shame in psychological health and psychopathology is necessary. This presentation will teach the recognition of shame, explain defensive patterns that mismanage it, and will provide effective methods to address it in psychotherapy.
• 2:00 - 2:10 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 2:10 - 2:45 Clinical Applications: Couples Therapy and Emotional Intimacy
  Based on the biology of affective connection and the way humans handle shame affect, this presentation introduces a coherent and easily learned approach for the assessment and treatment of disturbances of intimacy.
• 2:45 - 2:55 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 2:55 - 3:05 Refreshment Break
• 3:05 - 4:20 Clinical Applications: Integrating Affect into Your Work
  From the perspective that effective psychotherapy is applied developmental theory, the emphasis for this presentation will be on optimizing the therapeutic relationship and highlighting interventions made in the context of that relationship to effect change. Detailed explanations and illustrations will be provided on how to recognize and manage both your own and your clients' affect in the psychotherapeutic arena in order to make your cognitive and behavioral interventions more effective.
• 4:20 - 4:30 Questions/Answers/Clarifications
• 4:30 - 4:40 Continuing Education Materials Completion

Accreditation:

The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute maintains responsibility for the program. This program offers 7 CE credits for psychologists.

The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute, provider #1057, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org phone: 800-225-6880, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute maintains responsibility for the program. Social workers will receive 7 continuing education clock hours in participating in this course.

The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute is approved by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners to sponsor Category 1 continuing education programs.

The Silvan S. Tomkins Institute has applied to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Board of Social Work Examiners and the Pennsylvania Certification Board for permission to grant continuing education credits to social workers licensed in Pennsylvania and PCB licensed professionals.

Accessibility: All facilities in use during the Conference are accessible via wheelchair. Let us know in advance if you require special assistance or if we can assist you in any way. Contact our Administrator at the address below, or call (570) 524-9444. During the meeting, our Administrator will be available outside the conference room for any concerns or needs.

Fee includes Continental Breakfast, Refreshments, Lunch, and Handouts.

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