Working with Depression
An Integrative and Creative Approach
NOW CLOSED
This webinar was recorded and is now available as a Talk on Demand. Click here for more details.
Friday 4 March 2022
A Live Webinar with Barbara Dowds
CE Credits: 3 hours
- Includes a recording of the event with access for a year (14 days post the event)
- Bookings close at 4:00am EST Tuesday 1 March
What makes depression so complex, and how can therapists best meet its particular demands? Depression is a multifaceted and layered phenomenon – a set of conditions that vary widely in subjective experience and aetiology. It is difficult to work with because the very psychodynamic patterns that underpin it tend to block therapeutic change.
READ MORE...This workshop will attempt to grapple with these complexities, and ask why such a common and potentially devastating ‘disorder’ has not been eliminated by natural selection.
We will explore how primary origins in childhood adversity manifest in the threat (polyvagal) and stress (cortisol) responses that regulate our reaction to psychosocial and physical challenges. The resulting habitual defensive responses are associated with a wide range of rigid patterns that govern the sense of self-and-other, and the experience of relationships; that cement shame, guilt, grief or anxiety in place, while inhibiting/repressing other feelings such as anger, curiosity or aliveness.
What makes working with depressed clients particularly demanding is that trust, hope and flexibility are at a premium. In the next part of the workshop, we will explore some ways of intervening in these rigid patterns through creative approaches such as parts work, body work and art therapy. This can allay the deepening of the depression and assist in developing therapeutic cooperation, thus clearing the way to address some of the deeper childhood issues.
FULL PROGRAMME
09.00 EST
Introductions
09.05
Causes of Depression
The webinar will open with a definition of depression, its selective advantages, comorbid conditions, and its occurrence through the lifespan. We will then go on to explore the causes: primarily adverse childhood experiences interacting with genetic vulnerability. These include: having a depressed mother, major loss, family stress, harsh, abusive, rejecting or neglectful parenting; insecure attachment and emotional dysregulation; intergenerational trauma, and more. However, depression usually remains latent until triggered in adolescence or later life, and we will examine some of the common adult triggers such as subsequent stress or loss.
09.45
Q&A
10.00
Break
10.15
Consequences of Depression and Preliminary Challenges in Therapy
An aspect of depression that makes it especially hard to conceptualise and work with is the chicken and egg problem. We will examine rigid emotional, cognitive, behavioural and nervous system patterns. These are a consequence of depression but, via a negative feedback loop, also deepen it. The first goal in working with depressed clients must be to intervene in these processes, both to derail downward spiralling, and also to facilitate a therapeutic alliance. For many clients, depression is an authentic message from the deep self. Some people don’t see depressive breakdown coming, but present a personal narrative of a happy and successful life. In these cases, the work may include finding what the depression is trying to tell them and answering its call, identifying unconscious motivations and unmet needs.
11.00
Q&A
11.15
Break
11.30
Working with the Fundamental Causes of Depression
It is difficult to offer a prescription for working with depressed clients because the underlying difficulties vary. With some, loss and frozen grief may be the salient factors; with others trauma, often complex PTSD, may underpin their depression; for others, insecure attachment is the primary problem. For some, dysregulation of the stress or threat responses manifests most clearly; for many there is a fragile, false, fragmented or empty sense of self. Of course, these conditions overlap and interact and many clients will present several of them. We will conclude by outlining some principles of working with each of these manifestations of depression.
12.15
Q&A
13.00
End
FEES (USD)
Bookings close at 4:00am EST Tuesday 1 March
Live Webinar:
$70 (Member $35)
(Click here to become a member)
Includes a recording of the event
CE
This event is accredited by:
- NBCC
Certificates of attendance for 3 hours will be provided.
To receive the full CE credits, you are required to attend 100% of the live event. No partial credit will be given.
This event is NOT accredited by the following organisations:
- ASWB
- NBCC
- NYSED (Psychology)
- NYSED (Psychoanalysis)
- NYSED (Social Workers)
Please note, that this event is not being recorded and no CE test post event will be available and so you will need to attend all of the live event to receive the CE certificate.
Please contact events@conferonline.org for any further questions.
Confer has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7136. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Confer is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
VENUE
This is a live online webinar using Zoom software. Zoom is free to download and use.
For more information about Zoom click here.
To download Zoom free of charge click here.
For special accommodations for individuals with disabilities see our FAQs.
SCHEDULE
Friday
09.00 EST Introductions
09.05 Causes of Depression
09.45 Q&A
10.00 Break
10.15 Consequences of Depression and Preliminary Challenges in Therapy
11.00 Q&A
11.15 Break
11.30 Working with the Fundamental Causes of Depression
12.15 Q&A
13.00 End
CONTENT LEVEL
- Intermediate
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Explore how primary origins in childhood adversity manifest in the threat (polyvagal) and stress (cortisol) responses that regulate our reaction to psychosocial and physical challenges.
- Examine rigid emotional, cognitive, behavioural and nervous system patterns.
- Give examples of habitual defensive responses.
- Explore some ways of intervening in these rigid patterns through creative approaches such as parts work, body work and art therapy.
TARGET
AUDIENCE
- Psychologists
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychotherapists
- Addiction Professionals
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Psychiatrists
- Other related mental health professions.
BOOKING CONDITIONS
Regrettably, refunds cannot be given in any circumstances except as follows:
- You cancel in writing to info@conferonline.org 60 days before the first date of the event you have booked, in which case you will be entitled to a 100% refund.
- You cancel in writing to info@conferonline.org 30 days before the first date of the event you have booked, in which case you will be entitled to a 50% refund.
This does not apply to parts of an event such as a seminar within a series but only to a whole event or complete series. You may give your place to another person if you let us know that person's name at least 24 hours before the event begins.
We reserve the right to change a speaker at one of our conferences without offering a refund. However, if a solo presenter cancels we will offer a full refund OR transfer of your fee to another Confer event. If the entire event is canceled we will offer you a full refund.
We reserve the right to change our prices at any time. Regrettably, discounts offered after you made your booking cannot be claimed or applied retrospectively.