Session I
1.5 CE Credits all courses
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Re-engaging Withdrawn Partners in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy
Course Level: Advanced

In distressed couples, often one or both partners have withdrawn emotionally. Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, an empirically-validated treatment, re-engages withdrawn partners by exploring underlying emotions and attachment needs, helping the withdrawer express these needs, and helping the partner accept this statement of needs, thus deepening their connection. Discussion and videotapes will be used.

Nancy Gardner, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice in Westlake Village. She has post-doctoral training in psycho­analytic psychotherapy, family therapy, and couple therapy. She is certified in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) and is an EFT Supervisor-in-Training. Dr. Gardner teaches Couple Therapy at CSPP/AIU in Los Angeles and is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She chairs LACPA’s Couple Therapy Special Interest Group (SIG) and is a Past-President of LACPA.

 Karen Shore, Ph.D., a Past-President of LACPA, practices in Santa Monica. She has certificates in psychoanalysis, group psychotherapy, and couple therapy and is certified in and offers su­pervision in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. She teaches group therapy at the Wright Institute, a class in dreams at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanaly­sis (ICP), and has provided supervision for the Wright Insti­tute, ICP, the Maple Center, and Valley Community Clinic.

Treating Adolescents During Parents' Divorce and Remarriage
Course Level: Advanced

This workshop focuses on helping single-parent, divorced, and remarried families during adolescence. Interventions will be taught that connect adolescents with their par­ents when marital relationships are ending, and new love relationships are beginning. This workshop will present families across cultures, religions, and sexual orientation through clinical examples and film clips.

John W. Bakaly, Ph.D., maintains a pri­vate practice in Pasadena specializing with children, adolescents, and their families; is a full-time, core faculty member and Associate Professor at CSPP-LA at Alliant Inter­national University; is the Upper School Psychologist at Polytechnic School; and is a LACPA member.

Mind under Matter: The Psychology of Hoarding
Course Level: Advanced

Recent popular media attention to hoarding has increased awareness of this debilitating condition as a major public health problem. A hoarder’s stuff can literally take over an entire living space to the extent that it becomes uninhabitable and a safety hazard. Only effective treatment can prevent the negative conse­quences of compulsive hoarding.

 
Jenny C. Yip, Psy.D., is a distinguished innovator and educator of OCD treat­ment within the family system. She developed her own innovative treatment modality integrating mindfulness, Strate­gic Paradoxical Techniques, and CBT in the treatment of severe OCD and related anxiety disorders. She has presented her work at national and international conferences, provides training in her areas of expertise, has published articles, and consulted on documentaries and ma­jor film productions on OCD.

Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia
Course Level: Intermediate

Clients present with issues related to sleep as a primary or secondary problem. This workshop will cover the three key components of CBT programs for sleep. Psycho-education/ sleep hygiene, cognitive restructur­ing, and sleep restriction components will be taught in a user-friendly format.

Joel Becker, Ph.D., is the Director of Cognitive Behavior Associates and the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Institute, Beverly Hills. He is a Clinical Profes­sor of Psychology at UCLA, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Bio-behavioral Sciences, UCLA Medical School, and a fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

LGBT: From Cultural Competency to Advanced Perspectives
Course Level: Advanced

Attendees will learn fundamental ways to practice LGBT cultural competency, including how to affirmatively treat LGBT people. Dr. Watkins will present his expertise, “Object relations, codependency, and a gay man.” Dr Costine will present her expertise, “Lesbian liberation: Releasing yourself from the chains of heterosexism and internalized lesbianphobia.”

Lauren Costine, Ph.D., is a clini­cal psychologist, educator, writer, and activist in private practice with offices in Santa Monica and West Hollywood. She has also played a pivotal role in the development and management of Antioch University Los Angeles’s LGBT Specialization in Clinical Psychology, one of the first programs of its kind in the country. She is an Associate Faculty member and instructor in both the Masters in Psychology and LGBT Specialization program.

Bruce R. Watkins, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist. He is a member of APA and CPA and is Co-President of the Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association. He has been an Assistant Professor at UCLA, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and an Adjunct Professor at CSPP-LA and Ryokan College. He has been in private practice in Westwood for the last 37 years.

Romantic Love as an Agent of Growth
Course Level: Intermediate

Romantic love can change people’s lives. This presentation addresses how romantic love mitigates isolation, fosters an expansion of the sense of self, and recovers a repressed capacity to love. Contrasts are made between romantic love, affectionate bonding, and carnal love. Willful sur­render versus masochism is discussed. Opera and film vignettes illustrate psychological points.

Daniel Paul, Ph.D., is a Supervising and Training Analyst at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS). He is a Member of the International Psychoanalytical Association and the American Psychological Associa­tion. He is senior faculty at LAISPS and at the Wright Insti­tute of Los Angeles. He is in private practice in Beverly Hills.

Session II
1.5 CE Credits all courses
10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Self-Disclosure: The Therapist’s Two-Way Mirror
Course Level: Intermediate

Experts vary widely on the ethics, benefits, and negative aspects of therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy. This workshop will evaluate WHEN, HOW and IF to self-dis­close along with the positive and negative consequences. Research about client and therapist impressions, current standard of care, ethical principles, and relevant client-therapist relationship aspects will be examined.

Pamela Harmell, Ph.D., is a national­ly-recognized lecturer specializing in legal and ethical issues in clinical practice. She is a full-time Professor at Pepperdine University, is past Chair of the CPA Ethics Committee, Past President of the Board of Psychology, serves on LACPA’s Ethics Committee, and is a Past-President of LACPA. She works with couples and individuals in West Los Angeles.

Development of Aggression and Violence in Chil­dren and Adolescents: An Ecological Approach
Course Level: Intermediate

Relational aggression and bullying behavior have severe consequences for both the victim and the bully. This presentation will address the development of aggression, the associated trajectories, and pathological outcomes. Treatment options from a systemic perspective will be discussed (e.g., home, school, political).

 
Stephanie Mihalas, Ph.D., NCSP, completed her advanced training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is cur­rently an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and is the founder of The Cen­ter for Well-Being: Psychological Services for Children, Youth, and Families. Dr. Mihalas specializes in early intervention and bullying in children and adolescents.

Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Course Level: Advanced

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is described as the disease of “imagined ugliness.” Sufferers obsess over flaws in their appearance that are minimal or nonexistent, seek endless cosmetic procedures, and even conduct self-sur­geries. Crooked mirror externalization therapy, involving “fun house” mirrors, is a new cognitive-behavioral ap­proach that has been successful for BDD.

 
Eda Gorbis, Ph.D., LMFT, is Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psy­chiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, where she has treated the most refractory cases of OCD and OC Spectrum Disorder for 18 years. She received extensive training in OCD treatment with Edna Foa, Ph.D., in 1994 and has integrated successful treatment modalities for OCD, PTSD, and Social Phobia in her approach to Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Her high success rate has been a topic on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, 20/20, MTV, and numerous local news channels.

Is Lack of Sex in Relationships Inevitable?
Course Level: Advanced

Lack of sexual desire is the most common sexual com­plaint facing couples today. Is this a sign of low differ­entiation? This workshop will report research findings regarding sexual desire and differentiation. Practical impli­cations for clinical practice will be examined. Differentia­tion-based and non-differentiation based strategies will be discussed and compared.

Susan Regas, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Family and Couple Clinical Psychology Emphasis area at the Califor­nia School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles. She has presented internationally and nationally on the differentiation-based approach to sexual, relationship, and intimacy prob­lems. She has co-authored the Crucible® Differentiation Scale and the Crucible® Sexual Relationship Inventory.

Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Countertransference with Difficult Patients
Course Level: Intermediate

A condensed overview of classic psychoanalytic papers on countertransference, emphasizing issues of how difficult patients affect and organize the receptive capabilities of the treating therapist will be presented. A small group method uses consensus reactions that highlight how the patient’s communicational style affects the therapist. Clinical vignettes will be used as illustrations.

A Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of California, Joseph Aguayo, Ph.D., holds UCLA doctorates in clinical psychology and European history. In full-time private practice in Los Angeles, he holds psy­choanalytic fellowships that have allowed him to merge his clinical and research interests by specializing in the history of psychoanalysis. His book is forthcoming: The Clinical Klein­ian Development in London: 1918-2008.