66th Annual Conference

Friday, February 20

Afternoon Workshops

2:30 - 5:00 P.M.

Master Workshop 57

In the Beginning: Working with Non-Verbal & Symbolic Communication  in Group

Chair:

Phyllis F. Cohen Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA, Chair Advisory Committee, Blanton Peale Institute, New York, New York

Open to participants with more than ten years of group psychotherapy experience

Symbolic and non-verbal messages are means of communication unconsciously utilized by narcissistic patients in group. This workshop will demonstrate examples of such behavior; offer interventions therapists and group members may use to translate these  into words, and role model techniques that lead to verbal communication while simultaneously protecting fragile egos.

experiential-sharing of work experiences-demonstration-didactic

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Identify the variety of forms that symbolic and non-verbal communication may take.

2. Distinguish between physical manifestations as a resistance or a message.

3. Translate the hidden messages given in disguised form.

4. Utilize interventions that will encourage verbalization.

5. Role model such interventions for the benefit of other group members.

Course References:

1. Freud, S. (1914). Remembering, repeating and working through. Std. Ed. 12:147-156

2. ______ (1988). The leader's role in resolving resistances to intimacy in the group setting. Int. J. of Group Psychotherapy, 40 (1):3-17

3. Cohen, P. (1996). Symbolic communication in modern group therapy. Modern Group Vol.1, No.1.

4. Rosenthal, Leslie, (2006) The re-enactment of familial roles as resistance in group therapy. Group, Group, Volume 30.3,  185-204.

5. Adams, Michael Vannoy, (2001). The mythological unconscious.  New York: Karnac.