Healing the Impact of Relational Trauma:
Perspectives on Development and Treatment

Friday – May 6, 2011

Harper College – Wojcik Center

Palatine, Illinois 60067

CEU – 3 credits offered

Time: 9:00 am–12:30 pm

Fees: $75 per person through April 20, 2011

$65 per person for groups of 2 or more (registration must be at the same time through
April 20, 2011)

$85 per person after April 20, 2011

CEU: This program is approved for 3 continuing education units by the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter for LSWs, LCSWs, LPCs, LCPCs, and LMFTs in Illinois

Payment:

Core Therapy Associates, Ltd. accepts personal or business checks, MasterCard, VISA, Discover, and purchase orders from government institutions.

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellation requests must be written and received via fax or regular mail 7 business days prior to the seminar. All cancellations are subject to a $25 fee. No refunds will be made less than one week prior to the seminar.

Click here to download a registration form.

Shame in the Context of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Maintaining Attachment in Therapy

Grace Tomas-Tolentino, PhD, LCSW

Shame is a core affect arising from the experience of childhood sexual abuse.The persistent use of protective mechanisms to ward off the overwhelming affect of shame highlights the powerful impact of shame on the self. The treatment focuses on helping survivors recognize these mechanisms and understand the functions they serve in their survival, their role in coping with shame, as well as their role in maintaining relationships with others.

The skillful use of countertransferential feelings is crucial in recognizing manifestations of shame in therapy. The therapist's affect and responses are tied to the manner in which shame becomes revealed or kept away. In treatment, the alleviation of shame depends upon the accepting gestures from the therapist. The increasing awareness of shame through empathic reflection decreases the use of defenses to manage this painful affect.

This seminar introduces a conceptualization of shame in relation to the experience of childhood sexual abuse. Specifically, this seminar will highlight relevant concepts in clinical work that will increase understanding of the development, impact, and treatment of shame in the context of the abuse experiences.

Grace Tomas-Tolentino, PhD, LCSW is the founder and director of Core Therapy Associates, Ltd., a group private practice providing treatment to children, adolescents, and adults with a primary focus on survivors of childhood abuse and neglect. She specializes in PTSD, dissociative disorders, self-injury, eating disorders, and works with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She provides individual and couples psychotherapy, and facilitates psychotherapy groups for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Her treatment orientation is grounded in relational and attachment perspectives – focusing on the origin of both intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. She offers individual supervision and consultation to mental health professionals.
Dr. Tomas-Tolentino recently presented at the 28th International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISST-D) Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. She has written and presented on topics including childhood abuse, domestic violence, shame, dissociation, projective identification, and countertransference.

Healing in the Wake of Revictimization and Retraumatization

Rebecca Carter, MS, LCPC

Trauma survivors, particularly survivors of complex trauma, often utilize the safety of the therapeutic process to explore the incessant and often distressing question as to "why" they continue to be victimized by others and why the world around them seems to frequently replicate their traumatic experiences.

Helping trauma survivors find movement in the immobilizing wake of repeated trauma can feel like a daunting task as a therapist. It requires the therapeutic harmony of the therapist's continual awareness of their own emotional reactions along with the development of a client-directed discussion about the impact of repeated trauma and exploration of related needs.

In this seminar we will discuss and explore the impact of revictimization and retraumatization on the therapeutic process and how as therapists we can remain empathic observers to our clients as they navigate the depth and breadth of their traumatic pasts. We will focus on the crucial element of the therapists' self-awareness in addition to how we can assist our clients in their own process of emotional self-inquiry in order to gain a better understanding of their needs related to revictimization and retraumatization.

Rebecca Carter, MS, LCPC provides therapy to both individuals and couples. She specializes in the treatment of childhood abuse, domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, grief and loss, sexuality, chronic pain and illness, body image, depression, anxiety and relationship concerns. She has experience in providing therapy to both adults and adolescents from diverse backgrounds providing services with sensitivity toward gender, sexual orientation, religion and cultural background. She offers consultation for mental health professionals with an emphasis on the recognition and treatment of compassion fatigue.

Ms. Carter facilitates a therapeutic process of becoming mindful of our experiences and how they affect us emotionally, physically and spiritually so that we can live to our fullest potential. She assists her clients in reclaiming the inner voice that so often gets lost in the complexity of past, present and anticipated relationships and experiences.