67th Annual Conference

Thursday, February 25

All-Day Workshops

10:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. & 2:30-5:00 P.M.

Workshop 3a

Is Your Trauma Showing? The Recreation of Unconscious Traumatic Experience between Co-Leaders

Presented under the auspices of the AGPA Co-Therapy SIG

Chairs:                

Lorraine Wodiska, Ph.D., CGP, Private Practice, Bethesda, Maryland

Barbara Wood, Ph.D., Private Practice, Bethesda, Maryland

We will explore the re-creation of traumatic experience between co-leaders of long-term therapy groups. New concepts, including "traumatic energy" and the "traumatic couple" will be used along with Bollas' idea of the "unthought known" to explain how unprocessed trauma is reflected within the co-leader couple.

demonstration-didactic-experiential-sharing of work experiences

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Describe the concepts of "traumatic energy", the "traumatic couple" and "the unthought known".
2. Construct and utilize a new tool (the Traumagram) to identify areas of possible traumatic conflict that might affect their behavior as group leaders.
3. Identify traumatic dynamics in their co-leadership relationships.
4. Develop strategies for transforming traumatic dynamics so that greater complementarity is achieved between co-leaders.

Course References:

Bollas, C. (1987). The shadow of the object: Psychoanalysis of the unthought known. New York: Columbia University Press.

McGolderick, M & Gerson, R. (1985). Genograms and family assessment. New York: WW Norton and Company.

van der Kolk,B.A. (1989). The compulsion to repeat the trauma: Re-enactment, revictimization and masochism. Psychitric Cinics of North America, Volume 12(2), 411.

Volkan, V.D., Ast, G., & Greer, W.F., Jr. (2002). The third reich in the unconscious. New York: Brunner-Routledge.