We are living in a fascinating historical moment in which neuroimaging and newly discovered biological markers offer us a greater richness of understanding about the human psyche than ever before. But this presents a great challenge, especially for those of us not trained in biomedical sciences. What is important to know? What implications does this new knowledge have for therapeutic technique? The plasticity of the brain, its capacity for change and for developing new neural networks will be discussed in relation to the wide range of distress which brings people into therapy today.

This workshop will discuss the nature of procedural learning, implicit memory, animal defensive responses and dissociation, as they pertain to affect regulation and the treatment of trauma-related disorders. The presenter will demonstrate 'directed mindfulness' techniques that allow traumatized patients to address past events without further dysregulation. Body-oriented interventions that promote stabilization by working at the regulatory boundaries of the window of affect tolerance as patients' arousal begins to challenge or exceed their integrative capacity will be addressed.

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At this point in history neuroscience is a major catalyst re-organising the whole field of psychotherapy, demanding a new level of reflexivity, interdisciplinary dialogue and revision of established theories. This is not a matter of yielding all authority to science, but rather an opportunity for psychotherapists to examine their theories with a new lens. I will argue that in certain key areas neuroscience and psychotherapy share an interconnected web of ideas. Neuroscience means knowledge of the nervous system; that knowledge is gathered and utilised in a variety of ways, through objective measurements, process analysis, tracking visible bodily shifts or countertransference responses. Neurosensibility could be described as the capacity to embrace both the clinical challenge of being fully alive and sensitive to the intersubjective field and the theoretical challenge of grasping how neuroscience can enrich our model of these processes.

Affect regulation includes not only dampening negative affect and reducing dysregulation, but also expanding affect array and intensity, and amplifying positive affect. The difference between body-oriented techniques that mitigate trauma-related dysregulation and those that help resolve the strong emotions, cognitive distortions and intimacy issues associated with attachment failure will be explored. The use of 'directed mindfulness' techniques that enhance positive affect and capitalize on the intersubjective field to facilitate adaptive regulatory capacities, and facilitate the resolution of attachment-based emotions will be taught.

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Our brochure contains information about Confer events from November 2008 to June 2009. NB this file is very large and may take time to download.

To book a place, either book online or print the booking form and return it to Confer by post.