I've had the opportunity to coordinate a two-day strand titled Therapeutic Experience for the upcoming Northwest Regional conference of the Association for Experiential Education. The conference will be March 26-28, 2010 at The Firs in Bellingham, Washington.
The use of experiential learning is becoming increasingly relevant in mental health and human services fields. In this special strand, we'll explore ways to integrate experiential learning into the new journeys of our clients by examining practical skills and theoretical concepts for using experiential activities in our clinical works. This track includes workshops of particular value to therapists, counselors, and others in the helping professions. However, the sessions are open to anyone with an interest in the clinical applications of experiential learning.
Friday, 1:30-5:00 - Motivating Change, presented by Monika Parikh & David Flack
The therapeutic journey requires maintaining significant motivation to change. We’ll start our own learning journey by looking at ways to sustain motivation for change, basics of Motivational Interviewing, and the role of autonomy, mastery, and purpose in motivating change. In addition, we’ll consider practical ideas for integrating motivational theory into experiential activities in clinical settings. Special attention will be given to working with mandated clients and resolving resistance.
Saturday, 9:00-10:30 - Facilitating the Therapeutic Experience, presented by David Flack
In this hands-on workshop, we’ll examine the theoretical considerations of facilitating experiential education in clinical settings and exploring practical ideas for using experiential activities to increase group cohesion, illustrate therapeutic concepts, practice new skills, and improve self-efficacy. Special attention will be given to facilitator intentionality and strategies for helping assure transfer of learning.
Saturday, 10:45-12:15 - DBT & Substance Abusing Teens, presented by Lauren Baird, Mark Noakes, & Cathy Moonshine
This workshop will include a brief introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills. In addition, the majority of the workshop will entail instruction and demonstration of tools staff can utilize with adolescents in treatment programs. The workshop will provide fun, practical, and useful strategies that can be implemented immediately to teach DBT skills. We will discuss application of these therapeutic techniques in a variety of settings (e.g., wilderness, residential, and private practice).
Saturday, 1:30-3:00 - Playing Catch Up, presented by David Flack
Trauma, abuse, neglect and addiction can negatively impact lives, relationships, developmental progress, and even neural functioning. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll journey to the cutting edge of therapy and neurobiology to discover how experiential activities and other interactive treatment approaches are well suited to helping our clients catch up developmentally, cognitively, and emotionally.
Saturday, 3:15-4:45 - The Therapeutic Backpack, presented by David Flack
How many clinically appropriate activities can you do with some tossables, a dozen floor markers, a deck of cards, and a few other inexpensive props? In this workshop, we’ll find out as we sample a variety of activities requiring only a small assortment of props that are inexpensive, multi-functional, and easy to store! In fact, everything we’ll use easily fits into a standard backpack. In addition, we’ll spend some time processing our own new learning throughout the Therapeutic Experience strand.
For more information or to register, go to the NW AEE website.
