presentation

June 18, 2010
Ethics and You: A Relationship You Can Live With
Yvonne J. Owen, Ph.D.

I'd like to talk to you about an ethical dilemma.” When you hear this, what feelings come to mind? Fear, dread, anxiety, interest, anticipation, challenge? We as clinical professionals often have a conflicted response to the topic. The reasons for that are many, including the way in which we have been taught to view ethical questions. We talk of ethical "pitfalls", ethical “dilemmas”, ethical "violations". We understand that our profession has as a foundational piece the ethical treatment of our clients; we also understand that there is an ethical code that guides our actions. And yet, the seemingly simple ethical principles become much more complicated as we move into our own practices, away from the examples given in our ethics classes.

So what’s the problem? Why do so many people struggle in so many ways with ethical dilemmas? How is it that so many mental health professionals fear behaving unethically, wonder if they are “okay” in their practice, sometimes keeping silent rather than sharing a concern with a fellow professional or even with a person from an ethical hot-line? I believe that behaving ethically has all too often been reduced to avoiding “getting into trouble”, dodging the bullet, not getting caught, even though the clinician is unsure of what precisely s/he might be doing wrong.

The practice of behaving ethically can be seen in two ways: one is to avoid violations, the other is to understand the principles behind the ethical guidelines and practice with integrity, based on this understanding. What are these principles? How can we understand the ethical code in such a way that we can move from “not making a mistake” to choosing the right path based on honest self-reflection of our motives?

This workshop will provide the participants with an experience of understanding ethical issues from the perspective of personal integrity. To do that, we will examine personal motives, explore the intention behind the ethical codes, and get in touch with our personal “compass”, which will point the way to an ethical path in a positive, relaxed way. It will be experiential, non-fear based, with open participation. We will explore many ethical situations, to find ways to underscore how to approach practicing ethically without fear.

Yvonne J. Owen, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who has been in private practice for over 30 years. In addition, she was a full-time professor in the Master’s Program in Counseling at Seattle University for 29 years, until her retirement from the university in June, 2009. During that time, she assisted students in discerning the ethical way to practice as they developed from fledgling students to fellow professionals in mental health. Her clinical experience and exposure to ethical dilemmas come from both of these contexts, her own practice and her teaching and supervision of graduate students in multiple settings with diverse populations.

Dr. Owen has also presented locally, nationally, and internationally on numerous ethical topics, and currently does professional presentations on many topics, including the ethical practice of supervision and the ethics of diagnosis. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Washington in 1978, and has been licensed in the State of Washington as a clinical psychologist since 1983. She maintains a private practice in Seattle.

May 21, 2010
Unlocking Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Travis L. Osborne, Ph.D.

A core feature of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a significant difficulty with tolerating doubt and uncertainty. In fact, the majority of ritualized or compulsive behaviors associated with OCD are an effort on the part of the individual to gain a sense of certainty and to eliminate doubt that bad outcomes may occur or that uncomfortable feelings will last forever. Unfortunately, very few things in life can be known with absolute certainty, thus, the quest for certainty on the part of individual with OCD is often never ending. Moreover, the more the individual tries to satisfy OCD’s need for certainty, the more OCD will require the individual to do so. As a result, OCD is often a progressive illness that can consume more and more of an individual’s time and resources. This cycle is often very difficult to break because doing so involves learning to tolerate and live with greater levels of uncertainty and doubt in one’s life.

OCD affects 1 in 40 people, yet few mental health professionals receive specialized training in how treat it. Despite the substantial gains that have been made in the last 20 years with regard to understanding and treating OCD, many individuals with the disorder, and their loved ones, struggle to find adequate and effective treatment. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the science about the factors that contribute to and maintain OCD, as well as evidence-based treatment for OCD. In this seminar you will learn about common presentations of OCD symptoms, the role of specific brain structures in OCD, the cognitive-behavioral model of OCD, as well as gold-standard treatment approaches, including both medication and exposure and response prevention (ERP). Case examples will also be discussed.

Travis L. Osborne, Ph.D. is a staff psychologist and the Director of Quality Assurance at the Anxiety and Stress Reduction Center (ASRC) of Seattle. He has extensive training and experience in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and specializes in evidence-based treatment for anxiety and related disorders in adolescents and adults. Travis has a particular interest and specialization in the treatment of OCD. He is a graduate of the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation’s Behavioral Therapy Institute (BTI), volunteers as a consultant to the OCD Support Group of Seattle, and is the co-founder and co-program director of Camp Deecio, an annual 3-day camp for children and teenagers with OCD. Additionally, Travis is a clinical supervisor for doctoral students in clinical psychology at the University of Washington and also conducts local seminars and trainings on the treatment of anxiety disorders.

April 16, 2010
Inside Gottman’s Research: Couples and Violence
Renay P. Cleary Bradley, M.A., Ph.C.,
Director of Research, Relationship Research Institute

Kaeleen Drummey, B.S., SPAFF Coding Coordinator,
Relationship Research Institute

The Relationship Research Institute (RRI) is a non-profit organization established by John M. Gottman, Ph.D. The RRI conducts research on marriage, couples, parenting, and families. The RRI was created by Dr. Gottman as a means of advancing an ambitious and independent research agenda and to assure that there would always be a place dedicated to sponsoring research on family functioning that is of the highest scientific rigor. Our mission is to enhance the lives of families through research.

Presenters will conclude with a brief description of some ideas for future research directions at the RRI and the next steps that we’d like to take to provide further support for couples and families.

Renay P. Cleary Bradley, M.A., Ph.C. is the Research Director for the Relationship Research Institute. Renay’s work has focused on identification of family-level protective factors that encourage healthy child development and discourage maladjustment. Renay has a special interest in conducting research that provides a solid foundation from which we can develop and implement programs and services that help families. Renay has worked in both clinical and research settings with families that have encountered adversities, such as intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, mental illness, and poverty. Renay also has extensive teaching experience and has taught undergraduate courses at the University of Washington on topics such as Research Methods in Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Stress ' Coping. Renay can be reached at [email protected] or 206-973-3455.

Kaeleen Drummey, B.S., current Coding Coordinator and Trainer of the Specific Affect Coding System at the Relationship Research Institute, has worked with couples, families, and community-based organizations for over 5 years within the fields of curriculum development/implementation and research/assessment. Kaeleen has worked on two randomized clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of marital interventions with couples and parents. Kaeleen is trained in several different coding systems for behavioral analysis, including the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF), a dynamic coding scheme that examines the way in which a couple resolves conflict within their relationship. Kaeleen currently oversees all SPAFF training and coding at the RRI. In addition to overseeing RRI coding and training, Kaeleen has led trainings for professionals both locally and internationally.

March 19, 2010
Emotional Trauma in the Clinical Setting
David C. Hall, MD, Child Adolescent & Family Psychiatrist

Trauma is the great confounder of good mental health. It wears many disguises and impersonates many other emotional and physical problems our patients and clients face.

I will be presenting background information on what constitutes emotional trauma, how trauma memory differs from narrative memory, why some people are more susceptible, and how we attempt to treat it. Think of trauma as an emotional burn: superficial, blistering, or full thickness.

We will look at why there is so much emotional trauma in our communities, some of the costs that trauma imposes on individual and community health, and the cost in lost therapy opportunities when underlying trauma is missed or misread.

ABOUT DAVID: Finally, we will look at both ways to treat trauma at the individual and community level and how to protect against and prevent trauma. Bring a seat cushion. This ride gets a bit traumatic at times.

I trained as a child, adolescent and family psychiatrist over a nine year stretch of medical and psychiatric training at the University of Washington in Seattle, which I completed in 1983. I worked part-time in the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic at Children’s Orthopedic Hospital (now Seattle Children’s Hospital) for nine months, then began a full-time private practice which is now located in the Samaritan Center of Puget Sound.

My web site www.amilyhealing.com and book seek to empower families in emotional distress to find effective ways to heal themselves.

My work gets its inspiration from all the children and families I've worked with since I began working with children and teenagers as a college student.

People coming to me for help have included children as young as two years and as old as eighty-nine.  Most of my work comes by referral from colleagues and former patients.  I have developed special expertise in helping families overburdened by physical brain disorders including depression, moodswings, alcohol abuse, and attentional difficulties.  Many longer term patients grew up knowing the scourge of childhood maltreatment, often as a consequence of parental mental illness.  These families and individuals inspired me to summarize in a book the information I was sharing with them about how to heal themselves and their families. Stop Arguing and Start Understanding: Eight Steps to Solving Family Conflicts, published in 2001, is the result. One parent committed to bringing an atmosphere of love and understanding to the family can create the necessary change if your goals are clear and your strategies are consistent with those goals.

The Rev. Anne Hall and I will celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary in June 2010.  Both our sons weathered their parents well enough and are happily married. Our older son's two boys are now 9 and 6 years old.  Anne is minister for children, youth and families at University Lutheran Church in Seattle.

February 19, 2010
Sleep and Mental Health, A Dynamic Interplay
Dr. Catherine Darley, ND

In my office, many people with insomnia report also being anxious. This is a good example of the way in which mental health problems and sleep disturbances are often seen together. Indeed, it’s a situation where one condition can feed into the other: poor sleep worsens mental health, while mental health problems frequently undermine healthy sleep.

In this discussion we’ll look in depth at a few conditions, including ADHD, anxiety, and depression. There is a strong correlation between these disorders and sleep complaints. For instance, the ADHD population has higher rates of sleep disorders than average. When the sleep disorder is properly treated, a significant percentage of these patients no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD!

It’s not only sleep disorders which undermine healthy sleep, but the simple chronic sleep deprivation that fully 47% of our society experiences. With sleep deprivation people can become more moody, irritable and angry, they are unable to mentally focus, and are physically more accident prone. Aren’t these complaints you frequently hear from your clients?

In the second half of the presentation we’ll discuss the screening questions you can use in your office to assess whether sleep is a contributing factor to your patients’ situation. We’ll also discuss the sleep effects of common prescription and over-the-counter medications, and supplements.

By the end of the event you’ll have a good understanding of the interactions of sleep and common mental health conditions, how to simply assess in your office if further sleep intervention is needed, and how your patients’ medications are influencing their sleep.

Dr. Catherine Darley is a naturopathic physician who specializes exclusively in the care of people with sleep disorders. She has a background in conventional sleep medicine, which she combines with her training as a naturopath to bridge these two worlds. In her private practice at The Institute of Naturopathic Sleep Medicine, Dr. Darley helps people of all ages sleep well. She also provides sleep education to a wide range of groups, from PTAs to health professionals. For corporations she consults on optimal work schedules, alertness and productivity.

January 15, 2010
The Powerfully Addictive Medium of the Internet: Sex, Love and Video Games
Hilarie Cash, Ph.D., LMHC,
Jay Parker, CDP

A lot has happened in the 10 years since Hilarie Cash, LMHC and Jay Parker, CDP, formed their company, Internet/Computer Addiction Services. South Korea and China have declared Internet Addiction (IA) their #1 public health threat; the American Medical Association is seriously considering whether or not to include it in their next iteration of the DSM. The first in-patient treatment facility for IA in the USA has opened. We and our clients are swept up in this digital revolution. What are the clinical implications of these changes? What do you, as clinicians in the digital age, need to know to be effective? The topic is huge, but Jay and Hilarie will attempt to give you enough information that you can assess for an Internet Addiction, make an appropriate referral, or, if providing the primary care, know where to turn for more information and support.

It is our experience that many clinicians, untrained in addictions, look at behavioral addictions like Internet Addiction as simply symptomatic of underlying conditions, like anxiety, depression, Axis II diagnoses, etc. In our opinion, this is a huge mistake. There are usually co-morbid disorders with any addiction, chemical or behavioral. But the addiction itself needs to be addressed and the addictive behavior stopped if the underlying problems are to be successfully treated. Even if abstinence is not achieved, success is more likely if the clinician is always aware of and talking about the need to address and work on the addiction itself. A clinician may have to settle for harm reduction, especially when dealing with video game addiction in a non-abstaining adult. Without 12-step meetings readily available, going “cold turkey” is a tough call for such clients. We are much more fortunate with sex/love addicts, because here in the Seattle area, there is a strong recovery community. A clinician can push for abstinence, knowing there is a community where the addict can receive excellent support, daily, if necessary.

In this training, participants will leave with: 1. An awareness of internet/computer addiction. 2. An understanding of the clinical implications of internet/computer addiction. 3. An understanding of clinical assessment and referral for internet addiction. 4. An awareness of information and resources for clinicians working with internet addiction.

Dr. Hilarie Cash is a psychotherapist in private practice in Redmond, WA. She co-founded Internet/Computer Addiction Services with Jay Parker in 1999, and in 2009 co-founded reStart: Internet Addiction Recovery Program, an inpatient, therapeutic retreat center in Fall City, WA. In 2008, she and Kim McDaniel co-authored Video Games and Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control. She is nationally and internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of internet and video game addiction.

Jay Parker, after a successful career in basketball as a college coach, scout and recruiting specialist, became a LCDC in Houston, Texas in 1994. He first worked for the National Basketball Association's Drug and Alcohol in-patient treatment center and their Aftercare Program. He was then Director of the CBA's Drug and Alcohol Education ' Prevention Program. He started CEU and Training educations programs at West Oaks Hospital and The Right Step Treatment program before relocating to Seattle in 1997 to be an administrator for Lakeside-Milam Treatment Center in Kirkland WA.

In 1999 Mr. Parker joined forces with Dr. Hilarie Cash to create InternetComputer Addiction Services ICAS in Redmond WA. His focus is in the treatment of Sex and Love Addiction. He created a unique treatment model called " No More Secrets". Our program has helped over 120 Men and their families in that time. Mr. Parker wrote and published a book in 2004 " Sex and Love Addiction, My Journey From Shame To Grace", and is a nationally know speaker on this subject.

Contact Dr. Cash and Mr. Parker at 425-861-5504, or via www.icaservices.com.

November 20, 2009
Dance/Movement Therapy, Using Movement in Psychotherapy
Leif Tellmann, MA, ADTR, LMHC

Our first explorations of the world are through movement. Long before we talk, we move. We move through our lives, experiencing in our bodies thought, feeling and memory. Through movement we express our spiritual truths, our communal stories, our personal grief and joy.

The field of dance/movement therapy emerged in the 1950’s as two historically divergent paths touched: the introduction of the body in psychotherapy (an example is Wilhelm Reich’s use of muscular manipulation to address body “armoring” in response to stress and trauma) and the re-emergence of the psyche in American dance, as modern dance choreographers began to use emotional expressiveness as the basis of their work. As modern dance continued to form, some dancers and choreographers began to discover (or perhaps rediscover) the possibility of dance as a healing tool and as a way to better understand not only how we move, but also how we feel and who we are as people.

Since its formation, dance/movement therapy has recognized that the body and mind cannot be separated. While this concept was initially on the fringes of psychotherapeutic thought, addressing the body within the context of psychotherapy has now entered the mainstream, with prominent thinkers in our field embracing the idea. Today, dance/movement therapists use movement in many different ways with many different populations and goals.

This presentation will give an overview of the history and current practice of dance/movement therapy. Using case examples as well as live and video demonstrations I will show some of the various ways movement can be used to deepen and expand the therapeutic process. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a simple movement experiential as a way to broaden their own skills and find new ways to process and understand their work with clients

Participants will leave with: 1. An understanding of dance/movement therapy, its history and how it is practiced today. 2. An understanding of how and why movement is used in the private practice counseling setting. 3. An experience of how we, as therapists, can use our own bodies and movement as a way of deepening our understanding of ourselves, our clients and our therapy process.

Leif Tellmann, MA, ADTR, LMHC is a licensed counselor and dance/movement therapist in private practice in Seattle. He also directs the Creative Arts Therapies department at Kline Galland Home, a skilled nursing facility in south Seattle, and leads community workshops using movement, creativity and group process. Leif’s counseling approach has been heavily influenced by his training in the mindfulness-based Internal Family Systems model as well as dance/movement therapy and Ecopsychology. Learn more about Leif and his approach, and also view his video about dance/movement therapy at www.stillnessandmovement.com.

October 16, 2009
Psychotherapy with Multicultural Couples
Working Effectively with Cultural Identity and Relationship Conflict

Multicultural couples presenting for relationship therapy in a private practice setting are more sophisticated today than was the norm 20 years ago. They are well traveled and comfortable with technology. People become couples via face book, on business trips, while studying or living abroad, or meeting through match dot com, where they then solidify the relationship through email and the ease of international travel.

I encourage therapists not to be wooed by the sophistication of their multicultural clients who appear to navigate so effectively in more than one culture and language. Multicultural clients often minimize their cultural differences, both because they are too close to the problems created by their cultural differences to see the effect on the relationship, and because cultural differences add a second discouraging layer to resolving conflict in the relationship.

This presentation will explore the question “How much of the current problem is cultural and how much is other relationship dynamics?” Participants will leave with an understanding of treatment directions and with an awareness of instilling hope in multicultural clients. Participants will understand the following three concepts:

1. Always assess for cultural identity in transition. Multicultural couples commonly experience a spike in conflict in their relationship when one partner is entering a cultural identity transition and isn’t aware of it. Cultural identity does not remain static but changes through the life cycle. People who have moved internationally expect difficulties of culture shock characteristic of the first year living outside the home culture. What they do not know is that with each life stage transition a person has to grieve culture loss and evolve his/her new vision of mixed cultural identity. What cultural losses or unaddressed expectations are causing conflict in the relationship right now?

2. Assess for ‘Code Switching’ in the couple communication. Many multicultural couples ignore the fact that the power and the cultural advantage of the partner native to the land in which the couple lives never goes away. Under emotional stress, in transitions or times of conflict, a second language speaker will loose facility in both auditory and vocabulary fluency. This ‘code switching’ -- not remembering a word or loosing a phrase so you translate in your head before you speak -- can case shame and resentment. The therapist can assist both partners to explore how ‘code switching’ may be manifesting in the couple conflict and then assist to create strategies to minimize it.

3. The therapist can facilitate opportunities for ‘Cultural Refueling’. Cultural refueling is the process of bringing in more of the home culture when a partner can’t go ‘home’ anytime soon. It can be as simple as a song or as big as your partner committing to language lessons. It is a healing process for one partner to acknowledge the specifics of culture loss right now and for the other partner to commit to a specific accommodation to see it through. A therapist can help a couple co-created a plan for cultural refueling.

Please join me at the October 2009 SCA meeting to further discuss these concepts and strategies. Harriet Cannon, M.C., LMFT, LMHC 150 Nickerson, Suite 203, Seattle, WA 98109 Tel 206 352 1900. www.harrrietcannon.com.

Harriet Cannon is licensed in Washington State as both a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Mental Health Counselor. Ms. Cannon received her Master of Counseling from Seattle University in 1985. Ms. Cannon has been specializing in work with multicultural individuals, couples and families for over 20 years. Her experience includes growing up with mixed cultures and religions, living and working in the United States and South America, and working as a therapist, supervisor, and adjunct faculty at Seattle University and Edmonds Community College. Additionally, she currently does cross cultural training and repatriation risk reduction consulting for individuals who are moving/living abroad and for international businesses.

September 18, 2009
The Clinician’s Guide to Getting Started in Private Practice: Thinking Like a Business Owner
Michelle Bales, MA, LMHC

About the Presenter: Michelle Bales, MA, LMHC, maintains a private practice in downtown Seattle. She draws her experience from over a decade in human services, from the chronically mentally ill, to those seeking self-enhancement. Two and a half years ago, Michelle took the steps towards transitioning from community mental health to private practice. Along with general therapeutic issues, she enjoys working with twenty-somethings, gifted adults, grief ' loss issues, and introverts. In addition, she is passionate about helping others pursue their goal to be private practioners via business consulting and teaching. For more information about Michelle, visit her website: www.michellebales.com.

About the Workshop: Are you scared of delving into private practice for fear of the economy, technological advancements, or because it seems insurmountable? Most practitioners are seasoned at being effective counselors, but weren’t taught how to think like business owners. Some of us also associate the terms “business management” with an unpleasant reaction. This workshop is designed to demystify the process of starting a private practice, and help participants begin integrating a business mindset.

Learning objectives include the first steps toward a private practice, an understanding of the essentials of thinking like a business owner as well as a clinician, and the basics of developing a professional website.