Lead by Aisling Curtin, M.Sc., Reg. Psychol., Ps.S.I.
8 weeks
Wednesdays, January 18th-March 29th (No trainings on 15/2/17, 8/3/17, 15/3/17)
7:30pm-9:15pm (Ireland & UK)
8:30-10:15pm (Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy)
2:30-4:15pm (East Coast U.S.)
11:30am-12:15pm (West Coast U.S.)
FAP promotes the development of open, genuine, and intimate therapeutic relationships as a powerful road to therapeutic change. As such, conducting FAP involves not only theoretical knowledge – of how and why the relationship can shape change – but also the therapist’s willingness to be, again and again, in an authentic self-disclosing relationship with real skin in the therapy game.
This therapeutic intimacy requires therapists to develop self-knowledge; the ability to take strategic risks and be vulnerable with clients; and the ability to be emotionally close – expressing genuine emotional reactions with awareness and care. In FAP, these personal practices are deployed therapeutically within the principled framework of the FAP Five Rules.
The objective of this Online Training is the cultivation of our capacities for awareness, courage, and therapeutic love. We will engage in a series of experiential exercises and genuine interactions with each other and, in parallel, we will apply these personal exercises in our work with clients. We will aim for personal and professional development.
To learn more about FAP, its clinical applications, and its evidence-base,see www.faptherapy.com.
Contact Aisling at aisling@actnowpl.com with questions about the group or to register.
Topics will include: Five guidelines and concrete exercises to increase connection and intensity in your therapeutic interventions; functional analysis to help you decide the most effective techniques for clients with diverse histories and issues; when commonly used interventions can be inadvertently counter therapeutic; how to make the hidden meanings of your clients’ communications more visible; and how to best use yourself as a potent agent of change. PowerPoint presentations, session transcripts, discussions, and experiential exercises will serve as teaching tools. You will have the option of presenting and getting feedback on your own clinical work. Weekly homework assignments that generate self-disclosure and risk-taking will further facilitate your learning process. Homework will take 2-4 hours per week to complete.
About the Leader:
Aisling Curtin, M.Sc., Reg. Psychol., Ps.S.I, is a registered counseling psychologist and co-director of ACT Now Purposeful Living based in Dublin, Ireland. A peer-reviewed ACT Trainer, she has been training others in FAP since 2012 and ACT since 2010. Aisling is co-editor of Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender and Sexual Minorities (New Harbinger publications). She is known for her enthusiasm, passion, humor, authenticity and her capacity to make complex concepts easy to understand and apply.
Technical Requirements: You will need a high speed Internet connection, a webcam, and a headset with microphone to use with your computer.
Informed Consent: Both professional and personal development are emphasized in this group. The personal component involves exercises and homework assignments that facilitate self-exploration, self-disclosure and risk-taking. These are designed to cultivate FAP skills of awareness, courage, and therapeutic love and include the sharing of life stories, weekly risk logs, and loss histories. This will be an intense bonding and personal growth experience, and is suitable only for those who are willing to be interpersonally vulnerable. Space is limited to 10 participants per group.
Fee: €585 or 650 USD. A sliding fee scale or payment plan is available to students and others with limited means. Payment can be made via PayPal to Aisling Curtin (aacurtin@tcd.ie).
What previous training group members have said:
“I am MUCH more aware of my avoidance patterns, professionally and personally. And, there is something about taking these risks that, among other things, highlights with great clarity the FREEDOM I have in the world – freedom to change, freedom to stay stuck.”
“I’ve LOVED doing the assignments; seeing you model a way of being that pulls for deepened engagement; being inspired by others’ risks; and appreciated feedback on my case. I gained confidence that this use of technology can be useful; gave me some specific exercises I have already started using with clients; reaffirmed that loving deeply in and of itself is transformative. This has been an extraordinary experience.”
“I have been consistently impressed and to a large extent surprised at the closeness and the intensity I have felt with the members of this group over the last seven weeks. The thing about being authentic and transparent for our clients– we have been able to practice that here under the safety of a close knit group that has come to rely on one another to learn about ourselves, each other and how to “be” in a therapeutic relationship with our client. The fact that we are working over the internet and that at times we have had technical problems have in no way compromised the tightness and the goal directedness of the group. I have looked forward to the intimacy and the sharing each and every week.”
“Learning how to “be” in a therapeutic relationship has been one of the most valuable “take home” ideas the group has given me…The help I got on my case has truly been transformative for me…I feel I have gotten to know you and the others thru this incredible technology which has allowed me to get access to you and learn about FAP from the horse’s mouth. I cannot thank you enough for arranging this consultation group.”
“I have been impacted in a very profound way, both professionally and personally. …I have become more in touch with my desire to link my personal self and my professional self that is more real, more human, and more present. The weeks with all of you have enriched my life so much, both personally and professionally. Your kindness and spirit have transcended technology, and have been a healing and broadening force in my life.”
“I saw demonstrated ‘live’ with my colleagues, the benefits and effects of contacting stagnant emotions…I got to meet people I may not have met otherwise, and got to know them better than many I see every day…This has been a life-changing experience.”
