Expired Understanding the Transference-countertransference Dyad: Implications for Praxis in Adult and Play Therapy (6CEUs)

BC Play Therapy Association holds workshops throughout the year to help advance the education of Play Therapy Practitioners and related professions. These usually revolve around a specialized speaker teaching a subject of importance to the advancement of play therapy as a therapeutic practice.

The BCPTA is thrilled to be hosting a workshop by the highly respected Jungian therapist and teacher Pohsuan Zaide, PhD, RCC. Many clinicians, particularly play therapists, are highly influenced and inspired by Jungian theory, while at the same time struggle with the complexity and seemingly inaccessible academic nature of the theory. The demonstrated brilliance of Pohsuan Zaide is her ability to bridge this gap – her teaching style makes the depth of Jungian theory accessible, understandable and applicable to modern life. She knowledgably supports learners to extend Jungian wisdom from explorations of inner psyche to real world issues and areas of activism. This is sure to be a rich workshop in which attendees of all degrees of familiarity and comfort with Jungian theory will leave with a deeper understanding of the transference-countertransference dynamic in all of their interpersonal affiliations- both in the play therapy room and out. With Pohsuan as our guide, we look forward to learning new strategies and delving into satisfying relational depths with all of you!

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Pohsuan Zaide, PhD, is an adult education instructor, group facilitator and therapist in private practice. She received her doctorate in Jungian studies from Saybrook University (San Francisco). She is passionate about bringing the visionary work of the Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung out of the clinical-academic world into public arenas such as education, social and environmental activism, and peace work. Using a depth psychological approach, she focuses her clinical practice on helping individuals through difficult life transitions, past traumas, and issues related to meaning, purpose and vocation.

ABSTRACT

Transference and countertransference are psychodynamic processes that occur within the interpersonal psychic field surrounding all relationships. Acknowledged or not, they generate affects and drive behavior that can be detrimental to the goals of therapy. This seminar explores this dyad’s theoretical origins in psychoanalysis, and examines its implications for the praxis of adult and child psychotherapy.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

The transference-countertransference psychodynamic lies at the heart of the therapeutic alliance between analyst and patient in psychoanalysis, and it is also an unconscious yet potent force between non-analytic practitioners and their clients. Indeed, this psychodynamic exists in the matrix or field of all interpersonal affiliations. While within the praxis of psychoanalysis the relative importance of working with the transference varies depending on theoretical allegiance, most agree that working with one’s own countertransference is critical.

Within non-analytic praxis, awareness of these issues brings to therapists more awareness of 1) their own vulnerabilities to transference projections, 2) the potential for negative countertransference onto their clients, and 3) transference effects that can obstruct the progress of therapy. Through professional development, ongoing supervision, and personal therapy, they will be more able to manage these archetypal, multidirectional processes that exist within the interpersonal relational matrix.

This seminar will provide an overview of how transference-countertransference is managed in analytic praxis, and discuss how analytic insights can enrich and enhance non-analytic praxis in adult and play therapy.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the theoretical origins of and contemporary developments concerning the transference-countertransference (C-CT) psychodynamic.
2. To understand the structure and dynamics of the psyche as the matrix from which the C-CT dyad arises.
3. To get an overview of strategies used in psychoanalysis to work with the transference, and to extrapolate insights that can be useful to non-analytic practitioners.
4. To understand the centrality and influence of the therapist’s role in the therapeutic relationship vis à vis the countertransference.
5. To learn some strategies for working with therapist countertransference.
6. To get an overview of manifest C-CT issues in work with children and adolescents.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Play therapists, family therapists, psychologists, social workers, school counsellors, and other mental health professionals working with children, adolescents and families will benefit from this training. The workshop is designed for mental health professionals who already have basic play therapy training.