Self of Therapist and Countertransference

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Faculty

Tammy Nelson, PhD Related seminars and products

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Tammy Nelson, PhD, is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice, a relationship and international speaker, an author, a faculty member and teacher with a Doctorate in Philosophy in Clinical Sexology. She is a board-certified sexologist, a diplomate of the American Board of Sexologists, a licensed professional counselor, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, a registered art therapist, a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist and an Advanced Imago Clinician as well as an ISTI Certified Sex and Couples Therapist.

Dr. Tammy is the author of six books, including Open Monogamy: A Guide to Co-Creating Your Ideal Relationship Agreement (2021), Integrative Sex & Couples Therapy: A Therapist’s Guide to New and Innovative Approaches (2020), When You’re the One Who Cheats: Ten Things You Need to Know (2019), The New Monogamy: Redefining Your Relationship After Infidelity (2013), Getting the Sex You Want: Shed Your Inhibitions and Reach New Heights of Passion Together (2008), and What’s Eating You? A Workbook for Anorexia and Bulimia (2004). She is also the creator of Date Night Card Deck (2023), a TEDx speaker, host of the podcast The Trouble with Sex, and founder and executive director of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Tammy Nelson maintains a private practice and is executive director and primary faculty at Integrated Sex Therapy Training Institute (ISTI) and has employment relationships with Daybreak University and the California Institute of Integral Studies. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc., and she additionally receives royalties from New Harbinger and Sounds True. She is a paid consultant for Evergreen Certifications. Dr. Nelson has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Tammy Nelson serves on the board of advisors for the World Association of Sex Coaches. She is a member of the American Art Therapy Association, American Association of Sex Educators, Sex Counselors, and Sex Therapists (AASECT), American Comprehensive Energy Psychology Association (ACEP), American Counseling Association, American Family Therapy Academy, American Family Therapy Association (AFTA), American Psychological Association (APA), Connecticut Counselors, Imago Relationships International Association of Professional and Certified Therapists, International Board of Sexologists, International Institute for Sexuality and Human Development, Nonfiction Authors Association, Society Scientific Study Sexuality (SSSS), and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR).

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Objectives

1. Identify at least three components of the therapist’s self (e.g., personal values, relational history, implicit bias) that influence the therapeutic process.
2. Differentiate between therapeutic and non-therapeutic self-disclosure and describe the ethical risks associated with inappropriate disclosure.
3. Recognize and apply strategies for managing countertransference reactions through self-reflection, supervision, and consultation.

Outline

Self of Therapist

• SOT Is the therapist’s conscious and unconscious use of their own personality, history, values, emotions, and relational patterns within the therapeutic process.
  • Personal values
  • Relational history
  • Bias awareness

Therapist Self-Disclosure

• When it helps
• When it harms
• Ethical guidelines

Countertransference Defined

• Emotional reactions
• Identification patterns

What do you feel in the room with a client?

• Emotionally
• Somatically 
• Relationally
• What’s in the field?

Common Countertransference Patterns

• Rescue fantasies
• Alignment bias
• Avoidance
• (Trauma triangle)

Managing Countertransference 

• Supervision
• Consultation
• Self-reflection

Skills Practice Exercise 

• The reason the client is here
• One goal they have
• One thing I feel in the room
• One thing I wonder
• One thing I’m doing well

Success

• What does it look like?
• What does it mean to be in relationship?
• Partner selection 
• Who does your partner remind you of more, in positive and negative ways?
• Unconscious choices
• We choose a partner who will help us finish off the unfinished business of our childhood
  • Pursuing --------Distancing
  • Maximizing --------Minimizing
  • Approaching -------Avoiding
  • Expanding-------Contracting
  • By learning how to give our partners what they need, we heal ourselves and them in the process
  • We will seek out a partner in our imaginary drama
• …..one that matches who we believe we need to be

Exercise How does my history with my own relationship affect my work?

• Integration exercise 
• What are the parts you have been compartmentalizing
• What are the parts you have been denying
• What parts of you does it not feel safe to explore

Closing the session

• What is one take away?
• What is one appreciation?

Q&A

Target Audience

• Psychologists
• Physicians
• Addiction Counselors
• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Psychotherapists
• Other Behavioral Health Professionals

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