return to What's New?  return to Conferences

Albert Pesso and Diane Boyden Pesso
Present PBSP
at the Pre-Conference Institute I - Psychomotor Therapy
for the
Psychological Trauma Conference
sponsored by

The Boston University Medical School
Department of Psychiatry

in cooperation with,

 
The Trauma Center,
A Program of Arbour Health System and
The Continuing Education Program at
Massachusetts Mental Health Center

PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA Maturational Processes and Therapeutic Interventions March 20-21, 1998 March 19, 1998 Course and Institute Directors Bessel a. van der Kolk, M.D. Terence Keene, Ph.D. Lawrence E. Lifson, M.D. at The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel Boston, MA

Pre-Conference Institutes March 19, 1998 Institute Directors Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D., Lawrence E. Lifson, M.D.

Institute Workshop I: Psychomotor Therapy
Albert Pesso and Diane Boyden Pesso

Therapists dealing with traumatized individuals have been struck by the degree to which  memories of trauma seem to be experienced as bodily states and sensations that may have little or no verbal representation. Many traumatized individuals have found that a variety of psychotherapeutic techniques which incorporate work with bodily states can be quite helpful, both in the stabilization of symptoms and the working through of traumatic experiences. Using techniques that resemble those of former Harvard Medical School Professor Psychiatry, Elvin Semrad, M.D., Albert Pesso and Diane Boyden Pesso have developed a body/mind therapy system that consists of body-desensitization techniques and "micro-tracking" of bodily movements and sensations that are thought to reflect ongoing cognitive and affective processes. Using touch and action in controlled role-play may allow patients to re-work and control their bodily reactions and behaviors. This is an experiential workshop that demonstrates the techniques of "micro-tracking" and  live demonstration of individual therapy using group members for participant controlled role-play. This course is designed for all mental health clinicians and those in related fields.

Institute Workshop II * Understanding Trauma and Memory in Clinical and Forensic Settings
Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D., Daniel Brown, Ph.D., Glenn Saxe, M.D., Rose Zolteck-Jick, J.D.

This Institute will review research on the differences between recollection of ordinary and traumatic events and apply this understanding to traumatized children and adults in clinical and forensic settings. The available epidemiological, psychological, and biological research of traumatic memories, amnesia, suggestibility, and memory distortion will be reviewed. Particular attention will be paid to the central role of dissociative processes in PTSD, which affect how memories are organized at different stages of development. This workshop will review the psychobiology of memory and recent brain imaging studies that may clarify how the central nervous system organizes traumatic memories. The implications that having a history of trauma will tend to bias a person's perceptions in the direction of threat will be examined.  Through case discussions, the implications of the research findings will lead to a better understanding  the nature and treatment of traumatic memories in clinical and forensic settings.  This course is designed for all mental health clinicians, lawyers, judges and all those in related fields.

The objectives of these institutes are to review the research of how trauma affects memory and explore the differences between recollections of ordinary and of traumatic events; and to explore recent advances in psychotherapeutic techniques for the treatment of traumatized patients.

Registration inquiries should be directed to (617) 522-0073 (information line available 24 hours a day)
All other inquiries to: Jean Fierro, Program Coordinator of the Continuing Education Program at Massachusetts Mental Health Center (617) 734-1300 x489, Fax: (617) 232-4570 or email: jfierro@warren.med.harvard.edu

return to What's New   return to Conferences