Conference Breakout Session Information
Small Group Experiential Trainings
Scott Kamilar, Ph.D., ABPP, LP
Scott is a Past President of the Minnesota Group Psychotherapy Society, and has taught and supervised group therapists since 1980. He has led two Process Groups in private practice for over 25 years.
Title of the Small Group Experiential Training
Mindfulness of Body, Speech and Mind in Process Groups
Description
The Here and Now Focus of Process Groups is greatly enhanced by introducing members to the practice of mindfulness meditation and by looking at the group as an opportunity to practice mindfulness of feelings and mindful speech.
Learning objectives
- Participants will be able to facilitate a here and now focus in groups.
- Understand and appreciate how authentic here and now communication requires a state of vulnerability which can arouse anxiety.
- Utilize the concepts and practices of mindfulness meditation and mindfulness in action (eg. mindful speech).
Brief description of your theoretical approach to group leadership
Yalom-style interpersonal
How does your group take into consideration viewpoints from diverse populations and cultural locations?
The group will be an environment in which participants can learn about habitual patterns of relating to people who differ in race, religion, gender, sexuality, class, body type, or politics.
Briefly describe your experience as a group leader
I learned and then practiced group therapy in the Houston VAMC from 1977 to 1989. For over twenty years I have led two Process Groups a week in private practice.
Briefly describe your experience training others to conduct group treatment
I was on the faculty of the Houston Group Psychotherapy Society and for many years taught group therapy to psychology interns, medical students and residents in the Houston VAMC. I taught group therapy at the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology and in clinics and professional meetings. I am a Past President of the Minnesota Group Psychotherapy Society.
LynAnne Evenson, Master of Science LMFT, LADC
LynAnne is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor currently working at M Health Fairview in the Intensive Outpatient Dual Diagnosis and Adult Day Treatment Programs. LynAnne graduated with her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She is passionate about health equity and access to mental health services. LynAnne regularly presents on topics related to social and racial justice, health equity, and culturally responsive care. She currently serves as a Social Justice Committee and an Elections Committee member with the Minnesota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT) as well as a legislative committee member with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota. LynAnne also sits on the board of the Family Hub, a non-profit dedicated to providing trauma-responsive behavioral health services (clinical, educational and supportive) to individuals and families, regardless of resources. LynAnne has over 10 years of providing trauma informed and culturally responsive mental healthcare to her patients.
Title of Small Group Experiential Trianing
Bringing Awareness to Unconscious Bias in Group Settings
Description
An experiential exploration of white supremacy in the therapy room, how we raise awareness of unconscious bias, hold tension, and don't let our patients fall through the cracks in a broken system.
Learning objectives
-Participants will be able to identify current areas of practice where the research shows that there are instances of bias and assess how to bring awareness to their approach
-Participants will process and discuss the discomfort of white supremacy and unconscious bias in the therapy room and its impact on both group leader and group participants
Brief description of your theoretical approach to group leadership
Yalom
How does your group take into consideration viewpoints from diverse populations and cultural locations?
We (Americans) live in a country built on colonization, genocide, and white supremacy, I seek to raise awareness of the conscious and unconscious bias that we (therapists) bring and perpetuate in the therapy room
Briefly describe your experience as a group leader
I am a licensed psychotherapist in Intensive Outpatient Programming at M Health Fairview, I lead a Dual Diagnosis track 5 days per week, and a Day Treatment (mood and personality disorders) track 3 days per week.
Briefly describe your experience training others to conduct group treatment
I regularly present and facilitate groups for professionals on feminism, bias, white supremacy, trauma responsive care, and culturally responsive treatment
Nate Page, PhD, LP
Nate works full time at Carleton College as the Group Coordinator at the Student Health and Counseling in Northfield, MN. Nate specializes in group therapy for college students, and provides group therapy training to mental health professionals. He is the owner of Group Therapy Central LLC (grouptherapycentral.com), directs the Phoenix Project at Carleton College (https://www.facebook.com/carletonphoenixproject/), and leads recovery retreat programs for therapists suffering from burnout and compassion fatigue. Nate has witnessed the damaging impact of burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury among far too many mental health providers and has committed a significant portion of his professional career to helping "heal the healers" that are struggling these concerns.
Title of Small Group Experiential Trianing
Activating and Illuminating the Here-and-now in Your Therapy Groups
Description
Irvin Yalom has continually asserted that the core of group therapy is working in the here-and-now. This experiential group will help you practice both ACTIVATING and ILLUMINATING the here-and-now in a group setting (Yalom describes activation and illumination as the two symbiotic tiers that create therapeutic power). We will practice shifting our group attention from the "there-and-then" to the "here-and-now", from thoughts and feelings about the past/future to those of the present, from generalities to specifics, from the unspoken to the spoken, and from the abstract to the concrete. We will also notice when we are experiencing strong cohesion as a group and explore our barriers when we are feeling disconnected, out of sync, or otherwise struggling to perform meaningful work together.
Learning objectives
-Explain the components of therapeutic here-and-now activation and illumination
-Select group leader interventions to both activate and illuminate the here-and-now
-Identify your own subjective experiences, and explore those of other participants and the group-as-a-whole experiences.
Brief description of your theoretical approach to group leadership
Existential, humanistic/client-centered, and very relational. You could describe my approach to group as a mix of what Irvin Yalom and Carl Rogers might do.
How does your group take into consideration viewpoints from diverse populations and cultural locations?
A significant piece of our here-and-now experiencing is becoming aware of the dynamics created by the conglomeration of our identities, cultural upbringings, and current social norms/expectations. We will call attention to recapitulations of power, privilege, and oppression as they arise in the group. As a group leader, I will be intentional to acknowledge my own identities, biases, and blind spots, which will hopefully model vulnerability and demonstrate openness and willingness to connect even through our differences. As a group we will endeavor to be aware of any microaggressions, unconscious biases, and implicit reactions that could cause harm and work to help the group find reparative experiences. Ideally, we will have several corrective emotional experiences of "RESTORING HOPE THROUGH CONNECTION" (the conference theme). This conference will likely be a predominantly white, cis-gendered, and heterosexual space, and I intend to name these realities and invite all involved to consider how these realities might be impacting us at the conference, and also impacting those that have the potential to join us in future conferences. I also intend to acknowledge the People whose land the University of MN sits on.
Briefly describe your experience as a group leader
I fell in love with group therapy as a graduate student and have since sought out any group therapy related experience that time and opportunity would allow. I have started and ended over 35 groups in a college counseling setting, and I have provided trainings on group therapy at various regional and national conferences. I hope to soon become a Certified Group Therapist through the AGPA.
Briefly describe your experience training others to conduct group treatment
I have been the Group Coordinator at two college counseling centers and I currently provide training and co-leadership opportunities to our graduate trainees at Carleton College. I developed Group Therapy Central, LLC which provides high quality therapy groups for Minnesota residents and training groups and events for mental health clinicians (like this current conference). I run an ongoing online 90-minute Process-oriented Training Group comprised of therapists throughout the US.
Brian Post, PhD, LP
Brian has spent his career working in college mental health with a focus on running process groups. In graduate school he developed a passion for group therapy while managing a research lab that was housed within a group therapy clinic. He currently provides individual and group psychotherapy to University of Minnesota students at Boynton Health, and typically runs 4 process groups each semester. In addition to his training in group therapy, Brian also received post-graduate training in contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy with an emphasis on intersubjectivity and attachment theory.
Title of Small Group Experiential Training
General Process Group Experiential
Description
This two-day process group is devoted to small group teaching primarily in the experiential mode. The secure environment allows for rich cognitive and emotional learning about group processes and about yourself, as well as providing you an opportunity for personal and professional renewal. The group psychotherapy skills gained in this group are important in conducting ANY group, regardless of your theoretical orientation, time parameter or patient population. The group leader will not introduce themes or topics at the outset, but will be curious to explore the here-and-now experiences of group members and the group-as-a-whole. You will be invited to share your thoughts and feelings that arise during our experiential work together. A portion of each session will be didactic.
Learning objectives
-Explain the components of therapeutic here-and-now activation and illumination
-Select interventions that aid in developing group cohesion for groups early in development
-Identify your own subjective experiences as a group member, and explore those of other participants and the group-as-a-whole experiences.
Brief description of your theoretical approach to group leadership
Yalom-style interpersonal process
How does your group/workshop take into consideration viewpoints from diverse populations and cultural locations?
By inviting members to discuss aspects of their identities in the here-and-now with the group.
Briefly describe your experience as a group leader
In graduate school I spent five years training to be a process group leader under the supervision of a certified group psychotherapist. I have been independently facilitating multiple general process groups each semester for UMN students since 2013.
Briefly describe your experience training others to conduct group treatment
Over the past 10 years I have trained both graduate students and licensed professionals to conduct group psychotherapy.
Jon Lewis, PhD, LP
Jon Lewis is a clinical psychologist who currently facilitates groups in adult partial hospitalization program at a local hospital. His group experience spans outpatient, intensive outpatient, and inpatient treatment settings. He is an active member of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), and regularly attends their annual national conference. He also completed AGPA's Certified Group Psychotherapists (CGP) training program, and has a strong interest in training group therapists. His clinical interests include attachments concerns, personality pathology, and psychodynamic psychotherapy
Title of Small Group Experiential Training
It's Easier to Ride a Horse When It’s Going In the Right Direction - When to speak, and when to observe, as the group leader
Description
Knowing “how much” or “how little” to talk is a very challenging bind for almost all group therapists (especially beginners!). As such, this Small Group Experiential will be focused on participating and identifying the various stages of group formation, with an ensuing discussion of ways in which the group leader can help foster group connection, and ways in which the group leader can hinder connection or “get in the way” of group formation and pursuance of group goals.
Learning objectives
Participants will be able to:
1. Identify the “felt” experience of a group moving in-and-out of group development stages, and how group leader interventions affect this movement
2. Discern certain types of interventions that will move members towards or away from one another
3. Identify client resistances that inhibit group development
4. Identify leader-specific behavior that can help or hinder the progression of a group.
Brief description of your theoretical approach to group leadership
Interpersonal, group-as-a-whole
How does your group/workshop take into consideration viewpoints from diverse populations and cultural locations?
As a group leader, I value taking the time to understand individual clients’ (and the group-as-a-whole’s) cultural experiences in an open and humble manner by inviting them to discuss how our cultural differences affects cohesion and safety within the group. As group leaders, I believe it is imperative that we attend to how our demographics affect clients and patients in ways that we not only often misunderstand, but those that are often outside of our vision. Though recognizing my privileged societal status can be difficult and leave me feeling vulnerable as a group leader, only then can I reach a new level of compassion and empathy that helps me relate to my clients in a deep and authentic way.
Briefly describe your experience as a group leader
I have conducted group psychotherapy in a wide variety of treatment settings such as inpatient units, partial hospitalization programs, and intensive outpatient programs. Although most of my group experience lies in relational-process groups, I also have experience with structured psychoeducational (e.g., DBT, ACT) groups. I continue to attend the American Group Psychotherapy Association annual meetings, part of which involved completion the AGPA Certified Group Psychotherapist certification course.
Briefly describe your experience training others to conduct group treatment
My primary group training/supervisory experiences have been supervising pre-doctoral interns and practicum students on the theory and practice of group therapy.
Additional Small Group Experiential Training offerings will be posted here soon!
Workshops (90 minutes on Saturday afternoon)
Information on our workshops is coming soon...!