On Autonomy (SK6)

by Jeff Conway

Abstract:

Autonomy is a core need of all people and an active ingredient in the creation of vital and trusting relationships. When our need for autonomy is well-met, we feel more empowered, more assured, better able to build competencies and enabled to be fully ourselves in all our relationships. We also believe that when this need is not adequately met in childhood and adolescence, the development of such Early Maladaptive Schemas such as Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self and Dependency/Incompetence are a likely outcome. Schemas like these incapacitate our ability to develop to our fullest potential and can render relationships with others a restrictive, joyless experience instead of a source of deep human connection, comfort and fun and a foundation for expanding and deepening a sense of self. This talk hopes to contemplate and celebrate the beauty of autonomy and the possibilities for growth and fulfillment that the cultivation of this essential need can help create.

About the Presenter:

Jeff Conway

Jeff Conway, MS, LCSW is the current President of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST). He is a founding member of the ISST and has served in several roles for the ISST since its foundation. His previous Executive Board position was Training Coordinator from 2018-2020. He continues to be a Schema Therapy Trainer and Supervisor and has cultivated a training niche for understanding and effectively treating the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema. He has written about this schema and provided several workshops and supervision groups on this topic throughout the world. Jeff is also a founding member of The NY Center for Emotion Focused Therapy and is trained in Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), an innovative couple’s therapy model, based on Attachment Theory. He is also a Certified Couples Schema Therapy Trainer and Supervisor and just completed a new online ST Couples Training Program in March of 2022. Other areas of training and experience include the treatment of early childhood trauma, and Object Relations Theory and Group Therapy Models. He resides in New York City where he has a private practice, working with individuals, couples, and groups.