From Merging & Disconnection To Autonomy & Attachment: Understanding & Healing The Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self Schema

CONTINUING EDUCATION. This program is co-sponsored by the North Carolina Psychological Association and the Schema Therapy Institute Southeast. The North Carolina Psychological Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The North Carolina Psychological Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This program offers 3 hours of continuing education credit.

From Merging & Disconnection To Autonomy & Attachment: Understanding & Healing The Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self Schema

Instructors:  Jeff Conway, MA, LCSW, and Peregrine M. Kavros, PhD

Online Synchronous Webinar

January 19, 2024

9:00 AM ET – 12:15 PM ET

The Schema Therapy Institute of the Southeast (STISE) is pleased to announce this special workshop on the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema, one of the eighteen schemas in the Schema Therapy Model of psychotherapy.

The Enmeshment and the Undeveloped Self Schema, viewed as dependency or codependency, is a powerful Schema experienced by many therapy patients and, at times, their therapists. Unhealed, this Schema is a deep pattern that undermines self-understanding, causes confusion, provokes anxiety around forming close relationships, and limits the ability to function in the world at full potential.

Jeff Conway will explain how the Schema engenders the family system and the impact of cultural variables that influence this Schema. Two unmet needs foster Enmeshment and the Undeveloped Self Schema: Attunement and Autonomy. Jeff will discuss how these needs contribute to developing a strong sense of self and that when these two needs are not met, a person will likely struggle with an "Undeveloped Self."

We will consider what it means to possess a “Developed Self versus an Undeveloped Self.”  Jeff will explore the three main Attachment Styles (Anxious, Avoidant, and Secure) through the Enmeshment and undeveloped Self Schema prism. With this broadened understanding of the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema, interventions and strategies for healing this Schema will be explored with ample opportunity for practice. Drawing upon the change agents of Emotion-Focused Therapy, Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy, and Limited Reparenting (a conceptual framework found within Schema Therapy), we will explore opportunities to enhance autonomy and refine attuned care.

This workshop will interest therapists who need help with their work with one or more clients due to dependency issues. It can also be helpful for anyone working with clients who struggle with interpersonal boundaries, maintaining their limits in their relationships, or challenging the traditional boundaries within the client/therapist relationship. This workshop will provide a different perspective on working with patients struggling with avoidant or anxious attachment styles.

The workshop will offer therapists the opportunity to learn strategies to:

• Heal the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema,
• Weaken the Modes (parts of the self-encompassing emotions, cognitions & behaviors) that perpetuate the Schema and
• Strengthening the Modes that will dissipate this Schema.

The workshop will highlight how leveraging the therapeutic relationship can benefit Schema healing and Mode change. Finally, the workshop allows therapists to reflect on how the Enmeshment and undeveloped Self Schema might impact their personal relationships and professional clinical work and consider individual applications for healing this potent Schema.

Background of Schema Therapy. Schema Therapy is one of the therapies that developed out of CBT. Rather than judging thoughts and emotions, the therapist helps the client explore how they relate to their beliefs, feelings, and processes from a broader developmental and attachment contextual context. Schema Therapy, a culturally sensitive and inclusive developmental treatment model, blends aspects of attachment, psychoanalytic, emotionally focused therapy, object relations, cognitive behavioral therapy, experiential work such as chair mode dialogue and imagery, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness. While treatment goals vary, Schema Therapy heals long-standing emotional and behavioral difficulties in childhood and adolescence, impacting personality, relationships, and wellness.

Dr. Jeffrey Young developed the model while working with Dr. Aaron Beck at the Center for Cognitive Therapy. Dr. Beck proposed the idea of schemas in the mid-1960s as rigid belief systems. When Dr. Young observed that some clients could not respond to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy due to rigorous thinking and complex psychological issues, he expanded the schema concept as belief systems to include modes (maladaptive emotional and behavioral patterns). With Dr. Young’s appreciation of the benefits offered by other psychological systems, he developed an integrative treatment model that highlights attachment, safety, and core needs. While many aspects of Schema Therapy are similar to CBT, Schema Therapy is not CBT. The model integrates experiential techniques and stresses the importance of the therapeutic relationship.

 Schema Therapy is spreading rapidly worldwide, is empirically supported by evidence-based research, and provides a structured developmental framework that facilitates change. For a comprehensive database of the research supporting Schema Therapy, please go to the Schema Therapy Library at the following link:

https://schematherapy.omeka.net/

By the end of this training and certification program, participants will be able to:

 1.      Describe how the unmet needs of autonomy and attunement contribute to developing the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema.

2.      Identify and describe three family roles that contribute to developing the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema.

3.      Identify and describe three other Schemes within the Schema Therapy Model that are often closely related to the Enmeshment and Unrelated Self Schema.

4.      Demonstrate two Schema Therapy Emotion-focused interventions that help heal the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema.

5.      Demonstrate two therapeutic relationship interventions that address the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema.

Instructional Level: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced

Educational Format: Online Lecture, Case Vignettes, Interactive Large and Small Group Learning and Discussion

INSTRUCTORS

Jeff Conway, MA, LCSW (United States), is a founding member of The International Society for Schema Therapy and the current President of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST). Before being elected President, Jeff assumed many roles within the ISST, inspired by a commitment to deepening the understanding of the Schema Therapy (ST) Model. He is Chair of the ISST Committee on Supervisor Skills Training, serves on the ISST Committee for Training and Education, and has been a Certified Advanced Level Trainer-Supervisor since 2008. Mr. Conway has practiced ST in Mid-Town Manhattan for over 20 years, working with Individuals, Couples, and Groups. Mr. Conway is also trained in EMDR, Emotion Focused Therapy, Group Therapy, and Object Relations Theory. He has developed an innovative model for couples therapy and is a founder of The NY Center for Emotion-Focused Therapy. He is also a Certified Group Therapist and leads a Psychotherapy Group for Gay Men and a Psychotherapy Group for Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Jeff has cultivated a particular interest in the Enmeshment and Undeveloped Self Schema and has provided numerous workshops, webinars, presentations, and supervision groups worldwide on this topic.

 Peregrine M. Kavros, Ph.D., MBA, M.Div. (United States), is the Director of the Schema Therapy Institute Southeast in Hillsborough, NC. Her fascination with Schema Therapy evolved from her private practice in New York City when working with clients challenged by complex psychological and sexual problems and health concerns. Dr. Kavros is certified as a Sex Therapist by AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists), ordained Episcopal Priest, and pastoral associate at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Hillsborough. Before moving to North Carolina in 2015, Dr. Kavros held academic appointments at Columbia University and the New York University Langone Medical Center. She serves as Chair of the Ethics and Conflict Resolution Committee. She is an active member of the Training and Certification Advisory Subcommittee and the Couples Special Interest Group. Dr. Kavros is a member of multiple psychological associations, including the North Carolina Psychological Association (NCPA).

 

INFORMATION

January 19, 2024

Schedule:

• Didactic/Dyadic - 9:00-10:30 am, Break – 10:30-10:45 am,
• Didactic/Dyadic – 10:45 am-12:15 pm.
• Credit: 3 hours Category “A” APA Continuing Education Credit Total

Attendance & Housekeeping:  Enrollment will be limited to 40 clinicians

The course slides and handouts will be sent to you by January 15, 2024.

Dr. Kavros will send you an Informed Consent and guidelines regarding the Zoom application of the synchronous online workshop, which must returned by January 15, 2024.  

Attendance Policy: You must attend the entire session to receive credit. Dr. Kavros will give you instructions about attendance attestation at the beginning and end of each workshop. Your video camera must be on for the entire session. No credit will be given to participants more than 15 minutes late at the beginning of any session. No credit will be given to participants who leave before the close of the session. Enrollees are asked not to engage in any other activities on their other devices unless in the case of an emergency.

The course evaluation form and documentation of the attendant’s signature attesting to total attendance at the workshop must be returned by January 22, 2024.

After receipt of the participant’s signature attesting to total attendance at the workshop and the completed course evaluation form, a letter/certificate of attendance will be sent to the participants by February 16, 2024.

Registration: Course – 3-hour workshop

$300 Licensed Mental Health Clinicians (Psychiatrists, Psychologists, MSW’s, LPC’s, LMHC’s, LMFT’s)

$275 NCPA Members

Please complete the registration form at the end of this overview and email it to dr.kavros@peregrinekavrosphd.com.

Please send payment to dr.kavros@peregrinekavrosphd.com via Zelle or dr.kavros@gmail.com via Paypal (if choosing Paypal,

please add $11.36).

Cancellation Policy:   No refund will be given by January 15, 2024.

  By January 5, 2024 – 50% refund

  By January 1, 2024 - 75% refund.

Cancellations must be presented in writing. Space permitting, and at the discretion of the Director, you may be able to apply unused monies you have paid to a future program offered within the next 12 months.

Grievance:  Please feel comfortable expressing all concerns to Dr. Kavros during the workshop that can be addressed or resolved immediately. Please send grievances of a more formal nature in writing to Dr. Peregrine Kavros, Schema Therapy Institute of the Southeast: dr.kavros@peregrinekavrosphd.com. After Dr. Kavros responds to the grievance, she will forward the nature of the grievance and the action taken to the North Carolina Psychological Association.

 

References

Peer Reviewed Articles in the last ten years:

Bacon, I., & Conway, J. (2022). Codependency and enmeshment – a fusion of concepts. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 21, 3594-3603. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00810-4

Bacon, I., McKay, E., Reynolds, F., & McIntyre, A. (2020). The lived experience of co-dependency: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 18(3), 754–771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9983-8

Bacon, I., McKay, E., Reynolds, F., & McIntyre, A. (2021). An examination of the lived experience of attending twelve-step groups for co-dependency. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(5), 1646–1661. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00253-9

Other References in the last ten years:

Conway, J., & Aydagul, M. (2020) Enmeshment and undeveloped self-schema and conflict in non-romantic relationships. Schema Therapy: the official publication of the International Society of Schema Therapy, July 18, 8-15. https://www.schematherapysociety.org/resources/Documents/SchemaTherapy_Bulletin18.pdf

Johnson, S. (2013). Love sense: The revolutionary new science of romantic relationships. Little Brown.

Lancer, D. (2014). Conquering shame and codependency: 8 steps to freeing the true you. Hazelden Publishing.

Perel, E. (2017). The state of affairs: Rethinking infidelity. Harper Collins.

Simeone-DiFrancesco, C., Roediger, E., & Stevens, B. (2015). Schema therapy with couples: A practitioner’s guide to healing relationships. Willey Blackwell.

Tatkin, S. (2012). Wired for love: How understanding your partner’s brain and attachment style can help you defuse conflict and build a secure relationship. New Harbinger Publications.

Other References more than ten years:

Adams, K. (2011). Silently seduced, revised, and updated: When parents make their children partners. Health Communications.

Adams, K. (2007). When he’s married to mom: How to help mother-enmeshed men open their hearts to true love and commitment. Simon and Schuster.

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1978). Attachment and loss, Vol 2: Separation: anxiety and anger. Penguin.

Buckley, P. (Ed.). (1986). Essential papers in object relations. New York University.

Grolnick, W. (2003). The psychology of parental control: How well-meant parenting backfires. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kohn, A. (2006). Unconditional parenting: Moving from rewards and punishments to love and reason. Atria Books.

Edward, J., Ruskin, N., & Turrini, P. (1992). Separation/Individuation: Theory and application. Brunnel/Mazel.

Hauptmann, B., Reeves, C., & Issrof, J. (2005). Donald Winnicott and John Bowlby: Personal and professional perspectives. Karnac.

Levine, A., & Heller, R. (2012). Attached: The new science of adult attachment and how it can help you find and keep love. TarcherPerigee.

Love, P. (1990). The emotional incest syndrome: What to do when a parent’s love rules your life. Bantam Book.

Minuchin, S. (1993). Family healing: Strategies for hope and understanding. Simon and Schuster.

Perel, E. (2007). Mating in captivity: Unlocking erotic intelligence. Harper.

Siegel, D. (1999). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. Guilford Press.

Siegel, D. (2010). The mindful therapist: A clinician’s guide to mindsight and neural integration. WW Norton & Company.

Siegel, D. (2008). The neurobiology of we: How relationships, the mind, and the brain interact to shape who we are. Sounds True.

Siegel, D. (2004). Parenting from the inside out: How a deeper self-understanding can help you raise children who thrive. Penguin Group.

Young, J. E., & Klosko, J. S. (1994). Reinventing your life: The breakthrough program to end negative behavior and feel great again. Plume.

Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner’s guide. The Guilford Press.

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CLINICIANS INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS WORKSHP -

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PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION (PSYCHOLOGIST, SOCIAL WORKER, PROFESSIONAL LICENSED COUNSELOR, MARRIAGE FAMILY THERAPIST, OTHER) -

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Please send payment to dr.kavros@peregrinekavrosphd.com via Zelle or dr.kavros@gmail.com

via PayPal (if choosing PayPal, please add $11.36).