The Transformative Power of Optimal Stress:

From Cursing the Darkness to Lighting a Candle

Online - April 3 - 30, 2017

Long intrigued by the idea that superimposing an acute injury on top of a chronic one is sometimes exactly what the body needs in order to heal, Martha has come to appreciate that, so too with respect to the mind, the therapeutic provision of “optimal stress”—against the backdrop of an empathically attuned and authentically engaged therapy relationship—is sometimes the magic ingredient needed to overcome the inherent resistance to change so frequently manifested by clients with longstanding emotional injuries and scars. And so it is that Martha, over the course of the four weeks, will demonstrate the transformative power of “superimposed” optimally stressful psychotherapeutic interventions specifically designed “to precipitate disruption in order to trigger repair.” By prompting clients to tap into their inborn ability to self-heal in the face of optimal stress, strategically formulated interventions—that alternately challenge (when possible) and support (when necessary)— will therapeutically induce healing cycles of defensive destabilization followed by adaptive restabilization at ever-higher levels of integration, functionality, and resilience.

Learning Objectives –

1.  Elaborate upon the transformative power of optimally stressful interventions that precipitate disruption in order to trigger repair

2.  Demonstrate a working knowledge of the differences between defensive reactions (“cursing the darkness”) and adaptive responses (“lighting a candle”)

3.  Explain the importance of prompting clients to tap into their intrinsic ability to self-correct in the face of optimal challenge

PPP17-1 | 18 CE Credits | $450

The Center for Psychoanalytic Studies offers a unique opportunity to learn online from world-renowned leaders in the field. Our faculty lead four-week, 18 CE credit courses that combine online lecture, threaded discussion, assigned readings, independent work, and a final live one (1) hour webinar.

Martha Stark, MD, Faculty, Harvard Medical School; Adjunct Faculty, William James College and Smith College School for Social Work; and Former Faculty, Boston Psychoanalytic Institute and Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis.  Author: Working with Resistance; A Primer on Working with Resistance; Modes of Therapeutic Action; The Transformative Power of Optimal Stress; and Psychotherapeutic Moments.  She is Co-Director (with Andrea Celenza, PhD) of The Center for Psychoanalytic Studies.