Para-verbal Communication in Psychotherapy Beyond the Words

Presentation by James Donovan, PhD, Kristin Osborn, LMHC, Susan Rice, LICSW

In this workshop we’ll study para-verbal communication in psychotherapy with the aid of videotape excerpts. There are no conceivable risks to the participants nor to the client or therapists on the tapes. We'll report on our research which includes observations and assessments of clinicians and clients in psychotherapy sessions. We'll introduce five coding scales that attendees can use within their own practice for supervisory purposes. We’ll explain how our research is only in the beginning stages and requires replication and input by other investigators. We’ll explain how we foresee few risks to patients if we pursue these ideas to understand how to improve overall treatment.

Learning objectives:

1. Describe how to search for para-verbal clues that underlay the psychotherapy interchange

2. Discuss how to include non-verbal observations and interventions into their work

3. Examine how to evaluate whether non-verbal interplay has increased the effectiveness of their treatment

Wednesday, October 5, 2016 | 4:00 – 6:00 pm

BW16 | 2 CE Credits | $25*

*Open to the professional community and the public for FREE | No CE Credits | Pre-registration required.

Jim Donovan, PhD, Associate Professor, Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School is the founder and co-director of the Behavioral Health Fellowship at Atrius Health Care in Boston. He’s published two previous books and some 20 papers mostly on the subject of couples therapy.

Kristin Osborn, LMHC, is a lecturer (part time) at Harvard Medical School, Director of the HMS Psychotherapy Research Group and the President of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association. She offers trainings and consultations in North America and Europe on affect in psychotherapy.

Susan S. Rice, LICSW, in private practice in Boston and Concord, MA for 30 years focuses her work on family and individual therapy.