Session #: 718-413
Presenter(s): Brent Atkinson
Session Length: 2 hr. 00 min. Event: 2008 Networker Annual Symposium Date: March 13-16, 2008
We've all seen it: warring partners can let go of blame, judgment, and rage, even achieve important insights, during one session and then return a week later as angry, miserable, and mutually hostile as ever. The new brain science of couples therapy suggests that weekly doses of sanity may not last because both partners are too caught up in deeply conditioned emotional reactions, usually rage and fear, that are triggered by any perceived mistreatment from the other. What's a therapist to do, besides live with the couple 24/7? This workshop will demonstrate techniques that couples can themselves practice at home between sessions to recondition and soothe their too-easily aroused nervous systems. You'll discover the pivotal role of repetition in working with brain states and learn a variety of ways—including the use of customized audio recordings—that can help partners influence their own neural programming and activate the brain states that reduce defensiveness while enhancing intimacy and emotional connection.
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