This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the IADP conference. This year's theme was Ego Training for Dynamic Development. The conference was a fascinating and rewarding experience. On the first day, we had the opportunity to listen to an excellent series of lectures by Dr. Hashimoto and Dr. Kotani on the need for training resilience in our egos, followed by case studies and clinical research.
Dr. Hashimoto's talk skillfully combined quantum physics with the development of the ego, which Dr. Kotani took up in his skills-based lecture. During that talk, we had the opportunity to practice accepting, catching, and holding the client's emotional experiences, and through role plays, we gained significant insight into how our "client" perceived our engagement with them.
On the second day, the morning was given over to the Edward L. Pinney Memorial Talk by Dr. Ushijima, who stressed the need to address changes in family structure when working with adolescents. This was followed by two fantastic training workshops by Dr. Ralph Mora, Dr. Shimada, and Seth Aronson, both of whom focused on the process of the intake of clients within a psychodynamic structure and the use of house tree person as an effective tool for assessing a clients state. Dr. Shimada gave the participants a chance to roleplay this experience, both as the therapist and as the client. Both workshops provided significant insights into best practices, and I particularly felt like I gained a lot from the experience.
We finished the conference with a talk on the psychology of war, followed by clinical case supervision.
I cannot give enough credit to the IADP for an excellent conference. Not only did they work hard to make every lecture and session accessible, but they also provided translation services for the foreign contingent, refreshments, and guidance when needed. I am looking forward to participating in the conference again next year.
If you want to learn more about the organization, please go HERE.
As always, if you have any mental health concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for a free consultation.
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