Context:

Most therapists arrive in our work with a hypersensitivity to others, and in training we can learn important skills which allow the development of empathy, mentalizing and helping people feel safe, and held in mind. This is a vital skill, especially for anyone who has suffered trauma.

We need nervous system recalibration and safening, and feel relief when we are understood. Yet, while feeling safe and within our window of tolerance is a prerequisite for good therapeutic outcomes, it is not sufficient. We also need to know when it is safe to push people beyond their comfort zones, to allow sufficient stress for real growth to occur. This can require challenge and take us and our clients outside of our safe and tolerant spaces.

This workshop will look at an aspect of venturing outside clients’ comfort zones – specifically when empathy is important but not enough.

Training Content Summary:

We will start by looking at the developmental roots of empathy, what it is, how and why it develops and what can go wrong.

We will look, for example, at how trauma and neglect can reduce empathic capacities. We will see how empathy is so important.

We will then go on to think about situations when clients need challenge, the times when we and they need the courage to move out of our comfort zones.

We will think about the kinds of challenges that are appropriate and safe, and which can be triggering. Central to this is the idea that we all use defences to avoid feelings, and the defences can get us into trouble, often in the form of symptoms.

We will think about how, if the feelings are born and managed, the defences can come down and symptoms dissipate, but that this can only happen with a degree of discomfort.

The training will be delivered using slides, video, case example and there may be an opportunity to do some experiential work.

About Graham: 

Graham Music is a psychotherapist, trainer, author and supervisor. He is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist at the Tavistock Centre where he has worked for over 20 years, and he has been adult Psychotherapist for about 35 years.

Formerly Associate Clinical Director of the Tavistock Clinic’s Child and Family Department, he has developed many innovative programs, including setting up services in over 40 schools and a range of services working with the aftermath of child maltreatment and neglect. His clinical specialty for decades been understanding and working with trauma. He supervises and teaches nationally and internationally and has a particular interest in linking cutting-edge developmental findings with therapeutic practice.

His publications include  Nurturing Natures: (2024, 2016, 2010), Respark: Igniting Hope and Joy after trauma and depression, (2022), Affect and Emotion (2022, 2001),  Nurturing Children: From Trauma to Hope  (2019), The Good Life:  (2014) as well as co-editing From Trauma to Harming Others (2022).

CPD ACCESS PASS

This workshop counts as 3.5 CPD hours as part of the CPD Access Pass 12 hour allowance. The Access Pass is a key part of The Sunflower Network’s commitment to providing affordable and accessible high quality CPD to our peers, and can be bought by individuals who have joined our free Sunflower Hub multi-disciplinary resource.

CERTIFICATES & RESOURCES

The ticket price includes any handouts the trainer may wish to share with you – which will be sent out AFTER the event has taken place – and a CPD certificate. Please note: The decision to share any content either during or after the event always rests with the trainer as the owner of the intellectual property, which The Sunflower Network will respect and honour at all times.

ETHICAL CONDUCT AT SUNFLOWER EVENTS

It is a requirement that all participants adhere to ethical conduct in the context of events including:

• Respect for Sunflower staff, trainers and other attendees
• Adherence to policies and procedures
• Maintaining confidentiality and privacy
• Sensitivity to complex issues being discussed

Anyone in breach of these threshold requirements may be removed from an event and could be unable to attend further events in the future. This is to safeguard the staff and participants as well as to enable quality assurance for the safety and wellbeing of all attendees.

In booking an event these criteria are agreed to in principle and committed to in practice.

RECORDINGS:

Please note – The Sunflower Network does not record events for purchase or view at a later date nor permit recordings of the event to be made. All our events are ‘as live’. This is to safeguard the nurturing and contained environment we create online in order to maintain our culture of safe, private and supported interactivity and sharing.

UNCREDITED USE OR REPLICATION OF CONTENT SHARED:

On behalf of the trainers we work with, we do not allow content shared during our CPD days to be replicated or used in any way without due credit to the copyright owner. Doing so without previous consent may result in exclusion from further Sunflower events.

CERTIFICATES & RESOURCES

The ticket price includes any handouts the trainer may wish to share with you – which will be sent out AFTER the event has taken place – and a CPD certificate. Please note: The decision to share any content either during or after the event always rests with the trainer as the owner of the intellectual property, which The Sunflower Network will respect and honour at all times.

WAYS TO PAY

Payment in advance in instalments is also possible to arrange directly with us. To discuss possible discounts for groups / teams or for an individual booking multiple events, alternative ways to pay and /or to arrange an invoice for your place of work to pay for you please email [email protected] for further details.

VAT

Please note that from 1st January 2024 we are required to add VAT onto all our services. This will be added at the point of payment on the website or onto your invoice if you choose to pay in instalments and we cannot make any exceptions.

Booking Terms & Conditions

All bookings to be paid in full except where private arrangements have been made to pay in instalments and agreed by us. Tickets &/ or any instalment payments are non-refundable once payment has been made. You can re-sell or transfer your ticket to another attendee up to 24 hours before the event opens – as long as we have notice in writing with their name. On request The Sunflower Network Ltd. may be able to help advertise and/or facilitate any re-sales but this will incur an admin fee of £15.00 to cover our costs including subsequent charges we receive from the ticket providers. Please note The Sunflower Network Ltd. cannot ever guarantee a successful re-sale and responsibility for finding a new purchaser remains with the original ticket holder at all times. No transfer or refund will be considered for a ‘no show’ on the day of the event nor should you choose to leave the event early.

If you are booking a ticket as part of a discount offer, only ONE discount can be applied to a ticket at any one time.

The Sunflower Network Ltd. reserves the right to make changes to the booking terms and conditions, the timetable, content and/or any events at any time due to unforeseen circumstances. In the event of cancellation by us and if we cannot offer an alternative date, we will refund the cost of the ticket price for the event in full. We will not be responsible for any further cost incurred by you in relation to your booking.