When Therapy Feels like "Whack-a-mole" Workshop with Matthew Elton

Event price: By donation

Booking details:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/when-therapy-feels-like-whack-a-mole-matthew-elton-tickets-795096323507?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

What do we do when we notice the "whack-a-mole" pattern emerging in therapy? This is the pattern of a client making progress on certain issues, only for new issues to emerge, as if to replace the old ones. Transactional Analysis (TA) provides one way of thinking about this pattern by suggesting it occurs when we work on resolving "contamination" (a cognitive issue) but miss out on tackling "confusion" (a pre-cognitive issue). This distinction can be useful for both clients and therapists, not least because it helps make sense of approaches that, on the surface, don't seem to relate to the "headline" issues the client is bringing.   

The workshop will:  

• introduce some client case studies illustrating the whack-a-mole pattern explain the TA concepts of contamination and confusion in a friendly way 
• talk about how the client's "confusion" can also get the therapist confused and in this way keep the whack-a-mole pattern going discuss the pros and cons of sharing the concepts of contamination and confusion with your clients 
• explore practical ways of breaking out of the whack-a-mole pattern