Eckhard Roediger
Eckhard Roediger (MD), born 1959, neurologist, psychiatrist and psychotherapist. Trained in psychodynamic and cognitive-behavior therapy. Formerly Director of a Psychosomatic Department of a clinic in Berlin (GER), since 2007 working in Private Practice and Director of the Schema Therapy Training Center in Frankfurt (GER). Member of the ISST Board since 2008, past-President and now honorary member. Author of books on schema therapy for couples and integrating an ACT-perspective into Schematherapy.
Empathic Confrontation: A Live Demonstration / Two Approaches
Co-Presented with Wendy Behary
We may feel sorrow while witnessing the pain and struggle of our clients – but empathy is not sympathy. We may feel compelled to repair, comfort, and heal – but empathy is not compassion. Empathy is the experience of “knowing” that includes and goes beyond intellectual sense-making; a bone-deep, skin-felt, resonance that acts as an important prelude to necessary confrontations in treatment – for pattern breaking, limit setting, as well as fortifying connection. Empathic confrontation is an essential part of the therapy relationship in schema therapy. While many schema therapists transition easily into limited reparenting and rescripting roles, confrontation can often remain a challenge. Yet, we know that to adequately meet unmet needs, we need to effectively confront and bypass rigid coping modes and strident inner critics; to set limits, forge connections to the vulnerable child, and fortify the therapy relationship. In this LIVE demonstration (with an actor playing a narcissistic client), Wendy Behary will share an elaborated version of the conventional empathic confrontation, while Eckhard Roediger will demonstrate a contextual approach.
Present moment awareness: the heart of Healthy Adult mode and a key to resource activation.
Most psychological problems are related with dysfunctional thinking patterns like dwelling in the past or worrying about the future. In these states, clients are driven by schema activations and not in the present moment. Unfortunately, we can only change the present moment. Acceptance and Commitment therapy offers processes to deal with this thinking distortions. After a short introduction of a simplified, dimensional mode model, the participants will get a vivid presentation of techniques „pulling“ clients into a present moment awareness as a first step of Healthy adult functioning. This creates a safe harbour in therapy when working with difficult clients too. The lecture is meant to stimulate the clinical practice and raise interest for a contextual way to apply schema therapy.
Healing Relationships: Schema Therapy for Couples - The modular approach
Co-presenting with Eva Frank-Noyon
Working with couples is a challenging and complex issue. To reduce the complexity and make the interpersonal dynamics in the therapy room manageable, based on the book “Schema therapy with couples” (DiFrancesco, C., Roediger, E., & Stevens, B. (2015). Oxford-New York: Wiley) we developed a module based, strategic approach providing the therapist with a road map to stay on track when going gets tough. The pivotal idea is to focus on the mode cycle the couple displays in the therapy room. The setting combines conjoint and individual sessions.
The key steps are stopping the cycles, connect them with the model, access underlying hidden needs and bring them on stage for a more balanced and functional behaviour. To deepen emotional bonding we use imagery techniques and connection dialogue skills support perspective change, mutual understanding and problem solving.
Learning objectives: We will introduce the interactional theory model, the intervention modules and the outline and first results of the ongoing couples study. The participants will get a vivid impression about the module-based approach including a video snip of a conjoint imagery rescripting session. We will do two small exercises in triads too. After the workshop, participants will be able to decide if they want to deepen their knowledge in this Schema therapy-specify.
Target Audience: Beginners interested in understanding, how interpersonal interaction patterns (so called mode cycles) work, can be identified and changed in a goal-directed and easy-to-apply way.