X

Cutting edge of metaphor use

Cutting edge of metaphor use

Workshop Leaders: 
Niklas Törneke, MD
Rikke Kjelgaard, M.Sc.
 
Monday, 24 July 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Tuesday, 25 July 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
(12 total contact hours) 
 
Workshop Description:
 
In ACT, as in many other models of psychotherapy, using metaphors can be a powerful tool for promoting insight and transformation. Our knowledge of the scientific base for this is also continuously growing. As a practitioner, however, it can be challenging to remember the various ACT metaphors, yet alone know where to fit these inside the processes of psychological flexibility. While imagining yourself as a bus driver allowing various passengers on your bus might indeed be both powerful and helpful, sometimes practitioners are struggling to remember what they're supposed to say, when they're supposed to deliver the metaphor and why they're doing it in the first place. This can lead to unhelpful (and irrelevant!) storytelling rather than the fostering of transformational conversations.

This practical and clinically oriented workshop is designed to help practitioners apply the conclusions from basic science in using metaphor in the therapeutic dialogue in a way that supports clinical change. Drawing from the latest metaphor research, participants will learn how to skilfully use as well as create their own mighty metaphors to both impact and transform the lives of their clients. Participants will learn the framework for spontaneously catching and building metaphors relevant to their client, and how to flexibly tweak these to fit central processes of change as well as tailoring these to different therapeutic goals.

Through didactic presentations, live demonstrations and analysis, experiential exercises and roleplays, participants will get the opportunity to learn and practice the why, when and how to flexibly use metaphors as powerful vehicles of change.
 

About Niklas Törneke, MD: 

Niklas Törneke is a Swedish psychiatrist and licenced psychotherapist with more than 30 years experience of clinical work. He belongs to the original group of peer reviewed ACT trainers and is an awarded fellow of ACBS. Amongst other books, book chapters and articles on contextual therapy he is the author of Metaphor in practice. A professionals guide to using the science of language in psychotherapy (2017). 

About Rikke Kjelgaard, M.Sc.:

Rikke Kjelgaard is a licensed psychologist, peer-reviewed ACT trainer, an awarded fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, author, speaker and chief rock’n’roller in her own business. Rikke is on a mission to help therapists thrive and to be brave and authentic helpers. Trained as a clinical psychologist, she has a 15 year background in the science of human behaviour and the practice of behaviour change. Rikke is a popular speaker at the Scandinavian as well as the international stage, and she is known to bring both passion and vulnerability to her talks. She transforms the lives of her audience by bringing evidence based strategies to her listeners in ways that are edible, manageable and impactful. Rikke is known to leave her audience in tears with compelling stories from her own life and to create extraordinary interactions between people.

On completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the place of metaphor in human language
  • Describe the framework by which metaphors are built
  • Implement specific clinical principles in working with metaphors in therapy
  • Demonstrate how to use already established clinical metaphors in a way that is informed by current scientific knowledge
  • Construct new metaphors in a therapeutic dialogue, focusing relevant clinical targets
  • Demonstrate the ability to catch metaphors spontaneously used by a client and use them according to basic principles for therapeutic change
  • Co-create metaphors with a client, as part of a natural dialogue
  • Create at least one metaphor based on their own personal story
  • Tweak metaphors to fit different therapeutic goals
  • Define which metaphors support the core processes of psychological flexibility

Target Audience: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Clinical, Applied, Not Clinical

Components: Conceptual analysis, Experiential exercises, Didactic presentation, Case Presentation, Role play

Package Includes: A general certificate of attendance

CEs Available (12 hours): CEs for Psychologists, BCBA

This page contains attachments restricted to ACBS members. Please join or login with your ACBS account.