Relational Emotion Processes in Psychotherapy
By Dr Kevin Keith
About This Webinar
“The essence of psychotherapy is the experience of the therapeutic relationship and using that to alleviate suffering. Descriptions on the written page do not convey the emotional intensity, the connection between patient and therapist and the dynamic flow of psychotherapy.” (Eppel 2018)
This webinar will explore three overlapping relational emotion processes explored first by the Boston Change Process Study Group (BCPSG) - ‘implicit relational knowing’, ‘engagement & a charged other’ and ‘being moved’. The first has emerged as a fruitful application of caregiver-infant interactions (mutually regulatory ones) to adult psychotherapy suggesting a causal role for the therapeutic relationship in adult treatment. The second process, ‘engagement with a charged other’ represents an explicit deepening of the first concept and clarifies three contributions: a) a core positive affective investment; b) prioritization; and c) continuity. In the last of the three, ‘moving through and being moved by’, the BCPSG expands previous work by identifying a shared emotional process depicted as ‘body-based interaffectivity.’ Noteworthy here is how embodiment and meaning making are brought together as part of a single relational emotion process.
Lastly, these key processes will be identified within and tracked across a few case vignettes, built upon the presenter’s experiences in working relationally in a range of contexts, especially time/resource limited shorter-term settings. Participants are also provided opportunities to reflect on their own unique experiences in light of the ideas discussed.
Deepen Your Relational Attunement
Discover how implicit relational knowing and embodied interaffectivity transform the therapeutic moment
THE COURSE CURRICULUM
Relational Emotional Process in Psychotherapy
Understanding Implicit Knowing and Emotional Movement
Understand What Truly Moves Change
Examine how therapists and clients co-create emotional shifts through shared, moment-to-moment processes
About Dr Kevin Keith
Dr Kevin Keith is a counsellor, psychotherapist, supervisor and academic. He has been a therapist for nearly 16 years. He completed his PhD in 2017 at the University of Sydney focusing on theoretical questions around the status of post-infancy preschool developments within Attachment Theory. His academic interests also include emotions research, philosophy of science and the empirical status of longer-term psychotherapy. He also provides professional development to colleagues across several professions. He has been working in the field of mental health since 2005, including 10 years work in the community health sector. Kevin has been teaching counselling In Sydney since 2007.