Anxiety, fear and panic are at the heart of the vast majority of symptoms which bring people into psychotherapy. These fear-based symptoms interfere with productivity, relationships and pleasure by leading to patterns of avoidance, rituals, depression, anger, addiction or even disorganization of the self. Early experience is crucial to the development of basic security versus anxiety. We will look at the development and treatment of anxiety from a number of perspectives: attachment theory, trauma theory, neuroscience, and others. While there is a convergence in these perspectives, each offers a unique contribution. Further, the emphasis will be on "the what and how" of treatments, demonstrating them whenever possible, because the experience of the process is impossible to fully convey through descriptions alone. Our presenters, many of whom are Academy members, are seasoned psychotherapists and bring a practice-based focus. We expect that you will leave with new knowledge, greater self-awareness, and a desire for more.
Our keynote speaker is Louis Cozolino, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University, and author of, The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy (2003), and The Neuroscience of Human Relationships (2006). As both a clinician and an academician, he integrates the practice of psychotherapy with neuroscience in a very accessible way, even for non-science types. His warmth and respect of the other, informed by his knowledge of how the brain works, are evident in his approach to each patient.