Embodied Mindfulness & Countertransference 

In clinical practice, our capacity for embodied mindfulness is an essential element of reverie and attunement and the key to awareness of countertransference - which can either help propel the work forward or create an impasse.  Honing one’s ability to read and receive patient’s somatic experience helps increase awareness of the therapeutic dance and the ability to effectively utilize countertransference. 

This small group retreat will combine clinical learning and somatic awareness with the intuitive nature of horses. You will have an opportunity to engage the reflective ability of equines and gain tools for the office. Come and experience how embodied mindfulness can move ourselves, clients, and the work, forward.

This program is designed to offer mental health professionals an opportunity to:

• Improve your ability to identify and utilize your countertransference.
• Enhance your clinical effectiveness – and have a good time while doing it.
• Learn ways to use embodied mindfulness in clinical practice.
• Participate in experiential exercises and discover how working with horses can quickly illuminate dynamics and provide immediate opportunities for growth and change.
• Experience a day of learning and rejuvenation in a natural and healing setting.
• Bring more joy and resonance to your life and your practice.

This is a unique, outdoor retreat for mental health professionals utilizing experiential (no riding) interaction with horses.

The workshop leader, Vallerie E. Coleman, Psy.D, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. She is the founder and Clinical Director of Stand InBalance, and also maintains private practices in Westlake Village and Santa Monica, CA. Dr. Coleman specializes in helping individuals and couples improve their lives and relationships through psychoanalytic psychotherapy and equine assisted psychotherapy. Her work is based in a combination of object relations theory, attachment theory, and sensorimotor psychotherapy. She has been on faculty at Loyola Marymount University and the Newport Psychoanalytic Institute.