We know that a strong therapeutic bond is one of the foundations of effective treatment. Being able to develop a connection with clients involves continuing to hone our instruments, ourselves, through which we deliver treatment to our clients. When we are aware and connected to our own struggles and flaws, we can have even more powerful connections to the wounds of others.  The Person of the Therapist Model, developed by Dr. Harry J. Aponte, is one approach to continuing to fine tune ourselves throughout our professional careers. 

Presented By:
Dr. Cheryl H. Litzke, Ph.D., LMFT

South County Regional Branch - Winslow Twp.

GPS Address:
 35 Cooper Folly Road
 Atco, NJ 08004

6 continuing education hours for MFTs and LPCs

ABOUT THE PRESENTOR

 Dr. Litzke, a practicing couple and family therapist since   1985, has spent much of her professional life teaching and   supervising other couple and family therapists. She spent   20  years as a faculty member in the Graduate Programs in   Couple and Family Therapy at Hahnemann University   which later became Drexel University. During the latter part of this period she was fortunate to be a colleague of Dr. Harry J. Aponte at Drexel where together they administered the Person of the Therapist Training to the first-year students in the Master’s program. Dr. Litzke has many publications (refereed and non-refereed) in the field of family therapy and addictions, feminist theory and motherhood, long term marriage as well as the person of the therapist training model. She has presented at the local, state and national level on these as well as many other topics. In her private practice she supervises individuals and groups using the POTT method. In her own practice she finds herself continuing to fine-tune her instrument, her person, through which she delivers her treatment. Dr. Litzke sees herself as a life-long learner and continues to learn through others about the vagaries and the conundrums of human experience. She incorporates mindfulness techniques into her own personal and professional life and looks forward to her weekly yoga practice.

Workshop Schedule

10:00 a.m. Check-In, Refreshments
10:10 a.m. Morning Presentation
11:30 a.m. Break
11:40 a.m. Morning Presentation (continued)
1:15 p.m. Lunch ~ Included with Registration
2:00 p.m. Small Group Exercise and Discussion
3:00 p.m. Break
3:10 p.m. Case Presentation
4:10 p.m. Case Presentation
5:00 p.m. Closing and Evaluations

Person of the Therapist Model in Context of Change

Morning Session

I. Theories about What Works in Psychotherapy

          a. Two Paradigms of Change and Growth         

                    i. Model Driven Change

                    ii. Common Factors Driven Approach to Change

          b. Family Therapy Model Spectrum

                    i. Models that emphasize external skills (Haley)

                    ii. Models that emphasize internal skills (Bowen)

II. The Model Explained

          a. Steps to Awareness of Self-Articulating and Identifying Signature Themes and How those themes could impact therapy both positively and negatively

          b. Steps to Use of Self to Connect with Client

  c. Steps to Differentiate Self from Client (Establishing Boundaries)

          d. Differentiating the model from therapy

III. Developing Person of the Therapist Competency

          a. Therapy Issues

          b. Supervision Issues

IV. Wrap –Up Exercise

Afternoon Session

V. Wrap-Up Exercise Discussion
VII. Case Presentation
VIII. Case Presentation

Workshop Objectives

1. Articulate the general concepts of the Person of the Therapist Training Model of Harry J. Aponte
2. Explain the differences between this use-of-self model and others such as the Transference-Countertransference Model
3. Learn how to discover the client(s) within oneself while establishing an appropriate differentiation of self from the client(s).
4. Increase awareness of one’s own signature theme(s) and how those may impact the therapy process.
5. Awareness of one’s own and the clients’ personal values and cultural beliefs and how those might intersect.
6. Develop ability to access personal emotions and reactions within the in-the-moment therapeutic transactions.
7. Develop ability to interpret what internal reactions tell them about their clients.
8. Develop the skill to actively use those internal reactions to effectively engage more fully with their clients.