Affect Regulation and Feelings Phobia: The Fear of Feeling Feelings

***This workshop is via Zoom for licensed or pre-licensed mental health professionals only. 2 CEUs are included in the cost. This event will be recorded and sent to all registered participants. Unfortunately, only those who attend live can receive CEUs***

Learning to notice and allow feelings to flow in and out of our experience every day is a big job for every human, but for trauma survivors it is much harder. Humans in this modern world need to learn how to feel their feelings while staying present to them, but they also must simultaneously work towards not hating those feelings as they manifest.

Shame is woven into it with fear and hopelessness and so many other things that no one in their right mind would want to revisit. It can take some getting used to being able to feel your feelings without shaming, judging, or getting dragged into the past by them. So many of us are taught to run away from feelings, it's a part of a very smart survival instinct for creatures who need the constant safety of their caretakers to stay psychologically present.

If clients have faced developmental challenges with thier caretakes, instead of being soothed, many people's emotions are distanced, dissociated, muted down, and self-blamed - all tools of an overwhelmed young mind. When there are no enough soothing moments in between child and parent, whether because the parent was absent or abusive or traumatized, it can be hard to imagine a non harsh or shaming self voice towards those feelings.

In this workshop, you will learn:

1. How to address avoidance and defenses towards feeling feelings
2. How to help clients tolerate difficult emotions while staying present
3. How to use the therapeutic relationship as a bridge to help clients feel feelings

Information about the presenter: Tovah Means, (she/her), MS, LMFT is the founder and co-owner of trauma specialty group practice, Watch Hill Therapy, located in downtown Chicago. She is uniquely trained to work with individuals who are recovering from childhood emotional, physical, sexual trauma, neglect, dissociative process, somatic issues, extreme trauma, and deep soul injuries. Tovah speaks, teaches and consults about treating complex trauma through local universities, group practices, medical practices, and Watch Hill Therapy.

- This is a virtual workshop. Zoom link and details will be sent the week before the workshop.

- 2 CEUs (Psychologists, LMFT, LCPC, LSCW) are included in the cost

- Requirements CEU's are approved by the IDFPR for Illinois Licensed Therapists

- If you are a therapist attending from out of state, please check with your local CEU provider for approval

- Scholarship tickets are available on the ticket page for anyone in need of a reduced fee

- Cancellation policy: Full refund one week before workshop. No refund if cancelled less than a week before the workshop. With notification, you may transfer tickets to another participant if you are unable to attend

Host or Publisher Watch Hill Therapy