We are excited to announce that JAAR is bringing Christiane Sanderson back to Jersey on Friday, 19th, and Saturday, 20th April 2024, 09:30-16:30, at the Royal Hotel, David Place.
Christiane Sanderson is a former senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Roehampton, of London with 30 years of experience working in the field of childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence and complex trauma.
She has delivered advice and training for parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, therapists, counsellors, the police and faith communities.
Her research interests span trauma informed therapeutic practice, PTSD, Complex Trauma, CSA, domestic abuse and Narcissism. She is the author of Working with Survivors of Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Guide to Therapeutic Support and Protection for Children and Adults; Counselling Skills for Working with Shame, Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma: Healing from Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse, Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 3rd edition, Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse, The Seduction of Children: Empowering Parents and Teachers to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse, and Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma, all published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
She has also written The Warrior Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Sexual Violence; The Spirit Within: A One in Four Handbook to Aid Recovery from Religious Sexual Abuse Across All Faiths and Responding to Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: A pocket guide for professionals, partners, families and friends for the charity One in Four for whom she is a trustee.
We will be providing two full days of training courses.
Friday 19th April Day One:
The Trauma Counsellors Toolbox: Exercises and Techniques to Aid Recovery and Healing from Complex Trauma
As trauma tends to be stored in the right brain counsellors need a range of therapeutic tools to facilitate right brain based engagement. This workshop will provide an opportunity for professionals working with survivors of complex trauma to add techniques and skills to their toolbox. It will combine awareness of safe trauma therapy with a range of tried and tested exercises to use with clients who have experienced complex trauma. Through the use of real life case studies practitioners will be encouraged to develop case formulations and engage in a series of right brain based experiential exercises such as nesting dolls/Russian dolls, play therapy techniques, Sand Tray, constellation work etc. working with hidden parts and shame, family constellations, and grounding skills counsellors will be able to develop and enhance their existing skills and add new techniques to their therapeutic repertoire.
This is a full day with lunch and refreshment included. Price per person £150
Saturday 20th April Day Two:
Reclaiming Sexuality after Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Sex and Sexuality
This workshop will explore the impact of child sexual abuse and sexual violence on emotional and physical wellbeing as well as compromised sexuality. It will identify some of the problems that prevent healthy and happy sex after sexual violence such as fear of intimacy, fear of certain sexual activities and interactions, lack of desire, blocks to sexual arousal, dissociation, sexual shame, compulsive masturbation and compulsive sexual behaviour, as well as the use of pornography and cybersex. The workshop will explore the range of sexual and intimacy cues than can trigger fear and how to break old associations, and sensate focus to enable survivors to reclaim their body and restore sexual pleasure. It will also examine the role of the practitioner when working with survivors of sexual violence and emphasise the importance of practitioner awareness of their own sexual history, experiences and sexual scripts, and their capacity to talk about sex without embarrassment or judgement. Through experiential exercises, participants will be able to develop a deeper understanding of both their own and their clients relationship to sex and sexuality and learn how to feel more comfortable when talking about sex without evoking feelings of shame.
Topics covered will include:
- The sexual script
- Impact of child sexual abuse and sexual violence on sexuality
- Shame and sexuality
- Sexual difficulties and how they can be managed
- How to reclaim sexuality after CSA and sexual violence
- Talking about sex with clients and what this evokes consciously and unconsciously in both client and therapist
Narcissistic Injuries and the Traumatised Narcissist
Narcissists are commonly characterised as grandiose with a sense of entitlement, self-importance, and arrogance, and yet they are often very fragile, and suffer from intense alienation, emptiness, powerlessness and existential ennui.
in some instances they may exhibit an extremely famished sense of self and almost boundless hunger for mirroring that can only be assuaged or soothed through the attention and validation from others. of narcissistic injuries – the development of narcissistic traits that co-existed with impaired attachment in childhood, leading to in the structure of the self.
Narcissistic injuries are primarily attributable to unmet mirroring needs in childhood and lack of empathic attunement, or due to severe traumatisation, abuse or neglect. Such injuries can also occur as a result of relational trauma in which a child is excessively idealised and not seen or accepted for who they are; but seen as an extension of the primary caregiver. It is imperative for therapists to fully comprehend the underlying dynamics of narcissistic injuries, so they can effectively interpret the apparently contradictory behaviours of such clients. We need a better understanding of the linkages between relational trauma, unmet mirroring needs and expressed narcissistic traits – so we can remain empathic when working with narcissism and provide a non-shaming therapeutic space. Why do they consider fear, shame or sadness as intolerable signs of weakness and why do their actions turn more malicious when they feel most insecure?
- Attachment Theory accounts for narcissism as a defence against vulnerability. We will consider organised and disorganised attachment insecurity; especially avoidant attachment which is denigratory of neediness, and the concept of counterdependency
- Attachment insecurity manifested as pathological narcissism may impact on relationship boundaries, both professional and personal; especially in the context of being either the partner or the child of a person who uses narcissism as a defence
- Core gender norms and the ways they influence how boys and men gain acceptance into and maintain their position within the masculine tribe. In particular, we will focus on gender role socialisation and how the dominant ways of demonstrating masculinity and maintaining male privilege in our culture are created, acknowledging that these dynamics are often used as a means of disconnecting from others
- These stereotypical behaviours can lead to particular kinds of male unhappiness, poor mental and physical health and avoidant ways of coping – we consider the implications of these on narcissists and their interactions with others
- Can relational trauma induce narcissism? What are the underlying dynamics that we need to comprehend?
- How can we conceptualise narcissism on a spectrum, ranging from domineering and extroverted to introverted and neurotic?
- The linkages between narcissism and narcissistic injuries to early childhood trauma, neglect and relational trauma (as explained through Kohut’s Self Psychology)
- The key distinctions between healthy narcissism and dysfunctional narcissism – including the traits we need to be able to identify
- The role of shame and dissociation in the development of narcissism and the implications this has for the therapeutic relationship
This is a full day with lunch and refreshment included. Price per person £150
SPECIAL OFFER When attend both day the price per person will be £250