Agency, Will, and Desire as Core Affective Experiences in AEDP

an AEDP New England Seminar
at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum in Lexington, MA
with Eileen Russell, PhD

This workshop will explore the possibility that there is a more pure experience of the self as being effective and agentic (sense of agency) that underlies adaptive action tendencies associated with many emotions we process in AEDP.  We will explore in more detail the difference between maladaptive and adaptive core affective experiences and look at them in the context of development (in the negotiation of autonomy vs. shame) and AEDP concepts of Self-at-Best and Self-at-Worst as well as the Self-in-Transition.  These questions will be examined in light of resilience, defined in AEDP as the self’s being on behalf of itself in either conservative or transformative ways and the possibility that sometimes something other than safety is required to help people move from self-protection to self-actualization.

Related to the above but slightly separate will be an exploration of the potential down sides of the now widely used trauma lens to understanding psychopathology.  How much do we potentially undermine and underestimate people’s strength and capacities by an over-focus on trauma?  The application of Attachment Theory and studies of mother-infant caregiving to psychotherapeutic encounters has emphasized the role of attuned responsiveness and empathy in the therapeutic relationship.  But attachment and parenting look different with older children.   Is it possible that our compassion can contribute to people remaining stuck?  In this context we will look at parent-toddler secure attachment relationships and what they tell us about the importance of boundaries, autonomous exploration, and expectations to the healthy development of a secure self.

Finally, we will discuss instances in which two fundamentals of AEDP – empathy and authenticity- conflict and what we do in those situations.

Videotapes of actual sessions will be used to illustrate work with these issues.  There will be ample time for discussion around these emergent issues in AEDP practice and participants’ sharing of clinical examples from their own work will be welcomed.

By attending this seminar, you will learn:

• How agency, will, and desire are important manifestations of State 2 adaptive core affective experiences
• How helplessness, despair, and hopelessness are manifestions of maladaptive core affective experience
• The work of restoring resilience involves helping people move from resistance to transformance in being on behalf of the self
• Exploration of what we learn clinically by understanding Erikson’s task of autonomy versus shame
• Exploring attachment and security in older dyads and the need to support autonomy and effective action on behalf of the self
• Examining the down side of an over-focus on trauma
• Exploring the need for something other than safety to help people let go of constrictive defenses
• Exploring when therapist authenticity collides with empathy and what to work with that creatively

By attending this seminar, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive core affective experience.
• Define sense of agency and will and how those may manifest clinically.
• Acquire language to help move people to more adaptive coping and connection to their own sense of agency.
• Understand the importance of thinking about attachment as something that is responsive to the developing needs of a growing child and young person and how the relationship needs to adapt to the increased capacity of the individual
• Name instances in their own practice in which they experience a collision between empathy and authenticity and develop AEDP ways of addressing those impasses in their work.

Meet the Presenter

Eileen M. Russell, PhD

Eileen M. Russell, PhD, has been trained and supervised intensively in AEDP since 1996 by Diana Fosha, PhD and Jenna Osiason, PhD. In addition, Dr. Russell is trained in EMDR and in Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing. Dr. Russell received her doctorate from Fordham University and received her clinical training from New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center and New York University Medical/Bellevue Hospital Center. Until 2004, she was senior psychologist at NYU Medical/Bellevue Hospital, where she worked with people dually diagnosed with substance dependence and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Russell is currently a part-time Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center where she supervises students in AEDP and dynamic psychotherapy and the lead supervisor of one of two New York City AEDP Core Training Groups. She has taught AEDP seminars at several universities and clinics in New York and New Jersey and supervises clinicians learning AEDP.

In her book, Restoring Resilience: Discovering your Clients' Capacity for Healing (W.W. Norton & Company, June 2015), Eileen draws on interpersonal neurobiology, affect regulation research, a number of theoretical orientations and clinical experience to show therapists how to build from what’s going right in clients’ lives, help them cultivate and deepen their native resilience and create lasting change. Together with Diana Fosha, she has co-authored a paper on "Transformational affects and core state in AEDP" for the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. Her research and writing interests include the development of AEDP theory and practice, and spirituality in psychotherapy. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in New York City and New Jersey.

Fees, Credits and Registration:

• $135 Member Price (must be logged in to register)
• $150
• $175 Walk in

Event Registration

This event is co-sponsored by R. Cassidy Seminars

Satisfactory Completion

Participants must have paid tuition fee, signed in, attended the entire seminar, completed an evaluation, and signed out in order to receive a certificate. Failure to sign in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available.

Psychologists R.Cassidy Seminars is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to offer continuing education for psychologists. R. Cassidy Seminars maintains responsibility for this program. 6.25 CE hours.

NY: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts. #P-0005.   6.25 clock hours.

Social Workers 

R.Cassidy Seminars, ACE provider #1082, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Program. R. Cassidy Seminars maintains responsibility for the program. Approval Period: April 15, 2015-April 15, 2018. Social workers should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval. Social workers participating in this course will receive 6.25 continuing education clock hours.

CA: The Board of Behavioral Sciences has deferred CE course approvals to APA and ASWB for its licensees. See those approvals under Psychologists and Social Workers

NY: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider (#0006) of continuing education for licensed social workers. This program is approved for 6.25 contact hours live.

OH: R. Cassidy Seminars is an approved provider by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for 6.25 clock hours, #RCST110701

Counselors/ Marriage and Family Therapists:

CA: The Board of Behavioral Sciences has deferred CE course approvals to APA and ASWB for its licensees. See those approvals under Psychologists and Social Workers.

Other States: If your state is not specifically listed, nearly all state Counselor and MFT boards accept either APA or ASWB approval, or are reciprocal with other state licensing board approvals, such as those listed below. Check with your board to be sure. The Ohio Board includes Counselors and MFTs.

IL:  R. Cassidy Seminars is approved to offer continuing education to Marriage and Family Therapists by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation provider #168000141. 6.25 Continuing Education Credits/Hours.

NY-LMHCs: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0015. 6.25 contact hours.

NY-LMFTs: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0011. 6.25 contact hours.

OH: R. Cassidy Seminars is an approved provider by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for 6.25 clock hours, #RCST110701

TX: R. Cassidy Seminars is approved by the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists to provide CE offerings for MFTs.  Provider Number 151.  6.25 Continuing Education Credits/Hours.

Creative Arts Therapists

NY: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0005. 6.25 contact hours.

Disability Access – If you require ADA accommodations please contact our office 10 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification.

Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.

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