February 17, 2009

Dear Colleagues,

We are embarking on the season of the 22nd Annual International Control Mastery Conference. First there will be an intensive Introductory Course on Control Mastery Theory given by George Silberschatz and Kathryn Pryor Saturday, February 28. It is a terrific course and a must for anyone interested in Control Mastery Theory who hasn't taken it before. This important course is rapidly filling up so I recommend signing up immediately.

As for the week-long conference from March 2 through March 6, we have over twenty-six participants signed up for the entire week with another seven or more people coming for selected workshops. We expect more people will sign up before the welcoming orientation 9am, Monday, March 2. There are at least thirteen new participants from Norway, many of whom we met in Almagro, Spain last September at the conference devoted to Control Mastery Theory that Hans Peter, Tor, Dag, and Kari organized. We are very grateful to have such a strong working relationship with our Norwegian colleagues. Read On

The Membership committee has been exploring ways we can serve our members and other professionals in the community in the best way possible. We need your feedback to help us determine your preference on a variety of issues.

Please take a moment to fill out the anonymous survey on the link below. Thanks ahead for your input.

We are in the midst of an outreach effort both reminding and introducing people/hospitals/ schools etc. to the clinic. We are sending letters, giving presentations about the clinic and are creating postcards (see above) and posters to leave in coffee shops, restaurants and schools. The interns are doing a great job of outreach. We would like you to help us as well. Please remind people about us, get some of the cards and put them in places that you frequent and send us any low fee clients that come your way. We will leave a stack of them with Rob so you can pick them up at your convenience. Many thanks in advance.

It is hard to believe that we are now halfway through the intern year. Jessica and I are enjoying the group and are finding them energetic, intelligent and fun. The training has gone well. We have many of you to thank for spending time teaching them as well as supervising. All of your time an efforts are so appreciated by the interns and us.

Many of the current interns are enjoying it so much that they will be continuing on next year. This is the month when the new interns are interviewed and chosen. It is really important that you let us know if one of your students/clients/friends is applying. We anticipate having only two slots. Your input is very important.

We are also creating a wish list. Top on our agenda is getting some psychiatric help/backup for the clinic, people who will be willing to consult and at times see a client in crisis. With health care cutbacks there are not many options for this help in S.F. Our interns can really use the backup. So if you would like to volunteer or can help us by contacting someone you think might want to help we would really appreciate it. . Please call or email Jessica or me.

The finishing touches are underway for the upcoming 22nd Annual International Control Mastery Conference, March 2 - 6 in the Presidio at 9 Funston Avenue. We are expecting a full house with participants coming from Norway, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee -- and possibly Italy. This year's workshops will encompass a wide range of topics and speakers. The Education Committee would like to thank the many presenters who are donating their time and knowledge to make this a particularly meaningful event. The committee as a whole has done a great job in arranging this conference, and I'd particularly like to thank John Gibbins for his work in producing the schedule and brochure, and Rob Pepitas for his administrative support. We are all very gratified to see so many members of our local Control-Mastery community step forward to participate in this event.

Something new we are adding is a wine and cheese reception at the end of the day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (5:15 - 6:00). SFPRG members are invited to swing by to help us close out the day, to meet new colleagues and re-connect with members they may not have seen for a while. We'll end the week on Friday afternoon with a final reception and movie night for What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Please come join us.

There is still room in the day-long Introduction to Control Mastery Intensive on February 28 at the SF Jewish Community Center. This session will provide an opportunity for clinicians new to the basics of Control Mastery to increase their understanding of the theory and its research.

Those interested in the upcoming day-long Schema Therapy Workshop with George Lockwood and John Curtis on May 30 at the SF Jewish Community Center can find an outline on the SFPRG website.

The Research Committee of the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group is attempting to create a library of all research and clinical publications, papers, and reports having to do with Control-Mastery Theory. The Research Group has maintained a library of such materials for some time; however, we want to make sure that our "data base" is as up-to-date as possible. We intend to make these publications and reports available to all interested.

While I reported on this initiative in one of the SFPRG newsletters and requested that members send me lists of their publications, etc., the response was less than overwhelming. As a result, I am personally contacting all members of the Research Group who have a history of publishing or presenting on the theory to request a list of any and all publications, reports, presentations, etc. (be they clinical, research, and/or theoretical in nature) that you have that in any way pertain to Control-Mastery Theory.

If you could e-mail me such a list (please include all references, even if you think we already have them)--or send it by snail mail if you prefer--I would be very grateful (and you would avoid follow-up harassment).

I hope this finds you and yours well. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I thank you in advance for your help with this endeavor.

John Curtis, Chair, Research Committee

Your Help is Urgently Needed for Research on the Pathogenic Belief Scale

I am writing to ask for your help again in doing some on-line ratings -- this time, of your own patients. A few of you have already rated some of your patients (thank you to those that have) but we need many, many more to participate. The rating task will take about 15 minutes to complete for each patient, and I hope that you will be able to do several patients. I have already done it for 17 of my current patients and have found it to be a very interesting clinical exercise.

Although I'd love you to do it for most of your patients too, I realize many of you won't be able to put in that much time. But please rate as many of your patients as you possibly can.

Here's what's involved. Click on the link below, which will take you to the secure site (no one can access the data but me). The instructions are all there. You'll be asked to think of a patient that you know well and complete the rating scales. We ask for very broad information (age, gender, race, etc) on the patient and there is no way that the patient's actual identity could be revealed. Similarly, we do not need to know your identity but you will be asked to provide some kind of code that you use each time you log on. When you do log on, you should complete all of the ratings for the particular patient that you are doing because each time you log on it will be for a new case.

We are just beginning to analyze the data from the self-report study (in which people rated their own pathogenic beliefs) and so far the results look extremely interesting. Obtaining ratings of how clinicians rate their patients is an essential piece of our research on pathogenic beliefs. I am very optimistic that this research will result in a scale that will be used quite widely (clinically as well as in research), and in this way we will be able to export some of the valuable contributions from control-mastery theory. I thank you in advance for your help in this research and please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions.

Control-Mastery and Group Therapy, authored by Joseph Cristofalo, MFT, is an unpublished paper presented to the Friday Research Group in May 1995 is now available on controlmastery.org (click the link below). Group therapy offers a unique environment which can evoke transferences related to one's family of origin context as a whole. Group members test the group therapist but also test each other; and group members participate in disconfirming pathogenic beliefs along with the therapist. A positive group culture is one that fosters the disconfirming of pathogenic beliefs.

The paper received a positive review from Joe Weiss, Marshall Bush and the research group and has been used as a handout at Denny Zeitlin's group conferences.

Joseph Cristofalo practices in Oakland and Lafayette (since 1983) and is on the faculty of The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley.

Contact information: (510) 654-2288, jcrismft@sbcglobal.net

+++++FROM JODY REISS

Psychotherapy Group for People with Bipolar Disorder

Openings in an ongoing insight-oriented group for people who have attained a certain level of balance and are now looking to improve their lives. The group helps members understand how their behavior may be contributing to some of the difficulties encountered in the world and change patterns in interpersonal relationships that may not always be effective.

The group can help your clients recover and maintain equilibrium; cope with feelings about diagnosis and medication; address shame, guilt, fear, and stigma; build self-esteem; improve relationships; establish reasonable goals; find inner strength.

The group is held Tuesdays, 6:15-7:45 in San Francisco. Fee is $45 per session (some insurance accepted; fee reduction available). Evaluation sessions are held before entry into the group. Contacting me first about a potential client before making a direct referral is helpful.

Contact Jody Reiss, LCSW (LCS 15289), 415/401-9482, JReissLCSW@sbcglobal.net.

+++++FROM LINDSAY BEAVEN

I am a freshly minted MFT starting a 'support and exploration group for neophyte therapists' (students, interns, newly licensed MFTs, LCSWs, possibly other 'healers') which will begin on Wednesday, March 4, 6:15-8:15pm at The Imagine Center for Creativity & Healing, in San Rafael, about 15 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Using discussion, music, creative arts, sand tray & imagery, group members will:

• Explore their evolving identity/mission as therapists
• Receive peer support for wherever they are on the therapist-development road
• Share information and tips about the licensing & examination process
• Learn from doing how the arts and imagery can be incorporated into the work

Note: Absolutely no artistic or musical talent is necessary to participate!

This will NOT be a clinical supervision group; client material will not be discussed except tangentially and in the broadest of terms.

The group is expected to have 4-10 members. It will run weekly for six weeks (March 4-April 8) and for two hours per meeting. After six weeks, if the group proves to be viable, it will continue after a week or two off. The fee will be $125 for the first 6-week commitment.

Inquiries? Please call Lindsey Beaven at 415-902-1304

(Lindsey recently 'passed through' the MFT licensing and examination process, has held several internships in San Francisco and Marin and is intimately familiar with the challenges of the MFT trek. She holds an MA in Counseling Psychology from CIIS (expressive arts emphasis), sees clients in private practice and is pursuing a PhD in Depth Psychotherapy at Pacifica Graduate Institute.)

This year at the Control Mastery Conference, we have our morning intensive case studies followed by our usual slate of excellent afternoon workshops. Thursday afternoon is devoted to individual clinical supervision and research supervision for anyone who wants that. Each evening there will be a social activity. Monday night will be research planning over pizza and beer. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night there will be a small wine and cheese social event at the end of the afternoon conferences. On Friday, we will have a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception open to all participants as well as all members, followed by a screening of the wonderful film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Those who have not had too much grape can discuss this film and the excellent character portrayals by Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp from a Control Mastery Perspective.

The other event SFPRG is planning is our Board Retreat to develop our next five year strategic plan, scheduled February 22, 2009. Board Directors will discuss how well we met our goals five years ago and will try to update and formulate new goals for the next five years. It is a wonderful opportunity to dream about what we want this organization to be and to accomplish. It is also an opportunity to start taking concrete steps to address crucially important challenges to our organization.

• Where are we going to be housed when our lease expires in 2012?
• How will our Clinic be run and by whom?
• Can we raise more money to expand our Educational Program, our Research Program, and our Clinic the way we want to?