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Redefining Mental Illness Two months ago, the British Psychological Society released a remarkable document entitled "Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia." Its authors say that hearing voices and feeling paranoid are common experiences, and are often a reaction to trauma, abuse or deprivation: "Calling them symptoms of mental illness, psychosis or schizophrenia is only one way of thinking about them, with advantages and disadvantages."
The report says that there is no strict dividing line between psychosis and normal experience: "Some people find it useful to think of themselves as having an illness. Others prefer to think of their problems as, for example, an aspect of their personality which sometimes gets them into trouble but which they would not want to be without."
The report adds that antipsychotic medications are sometimes helpful, but that "there is no evidence that it corrects an underlying biological abnormality." It then warns about the risk of taking these drugs for years.
One outcome of this rethinking could be that talk therapy will regain some of the importance it lost when the new diagnostic system was young. And we know how to do talk therapy. That doesn't rule out medication: while there may be problems with the long-term use of antipsychotics, many people find them useful when their symptoms are severe. Read More
At Symposium 2015:
The Therapeutic Lynchpin: Managing the Relational and Emotional World of The Eating Disordered, Self-Injurying, Traumatized Client
Thursday, March 19, 2015: 1:30 PM-4:30 PM
The emotional world of the eating disordered client who presents with self-injury and/or symptoms related to trauma pose particular challenges to professionals. This challenge is experienced directly through the therapeutic relationship which must be viewed and understood as the "lynchpin" for all interventions. This is especially true for those clients who struggle with the more difficult negative emotional states and self-destructive behaviors. This workshop presents a model of treatment based on self-regulation that provides a guide for organizing the therapeutic relationship and through specific aspects of the alliance be able to assist the client to manage difficult emotional experiences and behaviors. Specific Practice Points will be presented throughout the workshop to assist clinicians in designing and modifying their treatment.
Presenter: John Levitt, PhD
 Dr. Levitt has more than 35 years of experience working with eating disorders, self-injury, trauma, and complex patients. He has been an active participant in the field of eating disorders as a clinician, program developer, supervisor/trainer, and presenter. He has taught widely, co-authored one book, co-edited three other books, and has numerous publications. Dr. Levitt has presented nationally and internationally on the topics of eating disorders, trauma, self-injury, complex symptomatology, assessment and intervention.
The Gerber Myth: Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
Barbara Byers, a reproductive psychiatrist in Chevy Chase, Maryland says that new motherhood is "the perfect storm " for mood disorders and believes that at least 30% of cases of postpartum anxiety and depression begin during pregnancy. "What is more, some women buy into what Byers calls 'The Gerber Myth' or the belief that once you have a baby you'll live happily ever after. They come to find that's not true."
There might also be physiological explanations for mood disorders during and after birth says Emily S. Miller, an assistant professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Northwestern University. Her research has found that women with postpartum depression are more likely to also experience short term anxiety and longer term obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Read More
At Symposium 2015:
From a Pea to a Pumpkin: A Prenatal Psychotherapy Group for Women with Eating Disorders Saturday, March 21, 2015: 10:50 AM-12:20 PM
Pregnancy is a unique experience for each woman, in particular, women who have or continue to struggle with eating disorders. The purpose of developing a prenatal psychotherapy group is to provide a contained therapeutic community designed to meet the emotional and psychological needs of each group participant. Through the development of the therapy group, each member may find and offer support during her pregnancy experience as her life shifts and transitions.
The group setting allows for the discovery of personal insights about how each participant's emotional and psychological life is deeply connected to her developing baby and physical self. Through the process of group dynamics, each member can learn practical and emotional skills. The overarching psychodynamic principle at play in this particular group is the significance of speaking of one's experience and the therapeutic benefits that derive from this process. The process of speaking and the feed back, validation and insight that may arise from the in-the-moment of group experience is one major goal. The secondary goal of speaking of one's pregnancy experience is that of learning how to speak or continue to speak about one's pregnancy experience. Having an innate capacity to not only feel and experience emotions and thoughts but also to speak of them freely and safely in a therapeutic environment may provide relief from debilitating emotional states, prevent more serious mental health concerns postpartum and enhance the attachment process between mother and infant. Furthermore, some women feel very alone during pregnancy and having a group to attend to, offer something to and be a part of in and of itself can be therapeutic and helpful.
"A change gradually takes place in the feelings as well as in the body of the woman who has conceived. The direction of her interest turns from outward to inwards. She slowly but surely comes to believe that the center of the world is in her own body." D. W. Winnicott
Presenter: Angela Wurtzel, MA, MFT, CEDS
 Angela R. Wurtzel provides individual, couple and family therapy for the treatment of eating disorders, self injury and compulsive shopping. She leads From a Pea to a Pumpkin: A Prenatal Psychotherapy Group. Angela helps people contain behaviors that have gone awry and are interfering with one's capacity for a full life. Her approach involves treating the psychological hunger disease through the process of putting one's experiences related to emotional development and interpersonal relationships into words. She has a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University, is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist.
REVIEW ALL WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS AND SCHEDULE FOR SYMPOSIUM 2015 HERE!
REGISTER FOR SYMPOSIUM 2015 HERE!
Symposium 2015 Brochure was mailed the first week of January! Get a copy in pdf form here!
iaedp publishes the online schedule of events for Symposium 2015! HERE
iaedp announces a new educational designation for individuals who work in the eating disorders treatment field. Enrollment should open within the next two weeks. Read preliminary details here!
iaedp Symposium 2015 will offer 8 sessions in Spanish! Those previews will be available soon online. The titles and times are listed on the schedule in the brochure which you can download here!
2015 iaedp Symposium Exhibit Booths going fast! Register online today here! Download a 2015 Exhibitors' Guide here! (Exhibits sell out quickly, be sure and register early!)
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