CONGRESS SEXUALITY AND RELATIONSHIPS

Transcription

1 CONGRESS SEXUALITY AND RELATIONSHIPS ROME APRIL

2 CONGRESS SEXUALITY AND RELATIONSHIPS Sexuality and Relationships are two intricately intertwined aspects of every human being s life. During childhood, receiving adequate care by the significant others influences the development of the individual s brain and personality, and allows him/her to experience healthy relationships and sexuality later on. At this respect, studies on attachment, sexuality and relationships have underlined the subtle links between these key aspects in each human being s life. The Congress Sexuality and Relationships is focused on a central theme for every professional aiming to relieve other people s suffering. Thanks to the attendance of several eminent experts from all over the world who will share the most up-to-date knowledge on this subject participants will learn more about how to better understand and treat patients having problems with both their sexuality and relationships or, more generally speaking, having difficulties which correlate with these specific aspects. Consequently, the Congress will be a unique occasion not only to learn more about the most advanced knowledge on sexuality and relationships and how it has been integrated and developed, but also to meet eight of the most well-known international experts in this fascinating field.

3 PROGRAM SUE JOHNSON United States is an author, clinical psychologist, researcher, professor, popular presenter and speaker and a leading innovator in the field of couple therapy. Sue is the primary developer of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), which has demonstrated its effectiveness in over 25 years of peer-reviewed clinical research. As author of the best-selling book: Hold Me Tight, Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, Sue Johnson has created for the general public, a self-help version of her groundbreaking research about relationships how to enhance them, how to repair them and how to keep them. Her most recent book, Love Sense, The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships outlines the new logical understanding of why and how we love based on new scientific evidence and cutting-edge research. Explaining that romantic love is based on an attachment bond, Dr. Johnson shows how to develop our love sense our ability to develop long-lasting relationships. Sue Johnson is founding Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy and Distinguished Research Professor at Alliant University in San Diego, California, as well as Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychology, at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Johnson s best known professional books include, The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection (2004) and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors (2002). Sue trains counselors in EFT worldwide and consults to the 35 international institutes and affiliated centers who practice EFT. She lives in Ottawa with her husband. She adores Gilbert and Sullivan, Monty Python, Argentine tango and kayaking on Canada s northern lakes. SEX AND ATTACHMENT: SECURE ENGAGEMENT AS THE KEY TO OPTIMAL SEXUALITY As we understand and have a science for the emotional connection we call romantic love so our understanding of sexuality in the context of relationships expands. This presentation will present an attachment focused approach to sexuality and how to assist couples to not only exit from sexual problems but also shape a potent, lasting, optimally satisfying sexual connection. SHAPING OPTIMAL SEXUALITY IN EFT This 3-hour workshop will examine how the process of EFT shapes not only a secure platform for ongoing loving connection in a relationship but also the capacity for erotic play and passion. The containment of conflict and triggers for emotional insecurity are the first step in this process. As EFT moves into Stage 2 emotional openness, responsiveness and engagement translate into somatic and sexual openness, responsiveness and engagement. This workshop will include didactic presentations, discussion, video viewing and experiential exercises.

4 GURIT BIRNBAUM Israel Prof. Gurit Birnbaum works at the School of Psychology, the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya (Israel). Currently, she is a Visiting Professor at Northwestern University. Her research is guided by complementary questions: How does the functional significance of sex change as relationships progress from initial encounters to long-term commitments and what are the processes whereby the sexual behavioral system contributes to relationship development, maintenance, and deterioration? And whether, for whom, and how might nonsexual aspects of a relationship (e.g., attachment, perceived partner responsiveness) contribute to, or compensate for, sexual deficiencies or dissatisfaction? To address these questions, her research program adopts a person context time interactive framework and employs longitudinal, observational, and experimental designs. Prof. Birnbaum frequently contributes to high-quality international academic journals. She was an associate editor of Personal Relationships and serves as a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.. Lab site: INEVITABLY CONNECTED: THE JOINT OPERATION OF THE ATTACHMENT AND SEXUAL SYSTEMS DURING RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT Attachment and sexual mating are distinct behavioral systems that serve different evolutionary functions. Although their behavioral manifestations may occur in isolation, romantic partners typically function simultaneously as sexual partners and as attachment figures. In this talk, I will review research that points to a reciprocal relation between the attachment and sexual systems. I will begin with an overview of the literature on the contribution of attachment processes to the appraisal of sexual interactions. In doing so, I will discuss the role of attachment processes in linking sexuality with relationship quality and in shaping sexual responses to relationship-threatening events. I will then focus on the role of sex as a promoter of emotional bonds and introduce a model of the functional significance of sex at different stages of relationship development. I will conclude by discussing the need for more research exploring the dual role of sex as a relationship maintenance mechanism and as a force motivating people to pursue alternative partners. The main topics of the talk will be the following: The contribution of attachment processes to the appraisal of sexual interactions The role of attachment processes in linking sexuality with relationship quality and in shaping sexual responses to relationship-threatening events A model of the functional significance of sex at different stages of relationship development.

5 ZOYA SIMAKHODSKAYA United States is a clinical psychologist and Certified EFT Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer. Zoya has a full-time practice in New York with adults and couples, specializing in cross-cultural and bilingual population. She is a founding member and Vice President on the Board of Directors of NYCEFT. Zoya is also a Founder and Director of The Center for Psychological and Interpersonal Development dedicated to high quality individual and couples therapy and EFT training. In addition to her psychotherapy practice, Zoya has many years of experience providing crisis intervention in a psychiatric emergency service and continues as a faculty at NYU School of Medicine, CUNY Graduate Center, and Rutgers University. Zoya presents and teaches in the US, as well as Russia, Italy and England. She has particular interest in intersection of sexuality and couples therapy. SEX AS A SAFE ADVENTURE - CONNECTING SEXUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY THROUGH EMOTIONALLY FOCUSED THERAPY Many couples presenting for couples therapy may complain of sex issues: discrepancies in desire, lack of attraction or sexual compatibility, arousal or orgasm problems, or challenges in the bedroom after having children, going through infidelity or in the wake of trauma. From the perspective of Emotionally Focused Therapy approach, such complaints are often part of an underlying lack of security and bonding in the relationship caused by the negative cycle between partners. Participants in this workshop will learn through lecture and video examples how to assess and treat sexual issues at each stage of EFT.

6 EMILY NAGOSKI United States is the New York Times bestselling author of Come As You Are: the surprising new science that will transform your sex life. She has a PhD in Health Behavior with a doctoral concentration in human sexuality from Indiana University (IU), and a master s degree (also from IU) in Counseling, with a clinical internship at the Kinsey Institute Sexual Health Clinic. While at IU, she also worked as a sex educator and docent at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex Gender and Reproduction. She s regularly interviewed in the media, including such varied outlets as NPR, the Melissa Harris Perry Show, Glamour, and Playboy. Her mission in life is to teach women to live with confidence and joy. PLEASURE IS THE MEASURE: THE SCIENCE OF SEXUAL WELLBEING The science of sex is changing fast, and it has already revolutionized our understanding of even the most basic notions of how human sexuality works. In this talk, learn about the brain mechanism that governs sexual response and pleasure; the relationships among genital response, desire, and sexual arousal; and the most efficient ways to help a couple improve sexual desire including Emily s silver bullet answers to those doorknob questions about sexual desire, orgasm, more.

7 SUZANNE IASENZA United States is faculty at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis in New York City, and the Postgraduate Program in Couple and Family Therapy of Adelphi University s Derner Institute in Garden City, NY. She is coeditor of two books and author of many papers on couples and sexuality. Her most recent paper, What is Queer About Sex: Expanding Sexual Frames in Theory and Practice, was published in Family Process. She maintains a private practice in psychotherapy and sex therapy in New York City. TRANSFORMING SEXUAL NARRATIVES: GUIDING COUPLES FROM SEXUAL DISCONNECTION TO SEXUAL DISCOVERY When couples come to therapy with problems involving desire, arousal, or orgasm, therapists often fall into the trap of thinking of them as somehow broken and in need of fixing. Integrating psychodynamic, systems, and cognitive-behavioral perspectives, this presentation will describe a different approach that shifts couples from a state of disconnection to a process of sexual discovery where they transform limiting sexual narratives and find alternatives to rigid scripts about what fulfilling sexuality is supposed to be. It will include how to conduct a therapeutic sexual/relational history to identify sexual narratives and attachment wounds, develop a balanced treatment plan, and construct behavioral interventions that help couples find their unique path toward sexual pleasure and connection.

8 IAN KERNER United States is an internationally recognized sex therapist and NY Times best-selling author of She Comes First, which is the best-selling sex advice book of the last decade in the United States and has been translated into over a dozen languages. In addition to maintaining a private practice, he is also on the faculty of the Institute for Contemporary Psychology in NYC. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of AASECT (The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists). LIVING IN A PORNIFIED WORLD True or false: porn desensitizes people to genuine intimacy? Or wait, true or false: porn use is a normal, healthy expression of human sexuality? Porn is a confusing and polarizing topic that can easily trigger therapists negative counter-transference. But the fact is that people in the United States visit more porn sites each month than they do Amazon, Netflix, and Twitter combined. Internationally, in 2015 alone, the website Pornhub.com streamed 75GB of data a second, which translates to enough porn to fill the storage in around 175 million 16GB iphones. Critics of porn will tell us that all this just goes to show we re living in a porn-addicted society, but we re living in a porn-phobic one as well. As therapists, we re on the front lines of helping clients address effects of porn on self-regulation and relationships. In this workshop, you ll learn: How to assess for when porn is a problem and when it s not, and avoid therapeutic potholes in the process How to handle your clients self-diagnosis of porn addict and work with them to explore the context and assumptions surrounding their self-assessment A CBT-based program for helping clients regulate their relationship to porn when it s problematic.

9 JENNIFER FITZGERALD Australia is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Brisbane, Australia, and also teaches in the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland, coordinating courses in communication skills for medical students and sex and couples therapy for post grad psychology students. Jenny is the first Australian to be certified by the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (Ottawa, Canada) as an EFT therapist, supervisor and trainer. Jenny and Dr Veronica Kallos-Lilly (Vancouver Couples and Families Institute) are co-authors of An emotionally focused workbook for couples: The two of us, published by Routledge in 2014; it is now released in Dutch, and translations into German and Korean will follow in Jenny recently submitted an edited text, Foundations for couples therapy: Research for the real world, to be published by Routledge in CLARE ROSOMAN Australia is a Clinical Psychologist and member of the College of Clinical Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society. She completed her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Griffith University in 2001 and has worked in a variety of clinical settings from non-government organisations, schools, hospitals and her own private practice. She is the author of two books for therapists. Therapy to Go: Gourmet Fast Food Handouts for working with Adult Clients and Therapy to Go: Gourmet Fast Food Handouts for working with Child and Family Clients. Clare has a special interest in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and was the second certified EFT therapist and supervisor in Australia with the International Centre for Excellence in EFT (ICCEFT). Clare works in private practice in Brisbane, where she is interested in integrating EFT and sex therapy, and utilising the transformative power of attachment in psychotherapy. In addition to her clinical work, Clare is passionate about providing mentoring and training for therapists and has presented nationally and internationally on EFT for couples. Together, Clare and Jenny have established the Australian Centre for EFT ( and the first and only EFT couples therapy training and mentoring program in Australia to assist therapists in becoming ICEEFT certified EFT practitioners. GOING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER: HEALING MOMENTS IN PSYCHO- THERAPY WITH INFIDELITY COUPLES For monogamous couples expecting fidelity from their sexual partners, episodes of infidelity typically cause major upset for both partners in terms of attachment insecurity, emotional distress and for some individuals, physical ill health and even death from >>>

10 >>> suicide. In this presentation we will define the term infidelity, noting its relevance to both online and offline events, and outline the consequences that can occur for both partners. The presentation will then focus on the use of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy to assist infidelity couples to work with a range of emotions, especially hurt and shame, so as to repair their relationship and rebuild trust. Particular cases will be described and segments of video recordings from key sessions of therapy with these couples will be shown. By providing examples of key moments in relationship repair, this presentation will demonstrate the application of attachment theory to clinical practice, and the utility of the Attachment Injury Resolution Model.

11 TIMETABLE First DAY Registration Sue Johnson: Sex and attachment: secure engagement as the key to optimal sexuality COFFEE BREAK Gurit Birnbaum: Inevitably connected: The joint operation of the attachment and sexual systems during relationship development LUNCH Zoya Simakhodskaya: Sex as a Safe Adventure - Connecting Sexually and Emotionally through Emotionally Focused Therapy COFFEE BREAK PANEL Second DAY Emily Nagoski: Pleasure is the Measure: The science of sexual wellbeing COFFEE BREAK Suzanne Iasenza: Transforming Sexual Narratives: Guiding couples from sexual disconnection to sexual discovery LUNCH Ian Kerner: Living in a Pornified World COFFEE BREAK PANEL

12 Third DAY Sue Johnson: Shaping optimal sexuality in EFT COFFEE BREAK Sue Johnson: Shaping optimal sexuality in EFT LUNCH Jennifer Fitzgerald/Clare Rosoman: Going to the heart of the matter: Healing moments in psychotherapy with infidelity couples COFFEE BREAK Jennifer Fitzgerald/Clare Rosoman: Going to the heart of the matter: Healing moments in psychotherapy with infidelity couples PANEL LANGUAGE English LOCATION Centro Congressi Roma Eventi - Piazza di Spagna, via Alibert 5A, Rome - ENTRANCE FEE 320 euros SPECIAL RATE Early Bird rate (within October 31): 270 euros REGISTRATION Please visit our website or us at isc@istitutodiscienzecognitive.it to get the application form and register to the Congress. To register, please fill in the application form and send it back - together with a copy of the bank transfer receipt - to our address. Please find below all the necessary banking details for bank transfer to be made: Banca Nazionale del Lavoro - Sassari Payee Istituto di Scienze Cognitive srl IBAN IT 84 D BIC/SWIFT: BNLIITRR If you need to cancel your registration, please contact us by within November 30 and 50% of the ticket price will be refunded. Please note that no reimbursement will be allowed for any cancellations after the above-mentioned date. INFO Istituto di Scienze Cognitive Via Rolando, Sassari