FEBRUARY 26, 2020
REGISTRATION: 6:30 PM
SPEAKER PRESENTATION: 7:00-8:00 PM
Q&A: 8:00-8:30 PM
Weill Cornell Medical College
1300 York Avenue, Room C-200
New York, NY 10065
Established professionals, early career professionals, and students from all applied, research, and academic settings are invited to attend. Tickets are non-refundable or exchangeable. There is an additional $5 surcharge for paying at the door, so pre-register and save!
Topic Description:
Many clients have been told that there are certain emotions that they should not have-envy, jealousy, ambivalence, boredom, resentment, regret, sadness, anger, and anxiety. They have been told, "You shouldn't feel that way"; "Get over it"; or "Stop crying." But a life worth living often involves experiencing unpleasant emotions that are often complex and apparently "conflicting." Just as people with OCD struggle with unwanted intrusive thoughts or people who ruminate look for "The Answer," we often struggle to rid ourselves of unwanted feelings. A new form of CBT-Emotional Schema Therapy, which draws on ACT, DBT, cognitive therapy and metacognitive therapy-emphasizes that all emotions evolved because they were adaptive-including emotions that we are often told we should not have. We will review beliefs in emotional perfectionism and existential perfectionism-that is, the belief that we should feel good and that our lives should follow certain expectations that we have. But real life is filled with disappointments, loss, unfairness, and even betrayal. I describe a model of emotional inclusiveness, containment of unpleasant emotions, normalization of "the abnormal," expansion and differentiation of emotions, and the use of these emotions to differentiate the values and meanings that we have. We will review how clients have learned problematic views of emotions, emotion regulation, and emotion expression and how these beliefs currently impede acceptance and tolerance of feelings. We will review these problematic beliefs about fear of emotions, such as the belief in Pure Mind, the need for "clarity" as opposed to openness and fluidity of emotion, beliefs in the durability and need for control of "negative" emotions, shame and guilt about emotions, and intolerance of "conflicting" emotions. We will examine how clients can overcome their fear of crying and in sharing painful feelings, while helping clients also pursue a range of other emotions. A wide range of techniques will be described and experiential participation will be encouraged to assist in deepening meaning without avoiding the unpleasant emotions often associated with finding meaning.
At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
1) Identify problematic beliefs and strategies about "unwanted" emotion.
2) Implement techniques, metaphors, and experiential exercises to increase integration and use of unpleasant emotions.
3) Identify beliefs in Emotional Perfectionism, Existential Perfectionism, and Pure Mind
Speaker Bio:
Robert L. Leahy, PhD, is Director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York and Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. His research focuses on individual differences in emotion regulation and decision making. He is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Cognitive Therapy and is past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy, and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He is a recipient of the Aaron T. Beck Award from the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He is the author or editor of 27 books, including Cognitive Therapy Techniques, Second Edition; Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders, Second Edition; Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy, The Worry Cure, Anxiety-Free: Unravel Your Fears before They Unravel You, Beat the Blues Before They Beat You: How to Overcome Depression, Emotional Schema Therapy, The Jealousy Cure, Science and Practice in Cognitive Therapy: Foundations, Mechanisms, and Applications, Emotional Schema Therapy: Distinctive Features and many other books.