AEDP® Seminar Series: January 2025
The Initial Phase: Getting a Worthy Start
Presented by Steve Shapiro, PhD
6 Thursdays | January – June 2025
Live Online and Highly Interactive
Learning Objectives and Course Agenda
Initial sessions of multisession treatment have been shown to be particularly effective and to be a critical phase with benefits and symptom changes maintained thereafter. (Katie Aafjes van Dorn, Kristen Sweeny. (2019). The effectiveness of initial therapy contact: a systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 74.)
In addition to the importance of the initial phase in providing needed understanding and symptom reduction when clients are suffering the most, and providing a solid foundation for the subsequent course of the therapy, these sessions provide superb teaching opportunities.
By focusing on the initial phase or trial therapy (first sessions), we will have an ideal opportunity to explore foundational topics like psychodiagnosis, tracking multiple relevant parameters, goal setting, task agreement, choice points for differential interventions, forks in the road, exit ramps, motivation, resistance, decision trees and case formulation. By reviewing multiple first sessions, participants will gain a sense of factors common in the crucial initial phase that provide the foundation for the remainder of the therapy course. Looking at these issues in a first session is less complicated because there is no prior therapy history that influences the process. Trainees often comment that it is more helpful to see “HOW you get there” rather than just watching “BEING there.” The primary goal is to show that process in detail, including all of the variations and uncertainty involved, as it is unfolding.
FORMAT
- The primary format will involve review of unedited video demonstrations with microanalysis. Without the routine use of PowerPoint learning modules, there will be ample time to explore topics as they arise and practice various options for responding.
- By focusing on the initial phase or trial therapy (mostly first sessions), we will have an ideal opportunity to explore foundational topics like psychodiagnosis, tracking multiple relevant parameters, goal setting, task agreement, choice points for differential interventions, forks in the road, exit ramps, motivation, resistance, decision trees and case formulation. By reviewing multiple first sessions, participants will gain a sense of factors common in the crucial initial phase that provide the foundation for the remainder of the therapy course. Looking at these issues in a first session is less complicated because there is no prior therapy history that influences the process. Trainees often comment that it is more helpful to see “HOWyou get there” rather than just watching “BEING there.” The primary goal is to show that process in detail, including all of the variations and uncertainty involved, as it is unfolding.
- Active engagement, skill building, and repetitive deliberate group practice (vs passive observation) will enhance the learning process. We will practice interventions in context together. There will be minimal focus on theorizing about meta psychological principles; instead, we will keep a practical focus on “response to intervention” and learn from the patient and the process. In this spirit, we will consider other strategies as needed, drawing from approaches such as more traditional psychodynamic therapy, CBT, DBT, Focusing, IFS, coherence therapy, and crisis intervention.
- A case conference format involves exploring a case and ways to proceed rather than focusing on a topic that is decided a priori. Approaching the material through this lens will more closely reflect real clinical scenarios you encounter daily, resulting in a learning process that is more complex, realistic, and immediately applicable.
- A group deliberate practice approach that involves microanalysis, facilitated discussion and experience-near exercises will enhance practical skill building. Group participation reduces performance anxiety and is more enjoyable, because everyone participates in a shared task (diffusion of responsibility). We can learn from each other and have fun at the same time! When I pause the video, all will be asked to respond in a structured way that gives the opportunity to practice the designated principles. Intellectual understanding (conceptual knowledge) is not enough. Knowing what to do when, and how to do it naturally is difficult. It takes deliberate repetition to internalize these skills (procedural knowledge) in a way that is authentic.
- A focus on practical skill building will test your understanding of the principles and help you practice their implementation. This trial-and-error method will translate to changes in your clinical effectiveness and confidence much faster than a more didactic approach that focuses on simply understanding theoretical principles or passively watching video demonstrations.
- Fundamental principles will be used as the ideal “unit of learning” to integrate conceptual knowledge and procedural technique. We will use easily understood, concrete training aides repetitively to practice foundational concepts, such as “highlight and invite” or “fork in the road” until they become well integrated into your clinical toolkit.
- We will concentrate on phase-specific interventions to practice accurately psycho-diagnosing the client’s position moment to moment regarding a variety of parameters and examine ways to intervene accordingly.
- We will emphasize both the resistance that naturally emerges and the presence of healthy internal resources. The latter aspect is often minimized or ignored, and we need to be sensitized to its presence, even when (especially when?) it is concealed. We will learn ways to hear and amplify buried, healthy “whispers,” as well as methods to juxtapose them against the resistance to create the internal conflict or “fork in the road” necessary to offer the client an autonomous deliberate choice.
- In addition to these “specific factors” related to theory and technique, there will be a focus on the “person of the therapist” and “common factors.” All of these areas are equally important in determining positive outcomes.
Through repetition and active trial and error involvement, participants will practice the principles by actively applying them, not just passively understanding them. Receiving continuous feedback and trying again is necessary to fine tune these skills.
PARTICIPANTS ROLE
Engagement and privacy are two issues central to the success of any advanced learning environment. Consequently, you will be required to keep your camera on throughout the webinar. The patient material that is so vital to experiential learning is highly sensitive. Live video demonstrations from actual psychotherapy sessions provide an invaluable training tool that is only available due to the generosity and trust of our patients. It must be protected at all costs. Increasingly, guidelines are suggesting the inadequacy of transmitting this material into a “blank space” without awareness of the environment in which it is being received
BEYOND AEDP SPECIFICS
AEDP techniques such as affirmation, transformance detection, defense melting, defense bypassing, and healing-oriented relational processing—key elements associated with ‘healing from the get-go’ in AEDP—will not be the central focus. There will be emphasis on managing high levels of resistance, in addition to the ‘anxiety-regulating’ aspects of AEDP, using a broad range of EDT interventions that are outside of the AEDP toolkit.
The focus will be on exploring rich clinical materials that demonstrate the potential for deep work and transformation in initial sessions. This format offers a unique opportunity for participants to engage with practitioners from various modalities, including I-STDP, fostering a diverse and collaborative learning environment. This approach aims to broaden perspectives and enhance understanding of different therapeutic techniques and their applications in early-stage therapy.
AEDP psychotherapy is an empirically supported model that heals trauma and helps to undo aloneness by championing the innate healing capacity of neuroplasticity in a safe, attached therapeutic relationship.
Through moment-to-moment, in-depth processing of difficult emotional and relational experiences, AEDP clinicians help clients recover their sense of core self and experience increased resilience and a renewed zest for life.
AEDP has roots in many disciplines including interpersonal neurobiology, attachment theory, emotion theory and affective neuroscience, body-focused approaches as well as transformational studies.
As a clinical treatment, AEDP is effective with a variety of psychological symptoms and issues, including depression, emotion dysregulation, negative thoughts, experiential avoidance, and interpersonal problems. AEDP is also effective in enhancing positive functioning such as self-compassion, well-being, and self-esteem.
Meet The Presenter: Steve Shapiro, PhD
Steve Shapiro, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who maintains a full-time private practice in suburban Philadelphia and has over twenty years clinical and teaching experience. He has been practicing various forms of Experiential Dynamic Therapy (EDT), such as Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), since the mid-1990’s. He is a founding member of the AEDP Institute and has been studying with Dr. Diana Fosha, the developer of AEDP, since 2003
Dr. Shapiro conducts lectures, workshops and ongoing training internationally. His presentations are often commended for translating complex clinical theory into clear, precise, and practical techniques which are easily understandable and readily applied immediately in clinical settings by therapists of all orientations.
For 16 years, Dr. Shapiro was the Director of Psychology and Education at Montgomery County Emergency Service (MCES), an emergency psychiatric hospital, where he worked with a range of severe disorders and those committed involuntarily to treatment. This intensive experience has helped inform Dr. Shapiro’s specializations and approach to transforming resistance with those who are considered challenging due to a history of trauma, a high degree of resistance, or excessive anxiety and dysregulation.
Course Dates & Setting
Please check all dates and times closely for conflicts with local holidays, religious holidays, etc.
Please double check the meeting time in your local time zone by visiting here.
Dates
January 30, 2025
February 27, 2025
March 27, 2025
April 24, 2025
May 22, 2025
June 19, 2025
Times
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Setting
You will need a private space with a reliable Internet connection for a desktop/laptop computer that has video and microphone.
Click here for the AEDP Live, Online Learning Requirements & FAQ’s.
Registration, Fees & Scholarships
Non Member Registration
Single Payment
$989
Non-Member
Registration
Payment Plan
$1039
Requires $300 deposit due at registration + 4 monthly installments of $184.75
Scholarships
Limited Scholarships available
Are you a Member? Login here to get your discount.
Not a Member? Click here to join now.
Eligibility Requirements
Must be an Immersion Graduate
North America: Licensed mental health practitioners, as well as therapists practicing under the license of a supervising professional.
Important Note: Coaching licenses and other non-psychotherapy-specific licenses do not meet the eligibility requirements.
If you’re unsure about the relevance of this course for you, or your eligibility, please contact admin@aedpinstitute.org with your credentials before registering.
Attendance and Make up Policy
Institute Sponsored Courses Including Immersion, Essential Skills, Advanced Skill Modules, Seminars/Webinars and Institute Sponsored Core Trainings
The AEDP Institute does not offer make-ups for missed course days. In the rare case where someone joins a course late, or misses a session in the middle of a course, the hour(s) or day(s) that person misses cannot be made up. Why? Group dynamics developed during a course are essential to the course’s success; so someone coming into a course for a short period of time is – regardless of their best intentions – disruptive to other participants and the course’s overall success. The Institute will, however, provide handouts from missed hours or days but will not allow a person to make up the hours or days they miss in another course.
AEDP Level credit: if a participant attends 80% or more of a course, the Institute will apply the course towards AEDP Level advancement
Refunds and Cancellations
Program Cancellation/Changes
The AEDP Institute reserves the right to cancel a training/ program prior to its start, in which case full refunds will be issued to participants for any tuition fees paid for the program. The AEDP Institute is not responsible for participant expenses including travel, childcare, missed practice sessions, etc.
In the rare situation that the AEDP Institute makes changes to advertised presenter(s), tuition fees will not be refunded.
By adhering to these policies, we aim to ensure a fair and consistent approach to cancellations, refunds, and transfer requests.
Canceling 16 or More Days Before a Course or Seminar:
- Refund: 85% of your course fee.
Canceling 1-15 Days Before a Course or Seminar:
- No Refund
- An Institute credit of 85% of your course fee will be provided for use towards a future course.
Canceling / Withdrawing / No Show on the 1st Day or During a Course or Seminar:
- No refund
- No credit
Transfer Requests Made 45+ Days Before Course Start:
- Requests will be accommodated wherever possible without financial penalty.
Transfer Requests Made 44-1 Days Before Course Start:
- $200 Transfer fee Applied to new course
Participants in Multi-Module Essential Skills (ES1) Courses:
- Requests to transfer from one ES1 course series to another are highly disruptive and rarely possible.
- Exception: In rare and extreme circumstances where an exception is made, a $200 transfer fee will be charged
Refund Policy for Institute Sponsored On Demand (recorded) Seminars
If for any reason you are unsatisfied with an Institute sponsored (recorded) On Demand Seminar, please email admin@aedpinstitute.org with an explanation of why you are dissatisfied. We will offer, one time per person, a credit for your payment, less a 15% banking and administrative fee that you may apply to a different (recorded) On Demand seminar.
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