Join us for a series of insightful, educational workshops over the course of the day. There will be two sessions, morning and afternoon - exact timings will follow shortly.

Many psychotherapists are experienced and knowledgeable in the psychotherapeutic treatment of trauma, yet hesitate to engage with a client with an intellectual disability and/or significant neurodivergence. Trauma psychotherapy requires a skill set that is directly transferable to the neurodivergent / disabled population. 

The aim of this workshop is to explore, encourage and support psychotherapists to engage in psychotherapy with this population where there is a significant unmet demand for the provision of psychotherapeutic support.

Presented By

Evelyn P. Gilmore

Many psychotherapists today are working in organisational settings as psychotherapists, but, as part of the changing face of psychotherapy, psychotherapists are also working as managers, supervisors, group facilitators, change agents and consultants.  During training, psychotherapists of all therapeutic backgrounds develop many professional competencies which are essential to their work as psychotherapists, but that are also pertinent for change agents and consultants in organisational settings. 

A key role of the change agent or organisational consultant working from a systems psychodynamic perspective is to create a holding environment for their clients.  In fact, sometimes, the most important function of an organisational consultant is to serve as a ‘container’ for undiscussable issues and to ‘hold’ organisation members in a safe place as they engage in difficult conversations.  A key question in this regard is how does a psychotherapist, with their huge range of professional competencies, go about attempting to create a holding environment in a complex organisational setting. 

Presented By

Matthew Henson

In this workshop we will explore what it means to practise humanistic and integrative psychotherapy, in this place and this time, right here right now. What do we know in our bodies… in our bones, in our guts, in our noses, in our heads, in our hearts?

How does this embodied knowledge inform our current therapeutic practice(s) as individual practitioners? How might this embodied knowledge inform the future direction of our individual practice development, the future direction of IAHIP and the future direction of psychotherapy in Ireland, as we individually and collectively ‘face’ our bodies into a radically changing landscape?  

Existential-phenomenology will be the principal methodology in this entirely experiential workshop. No previous knowledge is required nor previous experience of therapeutic bodywork. Come as you are and as who you are. In keeping with phenomenological methodology, you will be invited to approach the workshop in a spirit of naivety and wonder, open to learning from the wisdom you encounter in your physical body. Clothes loose enough to allow relatively free movement are preferable. Spontaneity is encouraged and our intention will be to trust the process. What emerges will be given space and time to emerge, with space and time also allocated for reflection and discussion. 

Presented by

Marion Rackard

Literature on Adult Child of Alcoholics (ACOA) symptoms corresponds with the emphasis of body orientated psychotherapies on the restricted self-expression imparted by trauma, including the developmental trauma of emotional deprivation which restricts self definition throughout life. 
ACOA is the wound of parental alcoholism which features heavily within the Adverse Childhood Experiences literature.

25% of adults in Ireland have grown up with parental alcohol problems. 
593 counsellor responses to a poll showing that 53% answered that they had grown up with a parent/family member whose problem had affected them 7% Mildly, 15% moderately, 31% significantly, 47% N/A.
This one hour engagement is intended to mobilise interest for further interactions & discussions re this highly topical subject.

Presented by

imogen O'Connor

The first Climate Cafés emerged in the mid-2010's, primarily in the UK and other parts of Europe and the concept is rooted in the broader idea of 'Death Cafés'.  Their aim is to provide a non-judgmental space where participants can share their experiences, listen to others, and build a sense of community around the shared challenge of climate change. These gatherings often involve discussions about personal feelings and ways to cope with the anxiety and grief that the climate crisis can trigger.  The general ethos of Climate Cafés is to offer a community-based easily accessible resource for people to come together in a safe and nourishing environment to discuss what is often a taboo subject in general conversation.

The aim of this workshop is twofold.  Firstly,  to provide a safe space to share thoughts and feelings about climate change and how it affects our work as psychotherapists, and secondly, through experiencing how the Climate Café format operates, to offer a template for participants to offer similar cafés, or supportive spaces in their own areas.  This is an experiential workshop limited to 12 participants who have an interest in exploring how they relate to climate change and the current and future challenges this presents both personally and professionally. 

Presented By

Niamh Walsh

The latest advances in neuroscience are changing the conversation about pain. Your brain continuously monitors sensory data from your body and the environment and detects whether there may be a threat that merits a pain response. In some people, the brain turns on pain too easily and leaves it on for too long – resulting in chronic pain. In this workshop, we examine the latest neuroscientific understanding of pain and renewed interest in psychological approaches to recovery from common chronic pain conditions like back pain, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia, joint pain, unexplained pain or pain after injury, surgery or illness that persists far longer than the expected recovery time.

Presented By

Kevin O'Byrne

This interactive workshop will give a brief intro to the conscious clinical use of creative arts for therapist self-care, offering up a various blends of empirical uses of creative writing, music therapy and art therapy to help clinicians self-resource and internally process.