Thomas Moore is a keynote speaker at the
Lowcountry Mental Health Conference planned for July 28-30, 2021 in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference provides "professional development training to mental health professionals" and offers in-person and virtual registration.
July 29, 2021; 3:45pm – 5:00pm
Psychotherapy as Care of the Soul
Keeping the Soul Thriving Through the Therapeutic Process
"Soul is our depth, the source of our identity and vitality. It needs care of those things important to it: family, home, food, friends, sexuality, work and creativity. Nurture these things, and the soul is content. Neglect them and the soul complains in the form of symptoms. Therapy can keep the soul thriving at a deep level through narrative and dream especially. It helps to be attuned to the deep myths and characters that live through us. The soul also needs big vision and experiences of transcendence. Techniques and theories are not enough to prepare a therapist for such a profound task. The arts and spiritual traditions offer further background for creating a therapeutic situation. In this keynote, Dr. Moore will discuss the ways in which therapists may help nurture the souls of those they serve.
Objectives:
– Through interactive discussion and presentation of case examples, participants will analyze and be able to distinguish soul and spirit, soul and psyche, therapy and care.
– Participants will be able to describe and show how dreams and myth play a role in therapy, and how practically to use them.
– Through case examples and discussion participants will better define therapy to include attention to spirit as well as soul and see the therapist as a spiritual director to some extent.
July 30, 2021 Lunch Session 11:30am – 12:45pm
Alchemy, Dreamwork and Magic in TherapyROOM: Salon Room 2
CAPACITY: 90
"Therapy has an alchemical aspect that includes building a vessel, putting problems into a narrative “solution,” heating and cooling the process, dissolving and congealing the material, the prima materia. Dreamwork gives hints as to what is going on at a lower level and helps deepen life altogether. Magic is the power of the therapist to use words effectively and to create an environment in which emotional health rises out of conflict and confusion.
In this break-out session, Dr. Moore will explore the deeper therapeutic process using the themes of alchemy and magic as both metaphor and guidepost.
Objectives:
– Through in depth discussion and analysis, participants will reach beyond modernist assumptions to find value in dreams, alchemy and magic, and to apply this new information in their daily clinical work.
– Participants will apply skills in seeing the colors, processes and images of alchemy at work in therapy.
– Through small group discussions, participants will demonstrate deeper elements of therapeutic process as defined by Dr. Moore using the themes of alchemy and magic as both metaphor and guideposts to understanding the roots of life problems.
Watch Thomas Moore's
free one-hour Q&A podcast interview recorded in October for this event.
