(HS Fisher 056780 2020) Telehealth Treatment of Addictive Behavior with Janina Fisher, PhD

Course overview

Without support and blaming themselves for being 'weak,' it is not surprising that many individuals under stress rely on addictive behavior to manage their intense feelings and impulses. Substance abuse, eating disorders, and impulsive acting out all have the effect of calming an irritable nervous system and creating distance from emotions and body sensations. Working effectively on addictions recovery is enhanced by an understanding of why it feels safer to use (or to act out sexually or to restrict, binge, and purge) than to experience one's feelings and memories. The challenge of helping addicted clients is magnified by the current COVID crisis and need to work virtually. Just when stress is heightened for all human beings, access to 12-step programs and psychotherapy are now limited to telehealth contact. This recording will give you a conceptual "map" for understanding addiction as a survival strategy for regulating environmental stress and personal distress. Using mindfulness-based and body-centered strategies drawn from Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, you can develop a toolkit for helping clients with addictive behavior virtually even in the midst of a pandemic.