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Fifth Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference 9/24, 2021 – Hybrid Conference

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Purchase Recording $30

The 5th Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference will take place Friday, September 24, 2021. The topic is: Helping Clients Change: You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup.

This six-hour training addresses issues related to burnout, compassionate fatigue, and vicarious trauma that helping professionals face in their daily life, and especially during the times of mass crises.

·      Participants will identify sources of and significant differences between burnout, compassionate fatigue, and vicarious trauma.

·      Participants will interpret typical scenarios in light of these differences, and will relate personality variables to how burnout, compassionate fatigue, and vicarious trauma are experienced and how these may be impacting their professional practice. 

·     Participants will design their own creative and communally useful wellness plan, based on Adlerian perspective of wellness.

In this training, participants will attend a mini lecture, a life demonstration, a panel discussion with local experts, and small groups experiential exercises.

Speaker – Marina Bluvshtein, PhD LP; MA LMFT

Panel moderator – Gary Schoener, LP

Panel Presenters – Jonathan Bundt, MA LMFT; Pamela Oberoi, MA; Sara Stamschror, MA LMFT; Carri Sullivan, MA LPCC.

The training has been planned as both in-person and virtual. So, you can decide whether to join us in person at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum or remotely via Zoom. There is also an option to purchase a recording of a portion of the training (a min-lecture and panel discussion only). If COVID-19 prevents us from continuing with our plans of in-person training, we will move the training to Zoom.

There will be a limited amount of in-person attendees. Please order your tickets early if you want to attend in person.

Each in-person attendee will receive a special gift – four books by Willard and Marguerite Beechers.

NEW this year:

The morning portion will include a lecture, demo, and breakout session. The afternoon portion will be a panel discussion with breakout sessions.

We are getting the lecture and panel discussion portions professionally recorded and that recording will be available to purchase here for $30: https://www.classtra.org/courses/3606A127-BBF2-4896-9EEB-C730176C1253 (No CEU’s are available for the recording). Conference attendees will receive a coupon for half off the recording. This coupon code will be in your confirmation email.

In-person attendees will receive up to 6.5 CEU’s. Live virtual attendees have the option to purchase a ticket with or without the 6.5 CEU’s.

3 CE hours of ethics approved by the MN Board of MFT (3 Ethics CE + 3.5 Regular CE = 6.5 CE). This is a CE reporting year!

6.5 board approved CEs for psychologists, LPC/LPCC, and MFTs.

Fourth Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference 9/11, 2020 – Virtual Conference

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Helping Clients Change: Overcoming Trauma with Individual Psychology Conceptualization and Interventions

For this year’s conference, we will be meeting over Zoom September 11th, 9 am – 12 pm (CST). (Cost: $40 for professionals and $25 for students). All profit from the conference will be donated to NASAP scholarships, ICASSI scholarships, and the Walk-in Counseling Center.

Mental health practitioners are tasked with understanding holistic factors that influence psychological trauma as well as implementing strategies to help individuals recover and heal from traumatic events and experiences. This workshop will introduce a trauma-informed Adlerian case conceptualization model. Sperry will also review findings from his sabbatical, which examined trauma treatment and practices around the globe.

The workshop will be a combination of brief lectures, experiential exercises, and practical demonstrations to introduce you to strategies that can be effectively integrated into your work with clients.

Learning Objectives: Participants will…

Be able to define trauma-informed care and understand the basic principles for conceptualizing cases through a trauma-informed lens.

  1. Understand the significance of the adverse childhood experiences study (ACES) as a public health concern.
  2. Understand how trauma-informed principles can be integrated into various Adlerian counseling practice.
  3. Be able to apply a step-by-step strategy for developing effective trauma-informed Adlerian case conceptualizations and treatment plans.
  4. Understand themes of trauma treatment and practices around the globe.

Jon Sperry, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lynn University and a staff counselor at the Counseling and Psychological Services at Florida Atlantic University. He lectures around the globe extensively on Adlerian theory, case conceptualization, trauma-informed care, and group drumming.

This training has been approved for 3.0 CE credits by the Minnesota Board of Psychology (log number 202107.005), Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy (Board approval number 2020-180), and Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (2020.CE.168, for LPC and LPCC).

Use coupon code AAML if you have been to any previous Adler Academy conferences for $5 off.

Third Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference 9/13 – 9/14, 2019

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save the date ad 2019 conference MN

Registration is open now.

Helping clients change: Creating a more useful story

Adler Academy of Minnesota 3rd Annual Conference

September 13th 9:00 am to 5:00 pm & September 14th, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, 2019

** Drawing for one week tuition to 2020 ICASSI (Minsk), one registration to Fourth Annual Minnesotan Adlerian Conference (2020), and one free Ethics Seminar in December will occur on 9/14. **

The conference will focus on role of creativity in therapeutic interventions. Participants will learn applications of Adlerian theory, and its systems integration, that are based on creativity of human nature and role of creativity in therapeutic process, including Reflecting ‘As If’ and therapeutic use of life themed metaphors in Early Recollections. Adler’s belief in creative power of self, clients’ strengths and abilities to facilitate creative and socially useful change will be demonstrated in a variety of contexts – all highlighting relational nature of lasting creative therapeutic change. Specific procedures will be discussed to provide participants with a structure they can use in their own practice.

Learning Objective 1: Participants will understand application of Reflecting As If as it pertains to client’s ability and readiness for therapeutic change in a variety of settings

Learning Objective 2: Participants will understand the crucial role of encouragement in the Reflecting As If and Acting As If therapeutic process, and its relational core.

Learning Objective 3: Participants will practice implementation of the Reflecting As If process in an integrative manner with individuals, couples, and families

Learning Objective 4: Participants will learn life themes found within the metaphorical make-up of early recollections can point to the purpose for maladaptive behavior, including substance use by individuals and systems dynamics around substance use.

Learning Objective 5: Participants will analyze the metaphorical meaning of ERs in clients with substance use problems and their families

Learning Objective 6: Participants will practice the use of therapist-encouraged socially useful change in a metaphor embedded in a client’s Early Recollection.

The training is approved for up to 10 CE hours by the MN Board of Psychology, MN Board of Marriage and Family and Therapy, and MN Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (for LPCs and LPCCs).

** There will be a drawing for one week’s tuition to the 2020 ICASSI (Minsk), one registration to Fourth Annual Minnesotan Adlerian Conference (2020), and one free tuition for the Ethics Seminar in December. **

Event outline:

September 13th, 2019 – 6.5 hours of CE

9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon (2.75 hrs with a 15 min break)

Reflecting as If (Learning Objectives 1 and 2)

12:00 Noon – 1:00 PM lunch break

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (3.75 hrs with a 15 min break)

Metaphors in Early Recollections (Learning objectives 4 and 5)

September 14th, 2019 – 3.5 hours of CE

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Practice of Reflecting as If (Learning Objective 3)

11:15 AM – 1:00 PM

Practice of Metaphors in Early Recollections (Learning objective 6)

Register Now – Second Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference 9/28-9/29

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Helping clients change

Wisdom of Adlerian Psychology

Featuring an internationally renowned speaker on Adlerian Psychology & NASAP Diplomate

Betty Lou Bettner, PhD

Event Details

This workshop will focus on essential tenets of Adlerian psychology as they deepen clinicians’ understanding of clients, selves as therapists, and ensuing therapeutic relationships. Participants will learn to apply Adlerian theory to case conceptualization with individuals, couples, and families. Participants will have an opportunity of exploring their own therapeutic style from an Adlerian perspective. Activities will include mini-lectures, demonstrations, small group case conceptualization work, and other experiential exercises aimed to enhance participants’ clinical practice skills.

  • • The dates are Friday, September 28th (9am-4pm) and Saturday, September 29th, 2018 (9am-300 pm with social hour immediately following from 300-400 pm).
  • • We will once again be at the beautiful University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
  • • Food will be provided, along with time to enjoy each other and the Arboretum.
  • • The number of participants will be limited to allow for a more intimate experience.
  • • We will once again be taking a deep dive into Adlerian counseling theory and techniques through lectures, live demonstrations, and self-practice.

This training is approved for continuing education credit by the following: MN Board of Psychology (12 CE) (201806.249); MN Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (11 CE) (2018.CE.146); MN Board of Marriage and Family Therapy (11 CE) (2018-297); MN Board of Social Work (11 CE) (CEP#1062). Adler Academy of MN maintains responsibility for continuing education aspects of this training.

Organization of Conference:

Friday, September 28, 2018

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. – Registration and continental breakfast

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. – Morning lecture (Betty Lou)

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. – Break

10:30 -11:30 – Morning lecture (Betty Lou)

11:30 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Demonstration (Betty Lou and Volunteer(s))

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Breakout – Application of skills (Participants in small groups)

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. – Wrapping up the Day/Questions and Comments (Betty Lou)

3:15 – 4:00 p.m. – Social “Hour” (Connection and snacks)

Saturday, September 29, 2018

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. – Continental breakfast

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. – More Discussion of Breakout Sessions and Morning lecture (Betty Lou)

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. – Break

10:30 – 11:30 – Morning lecture (Betty Lou)

11:30 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Demonstration (Betty Lou and Volunteer(s))

2:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Break

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. – Breakout – Application of skills (Participants with Discussion Leaders)

3:15 – 4:00 p.m. – Wrapping up the Conference/Questions and Comments (Betty Lou)

If you attended the First Annual Conference in September last year, you know how special this conference will be. Don’t be left out – Mark your calendars today for September 28th and 29th 2018. Registration begins June 1st!

What people enjoyed last year:

  • * Immersive experience and chance to practice new skills.
  • * Limited number of participants allowed for an intimate experience.
  • * Location – MN Landscape Arboretum – was exceptional.
  • * Chance to get to know presenter’s techniques so well, and to know who he is as a clinician.
  • * Loved the one-person format since “we get enough of the other stuff, the surface presentations.”
  • * Well-appointed and well-organized
  • * The pace was good—people learned but didn’t feel burnt out.
  • * Friendliness, openness, attitude of, “How are you? Do you need anything?”
  • * Help from the Adlerian Elders
  • * Intergenerational community
  • * The people—the speaker, the Elders, volunteers for live demos, other attendees, staff at Arboretum
  • * Sharing case studies and seeing live demos
  • * Felt connection with fellow Adlerians
  • * “This was a refresher/tuneup weekend.”
  • * “The enthusiasm, goodwill and ‘our tribe’ philosophy was like the days when Dreikurs came from Chicago.”

Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference Goes Off with a Bang!

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Were you one of the lucky fifty? Fifty what? you ask. One of those lucky enough to join us for the First Annual Minnesota Adlerian Conference on September 15-17, 2017. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, MN was the venue where Dr. James R. Bitter (NASAP President) generously shared his experience, learning, warmth, and humor with an intimate intergenerational group. The event, co-sponsored by The Adler Academy of Minnesota and the Adlerian Network, brought like-minded individuals for a weekend of sharing and caring Adlerian style.

Jim’s topic was “Helping Clients Change” and through morning lectures, personal life stories, and demonstrations he taught the principles of Adaptive Reorientation Therapy (ART), a technique developed by his friend and colleague Dr. Paul Rasmussen. Afternoons allowed participants to try their hand at applying these techniques with each other.

According to Jim: “It was the best teaching experience of my life in the most beautiful setting ever with some of the most warm, caring and wonderful people possible. It was a vacation with purpose. Thanks to all.” Considering that Jim has been teaching for over 30 years that is high praise indeed!

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