Conference Day 2
Workshop: Anxiety or Rational Concern: Working with Health Anxiety and Agoraphobia in a pandemic
Trainer: Denise Christy MSc MAREBT Accred.
Date: 1st December, 2021 – Time: 10.00 to 12.30 GMT
Book your place here: Free to AREBT Members; Non-members £20
Virtual Platform: Zoom meetings
This workshop will explore the challenges of working with health anxiety and associated agoraphobia in the context of a pandemic, where there may be real rational concerns about infection.
We will work with the stages of therapy, including the collaborative setting of appropriate and realistic goals. We will explore REBT interventions that can be particularly useful in helping the client to work with their fears, including the concepts of rational concern and healthy negative emotions. We will reference specific CBT case conceptualisations with regard to health anxiety and how these can be integrated into treatment, where helpful. Attention will also be paid to therapists’ ethical dilemmas as well as their experience of the pandemic and how this may impact on them and on the therapy.
This workshop is suitable for therapists at all levels of experience and although trainer-led, is intended to include some discussion and experience sharing.
Denise Christy MSc MAREBT Accred is the AREBT Accreditation Director/Practice Officer. She is an AREBT and BABCP Accredited Therapist and also BACP Accredited Counsellor. Denise has designed and run groups within the National Health Service. These include group therapy to help parents recover from Postnatal Depression. This helped parents to develop a balanced lifestyle, to learn relaxation techniques, challenge negative beliefs, improve their confidence and find realistic strategies to deal with the everyday pressures of new parenthood. A second group she designed and ran was to help people develop their Confidence and Assertiveness. This forum was based on the Hope and Heimberg’s Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Social Anxiety Group, but was expanded to include assertiveness skills. Group members learnt how to challenge their self-critical beliefs, develop self-acceptance, gain confidence and to use assertiveness skills in challenging situations.
Denise has worked as a private therapist for over 5 years, having formerly been a Joint Clinical Lead in IAPT. During the pandemic she has adapted her practice to working virtually. She is particularly interested in the challenges that the pandemic has presented clients and therapists with, and in using REBT to work with these challenges effectively (and realistically!).
Book your workshop place HERE.