Institute:Relational Abundance: From Emotional Depletion to Vitality

AGPS Institute

Relational Abundance: From Emotional Depletion to Vitality

Facilitated by: 

 Ryan Spencer, LMFT, CGP. AGPA-F

Just as our bodies require specific nutrients to thrive, our emotional and relational lives depend on specific sustenance to flourish.

This institute dives into these essential elements, helping you pinpoint which ones are missing from your own "relational diet." We’ll explore the mechanics of connection: how we—and our clients—learn to crave, digest, or even starve ourselves of the support we need.

Our groups are nutrient-dense environments, yet many clients are "malnourished" simply because they don't know how to ask for or absorb what's right in front of them. We’ll explore "relational autoimmune disorders" that cause people to attack the very care they crave, and the "allergies" that make intimacy feel like a threat.

Using the love/hate matrix, you’ll map out your own deficiencies and work on inviting in healthy elements while fiercely rejecting the toxins that hold you back.

About the Presenter:

Ryan Spencer is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Austin, Texas, with additional licensure in California and Colorado. He specializes in group therapy and leads process groups online and in person as well as training groups for clinicians. He is passionate about working with individuals and groups to foster insight, healing, sturdiness, and connection. As a Certified Group Psychotherapist and a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, Ryan is dedicated to advancing the field of group therapy. He has held leadership positions on the boards of the Group Psychotherapy Association of Los Angeles, the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society, and the American Group Psychotherapy Association.

What Are Group Institutes?

Institutes are a highly experiential form of small group teaching led by experienced instructors. They are intended to develop therapy skills relevant to leading groups. They often offer a chance to explore a particular theme in greater depth or to experience a different theoretical approach. Institutes are primarily designed for mental health professionals who have clinical psychotherapy experience. While institutes are not therapy, they are process-oriented and it is expected that they may stir feelings spanning the whole range of human experience. Members agree to attend the entire group, to participate actively, and to respect the confidentiality of the other members. The secure environment of these small groups allows for rich cognitive and deep emotional learning about group process and oneself, not to mention a chance for personal and professional renewal.

Objectives:

 Attendees will be able to:

1. Identify two Emotional/Relational Nutrients

2. Utilize the love/hate matrix to delineate how clients move towards, accept and reject relational elements

3. Identify Emotional/Relational Toxins and how to utilize this concept clinically and personally

Event Schedule (including lunch and breaks, as needed. 4-6 group sessions are typical, usually split over 1.5 days):  

Friday 7/31

3-3:30 Introductions, didactic/discussion and mindfulness exercise

3:30-4:45 pm Process group

4:45-5pm Break

5pm-6:30 pm Process group

Saturday 8/1

9am-9:15 Didactic

9:15-10:45 Process group

10:45-11am Break

11:00-12:30 Process group

Lunch break 12:30-2pm

2pm-3:30 Process group

3:30-4pm Discussion and evaluation

Location given at registration. The location is wheelchair accessible.

8.5 CEUs available for social workers, LPCs, LMFTs, and psychologists.