Three facts:

1 Chairwork has its roots in psychodrama and gestalt therapy

2 Chairwork can be used in many contexts and therapies

3 Chairwork works well in CBT, CFT and schema work

 but this workshop will also explore its application in DBT

Are you a therapist looking for new techniques to revolutionise how you deal with clients? Whatever therapy you practice, this training will deepen your results and speed up your work.

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Chairwork across the Therapies

A one-day workshop with Tobyn Bell and Matt Pugh

hosted by Fiona Kennedy

 Watch recorded event

Introduction

Chairwork refers to a collection of experiential methods which utilise chairs, movement, positioning, and dialogue to bring about change. Since its development over one century ago, chairwork has gained a reputation for being one of the most powerful and versatile methods of intervention in psychotherapy. In CBT, CFT and schema therapy, as well as in DBT and ACT, chairwork can be an effective way to help clients generate meaningful behavioural and cognitive changes, take new perspectives and activate compassion and self-care. As such, it represents an invaluable addition to every therapist’s toolkit.

In this experiential and practice-focused workshop, therapists will be introduced to the core chairwork techniques and helped to reflect on and apply them within their own context. Using group discussion, self-practice exercises, and live demonstrations, participants will have the opportunity to both observe and experience chairwork from the inside-out. Ways of overcoming common obstacles in chairwork and adapting these techniques to online therapy will also be explored. Be the first to benefit from the cutting-edge information and skills from Matt Pugh and Tobyn Bell’s new workshop. Limited numbers mean you will experience a highly engaging interactive “in the room” training.

Who will benefit from this course?

This workshop is for mental health practitioners and therapists including psychological therapists, counsellors, supervisors, OTs, social workers, and psychiatrists.

Course Content

We will cover the history and background to chairwork including the styles used and processes involved in chairwork, experiencing self-practice. We will go through the ‘dance steps’ of chairwork to illustrate the techniques. We will demonstrate the techniques allowing time for reflection and use breakout rooms so that skills can be practiced and brought into the context of the participants’ own practice. We look at how chairwork can be applied in different stages of the client’s  therapeutic journey.

Learning methods

We will use instruction, demos, role-plays and reflection in breakout rooms, and video material to create a workshop with a group of highly engaged participants, and we will have fun!

What You Will Learn

• The history and evolution of chairwork as a therapeutic method
• The four pillars of chairwork (principles, processes, procedures, and process skills)
• Gain lived experience of chairwork directly through guided self-practice
• Be able to use chairwork to creates change by facilitating therapeutic processes such as perspective taking and embodiment
• Use chairwork to broaden behavioural repertoires, help emotion regulation, produce cognitive change and increase compassion
• Be able to help clients developing awareness of multiple aspects of the self, increasing self-acceptance and choice

Take Aways

• Written guides on ‘how to’ do chairwork
• Free copies of Matt and Tobyn’s articles

The Trainers

Matthew Pugh

is a Clinical Psychologist, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Advanced Schema Therapist, Voice Dialogue Facilitator, and chairwork practitioner. He has worked in eating disorders services for over 10 years as both a senior therapist and team leader. Alongside his NHS role, Matthew is a Teaching Fellow (University College London), clinical and research supervisor, and trainer. Alongisde Tobyn Bell, he co-directs Chairwork UK– a international provider of chairwork-related training and supervision. Matthew is the author of ‘Cognitive Behavioural Chairwork: Distinctive Features’.

Tobyn Bell

is a Compassion Focused Therapy Trainer, Supervisor and Psychotherapist. His is also an accredited Schema Therapist and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist. He is a co-founder of Chairwork UK and a co-author of the book ‘Compassion Focused Therapy from the Inside Out: A Self-practice/Self-reflection Workbook for Therapists’. Tobyn regularly provides national and international training on compassion and chairwork and is actively involved in ongoing research within these areas. He currently works as a lecturer and operational lead at the University of Manchester.

Supported by Fiona Kennedy,

Fiona Kennedy

is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of GreenWood Mentors. She makes complex concepts accessible and enjoys having fun whilst training on serious topics. She has many years experience as an NHS clinician and manager, as well as in private practice. She has written books and published papers on the sequelae of trauma in childhood and other topics. The latest “Integrating CBT and Third Wave Therapies” (2020) is part of the CBT Distinctive Features series from Routledge.

Dates and times

Recording available after the event

Venue

Watch recording