WORKSHOPS

Superhero Therapy – San Diego

Combining Evidence-Based Therapy with Pop Culture Narratives to Heal Clients

13
CE Hours available ( How do I get my CE? )
Janina Scarlet, PhD Creator of Superhero Therapy, and author

About This Workshop

Superhero stories and characters from fantasy and science fiction worlds have become prominent in American culture. We look to these stories for strength and inspiration in our everyday lives—especially during times of struggle. This workshop will focus on how to incorporate popular culture and interactive games into evidence-based therapies, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and narrative exposure therapy (NET) to help clients better manage anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other psychological disorders. Join clinical psychologist and international speaker/trainer Dr. Janina Scarlet in exploring Superhero Therapy, and learn how it might help you better help your clients in promoting positive changes.

Janina Scarlet, PhD, will teach you how to use game-based and pop-culture-based treatment techniques in this workshop. Adult and adolescent clients have been shown to respond to these techniques—superhero and science fiction/fantasy. stp Prior to registering, please review speaker-planner conflict of interest disclosures and complete CE information.

Program

Saturday, September 21

8:00 am to 8:30 am

  • Registration (Not available for CE)

8:30 am to 10:15 am

  • Welcoming and Orientation
  • Introduction to Superhero Therapy 
  • Formulation and processing of an origin story 

10:15 am to 10:30 am 

  • Morning Break  (Not available for CE)

10:30 am to 12:30 pm 

  • Learning to select a heroic role model 
  • Create a treatment plan using Superhero Therapy

12:30 pm to 2:00 pm

  • Lunch Break (Not available for CE)

2:00 pm to 3:15 pm

  • Introduction to game-based therapy 
  • Interactive role-playing game demonstration

3:15 pm to 3:30 pm 

  • Afternoon Break (Not available for CE)

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

  • Recruiting sidekicks and learning social connection through Superhero Therapy
  • Establishing emotional safety through pop culture
  • Q & A
Sunday, September 22

8:00 am to 8:30 am

  • Check-in (Not available for CE)

8:30 am to 10:15 am

  • Fostering growth through creativity
  • Writing fan-fiction for therapy

10:15am to 10:30am 

  • Morning Break (Not available for CE)

10:30 am to 12:30pm

  •  Introduction to the Superhero Narrative
  • Using Superhero Narrative to treat PTSD, anxiety, depression

12:30 pm to 2:00 pm 

  • Lunch Break (Not available for CE)

2:00 pm to 3:15 pm

  • Mindfulness as a Jedi Power
  • Power-ups: self-soothing with pop culture

3:15 pm to 3:30 pm 

  • Afternoon Break (Not available for CE)

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm 

  • Create your own movie – committed action, final narrative
  • “Gamifying” homework
  • Q & A

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:
  1. Explain the concept of Superhero Therapy.
  2. Demonstrate how to incorporate pop culture examples into treatment.
  3. Analyze which pop culture characters might be most suitable for a specific client.
  4. Create a treatment plan using Superhero Therapy.
  5. Explain the concept of Therapy Quest and game-based approaches to therapy.
  6. Discuss research related to game-based and pop-culture-based treatments.
  7. Demonstrate how to incorporate interactive choice-based game into therapy.
  8. Demonstrate how to apply Superhero Therapy to clinical cases.
  9. Demonstrate how to create emotional safety with clients using pop culture.
  10. Explain narrative exposure therapy (NET) techniques using pop culture.
  11. Demonstrate how to apply NET to treat PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
  12. Demonstrate how to help clients create meaningful social connections using Superhero Therapy.
  13. Explain the role and the importance of heroic role models for treatment and recovery
  14. Discuss how to “gamify” homework practice.
  15. Demonstrate mindfulness and self-compassion practices within the Superhero Therapy framework.
  16. Demonstrate the implementation of creativity exercises in Superhero Therapy.

Continuing Education

Please review complete CE and conflict-of-interest disclosure information prior to registering. This course is jointly sponsored by Praxis CET and Institute for Better Health (IBH) and is approved for 13 CE Hours by the following:

  • APA – Psychologists
  • ASWB – National Social Workers
  • NBCC – National Counselors
  • NY State – Counselors and Social Workers
  • Other State Level Counselors, MFTs, and Social Workers
  • ACCME – Physicians
  • ANCC – Nurses
  • WESPSB- Educators

Prerequisites

None.

Audience

This course is intended for mental health professionals, beginners to intermediate level

Recommended Reading

Scarlet, J. (2017). Superhero Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Download this free Superhero Therapy Handout to get a taste of the ACT principles that inform this approach.

References

Derrick, J. E., Gabriel, S., & Hugenberg, K. (2009). Social surrogacy: How favored television programs provide the experience of belonging. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45, 352–362

Garbarino, J. (1987). Children’s response to a sexual abuse prevention program: A study of the Spiderman comic. Child Abuse & Neglect, 11(1), 143-148.

Vezzali, L., Stathi, S., Giovannini, D., Capozza, D., & Trifiletti, E. (2015). The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 45(2), 105-121.

White, R. E., Prager, E. O., Schaefer, C., Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2017). The “Batman Effect”: Improving perseverance in young children. Child development, 88(5), 1563-1571.

Young, A. F., Gabriel, S., & Hollar, J. L. (2013). Batman to the rescue! The protective effects of parasocial relationships with muscular superheroes on men’s body image. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(1), 173-177.

Refund and Cancellation Policy

We understand, sometimes things come up!

Praxis will offer a full refund to registrants of both live and live-online trainings who cancel their registration up to 14 days before the course or workshop start date, minus an administrative processing fee of $30 for a 2-day workshop or online course, and a $50 fee for a 4-day workshop. If cancelled within 14 days, no refund will be issued, however, a credit for the same amount will be applied toward another learning product, which expires within 1 year. Please email us at events@praxiscet.zendesk.com to cancel a registration.

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September 21–22, 2019
11:30am–8:00pm
See venue's website for Room Block; Use code PSH

Available Discounts

  • Groups of 3 or more professionals receive 20% off at checkout
  • Register before August 10 for a $50 discount.
  • Student registrations are not eligible for ANY discounts
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