Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy: An Experiential Intensive for Social Workers
4 week series | 10 CEUs | Virtual
4 week series | 10 CEUs | Virtual
This series will be an experiential intensive for social workers in various practice settings that wish to learn and experience a new psychotherapy approach that is brief, structured and deeply meaningful.
Dates: October 19 - November 9, 2024
Time: 9 - 11:30 a.m. ET
Program Cost: $270* (see below for discount)
Delivery: Synchronous Virtual Classroom via Zoom
Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP) is a structured and brief approach to psychotherapy that was developed by Memorial Sloan Kettering's Cancer Center (Dr. William Breitbart and team) based on the work of Viktor Frankl & his work with logotherapy. It was initially developed to support people with advanced cancer diagnoses and has been adapted for various settings since its inception - including cancer caregivers, palliative care patients, veterans, for healthcare professionals and first responders of 9/11, and continues to be developed and adapted in new settings. The role of the therapist is in guiding participants either individually or in groups through prompts to identify sources of meaning in their life story - also referred to as legacy - including the legacy they were born into, the legacy they are living now, and the legacy they hope to live in the future.
"He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how." - Viktor Frankl
This series will be an experiential intensive for social workers in various practice settings that wish to learn and experience a new psychotherapy approach that is brief, structured and deeply meaningful. Each session will be built upon the week prior. To maintain a cohesive cohort, participants are expected to commit to attendance at all sessions. There will be an optional legacy project that participants can engage in and will share at the conclusion of the series.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the three central themes in Viktor Frankl's work that inform MCP.
- Define and identify sources of Meaning.
- Illustrate confidence integrating MCP into practice in ones' specific practice setting.
- Coping better by finding and creating a sense of meaning and purpose in their life and work as social workers.
- How sources of meaning can be used to help participants' and their clients during times of hardship.
- New ways to face and overcome challenges caused by hardships such as illness, caregiving, loss, or trauma.
- Concepts and Sources of Meaning: Why does Meaning matter?
- Hardship and Meaning
- Historical Sources of Meaning
- Attitudinal Sources of Meaning
- Creative Sources of Meaning
- Experiential Sources of Meaning
- Transitions and MCP in Practice
- Session review, MCP in practice, and optional legacy project presentations
Instructor:
Lauren Burling, MSS, LCSW (she/her) is a clinically focused oncology social worker and private practice therapist with a diverse background in urban and rural healthcare settings, non-profits and in program development. Her career in healthcare and oncology has led to a junction that pairs the critical services of mental health care and concrete resource needs with navigating complex systems of care. Her approach as a therapist is eclectic - combining meaning-centered, dialectical behavioral therapy and problem-solving treatment.
Lauren chose to pursue a career in social work after a theater mentor gifted her Viktor Frankl's book, "Man's Search for Meaning." She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelors' Degree in Creative Non-fiction Writing and Psychology (2011). She is a graduate of the Master of Social Service Program at Bryn Mawr College (2013). Lauren holds post graduate certificates in Palliative and End of Life Care from Smith College, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy from the Linehan Institute, and Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy from Memorial Sloan Kettering's Psycho-Oncology Institute.
Lauren is a full-time therapist in Pittsburgh, PA. She lives with her husband, son, and many animals. She is a gardener, quilter and thrifter.
Cost/CEUs
Program Cost: $270.00*
*Discounts Rate: $240.00 (Discount available to BMC alumnae/i, faculty, staff, field instructors, and current students.)
Partial registration not available for this series.
CEUs: 10