Richard G. Erskine, PhD, held online video seminar: Relational Psychotherapy for the Borderline Client on November 26^th, 27^th and 28^th  2021.

Association “Belcounsel”, National Association for Transactional Analysis of Serbia – NATAS and Outpatient psychiatric practice “Bubera” hosted this event.

After two successful online video seminars in December 2020. and March 2021, and due to the continued great interest of the members of the psychotherapists community who participated and evaluated them excellently, Dr. Erskine prepared a new lecture for which the largest number of participants in the evaluation of the seminars from December 2020. March 2021. had expressed interest.

All professionals in the field of mental health, psychotherapists and trainees of various psychotherapeutic approaches were invited to apply for this video seminar, and especially trainees of Transactional analysis, Integrative Psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, Body psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.

So far, members of the psychotherapist community in Serbia and the region have already had the opportunity to listen and watch this expert in action in our organization – as he explains theoretical and practical concepts and conducts supervisions. His workshops have been widely attended all over the world, and during the COVID-19 pandemic he holds online video seminars for psychotherapeutic communities around the world.

This workshop presented various concepts from both Transactional Analysis and a Developmentally-based, Relationally-focused Integrative Psychotherapy.

Affect Confusion, Cumulative Trauma, and Attachment Disruptions dominate the life of many psychotherapy clients.  This clients may be described has having a Borderline Personality Disorder or they may have less intense affect confusion and present only a Borderline pattern or style.  For many therapists, the full range of borderline clients present unique professional challenges because of their frequent relational conflicts, varying developmental levels of transference, and polarization of emotions.

Dr. Erskine talked about the early affect confusion between despair and rage as an alternative and de-pathologizing concept instead of the concept of borderline disorder, the crises those clients experience and how the therapist could successfully deal with them to help the client, as well as the core belief that “I can’t be loved” that these clients have.

Dr. Erskine then talked about resolving confusion between behaviors, feelings, and needs through stabilization, regulation, reparation, and supporting progression, as well as resolving transference through knowledge about forming early affect confusion as well as therapist involvement and response to client relational needs.

Dr. Erskine discussed guidelines and what to consider for relational psychotherapy work with those clients, especially emphasizing the need for de-confusion of the Child Ego State, but also the Adult ES, and how to use Integrative Psychotherapy methods to help clients to resolve despair, and rage that confuses them and disable balanced functioning.

Verbalizing implicit memory with the help of Dr. Erskine’ the Script System Concept is a very important part of the psychotherapeutic process, which also includes remembering often forgotten memories.

Dr. Erskine also talked about re-living and experiencing memories and/or experiences carefully reconstructed in the therapeutic process based on clients’ experiences with important others in various periods of development. This is part of supported therapeutic regression with the aim of de-confusion and making new, functional conclusions and decisions that will enable further support to the client, to put his life on a new, healthy base.

This three evening training course provided:

• diagnostic perspectives on Attachment Disruptions;
• an understanding of the etiology of Early Affect-Confusion and the

    formation of the Borderline Personality;

• the therapeutic use of treatment contracts; 
• the significance of an attuned therapeutic relationship, and
• a working knowledge of when and how to use behavioural interventions and/or supportive age regression.

Dr. Erskine illustrated methods that were effective in psychotherapy for all clients on the borderline spectrum, either a  disorder, pattern, or style:

• methods effective in transference resolution;
• understanding and therapeutically using there forms of countertransference: identifying, reactive, and responsive;
• the bifurcation of therapeutically relevant challenges;
• calibrating for juxtaposition reactions,
• methods for therapeutic engagement  with the polarization of emotions such as,  idealization and hate, elation and despair, anger and dependency;
• responding to oscillating relational-needs; and
• the importance of a sustained phenomenological inquiry and affect attunement;
• attitudes that enhance a relational psychotherapy.

This online video seminar was held in English and Serbian with consecutive translation.  (You can read here about consecutive interpreting: what is consecutive interpreting)

Dr. Erskine insists on consecutive translation, because this is the best way to attune alive with translators and participants – to monitor whether participants understand the content, to monitor participants and their reactions and potentially include them in the discussion.

If you didn’t participate in the workshop, and want to watch the recording (or recordings of any of the workshops organized or co-organized by NATAS) you can order recording. Our recommendation is to participate in person whenever it is possible, because that way you can communicate with a lecturer directly.

Only participants who had taken part in seminar got certificate of 9 hours of education.

Who was eligible for this two hours training?

Psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers were eligible to participate in the seminar, but also all other professionals (special pedagogues, andragogues, MDs, nurses…) provided that they were in the process of psychotherapy training, and that they had filled in application form.

For results of evaluation of this seminar, click here

Hand outs, PowerPoint presentation and  video recording of the seminar are not included  in the price.

For more information contact:

Zvonko (Zvonimir Ninić); Email: natasrbije@gmail.com

Richard G. Erskine, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist and Training Director of the Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy. Originally trained in client-centered child therapy, Dr Erskine also studied Gestalt therapy with both Fritz and Laura Perls. He is a certified clinical Transactional Analyst and a Licensed Psychoanalyst who has specialized in psychoanalytic self-psychology and object-relations theory. His work is an integration of these concepts and fifty years of clinical experience which has included working with disturbed children, inmates in a maximum security prison, borderline and narcissistic clients, post-traumatic stress and dissociative identity disorders. Recently his research and clinical practice have focused on the treatment of the schizoid process and on the psychotherapy of obsession. He is the author of several books and scores of articles on psychotherapy theory and methods. His best-selling book (with Jan Moursund and Rebecca Trautmann) is “Beyond Empathy: A Therapy of Contact-in-Relationship” (1999, Brunner/Mazel).