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Interview with Richard A. Heaps, PhD, ABPP: the
following interview is with Dr. Richard Heaps, who will be conducting a
full-day seminar at this year's National Conference in Las
Vegas.
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| Article Type: | Interview |
| Subject: |
Psychotherapy
(Health aspects) Psychotherapy (Conferences, meetings and seminars) Psychic trauma (Care and treatment) Psychic trauma (Conferences, meetings and seminars) |
| Pub Date: | 06/22/2009 |
| Publication: | Name: Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association Publisher: American Psychotherapy Association Audience: Academic; Professional Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Psychology and mental health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 American Psychotherapy Association ISSN: 1535-4075 |
| Issue: | Date: Summer, 2009 Source Volume: 12 Source Issue: 2 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 200 Management dynamics |
| Persons: | Named Person: Heaps, Richard A.; Heaps, Richard A. |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: United States Geographic Name: Las Vegas, Nevada Geographic Code: 1USA United States |
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| Accession Number: | 218313983 |
| Full Text: |
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What is the significance of the title of your seminar, and what insight does the title give into the seminar? The title of the course is "Interventions for Crisis, Disaster, and Trauma: Adaptive Applications." We live in a very creative world of professional research and practice. This is especially true in the field of crisis, disaster, and trauma psychology. If there is a new approach or intervention to be found, someone is looking for it. We currently enjoy a variety of very different therapeutic interventions with empirical support. The intent of this course is to pull together some basic ideas that provide a foundation for clarifying processes that promote understanding and allow for adaptability in the variety of crisis, disaster, and trauma interventions used in those settings. Of course, examples of adaptive applications will be part of the course. What made you decide to create this specific seminar? When I share these intervention models with other colleagues, they find them to be of practical value in guiding their own interventions and in removing the anxiety and mystery their clients or patients feel about their own "strange" reactions to traumatic events. The practical usefulness of the ideas and their understandable nature in brief, crisis interventions, and in the process of therapy gives them intuitive appeal. What are the learning objectives of the seminar? * A need for adaptability in assessing and intervening in crisis and trauma. * A dynamic rationale for selecting crisis or therapy interventions. * Two distortions of thinking, which promote post-trauma stress reactions and the need for recovery or healing interventions. * Models for applying practical differences between brief crisis interventions and trauma-related therapies. What is the greatest strength of this seminar? The greatest strength is the simplicity, clarity, and usefulness of the ideas within the context of widely divergent settings. They make sense to the crisis worker, therapist, and survivor or client/ patient alike. The ideas are adaptable. Can you give the readers of Annals a preview of the content of this seminar? Different types of disaster or traumatic events seem to yield different cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal reactions. Whether therapeutic interventions are needed often depends on whether notable distortions in those reactions occur, and upon important characteristics of the event and the survivor. A portion of this course will look at important distortions in thinking and other dimensions that lead to a need for recovery interventions. These will be differentiated from the dimensions that lead to resilience and growth during and after crisis and trauma. The major emphasis of this course will be to explore a dynamic, adaptive process for selecting intervention or treatment strategies and a conceptual model that guides practical crisis interventions and trauma therapies. This course will also explore some important structural and process differences between crisis interventions and trauma therapies. Did you design this seminar with a specific audience in mind? Yes. The course is intended to provide a useful conceptual and practical framework for mental health professionals who do either crisis and disaster work or trauma therapy. How did your personal experiences in crisis, disaster, and trauma contribute to this seminar? Professionally, I am a board certified clinical psychologist and university professor. I have been involved in researching, practicing, and teaching counseling and psychotherapy for my entire professional life. Crisis management rotations and psychotherapy with individuals who have a history of traumatic family and other life events have always been part of my practice. Additionally, for the past 16 years, I have enriched my professional background by providing crisis and disaster mental health services through the American Red Cross and my state's Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team. I've served at sites of natural disasters and human-caused tragedies in at least a dozen states, including Ground Zero in Manhattan immediately following the horrors of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. I have used the concepts of this course in ali these settings, and my experiences in crisis, disaster, and trauma have given personal faces to the ideas. Some of these experiences will be part of the discussion and will provide examples of the practical utility of the ideas. Hotel information The 2009 National Conference will be held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel. If any casino hotel embodies the rhythm and spirit of Las Vegas, it is the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, where the atmosphere pulses with activity, color, and uninhibited excitement. Get swept up in the Rio's vibrant backdrop: every room a suite, every turn a new adventure, every need fulfilled. A special discounted group rate has been established for conference attendees. For room reservations, call (888) 746-6955, choose option #1 to connect to Suite Reservations, and reference the group code SRACFE9. Rooms are limited, so call today The cut-off date to receive the group rate is Friday, September 11, 2009. Hotel Information [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 2009 National Conference will be held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel. If any casino hotel embodies the rhythm and spirit of Las Vegas, it is the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, where the atmosphere pulses with activity, color, and uninhibited excitement. Get swept up in the Rio's vibrant backdrop: every room a suite, every turn a new adventure, every need fulfilled. A special discounted group rate has been established for conference attendees. For room reservations, call (888) 746-6955, choose option #1 to connect to Suite Reservations, and reference the group code SRACFE9. Rooms are limited, so call today. The cut-off date to receive the group rate is Friday, September 11, 2009. SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE Wednesday, October 14 Registration and Exhibitors 12:00pm-8:00pm CHS Pre-Conference Session 3:00pm-5:00pm Keynote Speakers: John Bridges, III, FACFEI, DABCHS, CHS-V, and LTC DE Smith, CHS-V Welcome Reception 5:00pm-7:00pm Thursday, October 15 Exhibit Hall Opens/Continental Breakfast 7:00am General Session 8:00am-9:00am Catch Me if You Can, Presenter: Frank Abagnale Morning Break 9:00am-9:30am Breakout Session 9:30am-11:30am The Art of the Steal, Presenter: Frank Abagnale Lunch on Own 11:30am-1:00pm Breakout Sessions 1:00pm-4:45pm Annual Banquet 5:30pm-7:30pm Keynote Speaker: Peter S. Probst Friday, October 16 Exhibit Hall Opens/Continental Breakfast 7:00am General Session 8:00am-9:00am They Must Be Stopped, Presenter: Brigitte Gabriel Morning Break 9:00am-9:30am Breakout Sessions 9:30am-11:00am Lunch on Own 11:00am-12:30pm CHS Working Luncheon (Additional Registration 12:00pm-1:30pm Required) Keynote Speaker: Steven G. King, Deputy Director, Infrastructure Collection Division, US Department of Homeland Security Breakout Sessions 12:30pm-5:30pm |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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