2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

This workshop addresses supervision and diversity, particularly the intersections of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Four experienced supervisors will offer best practices, processes, case examples, and exercises for supervising diverse students and addressing their diverse clients within a framework of multiple identities. The first presenter will provide feminist/multicultural models of supervision that facilitate supervisees’ expanding knowledge and reducing resistance to self-reflection and dialogue. Topics include: power, privilege, identity development, and under- or over-identification with members of diverse groups. The models are grounded in feminist, The second presenter will explore multicultural considerations and the complexity of issues, such as “cookbook” cultural interventions, socialization into politically correct thinking, and fear of exposure of “not knowing.” These issues complicate the dialogue between supervisor, trainee, and client. A framework for transforming this dialogue toward a more reflective multicultural metapsychology will be advanced. Presenter #3 will address the changing face of supervision for LGBT supervisees and clients. New issues have surfaced as the availability of information about LGBT issues and the sophistication of current supervisees have increased. Topics will include: shifting from a focus on homophobia/heterocentrism to new realities in the lives of LGBT individuals; providing multiple ways to assess supervisees’ competencies with LGBT people and communities; strategies for helping supervisees determine the role of LGBT issues in case formulation; and addressing obstacles to effective interventions and relationships. The fourth presenter will address ways to supervise individuals with disabilities. She will delineate manifestations of both “concrete” barriers, such as physical access, absence of sign language interpreting or Braille materials, and contextual/ psychological barriers such as isolation, prejudice and discrimination. She will describe ways for supervisors to maximize the probability of success for the supervisor, the supervisee, the client, and the agency. Both commonalities across disabilities and specific issues and accommodations for categories of disabilities will be addressed

Autoimmune disorders affect more women than men, and carry multiple sequelae common in chronic illness or disability (CID). This workshop focuses on the psychologist’s role in empowering women with CID to self-manage and advocate. We cover the psychological challenges, psychological and mind/body interventions for symptoms, trauma resolution, developing a wellness plan and working with medical professionals.

This workshop is for researchers, clinicians (not necessarily trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and activists interested in how disaster response, based in EMDR Therapy, can increase community resilience by healing trauma and providing treatment to underserved populations. The Boston Area TRN (Trauma Recovery Network), a local chapter in the EMDR therapy community’s Humanitarian Assistance Programs, consists of licensed clinicians who provide pro-bono EMDR to people affected by community disasters. TRNs were born out of the EMDR community’s response to the Oklahoma City bombing, and have responded to world-wide events such as natural disasters (tornados, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and tsunamis), and violent acts (9/11, the Newtown shooting, the Boston Marathon Bombing, ongoing conflicts in Israel and Palestine, the Syrian refugees in Turkey, and others). We will review basic concepts within disaster mental health, community psychology, and EMDR therapy, and issues with conducting research in disaster mental health (Norris et al, 2006; Pfefferbaum, et al, 2012; Weine et al 2002; Call et al, 2012). We will discuss the use of EMDR as an effective intervention for disasters, and options for Early EMDR Intervention (EEI) (Shapiro and Laub, 2008; Laidlaw-Chasse and Miller, 2013). We will explore several of the issues involved in building and launching a TRN (Gelbach, 2008; Colelli et al, 2013). Using specific experiences of the Boston Area TRN’s response to the Boston Marathon bombing and chronic community violence, we will examine strategies for providing services to traditionally underserved communities, and how concepts can be redefined in non-traditional ways in the service of community change. Throughout the presentation will be attention to principles of feminism – what we as feminists know about the costs of trauma in the personal/private and public spheres – illustrated by case examples that show how disaster response interventions can improve lives from a feminist perspective.