WORKSHOPS

Barbara Pherribo Counseling

2024 WORKSHOPS

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

LOVING CHOICES

In Dr. Fisher's 10 Week Loving Choices Seminar, you will learn to:
  • Tame your “inner critic” and calm your "outer critic," revisit your family of origin and heal your wounded "inner child"
  • Reconnect with your “inner children” and discard "adaptive survivor" behaviors from childhood (i.e. perfectionist, over-responsible) that are no longer working for you.
  • Take off the masks and become “friends with your feelings”. 
  • Grow and develop your “wise nurturer”, an unconditionally loving and accepting voice/your inner core; learn how to balance these “internal parts” and integrate thinking with feeling. 
  • Develop a loving, nurturing relationship with yourself and learn to give yourself what you didn't get, instead of seeking this from others.
  • Improve your relationships and develop your true, authentic self. 
  • Learn to use the self-encounter, an amazing tool that will help you navigate ANY situation in life more effectively.
  • Learn about personal boundaries in relationships and build stronger connections and greater intimacy. 
  • Learn the loving choices process and how to make loving choices for the rest of your life
Session Overview

Session One:  Overview of Loving Choices Process
Introductions, group guidelines, sharing of passions.

Session Two:  Feelings
Feelings rainbow, emotional blocks and illusions. Integrating thoughts and feelings.

Session Three:  Inner Voices and Self-Encounter
Sharing inner voices and introduction of self-encounter process. 

Session Four:  Discovering My Internal Family
Introduction of internal family, sharing of internal family dialogues and self-encounters. 

Session Five:  Family of Origin
Traits and impact of family of origin, adaptive/survivor behaviors, sharing of unmet childhood needs.

Session Six:  My Inner Children
Discussion related to inner children, sharing of early childhood photos and life experiences.

Session Seven:  Relationships Are My Teachers
Discussion of power struggles and relationships as teachers, personal bill of rights. 

Session Eight:  Boundaries
Discussion of healthy/unhealthy boundaries in relationships, sharing of self- encounters.

Session Nine:  Intimacy and Loving Choices
Healthy vs. dysfunctional ways of seeking intimacy, discussion of loving choices process.

Session Ten:  Graduation Celebration
Sharing of participantsʼ growth and learning, affirmations, celebration of accomplishments. 
Request An Intake/Registration Appointment
TO BE ANNOUNCED

HEALING THE CHILD WITHIN

Charles Whitfield’s bestselling book, Healing The Child Within (1987), introduced the concept of “the inner child,” the part of us which is truly alive, energetic, creative and fulfilled. Healing the Child Within focuses on the inner child who has been lost to trauma and loss, and how by recovering “the child within”, we can heal the fear, confusion and unhappiness of our adult life. Recent brain research on the effects of trauma on the brains of developing children has further supported Dr. Whitfield’s original premise, regarding the significant impact of childhood trauma. Whitfield has worked as a psychiatrist for four decades with adults who have grown up in dysfunctional families, characterized by alcoholism, addiction, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, trauma and/or mental illness. Throughout his career, Whitfield has observed firsthand in his work with patients, that breaking the silence and telling the story related to one’s dysfunctional childhood is therapeutic and healing.

The Healing The Child and A Gift To Myself books were originally written for “Adult Children” to use in self help groups. The weekly “Healing The Child Within” seminar sessions will include interactive activities and group discussions, and include personal sharing related to each curriculum topic. Participants will learn about the dysfunctional patterns and unhealthy experiences from their family of origin and how these have impacted them. In the group, we work together, utilizing a step by step process for nurturing and healing these wounds from childhood. Participants spend the last several sessions developing their individualized recovery plan to use in the months ahead. Many groups decide to continue meeting on a monthly basis for ongoing support and fellowship after the ten week Healing The Child Within seminar has concluded.

Session Overview

Session One:  Introductions
Seminar overview, discussion of Recovery Potential Survey results, Introduction of concept of “The Child Within”.

Session Two:  Discovering Our Child Within
Identification and characteristics of “false or codependent” self, Healthy/unhealthy ways of getting needs met.

Session Three:  Family Characteristics associated with Stifling the Child Within
Hierarchy of human needs, unfulfilled parent, parental conditions associated with stifling “the child within”.

Session Four:  Dynamics of Shame and Low Self-Esteem
Negative rules and messages in unhealthy/dysfunctional families, boundaries, compulsive behavior, cycle of shame & compulsive behavior.

Session Five:  What is a Healthy Family? Secrets and Role of Stress and PTSD
Traits of healthy/unhealthy families, family secrets, adult and child psycho-social stressors, trauma/PTSD. Discussion regarding family of origin, stressors & PTSD checklist.

Session Six:  How Can We Heal Our Child Within? Setting Boundaries and Limits
Stages of recovery,“Big Four Feelings in Healing”: anger, shame, fear and joy. Early recovery, exploration, expression and observation of feelings, expressing anger.

Session Seven:  Dealing with Core Issue and Identifying and Experiencing Our Feelings
All or none thinking, over-responsible, neglecting personal needs, high tolerance for inappropriate behavior, fear of abandonment, difficulty handling conflict. Telling our story, strategies used to protect parents.

Session Eight:  Visiting My Family of Origin and Usefulness of Age Regression, My Loss History
Reasons for visiting family of origin and observation(s) during/following visits. Loss history and age regression.

Session Nine:  Transforming, Integrating, Developing Recovery Plan 
Transforming and integrating core issues in healing child within, martyr / victim cycle to hero / heroine’s journey, healing process for child within. 

Session Ten:  Recovery, Spirituality, Loving Child Within
Participant sharing of recovery goals and plans. Spirituality, “lightening up” and having fun as part of maintaining healing/recovery. Seminar certificates, evaluations and celebration.

The group may continue to meet monthly or as needed to offer opportunities for check ins, peer support and encouragement. The range of issues from childhood that have resulted in participants “not getting what they needed” for healthy development in childhood include:
  • Growing up with an alcoholic or addicted parent
  • Having a mentally ill parent, family member or parent/family member with serious health issues
  • Experiencing the loss or chronic absence of a parent
  • Experiencing any form of child abuse (emotional, physical or sexual) or neglect, trauma, lack of nurturing or attention as a child
  • Chronic job losses
  • Homelessness or chaos in family’s living situation
  • Multiple marriages or divorces of parent(s)
Request An Intake/Registration Appointment
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