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Division of Continuing and Global Education

Resilience: Coping With Life's Many Transitions and Losses – CANCELLED

A one-day workshop for professionals and laypeople.

Most counseling, if not all, centers around helping people heal and grow after experiencing some kind of loss: loss of self-worth, innocence, a loved one, a dream a job, or losses due to substance abuse, aging, trauma or crisis.

This workshop is for those experiencing a transition or loss personally, and for mental health practitioners who work with clients in these situations. Examine how different kinds of individuals respond to various losses and how they may heal and grow in the midst of these losses. We focus on therapeutic interventions for people who are emotionally-centered, cognitively-centered, action-centered or socially-centered.

Learn how to:

  • Explain the differences between “intuitive grievers” (feeling-centered people) and “instrumental grievers” (cognitively-centered or action-centered people) and how they need to be counseled differently.
  • Discuss the three important areas of assessment that need to be covered before counseling begins.
  • Use care plan techniques that have minimal paperwork but still provide multiple measurable outcomes.
  • Explain to others how to use new tools that help clients disclose quickly and deeply (e.g., “virtual dream therapy”).

The instructor is a seasoned trainer, consultant, and counselor who has worked in diverse settings ranging from hospitals to social service agencies. He has trained psychotherapists and other professionals who work in these areas. Smith’s varied background gives him a truly holistic perspective: he embraces clients’ physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. His books include The Tao of Dying and Caregiving: Hospice-Proven Techniques for Healing Body and Soul.

Download (PDF) the registration form here.

  • Dates: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 • 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
  • Place: Kremen Education, Room 140
  • Class No: 36599 (general); 36790 (Fresno State faculty, staff, students, OLLI members)
  • Units: non-credit
  • Course: n/a
  • Grading Option: n/a
  • Fee: $75 General; $50 Fresno State faculty, staff, students, OLLI members. BBS CEUs available for additional fee of $15.
  • Instructor: Douglas C. Smith, M.A., M.S., M.Div.