Presented by Holly LaBarbara, LMFT
Includes 2 CE credits for LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs and LCSWs. Lunch will be served at 11:15 AM for in person attendees. The presentation will begin at 12:00 PM. This event will be in person and live online. A recording will be made available to all registrants for 3 months. For those who can't attend live, CE credit is available by watching the recording and passing a test.
Presentation Description
How many clients walk through your door who remind you of Hannibal Lecter? How about Heath Ledger’s Joker? Probably not many. Yet these stereotypes of mental illness are embedded in our cultural psyche, perpetuating stigma and shame.
In this interactive presentation, Holly LaBarbera, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, adjunct professor at Santa Clara University, and author, will discuss a genre of storytelling that de-stigmatizes and offers authentic and complex perspectives on mental health struggles. In much the same way as historical fiction engages readers in learning about the past, Holly coins the phrase psychological fiction in referring to novels that entertain while educating about psychological challenges.
Holly will talk about the treatment of mental health issues in her novel, All I Know, and in other works by authors such as Wally Lamb and Celeste Ng. She will explore the ways in which meaningful, honest representations of characters experiencing depression, grief, addiction, trauma, anxiety and other disorders, can help cultivate empathy and understanding and help individuals with these challenges to feel less alone. She will share a reading list of some of her favorite novels that accomplish this.
Additionally, you will learn how to bring stories into the therapy room to build rapport and support growth and healing for your clients. Holly will teach you how to use stories to externalize and explore how clients see themselves, make sense of relationships, and move through the world. She will share case studies of sharing books, movies, and TV shows with clients and describe how it has helped move the therapy forward.
Finally, Holly will lead you in an experiential activity of therapeutic letter-writing, turning the focus from stories others create to writing about your own experience. Kai Martin, the protagonist in All I Know, writes letters as a therapeutic exercise and Holly has used this technique with clients as another variation of using the written word to process their issues.
Program Goals
This class will provide clinicians with knowledge and understanding about how fictional stories can be used to promote healing for clients.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
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identify two ways in which stories can help de-stigmatize mental health challenges, cultivate empathy and help clients feel validated.
- identify specific books, movies and shows that are useful in a therapeutic setting.
- implement two interventions for using stories with clients to build rapport, support growth and healing, and explore how clients see themselves, make sense of relationships and move through the world.
- State the therapeutic benefits of writing letters.
- List three steps used to teach clients how to write therapeutic letters.
About the Presenter
Holly LaBarbera received her MA in counseling psychology from Santa Clara University in 2011. She opened her private practice in Fremont in 2014, working with teens, adult individuals, and couples. She has taught as an adjunct lecturer at SCU since 2021. Holly started writing a number of years ago and published her debut novel, All I Know, in June 2024.
This is an introductory level course.
TARGET AUDIENCE: LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs
If you miss any of the presentation, you will not be eligible for the CEUs. This course meets the qualifications of 2 continuing education credit for LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. SCV-CAMFT is a CAMFT-approved Continuing Education Provider (CEPA 052466).
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and not, necessarily, of SCV-CAMFT. SCV-CAMFT can not be held liable for any damages arising from recommendations or advice given by our speakers or any actions or decisions arising out of the content of this presentation. Presentations at SCV-CAMFT events do not constitute an endorsement of the vendor or speaker's views, products or services.
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