Editor's Note:

Greetings, MAGPS community!

As I compiled the Fall newsletter, I reflected on my first year in this position of Newsletter Editor. I have felt so welcomed and supported by the Board in both work and play! I can't encourage you enough to fully engage with this wonderful group therapy community. I would love to connect with more of you in my role. Please reach out to me if you would like to interview one of our featured members or presenters, or if you have an idea for an article at newsletter@magps.org.  Read on to learn more about what's coming up in the MAGPS community!

Rebecca Abell, PsyD, CGP
MAGPS Fall Conference Returns to Cambridge, MD!
by Nancy Hafkin, PhD, CGP, Conference Co-Chair
MAGPS will hold its Fall Conference in Cambridge, MD on Friday evening, November 1 through Sunday afternoon, November 3, 2019.  We are fortunate to welcome Jonathan Stillerman, PhD, CGP, as our Guest Presenter.
Dr. Stillerman is a clinical psychologist and Certified Group Psychotherapist.  He will present Indecent Exposure?: The Pitfalls and Potential of Group Therapist Self-Disclosure. Dr. Stillerman has a private practice in Washington, DC, where he leads three ongoing treatment groups and a consultation group specifically for group psychotherapists.  He has been accepted into the National Instructor-Designate training class of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, a program for future AGPA Institute process group leaders.  He serves as the Dean of the National Group Psychotherapy Institute, a program of the Washington School of Psychiatry, and teaches in three Programs there. He has studied the topic of self-disclosure of the group psychotherapist in all its complexities and is prepared to lead us in understanding the topic of how we, as therapists, choose to reveal ourselves in groups.
Assisting Dr. Stillerman this weekend are a talented cadre of small group leaders:  Molly Donovan, Natalia Grekova, Susan Jacobson, Sonia Kahn, Mustafa Kaghazwala, Bradley Lake, Reggie Nettles, and Barry Wepman.  As is custom in MAGPS, a visiting small group leader, Laura Kasper, will join us from California. There will be small process groups on three occasions during the weekend.
The venue at the Hyatt on the Chesapeake in Cambridge is conducive to both learning and recreation, as it exists in a relaxed setting overlooking the beautiful Choptank River.  A fitness center and multiple opportunities for outside recreation are on premises or nearby. A highlight of the Conference is the Saturday Night Banquet, which includes a lively DJ and dancing.
We hope that the MAGPS Fall Conference is in your November plans.  We look forward to a very special opportunity to learn and play on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Please join us November 1-3, 2019! 
Photo credit: Jonathan Stillerman, PhD, CGP

Register by Friday, October 25, 2019 for a guaranteed space. Book your hotel room by October 4, 2019 for the best rate.
No walk-in registrations will be accepted. Scholarships available.

Visit  http://group.magps.org/conferences  for full conference details. 
What's Inside

Note from the President
by Rose McIntyre, LCSW, CGP
Dear MAGPS Members,

I appreciate the opportunity to serve you in the role of presidency. I look forward to continuing to work with an amazing board to produce thought-provoking conferences, cinema series events, and workshops. The MAGPS Board wants to hear from you. Your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, concerns and hopes are welcome. We eagerly invite you to consider volunteering to join our team.

In such polarized times I hope that we, as an organization, can serve as a bridge to differences.
Together may we unite in both agreement and differences in a way that sheds light and understanding and expands thoughts, ideas, curiosity, and knowledge. May MAGPS help ourselves and others see and respect the humanity that exists in all of us. With these wishes, I share a poem I wrote:

Left or right, red or blue... Do you see me or do you see you?
With differences between us, opportunities abound. 
Via dialogue let's make sound.
For in differences we can fight or in differences we can unite. 
Are we blinded by "what we know?"
Do we have wisdom "to begin to see?"
What will it be for you and me?
Through transformation of anger and hatred much can grow. 
Let's join in dialogue and see what we can sow.  

With respect, interest, hope, and the desire to expand group knowledge and trainings,  

Rose McIntyre  LCSW, CGP
MAGPS President
The Hyatt Chesapeake Bay Resort, Cambridge, MD
Register for the 2019 Fall Conference!

We've come a long way from the classical analytic ideals of abstinence, anonymity, and neutrality and the mandate the psychotherapists serve as blank screens for their patients' projections. Yet, how therapists can most effectively use and reveal themselves with patients remains an area of spirited debate. This conference will expand on that conversation by examining the unique complexities of therapist self-disclosure in the context of group treatment. Participants will explore how we, as group therapists, decide whether to reveal ourselves in our groups, and if so, what to disclose, how to do so, and how to evaluate its impact on members and the group as a whole. Special attention will be given to helping participants clarify their own attitudes and feelings about revealing themselves (and being revealed) in group work. 

MAGPS supports the professional development of students, interns, residents, and clinicians early in their careers by offering discounted rates for first-time attendees and new professionals. Various scholarships are also available, which can be used to cover registration and banquet costs. If you are interested in obtaining a scholarship, you must apply by October 18, 2019 by emailing scholarships@magps.org.
 
Questions? Email conferences@magps.org.

A n Interview with Our 
Fall Conference Presenter, 
Jonathan Stillerman, PhD, CGP
with Lisa Haileab, PhD
 
I was excited for the opportunity to  interview Jonathan Stillerman in preparation for our Fall Conference. Here is a preview of our upcoming weekend.
Lisa: MAGPS members are looking forward to your leading us in our fall conference titled "Indecent Exposure? The Pitfalls and Potential of Group Therapist Self-Disclosure!" How did you become interested in the conference topic and how do you define, "the pitfalls and potential of group therapist self-disclosure?"
Jonathan: I've been thinking a lot about why this particular topic piqued my interest. A couple of things come to mind. When I began seeing patients more than 25 years ago, I did all I could to embody a "blank slate" in sessions, right down to resisting the urge to smile. That stance was heavily influenced by the teachings of my classically analytically-oriented grad program and the classical analysis in which I was a patient. But, to be fully honest, I think it also reflected something more personal, a deeper belief that I was better off hiding my true self from others, a deeper shame about my authentic needs and desires. Who I learned to be in my life and who I was taught to be as a therapist seemed a perfect fit at first. Anonymity felt natural. I think I've been recovering from that ever since, personally and professionally. Years of my own therapy helped a great deal to loosen my grip on shame and exposure to other, more relational, models of clinical practice expanded the possibilities for who and how I could be with patients. On the one hand, that freedom from the old "rules" has been relieving and exciting, but it's also been disconcerting and has raised new questions and professional challenges. In some sense, it's simpler to strive for "anonymity" as a therapist than for "authenticity". The possibilities of the latter can seem limitless, the boundaries slippery. I'm hoping that this conference will provide a space for us all to be thoughtful about the opportunities and challenges of navigating this evolving professional landscape.
Lisa: What professional experiences have most influenced your work as a group therapist?
Jonathan : Every experience I've had as a group leader and group member over the course of my life has contributed to my deve lopment as a group therapist. Most recently, I've been especially drawn to modern group analysis and its focus on valuing resistance and promoting progressive emotional communication amongst group members. Stewart Aledort's emphasis on "passionate bad and good fits" and the role of shame and excitement in group work has also made a big impact on me. Going all the way back to my internship days at Howard University's Counseling Service, Ayana Watkins-Northern and many others opened my eyes to the vital interplay of sociocultural and psychodynamic forces in groups, an understanding that only deepened while leading consciousness-raising groups for male students in DC public high schools during my tenure as Co-Director of Men Can Stop Rape. And finally, I cannot overstate how vital have been my experiences as a group member. Currently, I am a member of two peer supervision groups and three training groups, and, though sometimes painful, the experiential learning remains invaluable in my development as a group leader and as a person.
Lisa: Can you speak more about the vulnerabilities of group therapist self-disclosure?
Jonathan : There are many. First, simply being a group therapist opens us up to an intense level of scrutiny and exposure. As leaders we are always being observed from all angles by the group members, which makes becoming known, whether we intend to reveal ourselves or not, virtually guaranteed - and not always in our control.  Second, while the power of group forces, conscious and unconscious, can help members grow and heal, the y can also exert enormous pressure on the therapist to self-disclose, even when it might not be therapeutic to do so. It's one thing to resist the push of an individual client who wants to know something about you; it's another to contain yourself in the face of an entire group pressing you for information. Even when the therapist does make an informed choice to disclose, doing so in a group can still be tricky because each member can experience the disclosure differently. For example, if a therapist becomes tearful during a group session in response to a member's story, that member may feel loved, but another member may experience the therapist as fragile and feel scared, and a third might become jealous of another member receiving such care from the therapist.
We'll be spending quite a bit of time over the conference weekend exploring these unique challenges.
Lisa: How can therapists be mindful of diversity when working to avoid the pitfalls and maximize the potential of self-disclosure in gr oup work?
Jonathan: That is a great question and an often overlooked dimension of therapist self-disclosure. We could spend an entire weekend on this alone. I think it's very important to consider how issues of culture, difference, power and privilege can influence a group therapist's choice to self-disclose and affect the impact of that choice on the group. I often wonder how my own approach to self-disclosure, in general, and my choice in any given moment, is intertwined with my identities as a white, straight, Jewish, upper class, Midwestern male. And I wonder how group therapists with different identities might approach these choices differently. For example, how might it be different for a gay male therapist to disclose his sexuality to a group than a straight male therapist? How might it be different for a black female therapist to reveal anger toward a group member than a white female therapist? How might it be different for a Muslim group therapist to disclose their religion than a Catholic or Jewish therapist? The answers to these questions are complex and also, of course, depend, in part,  on the identities and personalities of the group me mbers themselves. By the end of our weekend together, my hope is that every attendee will be more thoughtful about the many cultural contexts in which every group therapist's choice to disclose (or not) is embedded.
About the Presenter
Jonathan Stillerman, PhD, CGP

Jonathan Stillerman, PhD, CGP, is a clinical psychologist and Certified Group Psychotherapist with a private practice of therapy, supervision, and consultation in Washington, DC. He has been leading psychotherapy groups for more than 20 years and currently runs three ongoing treatment groups and a consultation group specifically for group therapists. As faculty at the Washington School of Psychiatry, Dr. Stillerman teaches in three programs, the Clinical Program on Psychotherapy Practice, the Supervision Program, and the Group Psychotherapy Training Program, in which he serves as Dean of the National Group Psychotherapy Institute. A frequent small group leader at MAGPS conferences, he was recently accepted into the National Instructor-Designate training class of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, a program for future AGPA Institute process group leaders. Alongside his clinical work, Dr. Stillerman is a published poet, and in a former life, he co-founded and co-directed Men Can Stop Rape, a national non-profit empowering male youth to prevent gender-based violence.

Lisa: How does your identity and experience as a clinical psychologist, faculty member, and poet impact your thinking/openness to self-disclose?
Jonathan: In spite of how I started out in the field, and in life, I tend to take a fair number of risks in groups, whether as a member or leader, and share myself in ways that others might be more hesitant to do. How I got here is still a bit of a mystery to me. Both of my parents put themselves out there in certain respects (despite being very private in other ways) - my father wrote numerous op-eds that were published in our local newspaper about a variety of social issues and my mother was a tremendous athlete despite having grown up at a time when girls were not encouraged to play sports - so maybe some of my approach to self-disclosure is an identification with them. Some of it has also been trial and error, speaking up and seeing what happens, and finding that more often than not, my willingness to open up engages rather than repels others. Elliot Zeisel, a modern group analyst in New York, often talks about developing "unconscious competence", by which he means developing a certain trust in one's intuition as a group leader over time. While there are still many times when I'm in the dark as a group therapist, and when not speaking seems the better option, there are other moments when something will come to mind that I trust has meaning, even if I'm not sure exactly why, and it feels right to find  the courage to speak those thoughts or feelings out loud, even without being sure where they will lead. Writing poetry also helps take these leaps. There's a saying in the poetry world - "no surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader". I think that applies to group therapists too. Sometimes we have to be surprised by where our own minds lead us and offer that to our groups as a way of evoking something new in the members as well.
Lisa: In relation to self-disclosure, what are you going to be looking for from our members?
Jonathan: I think the success of this conference really depends, not just on what I'll be offering, but also on the willingness of the participants to actively, honestly and openly engage with the subject matter, with me and with each other. I've tried to structure the weekend in a way that encourages a lot of audience participation and provides a number of evocative clinical examples for people to chew on. Therapist self-disclosure is a hotly debated topic in our field and there is little consensus about what the boundaries should be. I'm hoping we'll all be willing to muck around in this murky area together, take risks to share our own experiences (positive and negative) with therapist self-disclosure and reveal our own questions and uncertainties as a way of clarifying where each of us stands in relation to this complex aspect of group work.
Lisa: In closing, how has poetry influenced your identity as a clinician?
Jonathan: I actually think my passions for poetry, reading and writing it, and for being a therapist have influenced one another. Understanding a poem and understanding a therapy patient or group requires a similar type of analytic attention. The literal meaning of the words the poet writes and the words the patient speaks is only part of the story. In order to fully appreciate what a poet or a patient is trying to communicate, one must "listen" on multiple levels, beyond the words, beyond the manifest content. For poetry, that means paying attention to rhythm, sound, line breaks, emotional tone and shape of the poem as well as the feelings and associations evoked in the reader. As a therapist, I try to do the same. I pay close attention to process, not just content, which includes body language, moments of silence, sequence of topics, shifts in emotion, double meanings. And perhaps as important as any of those dimensions, I tune in to myself when I'm with patients, staying open to my reactions and associations, no matter how random they may seem at the moment. To me, the deepest understanding and meaning exists 
between the lines of a poem or a therapeutic exchange.

We hope you'll consider  joining us for this exciting conference at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, MD on November 1-3, 2019.


Please join us for our first Cinema Series event of the season this Saturday!

Saturday, October 5, 2019
5:15pm - 9:30pm 
(dinner, movie, discussion)

Lorraine and Dan Wodiska's House
6014 N 28th St.
Arlington, VA 22207

RSVP to Lenore Pomerance at lenore.pomerance@gmail.com.


Mark your calendars now for the rest of the 
Cinema Series season!



SPOTLIGHT
Exciting Events in the MAGPS Community
AGPA is Coming to DC in 2021!

Greetings from the Hosting Committee!

The 2021 AGPA conference will be held in Washington DC's Gaylord Hotel. As the local Affiliate, we have been asked to help coordinate with the central office in New York. We have formed a Hosting Committee, which will assist with three major parts of the conference: Hospitality, Programs, and Marketing. We are in the very early stages of this effort and we are looking for volunteers to help with each of these subcommittees.  The committee chairs are already in place, with Nicholas Kirsch as chair of Marketing, Christopher Straley and Rob Williams co-chairing Programs, and Maryetta Andrews-Sachs chairing Hospitality. We have a good start on recruiting volunteers but we need a lot of help! If you are interested in learning more about what is needed, or if you are interested in joining one of the subcommittees, please contact me at AlisonHoward32@gmail.com or 202-368-3501. 

Thank you!

Alison Howard, M.Ed., Psy.D., CGP
AGPA Hosting Committee Chair
Median Group

Rose McIntyre LCSW, CGP, and  MAGPS President, along with Karen Stefano M.A., LPC, NCC, are entering into their fifth year of convening the  Median Group In the DC metropolitan area. The  Median Group is " a dialogical and reflective think tank", focusing on societal and cultural issues. The emphasis is on dialogue and the reflective mind.
  
Navigating difficult dialogue, working through assumptions, and bridging differences during such polarized times is critical work.

Patrick DeMare' said "...in the Median Group we move beyond the personal and familial insights entering upon the socio-cultural domain, where we explore our social assumptions. The aim is not so much to socialize individuals as to humanize society",   To transform hate and develop "Koinonia", impartial fellowship, via dialogue.

This monthly group meets at the Washington School of Psychiatry for two hours, from 2 to 4, and is free.  The upcoming schedule is as follows:

Should you have questions or be interested in attending, please contact  Rose McIntyre LCSW, CGP, MAGPS President at yethappens@verizon.net.
Anisley Valdes, LICSW & Lenore Pomerance, LICSW, CGP
Anisley Valdes, LICSW interviews Lenore Pomerance, LICSW, CGP about upcoming Cinema Series film "Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World" 

Anisley: I loved this documentary. Why do you think our members should watch this movie? 

Lenore: The Cinema Series presenters have brought us movies that taught us something about people that we didn't know much about. We have had movies from many different cultures: Iranian, South Asian Indian, Japanese, Palestinian, Egyptian, Mongolian, and movies with African American and LGBTQ themes. This is our first focusing on Native Americans. "Rumble" is a new documentary that grew out of an exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the Native American entitled, " "Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture." Rumble was created by two Canadian film makers, Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana. Bainbridge was a producer of another documentary, "Reel Injun" which depicted Hollywood's negative images of Native Americans throughout the last century. 

Anisley: I learned from the film that in the early 1900s there were laws banning Indians from using drums. 

Lenore: Yes, Native religions, ceremonies, and rituals were banned in order to kill Native culture which was seen as heathen (non-Christian) and savage. Cultures create music to celebrate, bind, comfort and heal the community. The way you kill a culture is to kill the music, kill the spiritual leaders, and drumming was critical to Indians gathering together. There have been movies, books, and articles about how our dominant culture worked to marginalize indigenous tribes both physically and psychologically. For example, children were taken to boarding schools forcing them to blend into the "American" culture. It's another irony that "drumming" and making native style drums is now very new age! 

Anisley: Yeah, the drum circle in DC comes to mind. 

Lenore: Where did drums come from in North America? The Native Americans, who were already here, and the African Americans who were brought here as slaves. 

Anisley: Who's story impacted you personally? 

Lenore: Buffy Saint Marie's. I grew up with her music. She had a signature way of singing. Her music and the way she portrayed herself made it very clear that she was Indian. She influenced many musicians that came after her. She was an advocate for Native Americans, and for women. Then suddenly you didn't hear from her anymore. Her interview in the movie really moved me. 

Anisley: How do you think the movie reflects the issues that mixed race Americans continue to face in our nation? 

Lenore: In many ways. So many of the musicians were multi-ethnic/multi-racial: different combinations of African-American, Native-American, and European-American. As Robbie Robertson reports, "There was this key expression, 'Be proud you're an Indian but be careful who you tell.'" It also portrays the ways in which Native Americans were treated by both American colonists and even the Mexicans. They were persecuted. They tried to mix with Black Americans and Mexicans to avoid being killed. Today, we see many immigrants and nonwhite people persecuted and discriminated against because of their race. 

Anisley: We are starting to see a lot more issues involving race and division popping up with White nationalism, how can what people in the movie went through inform us about what we can do to not silence people? 

Lenore: We have to be informed, and when we are informed, then we have to use our voice and help give a voice to discrimination. Documentaries like this one do that so well. They help us see the not so pretty stories and learn about ways we can speak up. 

Anisley: Music is a form of healing for many people, including myself. How do you think the movie embodies the way in which people use music to heal the wounds that racism causes? 

Lenore: That's a beautiful question, to which they are so many answers. Social and political movements use music to protest, and to heal. Think of all the music that came out of the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the '60s and '70s! I know there is music coming out about today's social justice, climate change, anti-gun, issues. I can name two, Michael Franti's "It's Good to be Alive Today," and the songs of the versatile Rhiannon Giddens who recreates folk, spiritual, and protest songs from her combined traditions as an African-American, Native-American, and European-American. When I think of American music and how it has evolved, I think about the ways in which it brought people together. In this film we learn that Native Americans paved the way for the many musicians that we all grew up listening to. They played with their soul; as kids integrated in the schools, many picked up the electric guitar. Sadly many were preyed upon because they were Native Americans. Early colonists managed to kill off the Native Americans before we even heard their music. The Pilgrims used them for their resources, then killed them. Kids these days don't learn about that in school. Native Americans laid the foundation of American Music, and that's evident in Rumble; every culture that has come here, all the immigrants, have laid their music on top of the foundation created by Native Americans. 

Anisley: And Americans not acknowledging that! 

Lenore: Right, and as Stevie Salas, a Native American musician of Apache origin and executive producer of the movie says, "Figuring out that many of these people were Indian, and then we started to ask, why didn't anyone know that?" 

Anisley: How does this movie reflect issues that are important to us as group therapists? 

Lenore: In many ways! There couldn't be more of a theme in this movie about groups, starting with who belongs and who doesn't, whose identity is hidden and why, and who cannot hide their identity but must live with the negative projections placed on them. Then there's the toxic issue of scapegoating which is so virulent in our country today. 

Anisley: Lenore, I'm looking forward to sharing this movie with our Cinema Series moviegoers. See you on Saturday, October 5. 

Lenore: Me too! And our cooks are looking into indigenous cuisine! Please all, check the Cinema Series page on the website for all the particulars of time and place.
PSA on Emotional Support Animals
by Lorraine Wodiska, PhD, CGP, ABPP 
MAGPS Past President
For the past eight years, I have been working with Stella, a Shih-Tzu, who is a Professional Therapy Dog.  She (and now Teddy too) are in my office for all sessions and they are particularly excellent group co-therapists. Although they move around the group at will, they have chairs with their names on them: no one else sits in them. Stella and I have presented nationally and locally, workshops titled:  You had me at Hello:  Ethical Canine Assisted Psychotherapy At AGPA in particular, we have demonstrated canine-assisted process groups.  So, I have become an expert of sorts to consult about the wide-ranging topic of therapy dogs. Although an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is  not  a therapy dog, the definitions and work of canines have become muddled and confusing in the recent past. Very frequently, I receive requests from therapists asking whether or not they should write a letter for their client who believes they need an ESA. Because these questions have become so common, Lynn Piper (another psychologist who works with canine-assisted psychotherapy) and I wrote this response. You may be surprised!

Should I Write a Letter for a Therapy Client Requesting an Emotional Support Animal?


 The short answer:  

As a current or past treating therapist:  No!

 

What are Ethical Issues to Consider When I Receive a Request?

The request to write a letter for your therapy client who would like to have an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is becoming more common.  At the present time, an ESA is able to fly for free on a plane and is able to live with you in housing that does not allow animals.  Having an ESA may seem like a good idea to a client and you may very well be their first line of request.  

 

However, there are significant ethical questions to consider and we strongly recommend that you understand these issues before you respond to support their wish.  

 

Perhaps, most importantly, writing a letter for a previous or current client recommending an ESA indicates that the client would now have a documented mental health disability.  That disability is governed by the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and this becomes a more complex matter.

 

Below are some helpful definitions and information.

 

What is a Disability?

Under the ADA, a disability, means: 

  1. An individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities in their lives.
  2. There is a record of the impairment.
  3. The person is regarded as having an impairment.

What is a Major Life Activity?

According to the ADA, major life activities include, but are not limited to:

  1. Tending for oneself, doing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, preparing, concentrating, reasoning, talking and working. 
  2. A major life activity also includes bodily functions. This includes, but is not limited to functions of the immune respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive systems as well as normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain functioning. 

What are Some Issues about Impairment?

According to the ADA:

  1. An impairment need only impact one area of the person's major life activities in order to be considered a disability. 
  2. Any impairment that is intermittent or in remission is still a disability if it would significantly limit a person's major life activity when the impairment is active. 
  3. The person is considered impaired even when coping strategies help them function.  

Where Can I Find More Details about the ADA Law?

There are more details in the ADA law and you can read further about this in the act or the articles listed in the bibliography below. 

 

Are There any Additional Ethical Considerations?

Writing a letter in support of a client having an ESA is complicated and becomes more so as you consider additional issues.  

 

According to the APA's Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2017), and several authors listed in the bibliography below, therapists need to be aware that they may be engaging in multiple relationships and possible role conflicts when they provide therapeutic services to a client and then write letters regarding the person's disability, evaluating the necessity or benefit of an ESA, and then prescribing an ESA.  All professional ethics recommend acting within the competency of your training and licensing; therefore, the therapist would need to have education and experience to address disability claims if they agree to write a letter. 

 

And What about the Suitability of the ESA?

It is important to evaluate a dog or other animal to determine if its temperament is appropriate as an ESA. If not, the animal might become stressed and act out aggressively.  This becomes a significant risk factor of harm to the owner, other animal and members of the public.  If this occurs, there can be liability for the professional who prescribed the ESA.  For the animal's assessment, it is best to refer the potential ESA to an animal behaviorist who can make such an evaluation.   

 

Again, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with some of the references below and strongly consider sending your client to a forensic psychologist or to a psychologist who is trained to do disability evaluations.

 

Bibliography


 

American Psychological Association's Principlesof Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2017).


 

Boness, C.L., Younggren, J.N., & Frumkin, I.B. (2017). The certification of emotional support animals: Differences between Clinical and Forensic Mental Health Practitioners.  Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48(3), 216-223.


 

Chandler, C. (2015).  Confirming the benefits of emotional support animals. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://ct.counseling.org/2015/04/confirming-the-benefits-of-emotional-support-animals/.


 

Clay, R.A. (2016). Is that a pet or a therapeutic aid? What should you do if your patients ask you to write letters certifying that their pets are emotional support animals. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://www.apa.org./monitor/2016/09/pet-aid.aspx.


 

Rapaport, L. (2017). Why therapists shouldn't approve patients' emotional support animals. Retrieved September 19, 2017 from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pets-emotional-support/why-therapists-shouldnt-approve-patients-emotional-support-animals-idUSKBN18T2YT.


 

United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (2008). American with Disabilities Amendment Acts of 2008.  Retrieved September 19, 2017 from https://www.ada.gov/2010_regs.htm.


 

Younggren, J. N. Bolsvert, & J.A., Boness, C.L. (2016). Examining emotional support animals and Role Conflicts in Professional Psychology. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 47(4) 255-260.

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A Look Back at the Spring Conference

Play With Me: The Role of Improvisation in 
Personal Growth, Relationships, and Therapy

by Christopher Straley, LICSW, CST, CGP, 
Co-Chair of the Spring 2019
Conference  Committee

Our annual Spring 2019 Conference was held on March 30-31st at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC.  MAGPS and Co-sponsor, Washington School of Psychiatry, were pleased to welcome Lisa Kays, LICSW, as she presented "Play With Me: The Role of Improvisation in Personal Growth, Relationships and Therapy."
 
Through experiential improvisation and interactive games, Lisa helped us to experience our own anxieties around the issue of not knowing and our need to do things the "right way".  At times, some of us might have felt silly or self-conscious - I know I did. We reflected together how our clients may also experience these feelings in group, when taking risks, or learning something new. I was also struck by the amount of compassion and fun that we had together in the large group exercises. We knew we were each trying something new and taking risks together. Lisa encouraged us to recognize all that we bring to an experience, from reluctance to joy, and that there is no right or wrong way.
 
One of the "risks" we as the conference committee took was to have the plenaries downstairs in the beautiful auditorium.  It was easily accessible and allowed for everyone to participate, both on stage and comfortably as audience members. According to the exiting survey most appreciated using the new space. 

We had a great attendance of 83 participants, remarkably half of which were first time attendees! The rest of the attendance was returning members. We also had 20 scholarship recipients from surrounding schools and training programs such as Saint Elizabeths training program, Howard University, and Catholic University.
 
Our process groups were led by a skilled team of small group leaders: Jeffry Frank (our guest from Florida), Barbara Cristy, Lisa Haileab, Victoria Lee, Liz Marsh, Bridgett Neamo, Christopher Ray, Ann Reifman, Joseph Schmidt, Lisa Smith, and Daniel Turetsky. 

At this conference, we also had our Community Meeting during which new officers were installed, and we gratefully acknowledged the significant work of those who were leaving their board positions.  
 
As a system, as community, as a large group, I believe we experienced the uncertainly of what we were doing, and would it be "right." We also laughed together and appreciated the similar struggles in our peers.  I also was reminded of the importance of collaboration and that playing together makes for less "othering" and more positive relationships.
2019 Spring Conference Reflections  from  Scholarship Recipients
Kyara Scott, LMSW 
As first time attendee, I thoroughly enjoyed the conference. It was a pleasant and welcoming environment. 

L isa Kays was an excellent presenter, and I loved learning about the origin of improv and how it can be used in group therapy and assessment. My small group leader Jeffrey was amazing and insightful. I also appreciated the opportunity to enhance my professional development by meeting with my mentor. I would definitely recommend this conference to other students who are interested in group therapy, and I hope to attend again in the future.

Emily Remillard, LGPC
My first MAGPS conference was a fantastic experience. Although prior to the conference I felt some anxiety about the conference topic, I ended up enjoying it much more than I had anticipated. The presenter did an excellent job of taking the pressure out of the concept of improv and truly creating a safe space for play. Since the conference I have been reflecting on how I could use the principles that were explored to help my own group clients challenge their rigidity and performance anxiety. The small group sessions were also deeply meaningful to me. As an early-career therapist, I often find I am missing a sense of camaraderie with other therapists at similar stages. In the small group I was able to connect with therapists in a similar place to myself and was deeply encouraged by the experience and by what we were able to process together. All in all, I am deeply grateful for having been able to attend!

Anonymous
The conference was a dynamic learning experience that enhanced my knowledge of group psychology and the role improvisation can play in the therapeutic process. The opportunity to learn from fellow conference attendees was enlightening and encouraging. I was moved by the transparency of many of my fellow small group participants. The plenary sessions were inspirational and informative. I especially enjoyed the interactive large group activities. I am still reflecting on the improvisational skits performed by two members of the Washington Improv Theater, utilizing the life events of one of the conference participants as their skits' subject matter.

Anonymous
The MAGPS conference was a very uniquely interesting event. As medical doctors, we don't often stop and think too much about the thoughts and feelings of our patients and what circumstances maybe driving them. This conference allowed me the space and time to acknowledge and respond to people's reaction to my verbal and non verbal communications.

Anonymous
I came into this conference not knowing entirely what to expect. I left the conference with valuable tools and a unique perspective to help me treat my patients. The sessions were very well organized and all were tailored towards providing each attending with something to take away with them. I would highly recommend this conference to colleagues interested in personal and professional growth.
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