5/6/2023: Group Therapy Training Program (GTTP) Symposium: Group Work in the Treatment of Trauma across Diverse Populations

Saturday, May 6, 2023, at 9:00 am to 1:00 pm PST. Live Webinar.

The Group Therapy Training Program’s Annual Symposium:
Group Work in the Treatment of Trauma
across Diverse Populations

This year’s Group Therapy Training Program Symposium will bring together a panel of practitioners with expertise in using group work as a modality for treating trauma. These practitioners work with a diverse range of populations across a variety of treatment settings.

There will be a moderator, along with the four panelists listed below. The moderator will help structure the conversation and will frame their questions for the panelists around these guiding questions:

• What are the unique benefits of using group work in treating trauma?
• Describe your therapeutic approach in leading groups for trauma survivors–what theories have been most impactful in shaping your approach to this work?
• What are some of the factors unique to the population that you serve that have shaped the way you approach group work?
• What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a group therapist in terms of providing meaningful group experiences for trauma survivors?
• Please share a vignette that helps elucidate the potential benefit and challenges of providing group trauma treatment to the population that you serve. Please describe specific group interventions you might use in the groups you lead.

Course Objectives:

• Participants will be able to discuss the unique benefits of using group work in the treatment of trauma.
• Participants will be able to describe diverse therapeutic approaches in leading groups for trauma survivors.
• Participants will be able to explain specific group interventions they might use in the groups they lead.
• Participants will be able to describe the potential benefit and challenges of providing group trauma therapy with diverse populations. 

Adi Avivi, PsyD, CGP, is a clinical psychologist working in New York City. She has been working in urban hospitals, focusing her clinical work on disenfranchised populations in inpatient and outpatient hospital settings. Dr. Avivi graduated from Long Island University - Post Campus' clinical psychology doctoral program, where she focused her studies on severe mental illness, multiculturalism, and women’s issues. Her research interest focused on women and the political and economic components influencing their psyches and identities. Her study examined Internet communication among child-free women. After graduation, Dr. Avivi focused on group psychotherapy, receiving her Certification in Group Psychotherapy from The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA). Currently, she is leading psychotherapy and supervision groups in a Group Therapy Clinic and has a small private practice.

Rafael Chang, LMFT (pronouns: he, him, él) has had a private practice for over 20 years and currently splits his time working for Alameda County and continues with a small private practice. He has worked with various CBOs that serve the LGBTQ+, Substance Abuse and Addiction, HIV+, BiPOC, Immigrant/Migrant/Refugee clients, Transgender (pre-and post-transition), and criminal justice-involved populations. He also has served as a clinical supervisor to pre-licensed clinicians and provides regular consultations to licensed clinicians. At every agency he has worked with, he has provided clinical supervision, incorporated the various identities/labels of the clients, and worked with how trauma affects people's lives and mental health.

Melissa London, Ph.D., is a staff psychologist in the Addiction Recovery Treatment Services (ARTS) Drug and Alcohol Treatment Clinic (DAT). Dr. London earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Northern Illinois University. She completed her clinical internship at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System, focusing on inpatient and outpatient treatment for trauma-related disorders, substance use disorder treatment, and integrated health. She also completed a research rotation at the National Center for PTSD focused on implementation science. Dr. London completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the San Francisco VA Medical Center in the Substance Use and Co-occurring Disorders treatment emphasis area. Before the SFVA, Dr. London worked as a staff psychologist in the ARTS program at the Northern California Health Care System, where she served on the Psychology Training Committee and co-founded the Behavioral Health Diversity Committee. She continues to provide training and clinical supervision and engages in program development at the SFVA. Dr. London’s clinical and research interests include the assessment and treatment of substance use and co-occurring disorders, trauma-related sequelae, and identity-based stress, as well as the efforts to reduce disparities in the implementation of evidence-based practices.

Dr. Aziza A. B. Platt, PhD, is a licensed psychologist providing culturally-responsive individual and group psychotherapy, family therapy, and psychological assessment. She treats various concerns and specializes in racial-cultural issues, trauma, and grief. She was inspired to get into mental health to contribute to efforts to make therapy more acceptable, accessible, and affordable, particularly for marginalized communities. Social justice and liberation are indelible parts of her work. For patients, she aims to eliminate barriers, structural and otherwise, to seeking and receiving quality and culturally competent mental health care, especially for underrepresented and under-served communities. As a practitioner, she strives to help the field and practitioners become increasingly more culturally aware and responsive. As a scientist, she focuses on health disparities and evidence-based research to inform culturally responsive clinical practice. As a consultant, she endeavors to help create culture shifts around cross-cultural engagement toward achieving equity. She hopes to integrate the skills from her previous career as a software developer into her psychological endeavors.

Date & Time: Saturday, May 6, 2023, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm PST. Live Webinar.
A Zoom invite will be sent a few days before the course date.

Location: Virtual format—Zoom
Contact Administrative Coordinator Sierra Wilson with any questions or concerns: sbrown@tpi-berkeley.org.

CE: 4 Credits. $5 additional fee per CE credit (i.e. 4 CE credits is $20 total). Attendees must participate in live sessions to receive CE's.The Psychotherapy Institute is approved by the California Psychological Association to provide continuing professional education for psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs (provider number PSY005). The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts continuing education credit granted by the California Psychological Association or by any of its Approved Providers. The Psychotherapy Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content. (see Registration and Course Policies).