Working with Sexual and Gendered Bodies: developing a capacity for reflection and dialogue
Presenter: William Cornell MA, TSTA-P and N. Michel Landaiche PhD
Each of us may have experiences of our bodies—our gender identities and sexualities —that are so private and delicate that we can find it nearly impossible to speak of them to anyone. So how can we learn to discuss these important dimensions of human life as psychotherapists and counsellors. How is meaning made, when faced with behaviors that are deemed permissible or forbidden, and when identity is often shaped through countless complex interactions?
This three-day, didactic and experiential workshop is intended for a community of professionals from diverse areas of practice who want to develop a way to talk, collectively, about bodily experiences, sexuality, and sexual identities and preferences —of which gender is often a central aspect. We will begin to identify the issues related to gender, transgender and sexuality that we often find ourselves avoiding or that we may have no idea how to address. We will make a distinction between the disturbances that sexuality and gender can bring into our lives, and the fact that some sexual behaviors can cause serious harm. How can we re-define perversion in our current cultural contexts?
We will work in small groups as well as in the large group. Attendance is limited to 50 participants who are expected to commit to all three days of the workshop. Our intention is to provide a forum in which we can speak honestly about our experiences, biases, and hopes. This is an opportunity to exchange information about our learning edges and best practices in this complex and significant area of human life.
William F. (Bill) Cornell, has maintained a private practice of psychotherapy since 1975 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. He is also an active trainer for psychotherapists in Europe. Bill has edited The Healer’s Bent: Solitude and Dialogue in the Clinical Encounter, the collected papers of James T. McLaughlin, as well as Intimacy and Separateness in Psychoanalysis, the collected papers of Warren Poland. He is the author of numerous articles, book chapters and books including Somatic Experience in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy: In the Expressive Language of the Living and Une Vie Pour Etre Soi, as well as the forthcoming At the Interface of Transactional Analysis and Psychoanalysis.
Michel (Mick) Landaiche, has worked since 1989 as a psychotherapist with individuals, couples, and groups. He has worked with families affected by sexual abuse, as well as with the gay, lesbian, and transgender communities of Pittsburgh, PA, USA, where he lives. Mick is currently a psychotherapist and training supervisor for Carnegie Mellon University’s counselling center. He also serves on the faculty of the Western Pennsylvania Family Center where he teaches Bowen family systems theory. He has written numerous articles, including some co-authored with Bill Cornell.
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