IDT Newsletter

January & February 2012

One of the beauties of high Summer is its archetypal anticipation of Winter fires - the heat without and the heat within. We return home with instincts satisfied and a full wood shed.

With a remarkable 7,800 enrolments in Interactive Drawing Therapy training courses, and around 80% of course fees now paid by employers, IDT continues to be seen as a high-value training – one that produces results, is user-friendly, diverse in its application, and inspiring to work with. (It is interesting to see how a lot of the success of IDT theory and practice is verified by contemporary neuro-science.)

Besides our publicly scheduled courses, we also contract to provide cost-effective, in-house, agency-based staff training, along with tertiary institution-based student training seminars.

With only eight weeks to go, enrolments coming in at a steady stream,  a great range of presentations, the 2012 IDT CONFERENCE (30 March-1 April) promises to be another wonderful success. One of the gratifying things about IDT conferences is the experiential component as Aussies and Kiwis pair up to have IDT sessions together - following each presentation. (Completion of IDT ‘Unit One’ is therefore a pre-requisite for attending, - available in March [pre-conference] in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Sydney, Adelaide).

This year we will have a new generation of accredited IDT teachers (in both Australian and New Zealand) which will help us to meet the demand for more overseas training. As IDT continues to grow, we are going to need more trained teachers and more licensed operators to organise local courses. Expressions of interest are invited.

As part of our commitment to providing quality training, we have used the Summer break to upgrade course handouts and lesson plans for our:             

• 4-day Foundation Course (Units One and Two)
• 3-day Intermediate Course (new)
• 6-day Advanced Course
• 2-day IDT-based Supervision workshop
• 2-day IDT-based Group Work workshop
• 2-day IDT Couples & Family Work workshop
• 2-day IDT-based Children & Adolescents workshop
• 12-day Teacher-training programme

We’d be pleased to discuss your IDT training pathway – see below for the 2012 Schedule of Courses for Australia and New Zealand

IDT Course Programme 2012

Foundation Course Unit One covers the basic method and guiding principles for using pages as a therapeutic tool, and provides detail for:  Opening, developing and closing an IDT session; Working at depth; Working with Metaphor; Handling overwhelm and defences.   By the end of the two-day Unit One, participants will be able to employ the basic IDT method as a powerful  tool when working with clients. Unit Two introduces the IDT therapeutic process, and coaches the application of Unit One to thematic frameworks that clients commonly employ.   By the end of the two-day Unit Two, participants will be able to recognise various thematic frameworks that clients commonly present, and be able to shape their interventions accordingly.

IDT Intermediate Course As clients layer themselves onto the page, they can move through seven distinct ‘levels’ of work. The IDT Intermediate Course captures the detail and changing tasks of these seven levels, guides participants to accurately recognise which level the client is available to work at, and how to shape level-specific interventions. The deeper the work becomes, the greater the need for structure, safety and effective support. Between the levels of Underlying Issues and Intra-psychic Issues lies the huge realm of archetypes.  IDT’s use of imagery, metaphor and symbol gives us powerful and unique tools for recognising archetypal elements and influences, and finding the resourceful offer that they bring.

Advanced Course The Advanced Course provides an inspiring, in-depth immersion into all seven stages of the therapeutic process that clients can pass through, identifying the risks, therapeutic tasks, and different skills and contracts needed at each stage of change.  By the end of the six-day Advanced Course, participants will have substantially increased their professional effectiveness, and be able to accurately assess the client’s condition and respond with appropriate strategy.

IDT with Children & Adolescents Children and adolescents have different developmental capacities, and therefore require us to modify our use of IDT from the way that we work with adults. (Similar modifications can also be required when we find ourselves working with age-regressed adult clients). This course maps the key developmental stages of the young person, and provides guidelines for matching our IDT interventions with the child’s readiness and capabilities. Principles and techniques for working with different age groups will be presented, examples of their work discussed, and we will role-play typical scenarios.

Couples & Family Work The basic IDT method (taught in our Foundation Course) is designed to take the individual client into their inner world, whereas working with couples & families generally requires us to focus more on inter-personal dynamics and matters of collective intent. We therefore need to use the IDT page in quite a different way. IDT-based Couples Work uses jointly-constructed visual metaphors to reframe conflict, generate insight, and start a remarkable process of collaborative negotiation and decision-making.

IDT with Groups Group work offers special benefits that cannot be achieved in one-to-one counselling. This workshop will provide IDT activities to help you accurately identify group needs, plan matching programmes, create an environment of safety and openness, use metaphor, develop guided drawings, match drawing cues to group needs, and open and close sessions. You will leave this workshop with increased confidence and heaps of practical IDT skills that can be used during a group session and across the life of an ongoing group.

IDT-based Supervision This workshop outlines the unique aspects of using IDT pages in supervision and covers strategies for Peer group supervision, One-to-one supervision, and Self-supervision.  Participants are invited to bring drawings and case-notes of two current cases to share with the class. Please note that these IDT Supervision workshops are experiential and remain focussed around IDT practice, and will include matters of contract, counter-transference and transparency. This workshop is designed to supplement your ongoing regular supervision, not replace it.

IDT CONFERENCE 2012

30 March - 1 April

Tauhara Centre, Lake Taupo, New Zealand

Registrations remain open for the 2012 conference.  Enrol now - it is going to be a great event.  Contact the IDT office for a registration form, idt@pl.net

A selection of comments from past conference/retreat participants:

“This was a spectacular event for me on a personal level and therefore will have an overflow into my work with people further on in the therapeutic stages ............ The organisation, food and company were outstanding, I am recommending this to colleagues for next year.”

“A great experience.  I will certainly register for another.  Excellent venue, loved the river wallow and the opportunity to do some personal work, and the mix of smaller groups and then the larger one.  The rituals were awesome!  The costume party had lots of surprises and it was grand to see people loosening up ...........”

“Like food for the soul, nurturing and healing; am still digesting bits of it”

“The retreat has filled me with creativity, nurturing, good company, wonderful community, deepened my understanding of IDT principles and practice, encouraged my thinking .................”

Call for Presentations
IDT Conferences are an opportunity to present and discuss the current aspects of your work that are of particular interest to you.  There is no generic theme for the 2012 conference.

You don’t have to be an expert to make a presentation – it is your level of interest and enthusiasm for this way of working that we are looking for. This is a great opportunity for IDT practitioners to share and explore their IDT work in the safe and appreciative company of informed and interested peers.

There is still opportunity to make a presentation.
Please contact the IDT office for further details.

Note a generous discount is offered to all presenters in appreciation of your input.

NEW ZEALAND 2012 COURSE SCHEDULE

Refer to www.interactivedrawingtherapy.com for enrolment forms

In addition to the above publicly advertised schedule of courses,
IDT provides in-house training to suit the requirements of your organisation.
Please contact the office for more information.

AUSTRALIAN 2012 SCHEDULE
Refer to www.interactivedrawingtherapy.com for enrolment forms

In addition to the above publicly advertised schedule of courses,
IDT provides in-house training to suit the requirements of your organisation.
Please contact the office for more information.

IDT – THEORY AND PRACTICE THAT WORK!

Please refer to our website, http://www.interactivedrawingtherapy.com for further information, course fees and enrolment forms.

IDT Foundation courses are fully accredited to earn P.D. points