The Power of Improv, Play, and Performance: Creative Therapies for Anxiety - 4 CEUs

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When & Where:

• Date: Friday, June 7, 2024
  • If you cannot attend this workshop on 6/7, you can pre-register for the on-demand version here: https://www.theknowledgetree.org/p/play-improv-per...
• Time: 12:00pm – 4:30pm Eastern Time
• CE Hours Included: 4 Core (please see below for details)
• Location: Live Interactive Webinar (“Synchronous”) on Zoom
• Investment: $109 before Friday, May 24th at 5:00pm Eastern Time, $122 after
  • To pay with PayPal, ACH transfer, or CashApp, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 404-913-2005. Otherwise, click below on "Save Your Spot Now!"
• Presented by: Murray Dabby, LCSW (see bio below)
• Workshop Recording: A recording of this workshop will be available to review for 60 days, and should be available within two weeks of the live presentation. However, participants must attend live to receive the "Synchronous" CE Certificate.
• Instruction Level: Intermediate
• Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychotherapists, Other Mental Health Professionals

Educational Objectives:

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Identify three methodological principles of performance/improv work
• Analyze the variety of applications of improv and performance work in therapeutic interventions
• Describe specific skills to utilize in individual, couple, and group sessions
• Discuss the principles of social therapeutics that inform the improv method

Workshop Description:

Play and Improv is increasingly taking the front stage as a therapeutic intervention. Utilizing these approaches to help with anxiety has been shown to be extremely effective. Among some of the new discoveries is that the power of improv, play, and performance has had positive effects on our nervous system and social relationships. For social anxiety, it has proved to be a fun and engaging means of exposure therapy, improv and performance approaches have helped with adolescent anxiety and social fears, autism treatment, depression, alienation and loneliness, perfectionism, and some forms of OCD, couples connectivity, and group and community development.

This workshop will present some of the history and research on performance and improv approaches, the impact on therapeutics, and a view of many types of programs that have had an impact. Participants will also have an opportunity to participate in and observe exercises that highlight the use of improv and play. We will also take you inside “Curtain Up Anxiety Down,” an Atlanta-based improv and group program. Based on his new book, the presenter will also share its relevance to group, couples, and Individual therapy approaches.

Presented by: Murray Dabby, LCSW

Murray Dabby is an Atlanta-based psychotherapist, trainer, relationship coach, and performance activist who has been in practice since the late 1970's. He cofounded Curtain Up Anxiety Down, a 12-week group program that utilizes improv to help people with social anxiety. He also founded the Atlanta Center for Social Therapy and the Atlanta All Stars Performance Project, where he led 30 to 80-person improv groups with adolescents and their families in the program. Murray began working with the performance-based social therapeutic approach in the mid-80s while studying diagnoses as a research assistant at Cornell Medical Center at New York Hospital. He recently co-authored with Carrie Sackett “Social Therapeutic Coaching: A Practical Guide to Group and Couples Work”, published in December 2023 by Routledge Press.

Murray has been a teacher, presenter, and supervisor in Atlanta and around the country on groups, relationships, creativity, and improvisation in therapeutic practice. He is a true program innovator who cofounded The Couples College, a virtual program that teaches couples skills for more intimate long-term partnerships. Additionally, he is a popular musician and singer in Atlanta, playing at venues around the metro area. He graduated from City College in New York and received a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University in 1981.

Agenda (Eastern Time):

• 11:30am - 12:00pm | Sign-In and Welcome
• 12:00pm - 2:00pm | Session
• 2:00pm - 2:30pm | Break
• 2:30pm - 4:30pm | Session
• 4:30pm | Continuing Education Certificates Available

4 Core CE Clock Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

• PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
• COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
  • Counselors Licensed in Canada: This workshop is approved for 4 credit hours through the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), event code: 64967900.
• SOCIAL WORKERS: This workshop is approved for 4 Core CE hours through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW), approval #040624. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
• MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: This workshop is approved for 4 Core CE hours through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT), approval #091-2024. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

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We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.

Neither the Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.