Mentalizing is the process of attributing meaning both to the internal psychic processes of others and internally to one’s own psychic processes. It is rooted in our early development and the result of successfully forming a stable attachment to our primary caregivers and being able to maintain the constancy of that internalized attachment through the vicissitudes of various emotional states and relationships. BPD is both a serious and complex disorder characterized by difficulty with emotional regulation, impulse control, and both unstable relationships and self-image. This presentation will focus more on the clinical interventions through an example f process, as opposed to the first presentation which focused on strategies used by people with BPD to manage their lack of ability to mentalize, the problems BPD patients have with mentalization, the structure of MBT (Mentalization-Based Treatment), therapist stance and attitude, basic interventions, and the role and effectiveness of both individual and group therapy.

Mr. Grant started working-life as an electrical engineer in telecom. During the telecom bust of the early 2000s, he turned crisis into greater meaning by becoming a high school physics teacher. In an effort for this recovering engineer to better understand his students, he started taking a class each semester in the evening at ACAP in Livingston, NJ in 2007. Today Mr. Grant has an MA in Mental Health Counseling from the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, is an advanced candidate in the psychoanalytic certificate program at ACAP, has retired from teaching, works part time at the JCNV, has a growing clinical practice, and has been one of the founding members of i-Strive, a program for young adults on the spectrum who have aged-out of other programs. Mr. Grant also holds a BSEE and an MBA in addition to holding endorsements in teaching mathematics and physical science at the secondary level from the state of NJ.

• ACAP is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. ACAP maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• BGSP-NJ partners with ACAP and is a NECHE regionally accredited institution, and as such an approved provider of CE hours for NJ Social Workers.
• ACAP is an approved provider of CE hours by NBCC(#5709).
• Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the New Jersey State Nurses Association, an accredited approver with the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation – Nursing Continuing Professional Development (COA-NCPD). Provider Number: P297-4/18-21.ACAP, an ABAP nationally accredited school, is an approved CE provider for Psychoanalysts in New Jersey.
  https://www.acapnj.org/ce-information/

To register all 973-629-1002 or email events@acapnj.org

How can clergy listen to painful subjects while remaining professionally supportive? What makes some pastors or healthcare professionals more immune to burnout? These are some of the questions Father Arakel researched in order to explore the vulnerabilities that affect clergy and how they may recover from the burnout that results from absorbing the spiritual and emotional burdens of their congregation.

Pastoral burnout is a growing problem and no one is immune to it. Pastors are expected to communicate effectively through teaching and preaching, understand all the theological implications of the Bible, be a loving and caring confessor, be a counselor, and lead the parish effectively. These responsibilities continue at home where a pastor is expected to be a model parent, loving spouse, and a deeply spiritual encourager.

According to Fr. Arakel, burnout affects responsible clergy who maintain high goals. Clergy, untrained in psychology, may not be aware that they unconsciously accept the projections of their parishioners which may trigger their own unresolved emotional issues. This presentation is not about showing statistics, but will offer remedies for burnout in the clergy.

RSVP: info@acapnj.org or 973-629-1005
Professionals and anyone from the community are invited!
A CEU is available for many professions for a fee of $15. Call for more information.
(There will be $15 fee for replacement certificates.)

Fr. Arakel is a student of the MAMHC program at Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis. When the time came to write a Master Thesis, the topic of Pastoral Burnout and Psychotherapy was first in his mind. His research is focused on the phenomenon called pastoral burnout. The ultimate goal of Fr. Vardazaryan’s paper is to voice the importance of individual therapy to fight pastoral burnout.

Fr. Arakel has chosen this topic to add to the understanding of the unique challenges faced by pastors dedicated to serving the spiritual, emotional and well-being of their congregation.

Every Brilliant Thing
by Duncan MacMillan
Every Brilliant Thing is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., NY.