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Alan Gordon Upcoming Webinar with Alan Gordon, LCSW on July 21

Discussion in 'General Discussion Subforum' started by Forest, Jul 13, 2012.

  1. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    As most of you are aware about a month ago we held a special webinar event with Alan Gordon, LCSW. This event was so successful that Alan has decided to host another one on Saturday, July 21st, starting at 3:00 PM EST.

    The format will be slightly different than last time. Instead of having one long personalized feedback section, we will be doing several one-on-one consults that each will last anywhere from 5-10 minutes to 20-30 minutes. We will also try to have some time for Q&A near the end.

    Like the previous one, this event will start at the time of the regular drop in chat at 3:00 PM EST. It will last for about an hour to an hour and a half.

    To join the meeting from your computer or mobile device, click or copy and paste this URL into your browser:
    https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/48fb7aa8/16939390

    To join the audio portion of this meeting, choose your dial in method:
    Dial-in Number: +16465837415 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting
    Skype: fuzeaudioplus​

    When prompted enter the pin number: 21558901​

    There will also be a text chat component avaiable, so people can discuss what's going on and ask questions to Alan. The text chat will be located in the chat room at www.tmswiki.org/chat.

    If anyone is interested in participating in the event or to learn more about it, simply post below. We are going to need a couple people to help moderate the event to help everything run smoothly. Also, if you are interested in participating in one of the personalized feedback sections send me a quick private conversation, and I will let you know more about it. If you are trying to recover and still struggling, this is a great way to receive feedback from one of the best TMS practitioners out there.

    If you have any ideas or question we should ask Alan Gordon feel free to post your ideas below.

    If you haven’t listened to it yet, check out the audio from the June 9th Session.

    I am really excited about hosting this second webinar event. The June 9th Session was terrific, and I think this one will help a lot more people recover.
     
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  2. Noels1981

    Noels1981 New Member

    Hello, will fuzemeeting be audio? Thank you.
     
  3. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    Yeah it will be audio. Fuzemeeting is simply a web conferencing software. You can listen to the event either by clicking the link above, which will allow you to listen on your computer, calling into the number of above, or connecting through Skype.

    In case people want to ask questions or discuss what is going on we are also going to have our chat room running, which is at www.tmswiki.org/chat .

    I am really excited about this event. If you are free on Saturday it would be great to have you. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
     
  4. danielle

    danielle Peer Supporter

    Forest, is there an audio recording of this?
     
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  5. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    I am in the process of putting it together. It has taken me a little bit longer than last time, but hopefully I will have the recording up in a couple of days.
     
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  6. danielle

    danielle Peer Supporter

    OK, cool. Thanks for doing that. :)
     
  7. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    Hi Everyone,

    Below is the much awaited audio from the July 21st Drop-in Chat with Alan Gordon. I really enjoyed this webinar and hope that you all find it as helpful as I did. I apologize for the delay in posting this. I had some technical difficulties in processing the audio.

    If you have any questions or thoughts about the ideas in from the session feel free to post them hear. We can put our heads together, see if we can answer them, and, if we can't, perhaps Alan will weigh in.

    You can listen to the audio via your web browser or you can download the mp3 by following the link and clicking the “Save Page As” button on the next page. This will allow you to upload the audio on an mp3 player, so you can listen to it at your own leisure.

    Many thanks to everyone who participated and made it such a great event!

    F

    The audio is at http://tmswiki.org/dl/GordonWebinar120721.mp3

     
  8. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    Chat log:

    15:02:40 Becca Just making sure - is everyone in this chat connected to Fuze meeting?
    15:03:08 Pranav Yes but this interface is better.
    15:03:43 Becca we are not using the meeting chat in fuze meeting- just using it for the audio
    15:04:53 Pranav I am connected via skype
    15:06:58 Becca We're now live with Alan Gordon, LCSW!
    15:07:08 guest977 Hi
    15:17:06 Becca Can anyone relate to what Alex and Alan are talking about?
    15:17:38 Forest I can. I went through some tough things in my childhood, and I felt like I wasn't feeling anything.
    15:17:52 Forest I still struggle with that still.
    15:18:20 guest977 A little. Subconscious rage is what he can't feel but is there
    15:19:11 Forest mmm....
    15:24:33 Forest FYI, everyone, periodically it may say something like "guestxyz quit (timeout)." This just happens and you can ignore it.
    15:25:09 yb44 I was always being sent to my room if I wasn't feeling happy and told to stay there until I was feeling better
    15:25:35 yb44 Talk about repression
    15:25:45 Forest :(
    15:26:48 Forest One thing I feel very lucky about is that my parents were very accepting of emotions. My own repression comes from defense mechanisms, not parental pressure.
    15:27:17 yb44 Hi Brandon, welcome
    15:27:44 Forest By the way, I just want to remind people that this conversation will be publicly archived, so choose a good pseudonym! If you want me to change your pseudonym, just let me know. You can contact me through the forum. If you want to be super sure that it gets through, you can mention it here.
    15:29:12 Becca Don't know about you all but that was incredibly relaxing. I think we all need to remember to breathe.
    15:29:15 Melanie Forest, will the audio with Alan Gordon also be able to be heard in the future?:
    15:29:30 Forest Yes, just like last time.
    15:29:42 Melanie Great, thank you so much.
    15:29:46 Forest Perhaps we can make a little MP3 of that relaxation segment.
    15:29:56 Becca Forest, great idea.
    15:31:14 Becca Welcome guest154 and guest203 - if you want you can customize your screenname by clicking on your username next to where you type messages
    15:32:32 Forest If anyone else noticed it, feel free to mention it here.
    15:32:36 Forest Welcome, Dustin!
    15:32:44 Dustin Thanks, Forest!
    15:32:46 Forest Dustin, right?
    15:32:53 Forest It's nice to see familiar names :)
    15:33:35 yb44 Hi Dustin!
    15:34:07 Dustin sorry, was trying to catch up on the chat so far lol
    15:34:23 Forest LOL
    15:34:25 Dustin and Hi yb44!
    15:34:44 Brandon I read 2 books from Sarno and have been pain free for a month but I had surgery on a torn shoulder ligament from a bike crash and I am starting to worry about a little back pain. Almost a little doubt...any suggestions?
    15:35:21 Dustin I came in right at the end of the relaxation bit I think
    15:35:52 Becca Brandon, are you connected to the fuze meeting webinar with Alan Gordon? It's going on now.
    15:37:08 Forest Brandon, how did you connect? Via phone?
    15:39:25 Becca Has anyone else experienced difficulty opening up to a therapist?
    15:39:41 Becca Or had difficulty feeling safe around a therapist?
    15:40:35 Forest http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Breaking_the_Pain_Cycle,_by_Alan_Gordon_LCSW
    15:41:31 Dustin I haven't been to a therapist yet for TMS. I've been to a counselor in the past for depression, but haven't seen anyone for TMS yet.
    15:41:49 Forest Dustin, can you hear Alan talking right now?
    15:41:55 Forest (Just want to be sure)
    15:42:00 Dustin yes
    15:42:08 Forest Awesome.
    15:42:46 Forest Oops. I was being dumb and mixed you up with Brendan.
    15:43:15 Dustin I can try to pretend to be Brandon...but I don't think I could do a very good impression since I don't know him
    15:45:55 Becca Welcome Boats! Are you connected to Fuze Meeting?
    15:46:25 Boats Yes
    15:46:44 Becca Great!
    15:47:11 guest331 is fuze a chat board too?
    15:47:50 Becca No - we are using Fuze only for the audio so please use this chat as a way to discuss and ask any questions
    15:48:49 Becca guest331, if you want you can customize your screenname by clicking on the username next to where you type messages.
    15:49:42 Dustin what engine runs this chat room? Will it work on iDevices?
    15:50:04 guest331 will this be posted like the last one?
    15:50:09 Forest I used it on my iphone one time, I think, but I don't think it worked perfectly.
    15:50:11 Forest Yes.
    15:50:59 Forest He's talking about HilaryN! http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/members/hilaryn.67/
    15:51:02 Becca guest331, You can use a pseudonym or simply choose not to customize your screenname - just wanted to let you know
    15:51:26 Forest She's pretty cool and was one of the first members of the Peer Network.
    15:51:46 Dustin I'm going to try this from my iPad...that's where I'm using Skype...it it doesn't work well, I'll come back here.
    15:51:51 Becca ok
    15:52:00 Forest Cool. Did you want to ask Alan a Q?
    15:52:56 Brandon I was listening to the audio but wanted to talk to others with the same things as me. I don't want to hear all the stories?
    15:53:14 Forest What do you mean, Brandon?
    15:53:29 Forest Are you listening now, Brandon?
    15:53:44 Alex is the bleeping coming through pranav's speakers?
    15:54:02 Forest I think so, Alex.
    15:54:06 Brandon It was some guy from India talking about pain in his wrist and I have never had that.
    15:54:57 Forest Ahhh, what I find is that while symptoms may be different for different people, the mechanism behind it (TMS) is the same for different people.
    15:55:00 Brandon I have had back and most recently neck pain.
    15:55:30 Forest Hence, even though I've never had back pain, I find it really helpful to listen to people with back pain and hear the feedback that they get.
    15:56:17 Forest It's really important to focus on the emotions (think physically) rather than their specific symptoms (thinking emotionally). That's the same with everyone.
    15:56:31 Brandon I had back pain for 2 years...read 2 books and have felt so great. Now I have pain in my neck and since not really ever getting checked out for my neck I am not as confident in the diagnosis that nothing is physically wrong
    15:56:55 Forest However, if you want to read specifically about TMS back pain stories, read this: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Back_Pain
    15:57:24 Forest For neck pain TMS success stories, read this: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Neck_Pain
    15:57:36 Forest Other symptoms can be found here: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Success_Stories_by_Symptoms_&_Diagnoses
    15:58:30 Brandon I had surgery recently on my shoulder and haven't been able to get back to playing basketball and riding my bike which has hurt my belief in the fact that this is working
    15:59:25 Forest Brandon, would you like feedback directly from Alan? Then he could talk about your situation.
    15:59:44 Forest Otherwise other people can give you feedback after Alan hangs up.
    15:59:53 Alex seems his perfectionism is keeping his pain around
    16:00:03 Forest Interesting...
    16:00:06 Forest LOL
    16:00:09 JanA OMG, what Alan just told Pranav is awesome
    16:00:21 JanA And totally speaks tome
    16:00:26 JanA to me
    16:00:35 Becca Agreed! "optimize your happiness" is such a great line
    16:00:42 Dustin Something tells me it speaks to many ofus
    16:00:45 Forest So very true. To be honest, that's where I'm at. My symptoms are really low and that's exactly what I do.
    16:00:58 JanA Brandon, listening to Alan work with the volunteer "guests" is relevant to anyone with TMs
    16:01:12 JanA with TMS, we ALL have the same symptoms, no matter what they are
    16:01:58 JanA I've never had wrist pain, but I just received a HUGE gift from hearing Alan work with Pranav
    16:02:07 Forest WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO GO NEXT?
    16:02:20 Forest NOW OR NEVER? :D
    16:02:29 Dustin I suppose I could
    16:02:34 Forest awesome!
    16:02:40 JanA go for it dustin
    16:03:49 Forest Would you like to be known as Dustin
    16:04:01 Dustin Dustin is fine :)
    16:08:55 Becca If you have a question for Alan but you can't call in, or don't feel comfortable calling in, feel free to type it here and I can relay it to Alan.
    16:09:50 Forest (Things go much better when you call in, because then Alan can hear your voice (super important), but typing questions in here definitely is an option.
    16:12:33 yb44 How great that Dustin recognises the reason for his daughter's crying. She has the chance to grow up with a dad who will listen to and understand her.
    16:18:00 Pranav I can relate to the phrase murderous rage. <grin
    16:18:08 Forest LOL
    16:18:35 Forest Whoah... did he just call The Incredible Hulk a terrible movie?
    16:18:38 Forest Not cool.
    16:18:47 Forest (Joke... Never seen it) l
    16:28:46 Pranav good night all. I'll catch the rest on the recording.
    16:29:26 Forest good night.
    16:29:39 Becca Thanks Pranav
    16:30:27 yb44 Thanks, Pranav
    16:30:41 Forest Yes, Pranav, thank you for sharing.
    16:37:27 Forest Alan is using a therapeutic technique called ISTDP. Arlene Feinblatt, , about whom Dr. Sarno wrote, "In particular I am grateful to Arlene Feinblatt, the chief psychologist of our group, for her contribution to the understanding of the psychological basis for TMS."
    16:38:05 Forest She told me that she has been incredibly influenced by ISTDP and contributed the following to the TMS Wiki: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Intensive_Short_Term_Dynamic_Psychotherapy
    16:38:40 Forest There are ISTDP therapists in many cities and they can get strong results in short time periods. They can heal us.
    16:39:45 Becca Also - http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Seven_articles_about_ISTDP_and_Medically_Unexplained_Symptoms
    16:40:44 Forest Howard Schubiner wrote about ISTDP in the second edition of his book, Unlearn Your Pain. His approach to treating TMS was transformed about a year ago when he discovered Alan Abbass, who wrote the articles reviewed in the above link.
    16:41:34 Becca Welcome BWS
    16:41:52 Forest BWS, you can join the audio conference at https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/48fb7aa8/16939390
    16:42:01 BWS Hello...listening on my IPad and chatting my my computer
    16:42:07 Forest great
    16:42:31 BWS Is there some trick to him hearing me or can he only hear certain people at once?
    16:42:38 Alex schubiner's approach is different now?
    16:42:54 Forest Only Dustin and Alan can speak on the line right now.
    16:43:17 BWS Can he hear me from my iPad if I need to speak?
    16:44:22 Forest Sure, but I don't know if Alan has time to take another question.
    16:44:41 BWS sorry, first time :)
    16:44:43 Forest If not, we have these ever 6 weeks, and we could line you up for next time.
    16:44:45 Forest :)
    16:45:55 Becca BWS, no worries!
    16:46:08 Becca Were you only just tuning in now?
    16:46:31 BWS K cool, now that I have read these books I see that my TMS goes back to college. It just manifested as pain in the last few years. It was anxiety before. The funny thing is now that I have gotten rid of the pain, my anxiety has returned :(
    16:46:57 BWS listening on and off for a little. since 4 or so
    16:48:03 Forest Alex, yes, about a year ago, after talking with Arlene Feinblatt and finding out about ISTDP, I wrote the following article for a newsletter that the PPD/TMS Peer Network publishes. http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Seven_articles_about_ISTDP_and_Medically_Unexplained_Symptoms Around the same time, Allan Abbass emailed me to say that Howard had contacted him. It really changed his approach.
    16:48:27 Alex ill have to read more about it
    16:48:36 Becca Thank you SO much for being so open and honest, Dustin.
    16:49:42 Dustin Yeah, it was a little hard to want to admit that stuff with so many listeners...
    16:50:12 Alex thanks alan and forest for this
    16:50:14 Alex really appreciate it
    16:50:17 Becca I can't even imagine. It took a lot of courage. Very admirable
    16:50:26 Dustin Thank you to the organizers!
    16:50:50 Debra Thank you Alan! Very inspiring.
    16:50:54 Dustin What does ISTDP stand for?
    16:51:10 Alex i think intensive short term dynamic psychotherapy
    16:51:12 Becca Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy
    16:52:12 Dustin Ah ok
    16:52:41 Becca BWS - looks like the webinar is wrapping up. But you can always ask a question or discuss things among other TMSers and practitioners on our forum (www.tmswiki.org/forum)
    16:53:02 Becca Alan's been known to post there.
    16:54:47 Debra We were ready!
    16:55:09 Becca :)
    16:57:06 Dustin I gotta jet...trying to still listen, but my wife needs help with the kids now...thanks again for letting me participate...I have a new technique to work with now.
    16:57:20 Becca Thank you so much agian
    16:57:44 Dustin Time to be Bruce Banner again...no more Incredible Hulk.
    16:57:58 Becca haha
    16:58:24 BWS Can you ask why my pain has turned into anxiety
    16:59:56 Debra Good question!
    17:00:34 BWS I am on an iPad 1
    17:00:40 BWS no skype
    17:00:47 Forest How do you hear Alan?
    17:00:53 Forest Via iPad or phone?
    17:01:03 BWS u ipad
    17:01:16 BWS want my #?
    17:01:26 Forest Are you Brandon?
    17:01:31 BWS yes
    17:01:54 Forest I just unmuted you
    17:07:04 Alex you got a ton of time to think about it
    17:09:35 yb44 Must go. Husband wants his computer back.:( Have taken lots of notes. Thanks to all.
    17:09:46 Becca Thanks so much YP
    17:09:49 Becca *YB
    17:12:17 Alex brandon you sound like me
    17:13:59 Alex i have to head out will have to listen to the end of this later on when its on the forum. thanks again guys for setting this up
    17:14:08 Becca Thanks so much for participating Alex
    17:14:16 Alex thanks for having me i appreciate it
    17:14:23 Forest Thanks a lot for sharing.
    17:14:30 Alex see you guys on the forum
    17:14:38 Forest See you on the forum!
    17:25:47 Becca Great way to wrap this up! Thanks so much Brandon for participating :)
    17:26:40 Becca We will get the chat log and audio up on the forum soon :)
    17:29:58 JanA Hi Becca - I was listening while baking cupcakes for a birthday party, that was a GREAT session - every single person Alan worked with had something for me personally.
    17:30:04 JanA See you later!
     
  9. Jason

    Jason New Member

    W. O. W. - I can 100% relate to Brandon and that drill sergeant in my head.

    Thanks for posting the audio, Forest.
     
  10. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    I'm glad you found it helpful. I think we all have a drill sergeant in our head that keeps beating us down and telling us what we ought to do or what not to do. This webinar and the previous one really helped me connect some of my past events to some of those self-critical thoughts I have.
     
  11. BruceMC

    BruceMC Beloved Grand Eagle

    Yes, Forest, that idea of an "internal drill sergeant" really resonates with me. I notice that I have a cast of "imaginary" personae that perform that function. People who've criticized me live on and on and on in my head criticizing and berating me, putting me and all my efforts down. Think they're all disguises for my hyper-critical father and his constant brow-beating. Interesting though that psychological process of finding and reinventing the absent father in various adversarial characters I've encountered in so-called "real life" situations in my personal life. A boss. An office bully. A trash talkin' salesman. The list is nearly endless. Like there's some taboo about directly confronting a super-ego figure, my late father's ghost, so I'm carrying on a dialogue with him through various intermediaries. It's sort of like a thinly fictionalized version of real life! But I can see where Alan (or Michael Brown for that matter) would classify all the energy I'm expending on those fictional characters as a big, waste of time and effort. What's that Michael Brown says? "Don't you really want to grow up?"

    Seems like Alan Gordon might have me experience my rage against my father directly in its pure form and thus purge the emotion, experience a catharsis if you will.
     
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