The workshop introduces the Responsiveness Ladder, a practical tool developed by Matthew to help clients and therapists understand and talk about why well-intentioned offers of support, comfort and practical advice can repeatedly go very wrong. The core idea is that at any time each of us occupy a rung of our responsiveness ladder. If an offer of support is pitched too high, at a rung that is several steps above where we are, then it is likely to fail – it’ll be seen as unhelpful, discounting, or even antagonistic. The image of the ladder and its rungs can help both client and therapist understand why things go wrong and provide ideas for how to do things differently.
The Responsiveness Ladder is a practical way of distinguishing what a person “can” manage, by way of receiving support at a given moment. In the spirit of Transactional Analysis, the Responsiveness Ladder is described in simple language that is intended to empower both client and therapist by providing them with blame-free ways of thinking about how communication can fail and practical ideas about how it can be repaired.
In the workshop participants will:
· learn about the Responsiveness Ladder and how to use it with clients – the rungs of the ladder are not universal, so part of the fun of using the tool is working with clients to find descriptions / names for their unique ladder
· learn how the Responsiveness Ladder is similar to but different from some other tools/ideas that help us understand communication failure, e.g. the Drama Triangle, Ego States, passivity and Games
· look at some worries – raised by both clients and therapists – to the Responsiveness Ladder, most critically that it invites us to (unhelpfully) “Rescue” or “baby” a person instead of encouraging them to “be more adult”
· touch on connections between the idea of developmental stages and regression and the simpler (but more tailored to the client) idea of rungs on the ladder
The workshop will mix teaching with regular breakouts for participants to explore their reactions to the ideas and also an experiential exercise where participants can have a go and drawing up their own Responsiveness Ladder.
This workshop will be recorded and you can use the ticket function to pre-purchase the recording before the event. This will be useful for colleagues who are not able to attend the event live and also for those who attend the event live and want to watch again.
Course Content
Presenter
Matthew Elton, DPhil, PG Dip (TA Counselling), BACP Registered
Matthew Elton is a psychotherapist based in Edinburgh and has been in private practice since 2005. He works with a wide range of clients and has a special interest in writers and artists. His formative training was in Transactional Analysis and he has since developed a strong interest in Narrative Therapy. Matthew regularly delivers talks and workshops in Scotland and across the UK on therapy practice and related matters.
This year he published Talking It Better: From Insight to Change in the Therapy Room (PCCS, 2021).
Before becoming fulltime as a practitioner, Matthew was an academic working on the philosophy of mind at the University of Stirling, then a manager in the charity sector. He is the author of a well-received volume on the philosopher Daniel Dennett for Polity’s Key Contemporary Thinkers series, published in 2003.
This workshop in a collaboration between the Link Centre and Onlinevents
At the Link Centre we pride ourselves in delivering high quality options tailored to needs of clients and delivered in a relaxed, comfortable yet stimulating environment in which people feel safe to learn and develop. We work with individuals, groups, organisations, and educational establishments using the depth of our psychological knowledge, to facilitate growth and development.
Our training centre is located in the heart of the countryside, in Plumpton, East Sussex. It provides a variety of training rooms, extensive parking, and disabled access, to help meet the needs of individuals attending our courses. As well as this the centre has extensive grounds that can be enjoyed during lunch and tea breaks.
We also offer in-house coaching, training and consultancy that is tailored to the needs of our customers.
Our trainers and consultants are all fully qualified, experienced, skilled and accredited to both national and international level.
For more information about The Link Centre Visit thelinkcentre.co.uk
