The Deconstructing Anxiety Home Study
A 6 Hour Recorded Webinar
$99 (Discounted from the usual $119 during covid)
DECONSTRUCTING ANXIETY
A Powerful New Approach for Understanding and Treating Anxiety Disorders
Phenomenal…by far the best seminar I attended at the conference.
Outstanding presentation…ingenious….This is worth the world’s attention.
One of the most exciting things I have come across in a long time.
Deeply moving and extremely effective
A groundbreaking, cutting-edge seminar for rapidly uncovering the root causes of anxiety. You will learn never-before-presented techniques for releasing the resistances that keep anxiety alive, getting at their source and transforming them into a sense of high purpose and meaning.
There is a “core fear” at the root of all anxiety, expressing itself in five major universal themes of loss: abandonment (loss of love), loss of identity, loss of meaning, loss of purpose (the chance to express oneself ), fear of death (including fear of pain). We develop our primary defenses as our best attempt to protect ourselves from these fears, but always at too great a cost. This leaves us constantly holding vigil, on the lookout for the resurfacing of the threat. We build our entire personality upon this fear-defense dynamic. When it gets out of control, an anxiety disorder develops. The theory and techniques offered in this workshop will teach you how to uncover the core fear and chief defense quickly and reliably. Armed with this knowledge, new strategies for dismantling the chief defense have proven extremely successful. Participants will undergo the actual techniques being presented, making for a rich and highly experiential presentation.
Come prepared for an exciting adventure into the deepest regions of the unconscious, where the hidden fears at the source of our clients’ difficulties live, making them available for rapid and deep transformation.
COURSE OUTLINE
– Introduction and Overview
– The creation story revisited—understanding the birth of fear in the psyche
– Laying out the Deconstructing Anxiety model:
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Each of us lands on a particular core fear in childhood
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Description of the 5 core fears, universal themes of loss, including abandonment, loss of identity, meaning, purpose and fear of death.
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This first contact with fear is intolerable…we must restore our original innocence
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We develop a chief defense as a way of protecting us from the core fear
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We then develop secondary defenses, adaptations of the chief defense to the various circumstances we encounter in life
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The core fear/chief defense dynamic becomes the foundation of our personality; we interpret and respond to all circumstances through that lens
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All defenses backfire, actually creating the anxiety they were designed to protect us from
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We, therefore, employ our defenses even more rigorously and the whole cycle spins out of control, creating an anxiety disorder
– New strategies for releasing fear
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The way to release fear is to “do the opposite” of the chief defense: 3 ways of doing the opposite
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“Digging for gold”: Finding your core fear
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“Who are you really?”: Uncovering your chief defense
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Analyzing secondary defenses
– The big three: Exercises for doing the opposite:
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“The Warrior’s Stance: Active “not doing”
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“The Observer”: Enhanced Vipassana (Mindfulness) technique
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“The Alchemist”: Asking “What happens next?”
-A final defense: Letting go of the resistance to resistance
– Finding a “mighty purpose”: It’s not enough to simply let go of fear…our deepest need is to express ourselves…
PRESENTER: TODD E. PRESSMAN, PH.D.
Dr. Pressman is a Ph.D. in Psychology and international seminar leader. He is widely known for his work in Deconstructing Anxiety. He graduated with degrees in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and Saybrook Institute. His books Radical Joy: Awakening Your Potential For True Fulfillment, The Bicycle Repair Shop: A True Story Of Recovery From Multiple Personality Disorder, and Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment have each received high acclaim. In 1982, he traveled the world to study the great wisdom and healing traditions, including with a Zen master, a Jain family, a Zoroastrian high priest and a Sri Lankan firewalker. His education also includes an internship under Stanislav Grof, M.D. at the Esalen Institute.
With a background deeply rooted in tradition (he was groomed by a father whose teachers were taught by Sigmund Freud), he has integrated this wide-ranging experience into a new program of psychological development. His working model is based on Michelangelo’s ideal: to release the statue from the stone, the authentic Self from the overlays of imposed identity, into the discovery of freedom, joy, and fulfillment.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Describe the core fear/chief defense model of anxiety, and how we build an anxious personality.
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Define the mechanic s of perception that project a world of anxiety and suffering.
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Analyze the five core fears and the primary and secondary defenses we develop in response to them.
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Utilize new techniques for pinpointing the precise causes of resistance, for breakthrough anxiety results.
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Deconstruct “the hypnosis of fear” and the “resistance to resistance”.
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Employ the technique of “Vision Questing” for helping clients develop a “Mighty Purpose”—the best remedy for anxiety.
For Those Wishing Continuing Education Credits
This program offers 6 CE credits for qualifying mental health professionals. For further information, email us at admin@toddpressman.com
Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.
TO REGISTER FOR THE “DECONSTRUCTING ANXIETY HOME STUDY PROGRAM: contact admin@toddpressman.com