Hello Mental Health Professionals.

I’m writing to remind you to register for our Spring LOVE Workshop series through the Department of Counselor Education. Although the WHOLE conference includes content that can be useful in your professional and personal lives, in particular, I want to point out that, for the Friday, March 20 date we have the honor of hosting and learning from Dr. Jon Carlson and it’s not often we get someone with the immense experience and expertise of Jon Carlson.

If you don’t already know who Jon Carlson is, here’s an official bio on him:

Jon Carlson, PsyD, EdD, ABPP is Distinguished Professor, Psychology and Counseling at Governors State University and a psychologist at the Wellness Clinic in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Jon has served as editor of several periodicals including the Journal of Individual Psychology and The Family Journal. He holds Diplomates in both Family Psychology and Adlerian Psychology. He has authored 175 journal articles and 60 books including Time for a Better Marriage, Adlerian Therapy, Inclusive Cultural Empathy, The Mummy at the Dining Room Table, Bad Therapy, The Client Who Changed Me, Their Finest Hour, Creative Breakthroughs in Therapy, Moved by the Spirit, Duped: Lies and Deception in Psychotherapy, Never Be Lonely Again, Helping Beyond the Fifty Minute Hour, How a Master Therapist Works and Being a Master Therapist. He has created over 300 professional trade video and DVD’s with leading professional therapists and educators. In 2004 the American Counseling Association named him a “Living Legend.” In 2009 the Division of Psychotherapy of the American Psychological Association (APA) named him “Distinguished Psychologist” for his life contribution to psychotherapy and in 2011 he received the APA Distinguished Career Contribution to Education and Training Award. He has received similar awards from four other professional organizations. He has also syndicated the advice cartoon On The Edge with cartoonist Joe Martin. Jon and Laura have been married for forty-seven years and are the parents of five children.

Obviously, Jon Carlson is highly acclaimed within both the Counseling and Psychology disciplines and I don’t think you should pass up a chance to see him live in Montana.

**************************

There are now two ways to register for the WHOLE conference or for a single session.

1. You can print and fill out the registration form that follows and mail it in the old fashioned way, or
2. You can go online and register and pay through the Children’s Museum website. Go to: https://www.childrensmuseummissoula.org/ and scroll down about half a page.

If you decide to pay online and you don’t want to fill out and mail the registration form, drop me an email at: John.sf@mso.umt.edu and let me know you’re signed up and I’ll make sure we have a form ready for you to fill out at the workshop so you can avoid having to hassle with mailing it.

Finally, for those of you have read this far and want to know more about Jon Carlson’s presentation in Missoula, here’s a description in his own words:

Adlerian Brief Couples Therapy

There has been considerable debate and negative press in recent times over brief therapy and whether or not it is in the best interests of clients. Most therapists/counselors fail to realize that most clients want brief treatment. They want to get help as soon as possible. People do not have unlimited time or money to spend on therapy no matter how valuable counselors and therapists think their services are. Most want help and are not looking for a paid-for friend.

Another truth is that most therapy is brief as clients attend treatment for usually less than 6 sessions with one being the modal number. Managed care companies are quick to remind us that most gains in therapy occur early and tend to diminish as treatment continues. It would unprofessional to act as if some clients cannot benefit from long term treatment. There are conditions in which longer treatment is necessary but this is the exception and not the rule.

Most clients really do not want to be seeing therapists. They wish there lives worked and that they were “normal.” It is important for effective therapy to understand that this is the case and to provide as efficient a treatment as possible.

This program will focus on how to do brief therapy with couples. I will talk about brief therapy from an Adlerian theoretical orientation as well as the skills of a healthy relationship. The participants will also be able to see the process applies as I work with an actual couple and help them resolve some of their current challenges.

That sounds pretty cool to me and so I’m planning to be there.

That’s it for now. Have a great rest of the week and I hope to see you at one or more of the workshops.

Sincerely,

John SF

John Sommers-Flanagan, Ph.D., Professor
Department of Counselor Education
Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences
University of Montana
32 Campus Drive
Missoula, MT 59812
406-243-4263 (office); 406-721-6367 (cell)
John.sf@mso.umt.edu
Johnsommersflanagan.com

And here’s a photo of Dr. Carlson