Workshop synopses

Monday 21 July | Tuesday 22 July | Wednesday 23 July

Cognitive Behavioural Techniques with Depressed Adolescents (Master Class*) (Limited places available) Dr Maureen Niehart This experiential workshop will use case studies from clinical practice to demonstrate and discuss cognitive behavioural treatment of depression in adolescents. Techniques covered will include activity scheduling, use of a thought record, schema change strategies, behavioural experiments, and tips on how to structure sessions and how to troubleshoot when things don't go as planned. Role plays and dyadic interactions will be used to provide practice for participants.

Enhancing Emotional Safety in Close Relationships (Master Class*) (Limited places available) Dr Wei-Jen Huang Intimate relationship offers the best chance for us to heal emotional wounds, yet it can also be the most dangerous place for us to get reinjured. We may all have played the role of "relationship terrorists" at some points in our close relationships particularly when there's conflict of interest with our loved ones. How do we enhance emotional safety in order to form close, meaningful connections? How do we reconnect after there's empathy rupture? Through lecture and experiential exercises this practical workshop will provide tools for emotional intelligence training, affect regulation and step by step tool to repair empathy rupture.

Play Therapy (Master Class*) (Limited places available) Dr Maureen Neihart This interactive workshop focuses on play therapy skill development within a context of ethical and diversity-sensitive practice. It helps experienced counsellors use the therapeutic powers of children’s play to prevent or resolve emotional or behavioural difficulties. Case material, role-plays, observations of experienced play therapists, discussion, and self-critique will be used to achieve the following objectives. - Contrast developmental stages in children’s play - Demonstrate play therapy skills including, but not limited to, attending, joining, structuring, tracking, returning responsibility, and limit setting - Choose developmentally appropriate toys that can be used for assessment and intervention.

Trouble with Eros - Addressing Sexual Problems in Counselling (Master Class*) (Limited places available) Dr Calvin Fones God’s design for man includes the experience of passionate love (Eros) - the sensual desire and longing that bonds many relationships. While the majority of people enjoy the Gift of healthy sexuality, others may struggle with expressing and experiencing Eros. This workshop discusses how to assess and address various sexual problems that emerge in counselling.

At Life’s Cross-Roads: Negotiating Midlife Transition Dr Ko Soo Meng Life is a journey of three scores and ten. At midlife, there will be major cross-roads, where we will need to take stock and re-orientate ourselves. We need to know where we are going after thriving through the first half of our life. This workshop discusses the common signs and symptoms, as well as causes of midlife transition. It emphasizes the importance of re-examining our values and goals and suggests strategies to build on our relationships with man and God. Ultimately, we want to be found faithful as stewards of the time, treasure, and talents the Lord has given to us in this life.

Counselling as Worship, Ministry and Missions Mr Timothy Liu Although many counsellors may see their work as a calling, many still find difficulty in the integration of their faith with the subject of psychology and counselling. It is much more difficult in practice to see counselling work as worship. This workshop helps to lay the foundation of work as both calling and worship. It also hopes to engage counsellors in integrating their faith with their practice, so that counselling is worship, ministry and missions from a Trinitarian perspective.

Crisis Intervention: Your immediate Response (Limited places available) Mr Yam Keng Mun Crises like a road traffic accident, terminal illness, pre-term stillbirth or loss of a job leave the affected and those around them upset, confused and lost. This workshop provides you with greater awareness about how people are affected psychologically and spiritually by a crisis. Participants will explore spiritual implications through observations and past involvement with those in crisis. This session will also review basic concepts of crisis intervention and role-play intervention skills like coming alongside others in their times of denial, anger, depression, confusion and grief.

Dad’s For Life Mr Jason Wong Absence of fathers in children's lives can lead to less than ideal outcomes in children. Abusive, negligent fathers and negative father/mother relationships can cause lasting damages to the young ones. For many, these deficits can continue into adult life and even continue to pass on to subsequent generations. Growing research evidence is proving that "fathers matter". Yet, this is something that God has stated quite clearly in Malachi 4:5,6. Unless fathers' hearts are turned towards their children, the land would be struck with a curse. To deliver individuals from hurts left behind by their fathers, we need counselling and healing. To deliver a nation from the curse of further hurts by fathers, we need a national movement to turn hearts of fathers back to their children.

Putting Positive Psychology Into Practice: A Christian Perspective Rev Dr Siang-Yang Tan This workshop will cover recent developments in the growing field of positive psychology and how to put positive psychology into practice in our counselling work. A Christian perspective and critique of positive psychology will also be provided, emphasizing joy as well as positive sadness including brokenness, repentance, and surrender, and not simply positive happiness.

Rediscovering the Seven Deadly Sins Bishop Dr Robert Solomon The Church has long reflected and taught on human sinfulness, and one way it has done this is through a list of seven deadly sins. This list had pastoral significance in spiritual direction and discipling. In this workshop participants will be introduced to the seven deadly sins and how they infect and operate in human souls, and how they can be dealt with effectively through the practice of Christian faith and disciplines. They will understand why the deadly sins are dangerous infections and signs of spiritual sedition that must be decisively dealt with.

Self-Love Or Self-Hate: The Root Problem In Human Beings Rev Dr Danny Goh Do we essentially suffer from pride or low self-esteem? Does the fault lie in loving ourselves too much or too little? Humanistic psychology and traditional evangelical Christianity, with its doctrine of sin, are often cast as archrivals. In this workshop, Dr Goh will analyze the relation of sin and pride with that of low self-esteem. Above all, he will attempt to elicit the clinical and practical implications of counselling such people and suggest the necessary steps needed to help them.

Spiritual Formation: History And Purpose Of RENOVARÉ (Limited places available) Rev Brian Kang This workshop traces the rich history of Christian Spirituality from a historical perspective that led to the founding of today’s movement of RENOVARÉ by Richard Foster. Above all, it shows how RENOVARÉ can contribute significantly to the renewal of churches with its balanced, practical and effective strategy for spiritual growth and formation.

Spiritual Friendship and Direction in People-Helping Rev Dr Tan Soo Inn The modern world has taught us to value autonomy and individualism. Our churches often see spirituality as personal and private. But, we cannot go long in our Christian pilgrimage before realizing that isolation leads to spiritual barrenness and psycho-emotional dangers. This workshop seeks to call us back to rediscover the joys and benefits of spiritual accompaniment that will move us toward deeper intimacy with God, with ourselves and with others. In other words, spiritual friendship and direction provide care for the soul.

Surviving Ministry: Learning to Rest in the Lord as We Serve Him Rev Dr Siang-Yang Tan This workshop will cover the seven major reasons for ministry failure according to Brad Hoffmann and Michael Todd Wilson in their helpful book ‘Preventing Ministry Failure’ (IVP, 2007): lack of genuine intimacy in relationships with God, spouse, and others; a distorted sense of calling; inadequate stress management skills; lack of appropriate boundaries; failure to prioritize re-creation; insufficient people skills; and under-developed leadership skills. It will also describe ways of surviving ministry and even thriving in ministry, including learning to rest in the Lord as we serve Him.