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Chairwork to address trauma and the inner-critic
‘Chairwork’ uses chairs, movement, and here-and-now dialogue to work with ‘parts’ of the self. Even though it is one of the oldest techniques in psychotherapy, it is still one of the most powerful and
most exciting to work with. This two-day experiential workshop focuses on using chairwork to address trauma and self-criticism.

It includes demonstrations of chairwork in action, the opportunity
to role-play these methods, tips for using improving your chairwork practice, and how you can adapt them in online therapy.

DAY 1: Chairwork and the inner-critic.
Self-criticism is one of the most common complaints in psychotherapy. Unfortunately, individuals who are very self-critical often have much poorer outcomes to treatment (Low et al., 2020). This workshop will introduce you to the different ways that individuals experience their ‘inner critic’ and how it can be addressed using chairwork. It will include methods for assessing your clients’ inner critic (is it helpful or destructive?), reducing its power over them, and transforming it through self-compassion.
The workshop will also discuss how to manage extremely toxic inner critics (e.g., the internalised voices of abusive people).

DAY 2: Chairwork, trauma, and working with ‘parts’ of the self.
A growing number of therapies have recognised the importance of working with ‘parts’ of the self (what some therapists call ‘subpersonalities’, ‘mindsets’, ‘modes’, or ‘inner voices’) – something that is particularly relevant in therapies for traumatised individuals. This workshop will help you understand what ‘parts’ of the self are, how they function, and how you can work with them. It will
also illustrate how you can use chairwork to work directly with parts, help clients process traumatic experiences, and address distressing memories. We also explore the different parts of you that affect your practice!

Speakers
Dr. Matthew Pugh is a Clinical Psychologist, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Advanced
Schema Therapist, and Voice Dialogue facilitator. He is a Teaching Fellow on the CBT for eating
disorders programme at University College London and Lead Resource Developer for Psychology
Tools. Alongside Tobyn Bell, he co-directs www.chairwork.co.uk: an international provider of
chairwork-related training, supervision, and research.

Dr. Tobyn Bell is a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Compassion Focused Therapist, Schema
Therapist, and Voice Dialogue facilitator. He is a lecturer and operational lead in Clinical Psychology
at the University of Manchester and a member of the executive board for the Compassionate Mind Foundation. He is also the co-director of www.chairwork.co.uk.