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Dr Scott Kellogg and Amanda Garcia Torres are co-directors of the Chairwork Psychotherapy Initiative - an innovative therapy training organisation which empowers mental health professionals to integrate chairwork with their therapeutic approach. I attended one of their trainings in September 2023 and it was incredibly powerful, turning over many of the assumptions I held about how therapy should be done.

In this conversation, we explore:

— The therapeutic benefits of viewing human beings as containing multiple different parts

— The two origins of the inner critic and why it may be behind the vast majority of mental health problems

— How chairwork can be applied to heal addiction, trauma, and a wide range of issues.

— How this approach helps to create space and distance internally from maladaptive coping parts that may be having a negative effect in our lives.

And more.

You can learn more about Scott and Amanda’s work by going to https://www.chairworkpsychotherapy.com/.

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Amanda Garcia Torres, LMHC is a certified Chairwork Psychotherapist and Co-Director of Training at the Transformational Chairwork Psychotherapy Project. Ms. Garcia Torres received her Master’s Degree in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University and has also completed training in Voice Dialogue. She began her journey with TCPP in 2013 and has trained clinicians in NYC and internationally. Her presentations and writings have addressed such topics as chairwork, trauma, social justice, oppression, and identity issues. Ms. Garcia Torres is in private practice at Chairwork Therapy NYC.

Scott Kellogg, PhD is the author of Transformational Chairwork: Using Psychotherapeutic Dialogues in Clinical Practice (2015, Rowman & Littlefield). He is a former Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at New York University and a Past-President of Division of Addictions of the New York State Psychological Association. An ISST-certified Advanced Schema Therapist, he has also trained in Gestalt Therapy and Voice Dialogue. Dr. Kellogg currently runs a chairwork-centered private practice in New York City. Through the Transformational Chairwork Psychotherapy Project, he has taught this method of psychotherapeutic dialogue to practitioners in the United States and abroad.

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Self-Understanding and Empathy
05:12 - Advocacy and Inner Critics Analysis
10:40 - Coping Strategies in Psychotherapy
14:52 - Inner Leadership in Every Domain
19:38 - Eastern Philosophy vs. Psychotherapy
22:31 - Addressing Ego Stigma
24:40 - Transformative Chair Work Dialogues
30:40 - Essence of Chair Work in Psychotherapy
36:31 - Dissociation, Coping, and Dialogues
40:18 - Healing Third-Person Narratives
43:52 - Deepening Trauma Narratives
50:56 - Chair Work in Addiction Therapy
55:48 - Enhancing Connection in Therapy
01:00:41 - Therapeutic Tips, Techniques, and Tales

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Interview Links:

— Amanda’s website: https://chairworktherapynyc.com

— Dr Kellogg’s website: http://transformationalchairwork.com/...

— Amanda’s latest article: https://bit.ly/transformational-chair

— Dr Kellogg’s latest article: https://bit.ly/APA-Psychnet