Madsen L1, Addison S1
1Forensic + Clinical Psychology Centre
Biography:
Lars is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and Accredited Advanced Schema Therapist and Supervisor with experience working in the private and public sectors in both Australia and England. He has experience within community, hospital and institutional contexts applying schema therapy to complex adult difficulties. In the course of his work as an advanced accredited schema therapist he has been called as an expert witness to the Supreme Court on the application of the schema therapy to high-risk offenders. In recent years he has also provided supervision for accreditation and delivered schema training.
The experience of working in forensic contexts is an unusual one. As a therapist you will juggle the challenge of working with individuals who can present in extreme ways and in circumstances with often competing, typically hidden, objectives and goals. In this world the over-compensating modes – The Predator, Bully and Attack, Conning Manipulator, Self-Aggrandizer and Obsessive / Paranoid Over Controller – reign supreme. The task of the therapist is to keep their balance and empathy, whilst maintaining firm but fair boundaries. Forensic schema therapy was developed specifically for this treatment context, and has recently been the subject of a successful Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). This workshop introduces therapists to Forensic Schema Therapy (ST-F), providing the foundational knowledge and practical skills necessary to start applying the schema model with offending populations.
Participants will learn to recognize the forensic overcompensation modes as they often present, and learn how to conceptualise offence risk behaviour including cases of violence, sexual violence, sadism, and psychopathy. Case Examples will illustrate the use of the schema mode model to understand violent and sexually violent offending. Specific case examples and role plays will demonstrate how to deal with common problems and challenging modes the forensic schema therapy context. Participants will learn the core treatment techniques as they apply in working with offenders including limiting re-parenting and empathic confrontation, and ‘here-and now’ focus techniques.