Wired to Connect: The Surprising Link Between Brain Science and Strong, Healthy Relationships

Thursday, May 23rd, 2019
The Crestview Country Club 
Agawam, MA
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
6 CE Contact Hours

Amy Banks, MD
 
Course Description

The ability to change the structure and function of the central nervous system is critical to any successful mental health treatment This workshop will introduce practitioners to the C.A.R.E. Program, which combines Relational-Cultural Theory, Relational Neuroscience, and the rules of neuroplasticity - “use it or lose it” and “neurons that fire together wire together” - into a practical guide to help people use their brains to change their relationships, tame their symptoms, and create more fulfilling lives.

Learning Objectives - at the end of this workshops, participants will be able to:
  1. Name the “five good things” in a growth fostering relationship.
  2. Describe the three pathways of the autonomic nervous system.
  3. Describe how healthy, mutual relationships lead to a feeling of calm.
  4. Describe the connection between physical pain and social rejection.
  5. Administer the CARE Relational Assessment.
  6. Name two activities that can strengthen their mirror neuron system.
Amy Banks, MD, Director of Advanced Training at the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute and a Senior Scholar at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College, is a Harvard trained psychiatrist, author, and the first person to bring relational-cultural theory together with neuroscience and the foremost expert in the combined field. The author with Leigh Anne Hirschman of Wired to Connect: The Surprising Link Between Brain Science and Strong, Healthy Relationships, Dr. Banks created  the C.A.R.E. Program, an easy to use, practical guide that helps clinicians and lay people assess the quality of their relationships and strengthen their neural pathways for connection. 
 
Schedule and Course Outline
Thursday, May 23, 2019
The Crestview Country Club, Agawam, Massachusetts

 
8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Registration and Coffee
 
8:30 AM - 10:15 AM
  1. Introduction to Relational-Cultural Theory
  2. How your nervous Systems Changes
 
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM Break & Refreshments
 
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Four Neural Pathways for Connection
  
   A. The Smart Vagus Nerve
            B. Social Pain Overlap Theory
            C. The Mirror Neuron System
            D. The Dopamine Reward System

 
 
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch at the Crestview, included with your registration
 
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
  1. Introduction to the CARE Assessment
  2. Scoring the CARE Assessment
 
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM Break and Refreshments
 
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
Building your CARE Plan – exercises to strengthen your pathways for connection and improve your relationships
 
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM           Questions and Answers