Advanced Practitioners' Lectures
for Educators & Child Mental Health Professionals

February - May 2009

Ann Martin Center sponsors lectures on contemporary research, theory, and technique relevant to educators and child mental health professionals.  Speakers reflect diverse expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of learning, emotional, behavioral, developmental, and school-related problems.  The series is offered as a free service to the professional community and all presenters have graciously donated their time.

Location: Ann Martin Center, 1250 Grand Ave. (between Wildwood and Fairview Avenue)

Registration: To reserve a space, within a two week period before lecture, call (510) 655-3999, ext. 333, leaving a message with (only): Your name, phone number, and date of presentation you wish to attend.  Your place is confirmed unless we call to tell you the lecture is full.

Web Updates: Visit us at www.annmartin.org for lecture updates and information about our services.

The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual: A Vital Alternative to the DSM IV
Robert Wallerstein, MD
When: February 6, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM) is a diagnostic framework that attempts to characterize the whole person--the depth as well as the surface of emotional, cognitive, and social functioning. Dr. Wallerstein was intimately involved in the development of the PDM and his presentation will review the history and concept behind the manual that responds to deficiencies in the DSM IV.
Robert S. Wallerstein is Emeritus Professor and Former Chairman Dept. of Psychiatry, U.C. San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Wallerstein is Associate Chair of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual Task Force.

How You Can Work Smarter, Not Harder – an intro to Brain Gym®
Presenter: Larhken B. Carroll
When: February 27, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Brain Gym is used internationally to help people of all ages self-manage, reduce stress and improve academic, athletic and creative performance. It’s been shown to be very effective improving outcomes for individuals with learning differences, ADD, ADHD, the autism spectrum, and head trauma. Easy to learn and use, Brain Gym is also great for people without learning problems who want to be more creative, focused and productive. You’ll learn some basic Brain Gym to take home, and hear about how it’s used and why movement is essential to learning and brain performance.
An active licensed Brain Gym instructor since 1986, Larhken B. Carroll teaches Brain Gym Level 1 classes, and has a private practice in Oakland. Ms. Larhken specializes in visual processing, including teaching LIVING VISION™ and other Natural Vision Improvement methods. A co-coordinator of the Brain Gym NorCal Network, she has received two awards for outstanding achievement from Brain Gym International.

Grief and Bereavement in an Inpatient Setting
Presenter: Diane Malek, LCSW & Kathy Nicholson Hull, PsyD
When: March 6, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
George Mark Children’s House is the first freestanding children’s respite and end-of-life facility in the country. There are not many options for families with children facing a terminal illness. George Mark Children’s House offers a place of respite and a home-like environment that becomes a sanctuary for many families who have spent months and sometimes years in an acute care setting. We provide bereavement services that are not time limited. This presentation will cover who is served at George Mark House, how we differ from an acute care setting, and our unique model of care.
Diane Malek is the Psychosocial Manager at George Mark Children’s House and has worked in health care for over twenty years, starting her career on the behavioral science faculty at the UC Davis Family Practice Residency Program. Ms. Malek was on staff at Children's Hospital Oakland in oncology, the intensive care nursery, and the emergency room. For three years she worked in the Kaiser healthcare system as a social work manager and in the development of palliative care services. Kathy Nicholson Hull is the founder of George Mark Children's House and president of the GMCH Board of Directors. Dr. Hull was formerly on the staff of Children's Hospital Oakland, where she was part of an interdisciplinary team that treats young oncology patients and their families.

Using Legal Services for Accessing Special Education: When and How Is It
Cost-effective to Use Legal Services to Access Special Education and Mental
Health Services for Disabled Students
Presenter: Mike Zatopa, JD
When: March 20, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Whether receiving individual representation or group advice, parents must obtain a quality, independent assessment by experts in the area of disability of their child. From such an outside assessment, they obtain recommendations on the necessary services for their child to achieve reasonable progress in school. Following these recommendations, the child is referred to the school district for a special education assessment to determine the child’s eligibility, if the student does not already have an IEP. At the IEP meeting, the parents are given advice by their attorney on what to request for their child. If the district does not agree with the request, a legal procedure called due process is requested, and the parents are represented at mediation, are advised on how to handle it themselves. Mr. Zatopa will present a 1) summary of the nature of the disabilities and range of services that can be obtained; 2) a brief summary of the role an attorney; and 3) what outcomes are feasible for these various categories of disabilities.
Mr. Zatopa obtained his Law Degree from Hastings College of the Law and was a special education hearing officer and mediator with the State of California from 1979 to 1982. He entered private practice in 1982, and since that time has been representing parents of disabled students in special education, juvenile court, and regional center administrative and judicial proceedings. He has also represented both non-profit and for-profit corporations that contract with public agencies in California to provide special education, and residential and mental health services to such students, addressing special education, licensing and contracting issues for such corporations.

The Clinical Application of Winnicott's Theories of Playing and Reality
Presenter: Eileen Keller, PhD
When: April 3, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Winnicott's contributions to psychoanalysis are paradoxically both embedded in ordinary clinical lore and elusive. In this presentation, I will use clinical vignettes, descriptions from infant observation and poetry to provide a base for discussion of the "ordinary devoted mother," the "transitional object," "true and false self development," "the spontaneous gesture," and Winnicott's theory of mind.
L. Eileen Keller is a psychologist/psychoanalyst, Member and Faculty at San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis (formerly SFPI), Consultant for Children's Psychotherapy Project, Program Director for the Early Childhood Mental Health Program at SFCP, clinical supervisor for the Ann Martin Center, and in private practice in Oakland. www.kellerphd.com

Medical Trauma in Children
Presenter: Joan Lovett, MD, FAAP
When: April 24, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Children, as well as adults, can develop medical trauma from distressing illness, injury, hospitalization, and intrusive medical procedures. Posttraumatic symptoms can appear years after the medical experiences as surprising physical and behavioral problems. This presentation will focus on the clinical presentation of medical trauma, the experiences that contribute to the development of medical trauma, and treatment, including EMDR. Dr. Lovett will show a video demonstrating her work.
Joan Lovett, MD, FAAP is a behavioral pediatrician who has been in private practice in Berkeley for the past 15 years. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, earned her medical degree at UCSF Medical School, completed internship and residency at Montreal Children’s Hospital and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Stanford. Dr. Lovett is author of Small Wonders: Healing Childhood Trauma with EMDR. She has given many presentations on childhood trauma and attachment both nationally and internationally.

Using Hypnosis to Treat Anxiety in Children and Teens with Neurodevelopmental
Disorders
Presenter: Helmut Relinger, PhD & Kathryn McCarthy, PhD
When: May 1, 2009 (Friday) Time: 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Hypnosis is a valuable psychological intervention to treat anxiety related symptoms. The focus of this presentation will describe how hypnotic phenomena can be helpful in managing the intensity of symptoms of distress, phobias, rigidity, avoidance tendencies, and social anxieties in children and teens with Asperger's, ADHD and Social Anxiety. We will present an overview of what hypnosis is, offer several paradigms for how it can be used within different therapeutic orientations, and exemplify these with case presentations.
Helmut Relinger is co-founder and past president of the Northern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis and has been practicing and teaching hypnosis and CBT for 30 years. He also offers social skills groups for teens and young men with Asperger’s, ADHD, and Social Anxieties. Kathryn McCarthy is past president of the Northern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis and has been a child psychologist for over 20 years. She specializes in social skill therapy and advocacy work for children and teens with neurodevelopment disorders.

Lecture ideas? Email your requests or suggestions for speakers & topics: davidtheis@annmartin.org