Teaching

To inquire about scheduling a seminar, workshop, or class, please complete the form below.

Dr. Turow offers workshops, seminars, and classes that address themes related to trauma, mindfulness, self-compassion, and more. The seminars below can fit into several formats (1-2 hours; half day; full day; or recurring series), depending on the needs of your group or organization. Audiences have included undergraduate students, graduate students, social workers, counselors, nurses, and other health professionals.  Recent workshops have included the following topics:

• Self-Talk: Transform Self-Criticism into Self-Encouragement 

• Building Resilience: Science and Practice

• Mindfulness Skills for Everyday Life

• Trauma and PTSD: Matching Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Skills to Individual Challenges

Self-Talk: Transform Self-Criticism into Self-Encouragement

If you’ve noticed an inner voice providing unsolicited commentary throughout your day—about your looks, about your accomplishments or lack thereof , or even how you parked your car—you’re not alone.  People often think that self-criticism is motivating or a normal part of having high standards, or have the misconception that self-compassion is about being lazy or indulgent. However, the research evidence shows that being kinder and more encouraging towards yourself is associated with more motivation, increased likelihood of obtaining goals, and greater well-being. Often  people report noble intentions, such as, "I should really be nicer to myself," but are confused about actually change lifelong patterns of self-criticism.  Rather than relying on intentions ("I should be nicer to myself”), participants will learn three brief evidence-based skills (reappraisal, self-compassion, and lovingkindness meditation) to meaningfully improve self-talk.

Building Resilience: Science and Practice

We can each build new skills to adapt and thrive when we encounter stress. The seminar illuminates the factors that contribute to common responses to stress and to effective coping. It highlights seven resilience practices: behavioral activation, physical exercise and/or regulation, social connections, distress tolerance, cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Participants will consider recent resilience research, practice a range of evidence-based skills to enhance resilience, and make a personalized resilience plan to address their own needs and challenges. 

Mindfulness Skills for Everyday Life

Life is challenging, but practicing new ways to handle our thoughts, feelings, and actions can make a difference. Mindfulness skills—specific techniques for managing attention in a nonjudgmental way—have been shown to significantly improve  self-criticism, attention, relationships, physical health, and mental health. Because mindfulness and meditation are often misunderstood (for instance, people might assume that the goal is to "clear your mind" or to feel peaceful right away), we can all use guidance and encouragement as we practice. This seminar introduces a range of user-friendly mindfulness skills, the research describing their many benefits, and ways to handle common obstacles to mindfulness practice (such as feeling too busy; feeling bored, tired, or restless; feeling cynical; or judging oneself as bad at mindfulness). At the end of the seminar, participants will choose two mindfulness practices that they can continue to implement into everyday life. 

Trauma and PTSD: Matching Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Skills to Individual Challenges

The multitude of difficulties stemming from trauma—emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual, and relational—can overwhelm trauma survivors, their families, and their therapists. Each person faces a unique constellation of challenges. Mindfulness and self-compassion skills offer an ideal synthesis of focusing on the “here and now” and caring for layers of trauma-related distress. This seminar provides techniques for addressing each person's unique symptoms, including dissociation, intrusions, avoidance, hypervigilance, depression, self-blame, shame, and relationship disturbances. It also addresses the emotional needs of caregivers who help those who have experienced trauma. Participants will leave the seminar with specific tools to apply to a range of trauma-related difficulties.

Inquire about scheduling a seminar, workshop, or class: