Workshop in Tuscany with Esther Perel, MFT - The Paradox of Intimacy and Sexuality June 19, 2009

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19-23 June 2009Four-Day Weekend Workshop in Tuscany with Esther Perel, MFTThe Paradox of Intimacy and Sexuality
Based on the international bestselling book: Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic IntelligenceLucca, Italy at
La Villa Rinascimento (Special discounted rates available for participants)


Why does great sex so often fade for couples who claim to love each other as much as ever?
Can we want what we already have?
Why does the transition to parenthood so often spell erotic disaster?
Why does good intimacy not guarantee great sex?

Based on the international bestseller: Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence
(translated into 25 languages), this bold, provocative new take on
intimacy and sex grapples with the obstacles and anxieties that arise
when our quest for secure love conflicts with our pursuit of passion.The
story of intimacy and sexuality in committed modern couples is one that
often tells of dwindling desire that includes a long list of alibis,
claiming to explain the inescapable weakening of erotic connection. The
absence of fantasy, the proliferation of pornography and affairs, as
well as a lack of understanding of the nature of erotic desire all
contribute to this predicament. Lust, Romantic Love and attachment live
in dynamic tension in our brains as well as in our lives.In
this workshop we will explore how our need for secure attachment and
closeness co-exists with our quest for separateness and freedom. We
will probe the intricacies of love and desire, how they can be
inseparable, or incompatible and we will map the connections between
partners attachment orientation and their sexual feelings and
behaviors. You will learn how erotic blueprints are formed, how our
emotional history expresses itself in our sexual fantasies and in the
physicality of sex.The workshop will introduce an original
approach to treat the decline of desire during parenthood. We will
show how to grant the body its profound capacities for emotional
expressiveness reaching beyond intimacy as mere verbal communication. In
this workshop we will also examine the cultural pressures that shape
domesticated sex and the puzzling inverse correlation between greater
emotional intimacy and loss of sexual desire. Through clinical case
material, exercises and video vignettes, Esther will introduce
innovative strategies to help couples reconcile their needs for safety
and stability with the excitement and novelty inherent in erotic
pleasure. This model applies to married and unmarried, heterosexual and same sex couples.Learning objectives:

Describe the tension between two fundamental human needs of security and adventure;
Show how couples can balance their need for secure attachment with the quest for freedom;
Offer
a nuanced, relative and multicultural understanding of the differing
notions of love, marriage and sexual behaviors, and to highlight the
relation between culture and sexuality;
Clarify
erotic Blueprints: Understand how the psychology of desire is buried
in the details of our childhood and how our emotional history is
expressed in the physicality of sex;
Examine the puzzling inverse correlation of increased emotional intimacy and decreased sexual desire;
Explore the differences between sexuality and eroticism and layout the concept of multiple sexualities;
Present an original approach to treat the decline of desire during parenthood;
Discuss the meaning of affairs, dilemmas around truth telling and boundaries, and rethink infidelity.

Participants will be able to:

Describe the tension between our needs for connection and autonomy;
Invert
the traditional therapeutic priorities thereby allowing the sexual
relationship to serve as a lens into the intra-psychic layers and the
couples interpersonal dynamics;
Develop therapeutic interventions to unlock erotic blocks and cultivate eroticism in couples;
Recognize how to grant the body its profound capacities for communicating in its own language;
Map
ways for couples to draw pleasure from the hidden and the mysterious
while respecting their needs for safety and stability;
Utilize
experiential exercises to help couples confront their emotional blocks
and their sexual inhibitions thereby open up communication of their
erotic strivings to each other;
Facilitate
clients voicing their erotic longings and moving beyond their familiar
comfort zone into an expansive, fully charged sexuality. The workshop
combines formal teaching, small group discussions, clinical case
material, exercises and video vignettes.

Esther
Perel, MFT
Esther Perel, one of the worlds most respected voices on erotic intelligence, is the author of Mating in Captivity,
now available in 25 languages. Perel brings a rich multicultural
perspective to her work as a couples and family therapist in New York
City. She is an acknowledged authority on couple therapy,
cross-cultural relations, and culture and sexuality.
Fluent in nine languages, Ms. Perel is frequent keynote speaker
around the world. She has been interviewed in leading publications such
as The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Vogue, More, (Haaretz, Stern,
La Republica, The Guardian and the Observer, The Sydney Morning Herald,
and the Australian.). Esther was named one of Elle Magazines 2007
IntELLEligentia and she is the recipient of the 2009 book award for
Society for Sex therapy and Research. She has appeared on multiple
television shows including the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today show, CBS
this morning.
Ms. Perel serves on the faculty of The Family Studies Unit,
Department of Psychiatry, New York University Medical Center and The
International Trauma Studies Program affiliated with Columbia
University. She is a member of the American Family Therapy Academy and
the Society for Sex Therapy and Research.Workshop Schedule:
Friday 19 June: 7pm Welcome ReceptionSaturday 20 June 9am to 1pm WorkshopSunday 21 June 9am to 1pm WorkshopMonday 22 June 9am to 1pm WorkshopTuesday 23 June 9am to 1pm Workshop18 continuing education credits will be available for a wide variety of healthcare professionals.
Registration Fees:Licensed Professional: $795.00 USDStudent or Intern: $595.00 USD
Registration is required to these access special conference rates at the Villa Rinascimento: Main Villa
128,00 double single use
148,00 double
181,00 triple
214,00 double with two extra beds
Annex
80,00 double single use
100,00 double
133,00 triple
Group Rates: Please
inquire ..... send an email to [email protected] with the names in
your group. Then we will create individual invoices or each member of
the group.To check currency conversion rates go to: http://www.xe.com/.
What is included?

Welcome Reception and Buffet Dinner (spouses/partners pay a nominal fee)
Walking Tour of Old Lucca
Shuttle to Downtown Lucca or Pisa each day

Discounted Hotel and Meal rates at the Villa Rinacimento (breakfast included in room rates)
Local expertise on excursions

We aim to create an intimate
setting where the presenter is
available in a less formal way, where colleagues from all over the
world feel free to share cases, feedback, and consultation, while at
the same time enjoying the delights of Italy.

In
June
2009 we are looking forward to enjoying the
heart of the Tuscan countryside. The venue is "off the beaten path", 15
minutes by car from downtown Lucca and downtown Pisa, nestled in the
Tuscan hills.

English is the official language of this workshop. No translation services available. Space is limited.



Organized by Pronto Professional Seminars
PRONTO PROFESSIONAL SEMINARS provides high quality educational workshops in Italy featuring internationally respected authors and presenters within the context of an intimate and authentic cultural setting. We offer a respite from practice and job stress and a wonderful opportunity to travel into local Italian culture with colleagues from around the world! Participants gain international networking opportunities and educational credit. Using the navigation bars to the left, you can learn about and register for our next seminars. Space is limited.Obtain your continuing education credits (CE) while enjoying the beauty of Italy. These days, it may seem difficult to consider a real vacation. Yet you may need time away from your practice now more than ever. Our goal is to provide you with an affordable way to combine work and pleasure. When you take one of our CE courses, you may be able to write off most or all of your expenses in Italy and airfare (talk to your accountant for details).Increased Relaxation = Increased Learning and Retention When you're in Italy, it's like being in another world. It's easier to relax and let go. Our classes are designed so that your afternoons are free to wander through the countryside, take in a winery, have a wonderful meal, or visit a museum. Our participants tell us that learning in this environment, at a more relaxed pace allows them to integrate new material faster and more easily.Unlike large symposia and conferences, we aim to create an intimate setting where the presenter is available in a less formal way, where colleagues from all over the world feel free to share cases, feedback, and consultation, while at the same time enjoying the delights of Italy.In June 2009 we are looking forward to enjoying the heart of the Tuscan countryside. The venue is "off the beaten path", 15 minutes by car from downtown Lucca and downtown Pisa, nestled in the Tuscan hills.English is the main language of our workshops.

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Ticket Info:  

• Professional, $804.95
• Student or Intern, $604.95
• Continuing Education Certificate, $35.99
• AASECT Member, $704.95

Official Website: http://esther-perel-in-tuscany-june-2009-upcoming.eventbrite.com