Making Sense of Counterwill
The instinct to resist being controlled or coerced is one of the most perplexing and troublesome dynamics in dealing with children and youth. This course reveals the dynamics controlling this instinct and provides suggestions for how to deal with it. This material is applicable for all those dealing with toddlers through adolescents: teachers, parents and helping professionals.
The distance education course as well as the facilitated videocourse are formatted into 4 one-hour sessions. The outline of onsite courses may vary depending upon time and schedule.
SESSION 1 WHY KIDS RESIST AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
Counterwill distilled to the essence
How `will` provokes `counterwill`
The many faces of counterwill
Emotional and intellectual counterwill
SESSION 2 COUNTERWILL AND ATTACHMENT
How counterwill serves attachment
Counterwill in the alpha child
Counterwill and competing attachments
Counterwill and defensive detachment
How to defuse counterwill through attachment
SESSION 3 COUNTERWILL AND INDIVIDUATION
How counterwill serves the individuation process
How counterwill is misread as willful
Characteristics of individuation-based counterwill
The counterwill of stuck children
Adolescence and counterwill
How to make room for a child`s will
SESSION 4 HANDLING COUNTERWILL
Why counterwill needs to be `bridged`
How to keep counterwill from sabotaging the relationship
How to maintaining the alpha position
How to reduce pressure and coercion