NPI Reflects Summer 2021

NPI REFLECTS SUMMER 2021

Volume 11: Issue 2

this issue

What is NPI? The Nashville Psychotherapy Institute or NPI is a 501(c)(6) non profit, professional organization. Founded in 1985, NPI now boasts 300+ members. www.NashvillePsychotherapyInstitute.org

Inside this issue:

“Noir Way” by Nashville artist Edwin Lockridge (Learn more about the artist on page 9) 1

A note from the Chair John Nichols

2

Fall Workshop with Wendy Behary Schema Therapy for Narcissism

3

Staying connected in fractured times Lisa McGovern

4

Kin not Skin Barbara Sanders

5

Let’s talk about sex Emily Ector-Volman

6

Good psychotherapists and good athletic coaches...

Phil Chanin

7

Kin Linda Odom

9

Board member spotlight Laura Fritzsche

10

Continuing Education Calendar of Events

12

From the Chair...

THE END OF THE WORLD “It’s always been the end of the world.”

My mother told me this a few weeks ago as I was driving us to her favorite lunch spot. Pueblo Real may the best Mexican restaurant in the known universe. I always get the “special salsa” which you have to request and only the cool kids know about it. It has the perfect flavor/ burn ratio that when paired with their top-shelf margarita makes you think that this must be what Heaven tastes like. We’re 10 minutes from our destination when Mom blurts out, “It’s always been the end of the world.”

John Nichols, MS, LPC/MHSP

“What are you talking about?”, I ask.

“Some lady on the news was going on about how it’s the end of the world. It’s been the end of the world my whole life,” she says. “This is all just silly.”

“So what you’re saying is it’s not the end of the world, it’s just the end of the world?”, I ask.

“Pretty much. Are you hungry? I’m starving.”

I lay the pedal down and we cut off three minutes from our arrival time.

Mom has become pretty Zen in her old age. She takes pleasure in the little things. She is grateful for everything. She rarely passes on dessert. She rarely worries. She never passes on an opportunity to say “I love you.”

After lunch, I thought about our discussion of the always-present possible demise of existence, and how Mom just blew it off.

I also found a lot of wisdom in her response.

People have been predicting the end of time since time began. History has proven that we suck at it, and that perhaps doomsayers should get a new hobby. Go get a taco. Save room for dessert. Look around and focus on everything to be grateful for. Call someone you haven’t chatted with in a while and tell them you love them.

The fact is, Life is precious because it has an expiration date, not in spite of it.

Practicing gratitude keeps us grounded, present, and focused. Energy flows where attention goes. The more we find to be grateful for, the more we find to be grateful for. I have a client who has become a gratitude Jedi Master. She texted me the other day to say, “I LOVE gel pens! They are amazeballs!” I appreciate the enthusiasm. I’m not sharing it, but I respect it.

Today is Saturday, which means Mom and I will be heading to Pueblo Real for lunch. As soon as I pull up to the house, she will dart out the door, purse and ravenous appetite in tow. She’s a news aficionado.

I’m not. I’m sure she’s going to fill me in on the latest tragedy on the way to the restaurant.

We’ll be okay. It’s just the end of the world.

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2021 NPI Jules Seeman Fall Workshop Schema Therapy for Narcissism Saturday, October 23 from 9 am - 4 pm Cumberland Heights Main Campus 8325 River Road Pike, Nashville, TN 37209 (LiveStream Options are Available and current CDC Guidelines will be followed) Sponsored by

Special Guest Presenter: Narcissists are notoriously difficult clients. While on the one hand they

Wendy Behary, LCSW

are often intelligent, charming and self-confident, on the other they tend to be highly self-centered, arrogant, demanding, haughty, incapable of empathy and

With 25 years post-graduate training and advanced level certifications, Wendy Behary is the founder and director of The Cognitive Therapy Center of New Jersey and The Schema Therapy Institutes of NJ-NYC and DC.

characterized by the feeling of having the right. The narcissist's complexity may

She has been treating clients, training professionals and supervising psychotherapists for more than 20 years. She is Read the book, also on the faculty of the “Disarming the narcissist” Cognitive Therapy Center and Schema Therapy Institute of New York, where she has trained and worked with Dr. Jeffrey Young since 1989.

Wendy is a founding fellow (and supervisor) of The Academy of Cognitive Therapy (Dr. Aaron T. Beck). She was also the President of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST) from 2010-2014.

as detachment, contempt and overcompensation, pretense, presumptuousness

Wendy Behary has co-authored several chapters and articles on Schema Therapy and Cognitive Therapy. She is the author of “Disarming the Narcissist…Surviving and Thriving with the Self-Absorbed” (New Harbinger Publications). Now translated in 10 languages. Wendy has a specialty in treating narcissists and the people who live with and deal with them. As an author and an expert on the subject of narcissism, she is a contributing chapter author of several chapters on Schema Therapy for narcissism.

Continuing Education: CE credit for this event is co-sponsored by NPI and the Institute for Continuing Education. The program offers 6.00 contact hours and full attendance is required (in-person and live-stream options available). No partial credit. Please read the full statement of approval and requirements available at the event page on our website at www.NashvillePyschotherapyInstitute.org.

arouse our curiosity but treating them can arouse our sense of inadequacy.

This workshop will help you establish a stronger framework for empathically confronting narcissistic clients with their responsibilities and setting the necessary boundaries. Through empathic confrontation and curiosity, you will learn how you can defuse ramblings such as hiding shame and insecurity, and disarm the narcissist from shifting in fashion (the classic "hiding places") such

and hypercriticism. Empathic confrontation is a strategy that strengthens access and maintenance of meaningful results during therapy. It also helps to avoid power struggles. You will gain a practical understanding of schema therapy as it applies to narcissism in order to help you conceptualize your patient’s patterns and fashions (as well as yours) and how these patterns and fashions interact in therapy.

Attendees of the workshop will learn: • About theory of schema therapy and work on schema fashions when applied to Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder; • Specific clinical strategies with narcissistic clients; • How to integrate the concepts of interpersonal neurobiology , which have proven to be powerful tools for accelerating the effectiveness of treatment; • How to identify your client's patterns & fashions - a major obstacle to treatment; • How to use self-work to bypass the intense reactions related to personal activation caused by the narcissist; and • How to customize scripts to reinforce motivation for change, use "empathic confrontation" and set boundaries in various conditions.

Early Bird Prices through September 15th $159 members/$189 non-members $99 student members

Registration and Continuing Education Details www.NashvillePsychotherapyInstitute.org Scholarship opportunities available for NPI members 3

Staying Connected in Fractured Times

by Lisa McGovern, LCSW What is it that makes relationships feel amazing if you have it or troubling when it’s missing? I’m sure there are many answers we could choose. However, I think we really notice connection in feeling closer to or further from the people in our lives. Between the political divide and the pandemic, I think the importance of feeling connected has come into sharper focus.

So how do we facilitate the connection we want? That’s a question we often find ourselves guiding our clients through as they seek the security connection offers. One of the ways I have been trying to help clients connect with others in their lives is through the use of Imago. This framework promotes the need to listen with curiosity and holding the intention to understand the other. The belief is that we all have different perspectives informed by our experience and when we understand the perspective of the other, we better understand their decisions and reactions. I tell my clients (ad nauseum, I’m sure) that “every behavior makes sense with the right information. If the person’s behavior doesn’t make

sense, you don’t have the right information yet.”

We have learned about our responses when we are reactive and in the more primitive part of our brain (our “lizard brain”), versus when we are responsive and able to access logic, reasoning and empathy (our “wizard brain”). The Imago dialogue is set up to keep us in the place that serves us and our relationships better as it facilitates a greater sense of safety and connection. My experience with using this tool that incorporates mirroring, empathy and validation, is that even when there is no “solution” to the differences, people report feeling more connected and heard. I learned from an Imago trainer that conflicts are the expression of unmet needs and a protest against the loss of connection. I also learned that for most of us, the way we naturally react to the threat to our connection rarely gets us closer to re-establishing that connection.

Personally, I have experienced that when I am actively pushing people away with my behavior, it makes it challenging for them to come close, which is what I really desire. Dialogue that focuses on curiosity about the other’s perspective and experience helps us better understand what unmet need may have been triggered and allows us to feel re-connected.

For these charged times and for our relationships, remembering to slow down and listen is a valuable skill. What a difference it creates to make the other feel heard and to share how what they said makes sense to us in some way; even if it makes sense to us that given their perspective, they would feel the way they do. When we feel someone is truly curious about our thoughts and feelings, it becomes less important that they agree with us. Problem solving is helpful, but I have found that being seen and heard, even understood is what really matters.

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Kin not Skin

By Barbara Sanders, LCSW

Five children, one set of parents, New Orleans Creole The palette, the color of skin ranging from white to black and Everything in between. Lighter is better, of course Even in the same family.

Hierarchies set by skin color and tone Michael Jackson lightened his skin color White Man in Black Face, fun-loving comedian Or, hostile as hell?

Plantation owner asked his slaves to dance At parties for whites, he said, "We treat our maid like she was family."

Incest Run Amok Darkness and Light Fear and Delight Young black and brown boys, girls Men and women slaughtered By police for Walking, Jogging, Standing, Sleeping, Talking, Being in the Wrong Neighborhood I Can't Breathe I Can't Breathe When will this horror stop?

Ever?

Let us educate ourselves, listen, hear, And understand to assist in the shift Of our consciousness Go back to our roots Transform the culture, the family, the kin We were born into To re-create the world this time In Jesus' image A dark-skinned person Background art from the sketchbook of Merav Kamel 5

Let’s Talk About Sex

By Emily Ector-Volman, LPC Since this year’s theme for the NPI newsletter is ‘connection,’ we can’t forget about physical intimacy and sex.

As therapists, we may feel uncomfortable bringing up sex in our sessions because we don’t want to start down a road on which we are not familiar or at ease. Unless that’s why a client is seeking therapy with you, they’re most likely not going to bring it up either.

So how do we talk about sex in session? One way to ease into the topic is to ask what they remember seeing or experiencing with their parents. Did they witness their parents giving goodbye kisses and playful and loving touches?

Or did their parents hide moments like that from their children? That conversation may create enough comfort in the room to then ask about their first memory of knowing something was sexual. This can be anything from something they saw in media, overheard from a sibling, taught by a parent, etc. It’s helpful to know your own earliest memories.

My father had a poster of Morgan Fairchild in a red bathing suit at the back of his office closet, and I remember wondering why he was hiding that and if my mom knew.

By spending some time exploring what they saw as a child; how did they know it was sexual, how did they interpret that in the moment, and how did they feel about it at the time, hopefully you will give them the space to be curious about other messages they received around sex and physical intimacy throughout their life. Like with my dad’s poster, children receive many subvert and overt sexual messages and often have no clue how they inform and affect their adult beliefs and relationships.

These messages are creating a “sexual template” and will be taken into their adult relationships, sometimes without their partners (and even themselves) knowing it. If clients know the origins of their sexual template, it helps them (and potentially their partners) understand and have empathy for their sexual barriers, desires, needs, and attractions. Furthermore, this type of transparency has the potential to heal wounds and diminish body and sexual shame.

Physical intimacy and sexuality is a healthy part of our human experience, and providing a safe space to explore some of those early childhood thoughts, confusions, feelings, and wants that we all had can open a whole new understanding of self. As therapists, we have a wonderful opportunity to connect with clients in a way they may not be able to connect and communicate with anyone else in their life.

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Good Psychotherapists and Good Athletic Coaches: What Might They Have in Common?

By Philip Chanin, Ed.D, ABPP, CGP Board Certified Clinical Psychologist Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center www.drphilchanin.com ~ philchanin@gmail.com Let me begin with a story, from the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. The #1 seeded team in the South regional bracket was the University of Virginia Cavaliers. They were also the top seeded team in the entire tournament of 68 teams. They were playing a college basketball game against the #16 seeded team in the South regional bracket, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Retrievers, who were ranked as the 168th best team in the nation.

At the start of this game, on March 16th, NCAA Tournament #16 seeds were 0-135 all-time against #1 seeds since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Virginia entered this game as 20.5 point favorites. UMBC had only been able to qualify for the NCAA tournament when, 6 days earlier, they made a 3-point shot with 0.6 seconds left to defeat top-seeded Vermont in their conference championship game.

Virginia, on the other hand, won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season championship outright,by four games, over pre-season AP #1 Duke, finishing 17-1 in conference play. They had then defeated the University of North Carolina in the ACC Tournament championship, finishing the regular season 31-2.

The game between Virginia and UMBC was a defensive struggle in the first half, which ended in a 16-16 tie. In the second half, the UMBC Retrievers put together several runs, giving them an 11-point lead, which they never relinquished. The final score in favor of the Retrievers was 74-54.

Thus, the Cavaliers were outscored by 20 points in the 2nd half. It was their largest deficit of the entire season, and the only time all season that they allowed an opponent to score at least 70 points.

The Virginia team and its entire fan base were devastated by the loss. It was a defeat of such magnitude that it had never happened before in the previous 33 years of the Tournament. Virginia coach Tony Bennett was gracious in defeat, stating in the moments after the game, “This is life. It can’t define you. You enjoyed the good times and you’ve got to be able to take the bad times. When you step into the arena…the consequences can be historic losses, tough losses, great wins, and you have to deal with it. And that’s the job.” The reaction by Tony Bennett after the game was featured in a national magazine as a lesson in emotional intelligence and leadership.

The Cavaliers spent the entire next year waiting for the chance to atone for their unprecedented early exit from the 2018 NCAA Tournament. A New York Times story quoted Coach Bennett as saying, “That will always be part of our story.” The Cavaliers were a team, “who recognize their place in infamy but, at Bennett’s urging, have regrouped from it. Together, they watched a video of a TED Talk in which the speaker, discussing his own personal grief, said, according to Bennett, that ‘if you learn to use it right, it can buy you a ticket to a place that you couldn’t have gone any other way.’”

A year later, in March of 2019, Virginia again entered the NCAA Tournament as a #1 seed. In the opening game, they again trailed by as many as 14 points to #16 seed Gardner-Webb in the first half, and still trailed by 6 at halftime. Virginia managed to play much better in the 2nd half and escaped without another gut-wrenching loss. Then they proceeded to win their next five games of the tournament, often in dramatic come-frombehind fashion in the final seconds, to claim Virginia’s first ever NCAA Tournament Championship. ESPN called Virginia’s 2018-2019 championship run “the most redemptive season in the history of college basketball.” NBC Sports called the Cavalier’s NCAA title the “greatest redemption story in the history of sports.”

So, the reader may here be asking, “What does this have to do with psychotherapy?” Let me suggest some parallels: Both psychotherapists and athletic coaches share the goal of removing blocks and obstacles to success. Fellow Nashville psychologist Tom Neilson, Psy.D., has written insightfully about why patients come for psychotherapy. He states that patients “come to us with maps of the world that make their lives difficult. Their maps are narrow, out of date, and inaccurate, and they cause suffering.

The most common map that brings people to therapy is one that represents the (patient) as flawed, deficient, and inadequate. Other problematic maps include those that see the world as a fundamentally unsafe or uncaring place, and those that view others as untrustworthy and uncaring. (Some patients) come to us with narcissistic maps that represent the self as superior and others as inferior.” We all develop our particular maps, or character structure, in order to survive childhood. Then, as adults, our maps interfere with our ability to develop fulfilling lives, satisfying relationships, and peace of mind.

Consider, then, the sports perspective on removing blocks and obstacles to success. We see the Virginia Cavaliers, who could so easily have sulked and given up on the possibility of ever succeeding, given their embarrassment on such a national stage. Yet Coach Tony Bennett clearly used every motivational strategy he could find to create in his players’ minds the belief that they could succeed, despite failing spectacularly one year earlier.

Another coach who has utilized positive motivational strategies is Daria Abramowicz, a former competitive sailor for Poland who now works as a mental health and psychology coach. Last year she began working with 19-year-old Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek. A New York Times article, on 2/8/2021, describes how Swiatek, utilizing what she was learning in working with Abramowitz, “stunned the tennis world” this past October when, despite being ranked only #54 in the world, “she came out of nowhere to win the French Open singles championship without losing a set in seven matches.”

(Continued on page 8) 7

(“Good Psychotherapists and Good Athletic Coaches…” continued from page 7) According to the article, Abramowicz and Swiatek “talk for hours on end about Swiatek’s fears and dreams. They work to deepen her relationships with relatives and friends, the people who can provide emotional stability—‘the human anchor,’ Abramowicz calls it…

Abramowicz says that self-confidence and close relationships built on trust are crucial to supporting attributes like motivation, stress management, and communication that drive athletic success.”

When children from dysfunctional families grow up, the strong tendency is to treat oneself the way one was treated by one’s parents. If a parent approached the child with excessive expectations, then this child grows up to be an adult who expects the same excessive things of him/herself. Whenever performance is not spectacular, this adult punishes him or herself for falling short.

The myth of perfectionism is that unless I hold myself to excessively high standards, then I will just be “a blob” and will accomplish very little in my life. However, the reality is that everyone has a drive to accomplish things and be successful. I can learn to do my best without the guilt and shame than accompany perfectionism.

Nashville psychologist Jamie Kyne, Ph.D, wrote an article in the Fall, 2015, edition of NPI Reflects, the newsletter of the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute. The title of Dr. Kyne’s article is “Aspirations for a Longer Term Psychotherapy.” Among his “Aspirations for Psychotherapy Outcomes” is the following: “Developing a more effective inner coach/conscience. Being more inclined to learn from what’s done wrong, poorly, or by mistake than to punish what’s done wrong, poorly, or by mistake. Learning how to best use guilt and shame so as not to be tyrannized by them.”

The New York Times article about Abramowicz and Swiatek speaks to the problem with perfectionism as well. The article states, “Abramowicz also takes a counterintuitive approach of prioritizing gratitude, human relationships, and personal growth as a path to winning. ‘We talk a lot about positive and destructive passions,’ Abramowicx said in an interview. ‘Perfectionism is not so helpful, so we tried to create positive passion, determination, and grit. You embrace your potential in pursuit of excellence. You go for the best, but at the end of the day you are human and you have other aspects to your life, and it doesn’t mean when you lose your match, you are less worthy as a human being.’”

The article concludes: “Through her work with Abramowicz, Swiatek has been changing from a player motivated solely by results—a common trait, especially among young players—into someone who, as she put it, can ‘be happy even when you are not winning.’”

Good psychotherapy, spiritual practice, and good sports coaching all teach the importance of being able to lose with grace, and of using one’s losses and grief as the impetus to move forward, persist, and not give up. In a good psychotherapy, the patient is helped to see, in the words of famous psychotherapist Sheldon Kopp, in his seminal book If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him, that “there is no good reason that you lost out on some things.” Group therapy is of particular benefit in this regard, as group members get to experience how every member struggles, often with similar problems.

Coach Tony Bennett’s approach with his team is a beautiful example of a coach who helps his team recover from the ashes of defeat. As quoted above, he doesn’t ever deny how devastating their loss was, stating “That will always be part of our story.” He encourages his team, regarding their grief, “If you use it right, it can buy you a ticket to a place that you couldn’t have gone any other way.” Several years ago, the tennis player Stan Wawrinka reached #3 in the world. As he was climbing the rankings, he got a tattoo on his arm with words by the Irish writer Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Good psychotherapy and good sports coaching both encourage each individual to view his/her situation with a wider lens, seeing how one’s current difficulties and challenges don’t indicate that one is inevitably the victim of circumstances and it’s hopeless to persevere. I often talk with patients about utilizing an “internal locus of control” approach, versus “external locus of control,” which posits that circumstances are going to be stronger than my ability to cope with them.

As I work with patients to help them see their situation from a multi-generational perspective, I often share a quote, attributed to the philosopher Hannah Arendt, “All pain can be born if I can put it into a story.” Jack Kornfield, in his wonderful book A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life, writes of the importance of seeing life’s inevitable difficulties as the path to greater balance, wisdom, and compassion. “Without this spiritual perspective,” Kornfield states, “we simply bear our sufferings, like an ox or a foot soldier, under a heavy load.”

Every good psychotherapist, and every good sports coach, is always working with his or her vision of each patient’s or player’s potential. One of the most satisfying and fulfilling aspects of working with a patient in a long psychotherapy, sometimes of many years, is assisting the patient in growing into the person that they have the potential to become, if the obstacles to that growth can be removed.

Elan Golomb, Ph.D., in her wrenching book Trapped in the Mirror: Adult Children of Narcissists in their Struggle for Self, articulates the condition of many patients who present for psychotherapy: “To improve a self (that’s been) mangled by rejection and improper use, we have to experiment with being. We need situations in which to practice the reality of a self, places where we can behave in a way that shows who we really are and what we feel…We are like bonsai plants with prior years of confinements, suppression, and reshaping. What is our natural shape? It takes years to uncover, as we revert by degrees to growing. (pp. 186 & 148) In closing, I am thinking about how the good psychotherapist and the good athletic coach both approach their patient or player with a growth mindset, hoping to instill an enthusiasm for reaching one’s potential, in life or in a sport. In a New York Times article, the #1 tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, articulates this growth mindset well: “How can I really optimize everything and be in a balanced state of mind, body, and soul every season for the rest of my career and really be able to peak when I need to? I think the No. 1 requirement is constant desire and open-mindedness to master and improve and evolve yourself in every aspect. I know Roger Federer has been talking about it, and it’s something I feel most top athletes of all sports agree on. Stagnation is regression.”

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KIN

By Linda Odom, PhD June 7, 2012 Who are my kin?

Does it depend on the color of our skin?

Does it depends on our genes?

Or even our species?

I think it is about whether our souls vibrate together.

Whether the pebble you throw into the pool of my heart sends out circles of resonance That expand and deepen each time we touch — With our hands, our eyes, our voices or our shared silence.

Its about whether I KNOW you or you KNOW me.

Whether your presence stays with me and mine with you.

Whether being with you is sweeter than being without you.

You are my kin if I can be IN love WITH you.

If you feel like home.

Cover Artwork: Edwin Lockridge is a Nashville native and has over 50 years of experience in fine arts, including mixed media and graphic arts.

Despite many years of experience, he says he has “only scratched the surface.” While Edwin regularly creates with a wide variety of tools and materials, he gathers inspiration everywhere he goes and claims the world as his preferred medium. Edwin took classes at Watkins College of Art and enjoys connecting with other artists. Although Edwin has been experiencing homelessness for the past 3 years, he is hopeful for his future and art career. With the income generated from his art sales, he plans to reinvest in his craft and find stable housing.

Poverty and the Arts (POVA) is a Nashville-based social enterprise nonprofit dedicated to providing people impacted by homelessness with access to creative resources and an artistic platform to enhance their quality of life and increase their economic mo-

bility. Learn more about POVA at www.POVAnashville.org.

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Board Member Spotlight Laura Fritzsche (LPC-MHSP) is a therapist in private practice in Nashville, TN specializing in evidence-based treatment for anxiety, OCD, and trauma. She has worked in a variety of both research and clinical roles for over a decade. In terms of clinical approach, Laura is most extensively trained in treatment rooted in science, including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Prolonged Exposure (PE).

In her private practice, she sees adults 18+, all of whom have sought help for some form of anxiety. Laura’s niche is in working with OCD, PTSD, social anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, health anxiety, GAD, and related disorders, although many of her clients experience subclinical concerns as well, including developmental, grief-related, existential, and interpersonal issues. She enjoys integrating science-based experiential, cognitive, and behavioral interventions with a humanistic, developmental, and constructivist lens to help clients connect with the healing energy within their bodies, open up to their pain, and reconstruct old ways of moving through the world.

Laura Fritzsche, LPC-MHSP

Laura received her M.Ed from Vanderbilt University’s Human Development Counseling program, where she served as president of the Vanderbilt chapter of Chi Sigma Iota honors society for professional counselors. In addition to NPI, she holds membership with the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). She can often be found attending conferences and NPI events, consulting with colleagues, and reading to learn more and deepen her clinical work. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, long walks with her dogs, cooking, going to concerts, and playing music.

Laura first joined NPI as a graduate student in 2016, when she dove in headfirst by attending the biannual Connections Retreat as her first event. There, she was embraced with open arms and realized that NPI represented so much more than transactional networking – it was a warm and wonderful community she was excited to be a part of. She immediately knew she wanted to get more involved.

Later that same year, Laura joined the board as the student board member. She assisted in planning the next Connections Retreat, and then began co-chairing the Membership Committee in 2017. As Membership Committee Chair, Laura spearheaded a number events that have since become mainstays in rotation on the NPI calendar, including an annual student mixer in the fall, open to graduate students in mental-health-related programs. These mixers represent a unique opportunity for local grad students to get a taste of what it feels like to step out of often-siloed programs and engage in interdisciplinary connection with fellow trainees in related fields – something NPI does on a regular basis. They also provide a fun way for students to learn more about NPI, which has funneled new members into the organization, along with school site visits, which were initiated this past year.

In addition to the student mixers, Laura expanded the existing new member socials to include all of membership.

These events serve as a contrast to the structure and formal education that regular CE luncheons and workshops provide; instead, they represent a chance for members to hang out in a casual atmosphere with food, drinks, and fellowship. Without the pressure of rushing off to the next meeting, NPI members can get to know one another more intimately and let their hair down a bit.

This all describes what Laura loves about being Membership Committee Chair – she gets to help plan events and reach out to membership in ways that foster connection. Structured professional support through networking and education is a crucial facet of what NPI provides; at the same time, the value of time spent making real friendships is the reason so many of us keep coming back year after year.

Laura credits NPI in large part for providing the connections who provided the support for her to launch her own private practice only a few months out of graduate school. This support included licensure help, cost-effective office space for her then-small caseload, resources and personal advice in structuring her practice, referrals, and, perhaps most importantly, much-needed encouragement in the midst of early career-related anxiety and doubt by those who had been there before.

Laura is honored to continue to serve the NPI community in an attempt to give back even a little bit of what NPI has given to her. If you are interested in getting involved with NPI committees, have suggestions for the Membership Committee, or have questions for Laura about her clinical practice, she can be contacted at LauraFritzscheLPC@gmail.com.

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Friday, August 13, 2021 “The Body Knows the Way: Coming Home through the Dark Night,”

presented by Charles Gordon Peerman III, D.Min This meeting will be held via Zoom ***********************************************

Friday, September 10, 2021 “Transforming the Currents of Conflict,”

presented by Julia McAninch, Psy.D. This meeting will be held via Zoom

Program & Registration Information at www.NashvillePsychotherapyInstitute.org Each presentation is eligible for one CE credit hour

2021 NPI BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Nichols, MS, LPC/MHSP; Board Chair Linda Manning, PhD; Chair-elect/Social Justice Cathryn Yarbrough, PhD; Immediate Past Chair Cynthia Lucas, PhD; Hutton Historian Glenn Sheriff, MA; Treasurer Jennifer Adams, M.Ed., LPC-MHSP D. Kirk Barton, MD; Speaker Research Tiffany Davis, LCSW Avi Dressler, MMFT Emily Ector-Volman, LPC, NCC; Communications Chair Kristin Finch, LPC-MHSP (temp), NCC Laura Fritsche, LPC-MHSP; Membership Chair

NEWSLETTER CREDITS Editor: Emily Ector-Volman, LPC, NCC Layout & Design: Melissa Vickroy, MS Printing: ISSUU online publishing ***Editor’s Note: The content and opinions expressed within this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute, the Board of Directors of the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute, or the Editor of the newsletter.

Richard Gorman; Student Member Hannah Reynolds, LPC/MHSP; Social Justice

Nashville Psychotherapy Institute

P. O. Box 158626 Nashville, TN 37215 npinashville@gmail.com www.NashvillePsychotherapyInstitute.org

Juliana Vokes, LPC-MHSP (Temp) Melissa Vickroy, MS; Executive Coordinator 12