The Riggs Difference: Where Understanding Leads to Recovery
Presenter: Gila Ashtor, PhD, LP
This session increases clinical competence by helping learners identify the subtle features of pseudo-self presentations, which often go unrecognized due to the patient’s/client’s apparent functionality and lack of overt distress. Participants will gain tools to detect dissociative defenses and emotional absence masked by compliance and verbal engagement. The session also offers strategies for fostering affective depth and authentic connection in treatment, including how to work with resistant or emotionally disconnected transference dynamics. By integrating sociocultural awareness with clinical technique, learners will be better equipped to engage these patients/clients meaningfully, improving therapeutic outcomes and deepening long-term treatment efficacy.