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• Archive: Topic Areas:WorkshopCategory:Couples Conference | Couples Conference 2012Faculty:Esther Perel, MA, LMFTDuration:1:54:46Format:Audio OnlyOriginal Program Date :Apr 27, 2012 Description Description: In this workshop, we will look at fantasy as an ingenious way our creative mind overcomes all sorts of relational and intra psychic conflicts around desire and intimacy.
• Therapists can help clients develop a view of fantasy as a narrative that creates a safe space to experience the pleasure that can invigorate their loving relation-ships.
• They will decipher the meaning of sexual fantasies, approaching them more as dreams or complex symbolic structures than as literal narratives of secret intentions.
• In recognizing the depth, complexity and healing qualities of the erotic imagination, we explore sexual fantasy as a staging ground for action and escape that turns the tables on those responsible for earlier experiences of demoralization, defeat, and even trauma.
• As therapists, we need a clearer distinction between issues of privacy and secrecy in the arena of sexuality, as well as a range of clinically valuable ideas about when and how to bring fantasy into a relationship and — just as importantly — when and how not to.