Course Description
Constructed Awareness is a nonviolent, resource-based approach to psychotherapy developed by Tyler Orr, LPC, that is informed by his work with EMDR, body-centered therapy, attachment theory, and mindfulness. Constructed Awareness provides a blueprint for deep insight and freedom from a variety of mental health issues by relying on three principles:

1. Bringing awareness to your experience changes your experience. If you’re like most, you were brought up with the belief that hard work is the answer to getting what you want. Though this is true for many task-oriented achievements, willpower alone doesn’t work to regulate your emotional experience, despite the fact that many of the more popular approaches to therapy are rooted in this very notion. Inner peace isn’t earned through willpower; rather, it’s discovered simply by observing your inner experience. Observation alone has the power to bring the change you’ve been looking for all along. 

2. The human experience is made up of three building blocks: thoughts, sensations, and external senses. Constructed Awareness teaches a unique practice of bringing mindful awareness to one’s own experience—an experience that is constructed by thoughts, sensations, and external senses. In the training, we will look at how thoughts, sensation, and external senses make up the entire human experience, especially in regard to how they construct our emotional experiences and interpretations of self, others, and the world. Expanding awareness of how these three building blocks construct our experiences can transform how clients regulate and respond emotionally and relationally.

3. Most people naturally orient their awareness more strongly to one of the three building blocks. By this we mean some people spend more time in their minds analyzing, fantasizing, or planning. Whereas other people direct more attention to sensations and what they feel in their bodies. And some people focus more on what’s happening around them in their external environment. The Constructed Awareness training teaches both structured and informal techniques for determining how the client’s awareness is oriented. A typology of six personality types will be taught to help you and the client understand personality and character traits based on their orientation style. The training will also cover how to determine which resources would be more useful to deepen self-awareness and the ability to self-regulate based on the client’s specific needs.

Constructed Awareness is a two-part live training that is taking place completely in person in Huntsville, AL. Participants meet together for four days over the course of two weekends that are usually two weeks apart. Each live session consists of lecture, live and/or video demonstrations, practicum, and group discussion. Home practice is assigned between sessions to encourage integration of what is learned throughout the program. 

Although Constructed Awareness is derived from Tyler’s work with EMDR, body-centered therapy, and mindfulness, no training in EMDR, body-centered therapy, or mindfulness is required to participate. This training is appropriate for all levels of training and is considered an introductory level training. To attend, you must be a licensed mental health therapist (psychologists, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, social workers, MFTs, or mental health counselors) pursuing a license, or a practicum-level graduate student. If you are uncertain whether you meet these requirements, please contact info@tylerorr.com.

30 CE Credit Hours are provided with this training.

Learning Objectives

• Identify two types of resources—regulating resources and information-gathering resources.

• Demonstrate how the direct awareness of their own experience changes their experience.

• Define the three building blocks of our conscious experience—thought, sensation, and external senses.

• Practice using the Constructed Awareness Questionnaire.

• Identify certain words that offer clues to how the client’s system is oriented.

• Identify the six orientation types.

• Describe how emotions are cultural constructions.

• Demonstrate techniques for tuning and bringing direct awareness to each of the three building blocks of our conscious experience—thought, sensation, and external senses.

• Identify how their nervous system orients thoughts, sensations, and/or external senses.

• Identify subtle ways they may be acting or communicating violently with clients.

• Demonstrate at least one information-gathering resources.

• Apply nonviolence to working with sensations.

• Identify certain buffer words that indicate the client may be thinking about what they are feeling or might be feeling rather than directly connecting with sensation.

• Tell how to bring present-moment awareness to their sense of sound.

• Tell how to bring present-moment awareness to their sense of sight.

• Tell how to bring present-moment awareness to their sense of touch.

• Tell how to bring spontaneous awareness to the client’s experience.

• Differentiate direct experience of sensation from thoughts.

• Identify thoughts as words, sounds, and pictures.

• Apply nonviolence to working with thoughts.

• Describe how the brain interprets and projects reality.

• Practice how to perform at least one relational resource.

• Practice how to perform at least one boundary resource.

Agenda

Session 1: The Basic Principles of Constructed Awareness

• 9:00 – 9:45        Welcome, Introduction, and Awareness Exercise

• 9:45 – 10:00      What Is Constructed Awareness?

• 10:00 – 10:45    A Nonviolent Approach to Psychotherapy

• 10:45 – 11:00    The Transformative Power of Awareness

• 11:00 – 11:15    Break

• 11:15 – 11:30    Theory of Constructed Experience

• 11:30 – 12:00    What Is an Emotion?

• 12:00 – 12:30    Are Emotions Real?

• 12:30 – 12:45    Cultural Construction of Emotions

• 12:45 – 1:00      Emotion Tracker

• 1:00 – 2:00        Lunch

• 2:00 – 2:30        Awareness Exercise and Group Discussion

• 2:30 – 3:30        Tracking the Orientation of the Client’s Constructed Experience—Using the Constructed Awareness Questionnaire

• 3:30 – 3:45        Break

• 3:45 – 5:15        Practicum: Using the Constructed Awareness Questionnaire

• 5:15 – 5:30        Identifying Self-Awareness Resources Based on the Client’s Needs

• 5:30 – 6:00        Group Discussion

 Session 2: Awareness of the Internal and External Senses 

• 9:00 – 10:00 Group Discussion and Awareness Exercise

• 10:00 – 11:30 Awareness of Senses

• 11:30 – 11:45 Break

• 11:45 – 12:15 Talking with Your Hands

• 12:15 – 1:00 Tuning Sensation—Pendulation

• 1:00 – 2:00 Lunch

• 2:00 – 2:30 Awareness Exercise and Group Discussion

• 2:30 – 3:15 Tuning Senses and Sensation—Orienting

• 3:15 – 3:30 Break

• 3:30 – 5:30 Practicum

• 5:30 – 6:00 Group Discussion

 Session 3: Awareness of Thoughts 

• 9:00 – 10:00      Group Discussion and Awareness Exercise

• 10:00 – 11:15    Review of CAQ and Emotion Tracker

• 11:15 – 11:30    Break

• 11:30 – 1:00      What is a Thought?

• 1:00 – 2:00        Lunch

• 2:00 – 2:30        The Interpreter

• 2:30 – 3:00        Group Discussion and Awareness Exercise

• 3:00 – 3:15        Expressing Actual Affirmations

• 3:15 – 3:30        Break

• 3:30 – 5:30        Practicum: Observing Thoughts

• 5:30 – 6:00        Group Discussion and Closing

 Session 4: Relational Resources and Constructing Emotions

• 9:00 – 10:00      Group Discussion and Awareness Exercise

• 10:00 – 11:15 The Construction of Connection

• 11:15 – 11:30 Break

• 11:30 – 1:00 Practicum: Relational Resources

• 1:00 – 2:00 Lunch

• 2:00 – 2:30        Group Discussion and Awareness Exercise

• 2:30 – 3:00        Tuning Thought, Sensation, and Senses—Constructing Emotions

• 3:00 – 3:15        Spontaneous Resourcing/Processing

• 3:15 – 3:30        Break  

• 3:30 – 5:30        Practicum: Constructing Emotions and Spontaneous Resourcing/Processing

• 5:30 – 6:00        Group Discussion and Closing

Presenter Bio
Tyler Orr is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC/MHSP), National Certified Counselor (NCC), EMDRIA-approved consultant, and creator of Constructed Awareness. He offers an interactive, here-and-now approach to counseling, consulting, and teaching that integrates mindfulness, nonviolence, nonduality, EMDR, and body-centered therapy techniques.

Cancellation Policy
Full refunds, minus a $100 handling charge, are given until 14 days before the start of training. No refunds are available after that time, and no partial credit for CEUs is given. All cancelations must be requested in writing from the email used to register. If after thirty days you wish to transfer to a different training for any reason or need to make up a day at a different training, you may transfer for a $100 administration fee. Note: There will be no refunds, under any circumstances, for withdrawals after the beginning of the training program.

Certificates
Certificates are administered at the conclusion of the training. Participants must complete the entire training to receive a certificate. No partial certificates are awarded.

Disclosure Statement
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.

Grievance Policy
All grievances must be submitted in writing on the Grievance Complaint Form. For questions or concerns, please contact info@tylerorr.com