Harnessing the Polyvagal System to Help Clients with Anxiety, Depression, and Anger

Dafna Lender, LCSW Related seminars and products: 5

Dafna Lender, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in the field of child welfare and child mental health for 20+ years. Dafna serves as the program director at The Theraplay Institute in Evanston, IL and is certified as a practitioner, supervisor and trainer in both Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). Dafna trains psychotherapists internationally in these methods and trains in three languages.

Dafna’s focus is children’s development of a secure attachment with their caregivers while resolving issues in their traumatic history. Early in her career, Dafna worked in treatment foster care and witnessed child after child “fail” out of foster placements due to difficult behavior. Children were disruptive, unsettled and unhappy, and their caregivers felt defeated. Dafna’s sense of discouragement went way after taking the Theraplay training and learning direct, concrete ideas and interactions that she could apply in home with her treatment families to promote healthier, stable relationships. Dafna has successfully treated children with a variety of backgrounds, including children raised in orphanages, with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, exposed to domestic violence and community violence and children of parents with chronic mental illness.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dafna Lender has an employment relationship with The Theraplay Institute. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Dafna Lender has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Jon Baylin, Ph.D Related seminars and products: 2

Jonathan Baylin, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist with 30 years of experience, offers the workshop "Putting the Brain in Therapy." He's coauthoring a book with Daniel Hughes on the parenting brain and treatment for parents experiencing blocked care.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Jon Baylin receives royalties as an author for Norton Press.
Non-financial: Jon Baylin has no relevant non-financial relationship.