Kevin Creeden
Using Superheroes to Address Trauma, Loss & Resilience (Batman Group)
Workshop Abstract
At their most basic level the appeal to identifying with superheroes is that they are empowering. However, in the origins of almost every superhero story there is usually trauma and loss and quite often the loss of an important attachment figure.
Harrington and Neimeyer (2021) note that the superhero story is often one of the emergence from the vulnerability of traumatic loss through a transformative process.
For our clients who are struggling with trauma and loss, often in ways that can cause harm to others, the superhero story can provide an alternative view that focuses on caring for others by highlighting our personal strengths and skills while also being aware of our vulnerabilities (Bergman & Creeden, 2011; Haen, 2011; Scarlet, 2017).
This workshop will look at how superhero stories can be used in different aspects of treatment and how they can shape the client’s own trauma narrative and transformative process.
About the Speaker
Kevin Creeden, M.A., LMHC is the Director of Assessment and Research at the Whitney Academy in East Freetown, MA. He has over 40 years of clinical experience treating children, adolescents, and their families working extensively with sexually and physically aggressive youth.
Over the past 30 years, his primary focus has been on issues of trauma and attachment difficulties, especially regarding the impact of trauma on behavior. Kevin has authored several articles and book chapters on the neuro-developmental impact of trauma on sexual behavior problems and harmful sexual behavior.
He was also a contributing writer to the ATSA Adolescent Treatment Guidelines and the ATSA Child and Adolescent Committee’s paper on Children with Sexual Behavior Problems 2nd Edition.