Is it ADHD, PTSD, antisocial personality disorder, bipolar disorder, or just a high sensation seeking (HSS) personality that is creating challenges for your client? This training will equip you with knowledge and application strategies that you can use immediately in your practice. Sensation seeking is a trait we all have in varying levels. It includes the search for complex and new experiences. People with HSS personalities crave exotic and intense experiences, even when physical or social risks are involved. There are four types of sensation seeking: thrill-seeking, disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, and experience-seeking. Drug addictions, gambling, dangerous driving, and relationship dissatisfaction have all been linked to overly high sensation seeking tendencies (high scores in all four domains). In addition, HSS can interact with mental health conditions and impact mood, finances, and relationships. For many with HSS personalities, being unable to participate in the desired HSS activities can create symptoms of depression. Individuals who have limited financial resources may turn to inexpensive but unhealthy forms of HSS activities such as drug use, sexual promiscuity, stealing, fast driving, etc. Other HSS personalities may find it difficult to be empathetic in a relationship with someone who is uncomfortable or distressed by their behavior (“chill-seeker”); the HSS individual simply does not understand why their partner or family member is frightened by their behavior.
You will be introduced to assessment tools to identify HSS traits in your clients and discuss the related psychology and neuroscience. Direction will be provided on empowering and nonjudgmental ways to discuss high sensation seeking with your client. Techniques for grounding, healthy activities and ways to help HSS personalities improve empathy for those in their lives will be presented.