Honest Liars: Self-Deception in Clinical Practice

Humans are masters at lying to ourselves. At the most basic level, self-deception is fooling ourselves into believing something that is false –or—refusing to believe something that is true. And it’s one of our biggest obstacles to growing and evolving because it’s very hard to change something we can’t admit.

This beginner- to intermediate-level webinar provides mental health professionals with an overview of the psychology behind self-deception in three main sections. First, Dr. Warren will review how people lie to themselves from the perspective of some of the major theoretical orientations in psychology, including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential, and multicultural perspectives. Second, we will explore why people lie to themselves and some of the primary costs of self-deception to personal growth, interpersonal relationships, and society at large. Finally, we will explore how to work with self-deceptive beliefs in a therapeutic context with a focus on cognitive interventions to assess and challenge them.