Recorded Webinar

“This was an excellent presentation. The instructor was casual, engaging, presented in an efficient and concise way. I would take another class again from this instructor and from this program in general.”-Paula R., Psychologist, California

Although medications are considered a first-line treatment for adult ADHD, most individuals will require additional psychosocial treatment in order to improve their functioning in various life roles. In fact, most adults with ADHD who are seeking treatment will say, “I know what I need to do, but I just don’t do it.” Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has emerged as the second evidence-supported treatment for adult ADHD. This presentation reviews a CBT model for understanding and treating adult ADHD. In particular, it focuses on how CBT has been adapted to address the problems faced by ADHD adults with a particular emphasis on promoting the implementation of effective coping strategies for a clinical population whose main difficulties are with poor follow through on intentions. In particular, the intervention domains of cognitive modification, behavior modification, acceptance/mindfulness, and implementation strategies will be reviewed. Dealing with procrastination is the clinical example used to illustrate these intervention domains for adult ADHD. Some of the most common coping strategies for managing adult ADHD also will be presented, along with specific tactics to promote engagement and follow through. Issues related to managing co-existing clinical issues will also be discussed. Case examples will be presented and participant questions answered throughout the webinar.

 “Dr. Ray presented a great deal of information in a very organized manner and was gracious in answering questions. I look forward to attending more seminars with her! I learned more about the prescriptions used to treat addictions, such as naltrexone.”-Linnea T., Colorado

In this program I will review the conceptualization of addiction, including the biological bases for how alcohol and drugs alter the brain. I will then discuss evidence-based treatments for addiction, including pharmacological and psychosocial treatment options. I will review their evidence-based as well as provide practice advice on their implementation. Then, I will discuss the latest developments in substance use disorders, including vaping, cannabis use legalization, and the opioid epidemic. I will conclude by reviewing a host of free resources for evidence-based practices in addiction, primarily those offered by the National Institutes of Health. I will conduct this seminar by combining lecturing, question & answer periods, videos, and polling tools to engage the audience.

You can contribute to reducing suffering and improving quality of living during this Coronavirus world emergency.  COVID-19 has created a healthcare crisis, and mental health practitioners can assist with this worldwide public health concern by addressing people’s clinically-relevant responses.  General fear of contracting the coronavirus is being exacerbated by media reports (and hype) and the reactions (and over-reactions) of other people, and turning natural fear into debilitating anxiety.  Two additional issues are compounding these problems: 1) Mandates to self-quarantine are leading to people having problematic reactions that might have a deleterious influence on their mental health, and 2) social distancing obligations are creating significant obstacles for clients to see their counselors, social workers, and psychologists. 

Telehealth options are available for performing clinical interventions, but this is a fairly new field in the behavioral health profession.  This webinar, led by the experienced founder of a telementalhealth organization, will walk you through the options for choosing a telehealth platform, and describe the important considerations when actually doing therapy online. 

In addition, the webinar leader has been an Acceptance & Commitment Therapy practitioner for over 20 years, and will describe the ACT model, explain how it can be tailor-made for anxiety, and provide specific details for applying the approach to fear of the coronavirus.  ACT utilizes mindfulness interventions, while blending evidence-based psychotherapy concepts into the approach, and aims to increase the client’s psychological flexibility. The vision for this webinar is to prepare mental health practitioners with the technical tools for reducing the negative impact of this world crisis, and the clinical perspectives to help people with their psychological pain at this difficult time. 

Telehealth guidelines and informed consent paperwork will also be provided.

Premature termination is a significant problem in psychotherapy, with deleterious impacts on both clients and therapists. For example, research shows that clients who prematurely terminate show poorer treatment outcomes, are less likely to make lasting changes in their symptoms, and are more likely to over-utilize the health care system. Research also shows that when clients end treatment prematurely, their therapists often experience a sense of failure with the loss. Additionally, repeated dropout by clients can lead to experiences of demoralization and burnout in their providers. Current estimates indicate that approximately 1 in 5 clients will drop out of psychotherapy and/or counseling prematurely. Although these numbers may differ depending on the setting and client type, almost all therapists will experience premature termination at some point in their practice. 

The purpose of this workshop is provide strategies and approaches that therapists can use to reduce premature termination in their practice. This workshop will begin with a discussion of what premature termination is and why some clients choose to end treatment prematurely. It will then cover the latest research on the frequency of premature termination and client, therapist, treatment, and setting risk factors associated with its occurrence. In the second half of this workshop, eight evidence-based strategies for reducing premature termination will be presented. These strategies include: providing role induction, incorporating preferences into the treatment decision-making process, planning for appropriate termination, providing education about patterns of change in psychotherapy, strengthening hope, enhancing motivation for treatment, fostering the therapeutic alliance, and assessing and discussing treatment progress.

“Fantastic webinar. Dr. Paquette was very knowledgeable, very personable, and open with comments and questions. He maintained my interest, and had great examples for explanation.”-Marilyn H., Counselor, Mississippi

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective forms of psychotherapy, a gold standard treatment that can be applied to a wide range of psychological disorders. With hundreds of randomize controls trials to demonstrate its impact, cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be one of the most efficacious and well-validated forms of treatment within the mental health community. However, many clinicians struggle to effectively implement it a powerful way with their clients. Join clinical psychologist, author, and international speaker Jonah Paquette for an exciting hands-on workshop aimed to help bring your knowledge and skills related to CBT to the next level. Complete with over 50 techniques aimed towards changing thoughts and behaviors, this workshop can transform your practice.

This seminar will provide you with a deeper understanding of how CBT can be applied to a wide range of problems, and will help you master the core competencies of CBT treatment. In addition, attendees will be provided with powerful, practical, and easy-to-use tools that you can use in your clinical practice starting right away. Through didactic presentation, hands-on practice, and opportunities for reflection, you’ll learn how to expertly apply these approaches into your life and your clinical work. You’ll leave equipped to improve your clinical skills and achieve better therapeutic outcomes with even your most challenging clients.

“The information presented was very helpful and I feel I have a better understanding of the role of forensic psychologist and how this role differs from the psychotherapist role."-Meg R. Professional Counselor, South Carolina

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement.

All mental health professionals are familiar with, and should rely on, the Codes of Ethics applicable to their professionals. Some have, in addition, specialty guidelines that apply to certain areas of practice. This webinar will consist of a detailed analysis of the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, viewing the similarities to and differences from the generic ethics codes. More specifically, we will look at the definitions of forensic psychology practice, issues of impartiality, conflicts of interest, competence, Informed Consent, and conflicts with legal authorities.

The term trauma is used to describe the challenging emotional consequences experienced by someone who has lived through a distressing event. These consequences can involve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which has been identified as a global health issue, with prevalence rates ranging from 1.3% to 37.4% (and even higher in clinical populations). But what happens when the trauma occurs early in life, and/or involves on-going or repetitive exposure to traumatic events? In these cases, individuals will often experience Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), and/or dissociative disorders such as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
 

As our understanding of trauma continues to evolve, so does our understanding of how to treat it. In this webinar, Sheri Van Dijk will teach some essential perspectives and skills to help you and your clients get unstuck in treatment. In this webinar you will learn leading edge, evidence-based principles in the treatment of clients experiencing the sequelae of trauma, including the difference between PTSD and C-PTSD; theories to inform treatment of clients with complex trauma histories; and skills to help clients ground and regulate emotions.

“This was a great webinar. The presenter shared content in an organized, yet interactive manner. The tools taught were very practical. Great presenter and would be awesome to teach future webinars.”-K.W., Social Worker, North Carolina

A high percentage of mental health clients have experienced some sort of trauma in their lives. That’s why it’s so important that we as clinicians use a treatment that is proven to work. This seminar will present an overview of child trauma and the evidence-based treatment, Trauma Focused- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Attendees will gain an overview of child trauma, review the definition of abuse and discuss the common affective, behavioral and cognitive reactions to trauma. Then an overview of Trauma- Focused CBT will be given, including the specific components, real life examples of activities used and the evidence for why this approach works. At the end attendees will be provided with the next step to get certified in TF-CBT.

While the larger human trafficking narrative has focused on child sex trafficking, child labor trafficking has been left out of the discussion. This training will provide an overview of child labor trafficking in the United States, specifically focusing risk factors, and the intersection of homelessness and forced criminality. Participants will learn about signs a youth may be labor trafficked as well as needs a youth needs after being identified as a child labor trafficking survivor.

“Very informative. Presenter used real world examples to help explain concepts I learned that there are many more pathways that lead youth into being sexually exploited.”-Amy L., Social Worker, Arizona

The commercial sexual exploitation of youth and young adults is a national and international epidemic. It impacts youth regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age. It’s crucial for providers working with youth and young adults to learn about commercial sexual exploitation. “An Overview of Commercial Sexual Exploitation” will introduce you to the topic by talking about federal legislation, whether or not youth choose to be involved in the commercial sex industry, risk factors for being exploited, and the impact of involvement in the industry. Providers will also learn about the resiliency of survivors and an overview of ways to support survivors on their healing journey.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be challenging and debilitating, and many treatments fall short of achieving lasting and meaningful change for patients suffering from it. In this seminar, Dr. Jonah Paquette will help demystify PTSD and bring your knowledge and skills related to treating trauma to the next level. Attendees will gain understanding around the development and maintenance of trauma, as well as understanding the impact of social and cultural factors in the development of PTSD.  In addition, participants will learn about well-established evidence-based treatments for trauma (such as CPT, PE, and EMDR), along with promising emerging treatments that are gaining traction in the field (including MDMAassisted therapy and IFS). Best of all, attendees will learn practical and tangible tools that they can begin using with their patients immediately.

Attachment theory can inform work with sexually abusive youth. This webinar will describe and discuss the use of attachment theory as a model and methodology by which to better understand the development of juvenile sexually abusive behavior and to better understand individual clients from an attachment-informed perspective. The webinar is not intended as a primer or introduction to attachment theory, but does ill provide a descriptive overview of relevant theoretical models, and includes case studies that highlight the use of attachment theory as a framework by which to understand and explore work with sexually troubled young people and their families. The webinar is designed for those wishing to learn more about attachment theory and its application in treatment with sexually abusive youth.

Motivational interviewing (MI), as a counseling style, has been shown to be effective with a wide variety of problem behaviors such as substance abuse, adopting healthy behaviors (eating, exercise),treatment adherence and compliance, and other psychological problems. Because of this MI in increasing in popularity. Many practitioners from diverse backgrounds are integrating MI into their clinical repertoire.

This webinar will build on the “Fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing” by introducing participants to the specific application of MI to clinical challenges encountered when clients are less ready to change. After a brief review of the foundational concepts, principles and processes of MI, participants will be introduced to MI consistent strategies to address these common clinical challenges. Each challenge will be briefly discussed followed by proposed MI consistent strategies. The webinar will conclude with a brief overview of the evidence base for MI. Participants are encouraged to have completed the Fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing webinar prior to this one.

“Presenter was extremely thorough and covered all angles of this subject matter. I liked the use of anecdotal situations to illustrate the principles.”-Michelle M., Professional Counselor, Massachusetts

Although the commercial sexual exploitation of youth has occurred in the United States, it has only recently begun to get attention. Given the newness of the topic, many providers struggle to engage youth involved in the commercial sex industry. The Stages of Change model has been identified as a best practice for working with the population. This training will equip you with a better understanding of the Stages of Change model and engagement skills you can utilize when working with youth who are commercially sexually exploited. Without a model to engage youth, providers may place undue pressure on them, unintentionally cause harm, and develop unrealistic expectations for themselves. The training will discuss the stages in a practical manner. Participants will see vignettes of what a youth and caregiver look like in each stage as well as strategies to engage them and help them move to the next stage.

“The presentation was exceptionally useful in the provision of practical suggestions grounded in dynamic conceptualization. The instructor seemed seasoned in real world experience and this enhanced the context in which she provided research and conceptual information. This presentation will allow me to enhance the specificity and utility of recommendations I make for managing self-harm in high risk and incarcerated children and adolescents.”-Lara H., Psychologist, Texas

Nonsuicidal self-injury is more common than we think. Almost every mental health clinician has come across some form of nonsuicidal self-injury in their careers, and the behavior is on the rise among adolescents and young adults. Yet, rarely do education programs cover anything about nonsuicidal self-injury within their programs, even though it is important for mental health clinicians to be aware of what this behavior is, how to assess it, how it is related yet different from suicidal behavior, and how to intervene and work with clients who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury. This seminar will help you understand what nonsuicidal self-injury is, factors to consider when assessing and working with clients, ethical considerations in treatment and breaching confidentiality, and methods of treatment that have been shown to be effective.

“The instructor clearly has a high level of expertise, presented the material in a well organized, comprehensive, and detailed manner, and maintained my interest throughout.”-Jay F., Psychologist, New Jersey

One in seven people over the age of 70 experiences dementia and another 22% demonstrate symptoms of cognitive decline that falls short of dementia. Those who escape the symptoms of dementia may spend a substantial portion of retirement years caring for a friend or family member with cognitive impairment. The rise of the baby boomer generation is expected bring unprecedented rates of cognitive syndromes like Alzheimer’s disease, yet most mental health professionals have no formal training to work with this vulnerable population. This workshop provides a clinical approach to understanding and assessing these syndromes.

“Outstanding. This was the best seminar I've taken (from any source, not just TZK) in the last several years. It was a great combination of teaching the content, including research on the topic, providing examples, and inviting and using participant feedback to enhance learning. Exact right amount of solid content and examples that reinforced learning - WONDERFUL!”-Nancy C., Psychologist, Kentucky

What do you feel when you gaze up at the Milky Way, see a beautiful rainbow, or stand before a mountain that seems impossibly high? This feeling – often complete with goosebumps and a shiver down our spine – is known as awe. And as it turns out, this underappreciated and often misunderstood emotion just might hold the key to a happy, meaningful, and healthy life.

Recent research has shown that awe can improve our physical health, strengthen our social bonds, and become lastingly happier. Experiences of awe strengthen our immune system, improve our psychological well-being, and even change our brain in unique ways. In this seminar, participants will explore the nature and benefits of awe, and how learning to become more awestruck can improve our psychological, physical, and social well-being. Through lecture, vignettes, and hands-on practice, you’ll learn to harness these breakthrough findings and transform your clinical practice.

Human functioning is rooted in action and other parts of the behavioral system. Ineffective actions are both the cause and effect of psychological problems. Psychotherapy is only effective if it can foster tangible changes in behavior. When we help our clients enact more effective behaviors, it is likely to improve their well-being as well as support more functional thoughts and adaptive emotions.
 

This seminar will teach both behavioral conceptualization and intervention methods. Reinforcement and exposure will be highlighted as common factors as well as more technical interventions. Distinct methods of behavioral formulation will be introduced that allow us to understand different parts of the behavioral system. Reinforcement and operant conditioning will be highlighted as the most accessible way to approach cognitive conceptualization. Diversity is addressed in this seminar by describing the way cultural contexts shape clients’ behavior.
 

Video demonstrations of foundational behavioral skills drawn from Behavioral Activation will be used to help participants prepare for practice. These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of current patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. More advanced behavioral interventions will be previewed as possibilities for future professional development.
 

Although behavior change is often an essential part of treatment, there are times when actions cannot be easily modified. In some situations, clients may prefer to approach risky behaviors using a harm reduction approach rather than eliminating certain behaviors completely. This seminar will prepare psychotherapists to discuss with clients when to emphasize harm reduction and when to promote behavior change.
 

This seminar is part of Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior. Instead of exclusively focusing on behavior as a lever of change, TUP encourages psychotherapists to develop a wide repertoire of skills that can be adapted to the individual needs of each client.

While you can certainly take this seminar alone, this webinar is part of a six series on Unified Psychotherapy.  Strategic Psychotherapeutics is offering a certificate in Unified Psychotherapy for those that attend each of the six webinars.  Optional discussion groups are offered after each webinar to encourage application.  Go to the Strategic Psychotherapeutics website to see the schedule for the discussion groups and more details about how to earn your certificate in Unified Psychotherapy. 

This webinar is conducted by Jeff Harris, Ph.D. and Rachel Hershenberg, Ph.D.

Individuals with borderline personality disorder have long been considered the most challenging clients presenting in the clinical setting. Many professionals continue to view them as untreatable. Emerging research suggests this is simply not the case. DBT has paved the way in pioneering new attitudes and outcomes when working with this population. Most practitioners are trained in dialectical behavior therapy. However, DBT is only one of several empirically supported treatments for BPD. Thus psychologists are now able to bring a
more complex, integrative approach to bear on this once heavily stigmatized diagnosis. This 6 hour training will give you an in-depth understanding of BPD, help you make and have a conversation about the diagnosis in a way that minimizes client resistance and enhances motivation, and offer practical, evidence-based treatment strategies that actually work. Leave this advanced training with a comprehensive knowledge of a condition that was once considered untreatable and a broad repertoire of tools to add to your toolbox to assess, diagnosis, and compassionately treat this population and help them discover their own life worth living.

This course qualifies as an ethics course.

“The information was well organized and presented in a clear, interesting manner. It gave me a good opportunity to think about how many different ways I inevitably disclose information about myself to clients; it's not possible to avoid this but I must ensure what I disclose is beneficial to the client.”-Cynthia L., Social Worker, Arkansas

Boundaries and multiple relationships are common occurrences for mental health clinicians. Yet, they may at times be challenging, confusing, and even overwhelming for those who may not know how to effectively manage boundaries and how to determine which multiple relationships are acceptable or appropriate. Taking a rigid and avoidant approach typically can be just as harmful as an overly loose approach. Participants in this webinar will learn a rational, practical, and reality-based approach for addressing and managing boundaries and multiple relationships in clinical practice. The role of a decision-making process and consideration of multiple relevant issues will be addressed and their use in clinical practice will be demonstrated. Clinical examples will be presented and discussed to illustrate the points being made. Participants will learn specific skills and strategies to integrate into their clinical practices on a daily basis.

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement. 

 “I felt this was a very strong presentation and the clarity was extremely helpful. I liked the way the presenter listed components of ethical conduct - they are achievable and straightforward, easily applicable in practice with clients and in relationships with colleagues/supervisors.”-Bethanne S., Social Worker, Illinois

This concrete and lively seminar explores the origins of our personal ethics, along with ways to use our ethics in working with clients. Using a model for thinking about ethics in a practical, real-world action-focused manner, this lively seminar uses lecture, video and personal reflection activities as building blocks to renewed selfawareness of personal ethical behavior. 

Knowing when – or how – to do the right thing has never been easy. Behaving ethically is even harder in today’s fast-paced world of fluid values and changing social climate. The increasingly present expectation to tweak personal ethics in service of compassion, workplace requirements, cultural issues or sheer mental/physical exhaustion further complicates the dilemma of knowing when – and how to do the right thing. 

Beginning with a new way to look at ethics-in-practice, participants will discover a fresh awareness of their own ethics and will gain practical tips for ethical behavior that promotes common ground. Concrete techniques for behaving ethically in an increasingly fragmented world, without compromising personal values., will be presented.

“Very helpful and incredibly insightful. Brought ideas and suggestions to the topic I had not thought about.” -Gina F., Social Worker, New York

Bullying has become a high priority problem for many schools. Across the country, most states have passed laws that prohibit bullying and harassment because of the hostile and discriminatory environment that they create. Students who are targeted by bullying suffer educational discrimination as well as a host of internalizing and externalizing problems. Likewise, the effects on bullies and bystanders are not to be dismissed. This webinar will take participants through basic and mid-level information on bullying that will provoke critical thinking about how we have traditionally sought to prevent and respond to this problem. It will consider how context shapes behaviors and how we as adults in the school environment can influence context. Finally, this webinar will look at ways to respond to bullying that avoid the traditional “investigate, interrogate, blame, and punish” approach to solving the problem of bullying.

This webinar will provide hands-on tangible instruction of specific trauma-informed interventions you can use with your clients to help them cope with the COVID 19 pandemic. Relevant research findings from previous pandemics will be reviewed to help inform mental health interventions during the pandemic. Dr. Fatter will demonstrate specific interventions for hyper-arousal symptoms to help manage anxiety and emotional overwhelm and specific interventions for hypo-arousal symptoms to help manage shock, dissociation and emotional shut down. This webinar will be largely experiential so that participants can get a felt sense of how it feels to practice these interventions. Dr. Fatter will teach bilateral tapping (an interventions from EMDR), somatic interventions, and specific breathing techniques to help increase a sense of safety and connect to sense of resilience and relational support to mitigate the impact of social isolation. Dr. Fatter will offer ways to use sensory input from items in one’s home to help clients self-soothe. In addition, Dr. Fatter will describe two cognitive interventions to help client’s cope with rumination and nervous system activation. Mindfulness resources and use of ritual will also be discussed as a means to connect to one’s external environment and help with the regulation of collective grief.

“Sheri did a great job of keeping my attention. Time flew all the while I felt I was learning something of use.  I've been teaching clients mindfulness for years but there are those clients that are still difficult and haven't been responsive. This seminar gave me brand new tools/approaches and hope for helping some of my existing clients.”-Laura D., Social Worker, Arkansas

Over 75% of mental illnesses described in the DSM are related to emotion dysregulation – the inability to manage emotions effectively. Given that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was initially created to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), of which emotion dysregulation is a primary problem, it only makes sense that DBT would be effective in treating other disorders, and research in recent years is supporting this.

This seminar will provide an overview of the DBT Core Mindfulness skills. Participants will learn about these skills, including an introduction to mindfulness, the States of Mind, and the “What” and “How” skills. Discussion will be around how to use these skills ourselves in both professional and personal lives, and how to teach these skills to clients struggling with mental illness.

Over 75% of mental illnesses described in the DSM are related to emotion dysregulation – the inability to manage emotions effectively. Given that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was initially created to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), of which emotion dysregulation is a primary problem, it only makes sense that DBT would be effective in treating other disorders, and research in recent years is supporting this. 

This seminar will provide an overview of the DBT Distress Tolerance skills. Participants will learn about these skills, including the Reality Acceptance Skills and the Crisis Survival Skills, and how to help clients with a variety of diagnoses and problems use these skills appropriately and in healthy ways.

Over 75% of mental illnesses described in the DSM are related to emotion dysregulation – the inability to manage emotions effectively. Given that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was initially created to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), of which emotion dysregulation is a primary problem, it only makes sense that DBT would be effective in treating other disorders, and research in recent years is supporting this. 

This seminar will provide an overview of the DBT Emotion Regulation skills. Participants will learn about these skills, including briefly reviewing the biosocial theory and how this contributes to problems managing emotions. Many of the emotion regulation skills will be introduced and participants, and there will be discussion regarding how to use these skills with clients with a variety of diagnoses.

“Strong and knowledgeable instructor. Highly responsive to questions. Explained each component clearly and was great at putting it all together especially tying in the theories with clinical implications. This webinar inspired me to learn more about DBT, and use it with my clients.”-Liat Z., Professional Counselor, New York

Over 75% of mental illnesses described in the DSM are related to emotion dysregulation – the inability to manage emotions effectively. Given that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was initially created to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), of which emotion dysregulation is a primary problem, it only makes sense that DBT would be effective in treating other disorders, and research in recent years is supporting this.

This seminar will provide an introduction to DBT, including the origins of the therapy, and the Biosocial Theory of how emotion dysregulation develops. You will learn about some of the research demonstrating that DBT is effective in treating disorders other than BPD. Finally, you will learn about Dialectics, and the importance of balancing validation with change with the dysregulated client; and how to effectively use validation to help clients re-regulate in session, as well as how to teach them to practice this skill on their own.

Clinical supervision often comes with challenges. These challenges may include supporting supervisees as they build their clinical competencies, providing constructive feedback that helps your supervisee grow and progress in their development as a clinician, navigating potentially challenging relationship dynamics, as well as discussion of ethical issues in the supervision process. This webinar is designed to provide supervisors with the skills to effectively navigate the challenges as they occur. Scenarios will be integrated to encourage the application of the information discussed throughout the webinar.

“Very good presenter.  Very well-organized.  Very personable in responding to questions from participants.  Adept at integrating Power Point slides with his verbal presentation. Clearly knowledgeable in this field - both theoretically and clinically.  Gracious with his time in being willing to stay online afterward to answer questions.”-Shirley R., Professional Counselor and Psychotherapist, Alabama

Non-prescribing therapists are crucial to the effective and safe use of psychiatric medications by their clients.  In contrast to clinicians who focus primarily on medications, therapists generally spend more time with their clients and are more familiar with their history and current situation. They also tend to develop a greater rapport. And  considering that most clients diagnosed with depression, anxiety, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, and virtually every other psychiatric disorder receive pharmacological interventions, the non-prescribing therapist needs to understand how psychiatric medications work, their limitations and side effects, and how to help their clients maximize gains through increasing medication compliance.   This course is designed to present the non-prescribing mental health practitioner with a review of basic concepts in clinical psychopharmacology and the effective use of common psychiatric medications in the treatment of mental health conditions.  Effective medication strategies for treating depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, psychosis, sleep disorders, and other common psychiatric conditions are covered in detail. Basic general pharmacological concepts such as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are reviewed as are more specific concepts such as drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.  You will also become aware of common medication treatment errors to avoid and learn tips for helping your clients become more educated about the medications they take as well as help them manage their side effects.

“The presenter was excellent. Her expertise was evident and she used great illustrative examples. It was a comfortable learning experience.”-Vicki W., Social Worker, Maryland

As people are living longer worldwide, clinicians will increasingly need the skills and knowledge to work with older adults. Professional guidelines indicate that specific competencies are needed to work effectively with older clients, yet many clinicians surveyed say they have not had sufficient training and experience to work with this client population.  This webinar is designed to familiarize participants with information and useful strategies from the scientific literature and clinical experience to allow you to work competently and successfully with older adults. The webinar will cover normal aging as well as health and cognitive concerns in older adults. Adjustments to assessment and intervention strategies to meet the needs of older adults will be discussed. Awareness of ageism and cultural factors will also be covered.

“Really good, well organized, great pace, easy to follow with good examples - I learned a lot and feel energized and ready/equipped to put what I learned into practice.”-Vicki T., Social Worker, Maine

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness are two methods on the cutting-edge of evidence-based psychotherapy today. Together these techniques are highly-effective in the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders. Even disorders found to be often resistant to treatment, such as substance abuse and personality disorders, are responding to this unique integration of therapeutic skills.

By attending this webinar you will learn not only to the basic techniques in CBT and Mindfulness, but also the application of more advanced methods. This approach is designed both to inform those who are new to this field as well as provide more advanced clinical options to those already familiar with the basics. The seminar will include PowerPoint slides, case examples and experiential learning.

School refusal is a common problem and can be due to a number of factors. In this seminar, Dr. Hannan will identify some of the causes of school refusal and how to assess kids to get a better understanding of the behavior. He will talk about some of the instruments that can be helpful in the assessment process. He will go over how to do a functional assessment of the problem. He will provide you with treatment strategies for assisting kids that includes cognitive therapy, social skills training, exposure therapy, problem solving, and behavior management. He will use a number of case examples to illustate the assessment and treatment process. He will also highlight the treatment literature on this important topic.

In this program I will teach clinicians about the foundations of Cognitive behavioral therapy for alcohol use disorder. I will then teach how these principles are applied to session by following an established (and publicly available) CBT manual for alcohol use disorder. I will review the treatment goals and techniques required to implement the CBT protocol with the highest fidelity. I will discuss each of the seven core sessions (including handouts) in the CBT program:
 

Session 1: Introduction to Coping Skills Training
Session 2: Coping with Cravings & Urges to Drink
Session 3: Managing Thoughts About Alcohol & Drinking
Session 4: Problem Solving
Session 5: Drink Refusal Skills
Session 6: Planning for Emergencies & Coping With a Lapse
Session 7: Seemingly Irrelevant Decisions
 

I will then review the optional sessions and I will conclude by reviewing a host of free resources for evidence-based practices in addiction, primarily those offered by the National Institutes of Health. I will conduct this seminar by combining lecturing, question & answer periods, videos, and polling tools to engage the audience.

“Knowledgeable presenter - current info, good examples. I liked the video that showed a real life example of treatment.”-Shannon T., Professional Counselor, Massachusetts

The fight or flight response is a normal biological process in which the body prepares itself to take on dangerous circumstances.  At times, however, the response is activated under situations that are not life threatening.  Individuals may experience these panic attacks in a variety of situations.  In the context of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia, one’s fear of panic sensations and their consequences is a driving force for ongoing distress and life disruption.  Attendees will learn to distinguish panic attacks that occur in context of Panic Disorder with those that occur outside of Panic Disorder.  In addition, the webinar will address vulnerabilities and maintaining factors of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia.  Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia will be conceptualized from the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) perspective.  Attendees will be educated about the appropriate treatment interventions, such as cognitive restructuring and exposure therapy.  Exposure therapy will be explained, incorporating visual examples and demonstrations by the presenter.

The way people think and perceive the world is at the heart of the human experience. Psychological problems often include cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, and cognitive fusion. Cognitive interventions have gained robust research support and should be included in the toolbox of any mental health professional. When we help our clients embrace more functional ways of thinking, this is also likely to impact emotions, behavior, and other dimensions of adaptive functioning. 

This seminar will teach both cognitive conceptualization and intervention methods.  Distinct methods of cognitive formulation will be introduced that allow us to understand different parts of the cognitive experience. Dysfunctional self-talk will be highlighted as the most accessible way to approach cognitive conceptualization.  Diversity is addressed in this webinar by describing the way cultural contexts shape clients’ cognitions.
 

Video demonstrations of foundational cognitive skills drawn from Beck’s Cognitive Therapy will be used to help participants prepare for practice. These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of current patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. More advanced cognitive interventions will be previewed as possibilities for future professional development.
 

Although cognitive change is often an essential part of treatment, there are times when thoughts and beliefs cannot be easily modified. In this case, more recently-developed strategies related to mindfulness and acceptance may be more helpful. This seminar will prepare psychotherapists to discuss with clients when to emphasize acceptance and when to promote change.
 

This seminar is part of Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior. Instead of exclusively focusing on cognition as a point of clinical leverage, TUP encourages psychotherapists to develop a wide repertoire of skills that can be adapted to the individual needs of each client.

While you can certainly take this seminar alone, this webinar is part of a six series on Unified Psychotherapy.  Strategic Psychotherapeutics is offering a certificate in Unified Psychotherapy for those that attend each of the six webinars.  Optional discussion groups are offered after each webinar to encourage application.  Go to the Strategic Psychotherapeutics website to see the schedule for the discussion groups and more details about how to earn your certificate in Unified Psychotherapy. 

This webinar is conducted by Jeff Harris, Ph.D. and Amy Dreier, Ph.D.

During times of crisis we all need support! Through TZK Seminars, Sheri Van Dijk is offering a free, one-hour webinar to help clinicians manage their own stress and other difficult emotions, as well as an overview of some of the skills clinicians can use to help clients during this difficult time.

“This was my favorite webinar. I learned the most about myself as a therapist and a great deal about the borderline elicitation of counter transference. This webinar was a revival of things I learned in graduate school and that I needed a refresher course in.”-Jane K., Social Worker, New York

Recent research suggests that the therapeutic alliance and the ability to heal ruptures in the therapeutic relationship are key elements of successful treatment for individuals with personality disorders.  Yet, these patients tend to stimulate strong countertransference reactions that can derail the treatment.  This seminar elucidates common countertransference reactions to each of the personality disorders.  There is also discussion about how to manage these reactions and to use them to better understand the patient and thus, provide better care.

Psychological functioning is always embedded within a cultural context.  Maladaptive patterns that bring clients to psychotherapy are often learned in response to sociocultural macrosystems.  In order to promote a unified approach to treatment, this seminar will highlight how cultural contexts shape cognition, emotion, and behavior.  When clients move into a new culture or subculture, they engage in a process of adaptation that can be more or less successful.  Cultural adaptation will be described as a possible focus in psychotherapy.

This seminar will teach both cultural conceptualization and intervention methods.  Cultural conceptualization will be described as way to understand clients using the following concepts: (1) Ecological systems, (2) Social location, privilege, and oppression, (3) Multiple identities, (4) Identity development, and (5) Acculturation.

Foundational cultural skills will be described and demonstrated with role-play videos.  These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of cultural expereinces, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. 

At a more advanced level, this seminar will introduce the concepts of cultural humility and decolonization.  Participants will be encouraged to consider how these ideas can inform the practice of psychotherapy with diverse clients.

This seminar is part of Level Two of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working contextually with external contexts and internal influences.  An essential part of a unified approach to treatment is understanding the impact of cultural contexts on dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and actions and fostering more adaptive responses.

Working with a diverse ethnic population requires clinicians who can appreciate unique differences in culture as well as psychopathology arising from experiences of stigma and oppression. Further, it is imperative that individuals from underrepresented groups be equitably represented in mental care settings and research studies. Equitable representation is needed to ensure that research findings are generalizable to all populations.  Cultural, economic, and logistic barriers can deter people from disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups from seeking treatment or participating in mental health research, and can also deter clinicians from including them. This presentation describes steps mental health clinicians can take to increase inclusion of people in minoritized groups. Important strategies include formal training in cultural differences, development of multi-cultural awareness, diversification of treatment teams, community outreach, professional networking, targeted advertising, a comfortable environment, and ongoing review of efforts. Also included is an overview of research abuses against vulnerable populations which has eroded trust between communities of color and the medical establishment.  Dr. Williams will speak to these issues based on the research literature, her work starting mental health clinics throughout the US, and her experience as a principal investigator in studies recruiting hard-to-reach racialized participants for mental health studies. This course is for anyone seeking to recruit more diverse individuals, implement inclusive research studies, attend to cultural considerations in the process of interventions, and/or incorporate critical ethical principles into clinical procedures.

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a serious mental health problem that typi¬cally creates chaos in an individual’s life, often leading to risky and impulsive behaviors, damaged relation­ship and careers, substance use problems, hospitalization, and even suicide. Based on Sheri Van Dijk’s ground-breaking work on using DBT with Bipolar Disorder, this webinar will briefly review the different types of bipolar disorder and what to look for to help someone get a proper diagnosis and treatment. You’ll also learn about the existing psy­cho-therapies being used to treat bipolar disorder, before looking at the efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in treating this illness, and a delving more into how to teach some of the DBT skills most pertinent to clients with BD.

“Very much enjoyed the seminar and look forward to using ACT it in my practice. I am relatively new to ACT so the entire seminar was useful.”-Kristen W., Professional Counselor, Texas

Incorporating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy into your treatment approach will have a significant impact on your clinical effectiveness and the well-being of your clients.  ACT is a rich, integrative approach, and has been shown to be effective for many clinically-relevant concerns. Because ACT takes a different perspective on psychotherapy, some clinicians wonder how to blend the applications into their own therapy approach. Other clinicians who have embraced the ACT concepts still have questions about certain aspects of the therapy. This webinar will explain ACT in a very clear, concise, user-friendly manner.

Psychological functioning is shaped by experiences throughout the life span. The way each individual responds to life and internalizes these experiences represents their developmental trajectory. Incorporating a developmental perspective into treatment includes considering normal stages of development—as described by Erik Erikson—as well as disruptions such as adverse childhood events or traumatic experiences. This seminar will teach both developmental conceptualization and intervention  methods. Development can become the focus in psychotherapy in three different ways: (a) Life experiences impact current functioning; (b) Normal developmental challenges and transitions are the current focus; and (c) Developmental disruptions impact functioning.
 

In order to promote a unified approach to treatment, the seminar will highlight the way behaviors, cognitions, or emotions interact in the treatment of trauma and other developmental issues. Trauma and adverse childhood experiences can be described as disruptions to normal development. Trauma will be described on a continuum and a distinction will be made between shock trauma and stress trauma. Another distinction will be made between PTSD and complex trauma. Post-traumatic growth will be highlighted as a way of embracing adaptive thoughts, feeling, and actions after an adverse life event.
 

Psychotherapists cannot change the life experiences or developmental challenges that our clients have faced. However, psychotherapy can help clients respond to these events with more adaptive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. Video demonstrations will show how a psychotherapist can explore the impact of a developmental disruption and foster more functional ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. 

This seminar is part of Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior. An essential part of a unified approach to treatment is understanding the developmental origin of dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and actions and fostering more adaptive responses.

“This was a very clear and coherent presentation. I really like how the presenter kept the audience engaged and how quickly but coherently he went through the information, while answering questions routinely.”-Michelle P., Psychologist, New York

Increasing numbers of adults are seeking out assessment and treatment for ADHD.  However, ADHD is considered to be one of the most misdiagnosed conditions, being prone to both over- and under-diagnosis.  This presentation provides a model for a comprehensive diagnostic assessment of ADHD in adults that can be tailored and used by clinicians in practice to increase diagnostic accuracy.  Issues related to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ADHD, presenting symptoms and problems characteristic of ADHD that are not included in the official criteria, the prevalence and persistence of ADHD into adulthood, testing for ADHD, the issue of malingering, as well as telling clients when their difficulties are not consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD will be discussed.

Grief is disenfranchised when a person is denied the right to grieve, does not have the social support essential to adapting to his or her loss, and is deprived of the social validation in order to heal. When the griever is disenfranchised, he or she may withdrawal from others or question his or her own grieving process, may not acknowledge the reality of the loss and its implications, or adapt to the loss in healthy ways. As a result, their grieving process remains private, intensifying the grieving process, which increases the risk of complicated grief. Disenfranchisement comes from several sources, including one’s cultural expectations, expectations of others, professionals who serve in “expert” roles, and even from the griever himself. Since every mental health professional will work with bereaved clients, it is essential that he or she know how to recognize disenfranchisement, understand the impact of disenfranchisement on the griever’s mourning process, learn how to reduce the chance of disenfranchising his or her clients, and provide guidance and interventions for disenfranchised grievers as they navigate through the social interactions that may include unhelpful expectations and judgments. Attendees will engage in didactic lecture, case studies, and videos to meet these goals. 

This course qualifies as an ethics course.

“The information presented in this course will be very helpful with my documentation of psychotherapy and enlightened me about potential risk and legal issues. The presentation was clear and he gave real life examples to illustrate what he was saying. I learned the difference between a supoena and a court order, and specifically what goes into effective documentation of psychotherapy notes."-Claire H., Social Worker, Vermont

This webinar explains the goals and potential benefits of effective clinical documentation as well as the ethical and legal requirements for doing so. Documentation is addressed from a clinical and risk management perspective. Specific recommendations are made for how to document the clinical services provided in a competent and effective manner. Additionally, common pitfalls to avoid are addressed. How to store and maintain records is addressed for both paper and electronic records. Precautions to take to protect and preserve records are described in detail along with how and when to dispose of them. Guidance is provided for following HIPAA and other laws and regulations relevant to documentation and record keeping. Participants in this webinar will receive practical guidance that can be integrated into daily practice to document more effectively, to better achieve the goals of thoughtfully created treatment records, and to meet and exceed professional standards and practice guidelines relevant to documentation and record keeping.

“Shapiro is SO knowledgeable! I learned about many cases considered at supreme court level, the whys and why nots of their rulings and how the rulings impact those with mental health issues and those that work with them .”-Ruth R., Psychologist, Indiana

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement.

Mental health professionals frequently make assertions about legal issues based on their psychological expertise and expect that the laws should merely follow the re­search and practice to which they testify. Frequently, mental health professionals will conflate such matters as psychosis, limited intellect or brain impairment with le­gal issues such as Competency to Stand Trial, Criminal Responsibility and Mitigation. There are, in fact, many reasons why a diagnosis cannot be generalized into a legal conclusion. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the United States Supreme Court deliberations and findings where behavioral science evidence is judged along side the laws which place constraints on how these matters can be considered in court. This webinar will explore these dif­ferences, looking at a wide array of cases in which mental health has been a central issue.

 “Enjoyed how this CEU went further than domestic violence education and actually educated us on how to apply that to mental health practice. Gave a nice range of materials to access and consider. She was also obviously knowledgeable about the topic and gave concise explanations on various items that was beneficial compared to just reading slides.”-Kelley K., Social Worker, Maryland

The field of domestic violence has been evolving over the past thirty plus years as the knowledge base has increased and new assessment and intervention techniques offer assistance to the families in which it occurs. This Webinar will begin by reviewing identification and assessment tools for victims, perpetrators, and children that can assist mental health professionals. We will then review the field of trauma and the psychological impact on victims. Finally, we will look at one specific treatment program that can be used with victims of domestic violence and other gender-based trauma.

Adolescence is a time of social, cognitive, and emotional growth.  The rapid rise of technology presents a unique challenge to teenagers and those responsible for their care.  Electronics use (Online videos, texting, social media, video games, streaming TV shows/movies, etc.) creates an environment that can both enrich and hinder healthy development.  Participants in this webinar will be provided with a review of the current state of knowledge, as it relates to the impact of electronics use on adolescent wellness.  Topics addressed will include the relationship of electronics to academic performance, sleep, mental health, the developing brain, and safety.  Throughout the webinar, feedback will be provided on ways to keep adolescents connected in a way that promotes a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

"Jeff Barnett gave the best Supervision course I have ever taken. It was so comprehensive and concise that a supervision plan could be developed from start to finish from his course. He was calm and organized and linear in his approach. I listened to every word."-Martha H., Social Worker, Arkansas

Clinical supervision is central to the training of every mental health clinician. Ensuring it is conducted in an ethical and effective manner is of great importance for our professions and for the public we serve. This webinar is designed for all health professionals engaged in clinical supervision of trainees in clinical settings. The focus of this webinar is on ethics, legal, and practical aspects of clinical supervision. Important issues to be addressed include the supervision contract between supervisor and supervisee; and the supervisor’s responsibilities to the supervisee, to the supervisee’s clients, to the public at large, and to the profession. A developmental perspective on supervision will be presented that focuses on the supervisory process in the face of the supervisee’s evolving training needs. How to balance the at times competing obligations of the role of supervisor (supportive teacher vs evaluator and gatekeeper for the profession) will be addressed. Specific ethical dilemmas and challenges that frequently arise in clinical supervision and legal issues relevant to all supervisors and their supervisees will be discussed. Clinical examples will be presented to stimulate discussion and to help illustrate options for addressing these situations. Strategies for effective clinical supervision will be discussed that can be utilized by all supervisors.

Mental health and healthcare professionals face many challenges in their everyday work, some of which are clinically more significant than others. These professionals undergo extensive training and education to learn to act in the moment, make sound decisions, and create the best plan of care for their patients and clients. Sometimes, crisis situations arise, however, and even the best-prepared professionals can feel confused or in over their head. The likelihood of a mental health or healthcare professional interacting with a potentially suicidal client in the course of their career is significant, even if that professional does not typical work with a specific suicidal population. The prevalence and significance of suicidality in all age groups additionally increases this potential. For this reason, it is imperative that all professionals understand the warning signs, myths and facts, and urgent first steps when faced with someone who is feeling suicidal.

This presentation reviews overall suicide statistics, various demographic differences, and lifelong risk factors associated with suicidal thoughts. We will examine, in-depth, key terms, do’s and don’ts on talking about suicide, and how to approach and complete a suicide risk assessment. Attendees will gain important factual information as well as new ways to approach clinical work with clients at risk for suicide.

“The material was clearly presented and case vignettes were plentiful and helpful. I learned about the expanded information on the role the unconscious plays in symptomatology.”-Stephen K., Professional Counselor, Massachusetts

Psychodynamic therapy (PDT) is a widely practiced form of psychotherapy for a variety of different problems and disorders.  Nevertheless, the concepts and techniques used in PDT are often taught in a way that obscures rather than clarifies their nature.  In addition, a gap remains between the theoretical, clinical, and empirical literature of PDT.  This seminar presents a series of evidence-based psychodynamic techniques and processes, grounded in coherent theoretical formulations, systematic research, and applied clinical examples.  You will also learn about meta-analytic research on the overall efficacy and effectiveness of PDT.

Anxiety Disorders are the most common form of mental illness, with roughly one-third of all people living in the United States suffering from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Moreover, untreated anxiety disorders come at a tremendous cost both individually and societally, and can adversely impact a person’s health, social relationships, job performance, and much more. Thankfully, effective treatments are available that can alleviate a person’s suffering in powerful ways.
 

But with a wide range of treatments available, clinicians can often feel overwhelmed knowing when and how to incorporate approaches like cognitive restructuring, exposure based
strategies, breathing retraining, and more. In this seminar, join Dr. Jonah Paquette for a practical overview of how we can effectively treat a range of anxiety disorders Attendees will gain tangible skills that they can begin using in their clinical work starting today.

Executive function (EF) processes are essential for successfully navigating nearly all of our daily activities, allowing us to regulate and direct our behavior toward goals, break out of habits, make decisions and evaluate risks, plan for the future, prioritize and sequence our actions, and cope with novel situations. EF deficits are present in a wide range of mental health disorders, contributing to deficits in everyday activities, academic/occupational and social functioning. In this presentation, you will learn about EF processes and how they are important for daily life, how and why EF deficits are associated with mental health disorders, and best practices for assessing EF. We will then discuss the latest evidence on interventions for EF deficits, considering limitation of EF training approaches and promising approaches based on using compensatory strategies to improve functioning in individuals with impaired EF.

Fundamental human emotions like fear, sadness, anger, and shame underlie psychological problems but are also the key to healing and growth. Experiential and emotion-focused interventions have a rich background in humanistic and existential approaches like gestalt and person-centered therapies. When we help our clients embrace more adaptive emotions, we reduce suffering and enhance human potential. This seminar will teach both experiential conceptualization and intervention methods. Formulating an emotion-based conceptualization involves distinguishing between primary, secondary, and instrumental emotions. Exploration can help distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive emotions. Diversity is addressed in this webinar by describing the way cultural contexts shape clients’ emotional experiences.
 

Video demonstrations of foundational experiential skills drawn from Emotion-Focused Therapy will be used to help participants prepare for practice. These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of current patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. More advanced experiential interventions—like chair work and focusing—will be previewed as possibilities for future professional development.
 

Although emotional transformation is often an essential part of treatment, there are time when emotions cannot be changed. Many people use experiential avoidance and defense mechanisms to evade uncomfortable emotions. When emotions cannot be changed, it is important to help clients accept difficult parts of the human experience and to increase distress tolerance and emotional regulation. This seminar will prepare psychotherapists to discuss with clients when to emphasize acceptance of emotions and when to promote change.
 

This webinar is part of Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior. Instead of exclusively focusing on emotion as a lever of change, TUP encourages psychotherapists to develop a wide repertoire of skills that can be adapted to the individual needs of each client.

“I enjoyed learning from this presenter. This helped me reevaluate what I have been doing in groups and helped me improve to create a better learning environment.”-Kaleena K., Counselor, Wisconsin 

Groups are a central part of virtually all treatment programs, whether in residential, intensive outpatient, hospital or forensic settings, and yet there is a dearth of useful and practical information on how to create and facilitate groups. This seminar is intended to provide pragmatic solutions to thorny group problems as well as coach the participant in ways to create exciting and compelling groups. Participants will learn new and effective ways of working with difficult group clients such as the Monopolizer, the Coach, and the Sleeper, specific techniques on providing structure, the importance of establishing and maintaining rules, and the elements needed to create a compelling group on any assigned subject or topic. 

Given the amount of trauma individuals have experienced, it’s crucial for social service providers to understand common trauma responses and how they may manifest. Although
fight, flight, and freeze are more commonly known there is more acknowledgment of the fawn response. This training will provide an overview of these common trauma responses, how they manifest and how to clients. Not only is it important for us to understand these trauma responses it’s equally as important to help clients understand how they show up in their lives and may even be impeding their functioning at home, at school and other settings.

Finding Your Why & Finding Your Way uses a simple, user-friendly approach to applying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). In this webinar, Dr. DJ Moran will demonstrate how this new approach formulates the ACT model into the Mindful Action Plan (MAP), and how you can use the MAP to guide yourself  and your clients towards a meaningful lifestyle with values-based behavior change. If your clients feel stuck, directionless, or unmotivated, or may be seeking a new path in life—one that feels rewarding, inspiring, and purposeful. The question is, where do they begin? As a clinician, you’ve likely heard all about mindfulness—a powerfully effective tool for helping people find focus, balance, and a greater sense of purpose. But how does the client actually apply mindfulness to their life?
 

Finding Your Why & Finding Your Way is a step-by-step webinar that can help clinicians learn to help clients put mindfulness into action—every day. Using the Mindful Action Plan (MAP) approach—a fully customizable set of skills grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)—you’ll work with the client to identify what they deeply care about, increase motivation, and start moving forward toward meaningful goals. Most importantly, clients can learn to make a commitment to create the positive change they desire. And you can learn this so well, you can apply it to yourself, as well.
 

Incorporating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy into your treatment approach will have a significant impact on your clinical effectiveness and the well-being of your clients. ACT is a  rich, integrative approach, and has been shown to be effective for many clinically-relevant concerns. Because ACT takes a different perspective on psychotherapy, some clinicians wonder how to blend the applications into their own therapy approach. Other clinicians who have embraced the ACT concepts still have questions about certain aspects of the therapy.
 

This webinar will explain ACT in a very clear, concise, user-friendly manner.

In recent weeks, people throughout the world have been impacted and shaken by the COVID-19 crisis. Seemingly overnight, our entire world has been turned upside down in both direct and indirect ways. Businesses have closed, mandates to self-quarantine have risen, and social distancing has become a way of life. Above all, the uncertainty, fear, and unknown course and duration of the virus have paralyzed much of society. 

For many of our clients, struggles like depression and anxiety have worsened, and have even been exacerbated by some of the very strategies we must now follow to ensure health and safety in our communities. As clinicians, we find ourselves in a unique position to provide assistance during this challenging time. By both understanding the psychological reactions our clients may be experiencing in this crisis, and exploring meaningful approaches to foster peace and well-being, participants in this webinar will be well-equipped to aid their clients in this unique and uncharted moment. 

This webinar, led by the author of three books focused on the science of well-being, will provide attendees with practical skills and approaches to help their clients navigate the turbulent waters of COVID-19. With a strengths-based approach aimed towards fostering well-being amidst the current crisis, participants will explore how concepts such as gratitude, self-compassion, acceptance, and resilience can be applied to clients struggling in the wake of COVID-19. 

Threats and violence in the workplace are an unfortunate reality that can occur at any moment- no workplace is immune. Be it the domestic violence offender that find his or her spouse at work, the disgruntled employee that is offended by being disciplined for violating a work policy, the supervisor that stalks his or her subordinate and lashes out when rebuffed, or the customer that believes he or she has been treated unfairly- these acts do take place. Those in leadership positions also have an obligation to provide safe work environments. In this course we will review some of the development of threat and workplace violence understanding and assessment, visit actual case examples, identify guidance to support the development of workplace violence prevention programs, learn what to assess in working to prevent workplace violence, and explore how to build your own workplace violence prevention program.

“Excellent, the Professor is an expert in the field and answered my many questions. Could not be improved..”-Eric B., Licensed Professional Counselor, New York

It is estimated that roughly 80% of clients who enter treatment are ambivalent about changing their behavior. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an intentional, client centered approach for facilitating increases in motivation for behavior change by assisting clients in exploring and resolving ambivalence. MI, as a counseling style, has been shown to be effective with a wide variety of problem behaviors such as substance abuse, adopting healthy behaviors (eating, exercise), treatment adherence and compliance, and other psychological problems. Thus, mental health workers from various backgrounds practicing in a variety of settings are beginning to integrate MI into their clinical repertoire. 

This introduction to MI will acquaint the audience with basic concepts and methods of MI. As such participants will be exposed to the foundational concepts including the “spirit,” principles and processes of MI that can be integrated with one’s approach to counseling and psychotherapy. Building on this foundation the foundational philosophy and active principles will be discussed with emphasis on MI’s unique focus on increasing change talk and reducing talk maintaining the status quo. The webinar will conclude with a brief overview of the evidence base for MI. 

Working with youth can be challenging given the generational patterns of trauma, poverty, incarceration, etc. So, it’s essential for providers to understand generational trauma and how to work with youth from a generational perspective. Without this perspective, we can have unrealistic expectations for youth and their families and encounter barriers to engagement. Providers will learn strategies to support youth with generational patterns of trauma within their families.

Many youth, especially foster care and juvenile justice youth, come from generational cycles of trauma and oppression. So, it’s necessary for providers to understand these generational patterns to effectively partner with these youth and their families.

A review of the DSM across the decades reveals a complicated history of the inclusion and exclusion of grief-related emotional difficulties for bereft clients. Starting with the DSM-III, uncomplicated bereavement was introduced as a condition that may be the focus of clinical attention. As research on complicated grief progressed, changes in subsequent DSMs has led to controversy, extended research, and, eventually, the inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in the upcoming release of the DSM-5-TR in mid-2021. This 3 hour presentation explores the history of how bereavement has been addressed in previous and current DSMs and the ICD, an examination of the bereavement exclusion in major depressive disorder and adjustment disorder, the development and inclusion of persistent complex bereavement disorder in the DSM-5, and the diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder in the DSM-5-TR and the ICD-11. Additionally, the presentation will explore differential diagnosing so the practitioner will be skilled in making sound clinical judgment in treatment planning. 

Group therapy is a treatment modality in which unrelated people meet together with a therapist, in contrast to individual therapy or conjoint family therapy. Groups are not a second-rate approach to helping people change. In fact, groups are often the treatment of choice - especially when a client’s problem has an interpersonal component (which is usually the case). Groups offer a natural laboratory in which people can experiment with new ways of being and receive feedback from numerous others. There is great power in groups: members actually experience their interpersonal dynamics playing out in the group. A group therapist can implement techniques from other modalities in a group format. However, there are dynamics, processes, and stages of groups that are not shared with individual approaches and which offer distinctive benefits. Because so many of the problems that people seek mental
health services for involve dysfunctional interactions between people, having group members actually interact with others in the group affords an opportunity for deep, experiential learning and development that is not possible in individual therapy. This seminar will emphasize how to facilitate such “here and now” interactions and processes in group work.

This workshop will provide an overview of shame and in­volvement in the commercial sex industry and how it can present in treatment. The workshop will also focus on strategies to heal shame with youth and young adults who have been commercially sexually exploited. The presenter will share information on shame resilience and self-compas­sion. 

Why topic is important: Involvement in the commercial sex industry can carry a lot of stigma and shame. When individuals don’t heal their shame, it can linger and nega­tively impact their lives. So, it’s crucial for providers to understand the heaviness of shame with commercially sex­ually exploited youth and young adults and learn strategies to support their healing.

Self-harm, or non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is most common among adolescents and young adults. Although NSSI typically decreases in late adolescence, this behavior is one of the strongest antecedents of suicide in youth; and those who engage in repetitive NSSI seem to be at high risk for continuing to use dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies, even after discontinuing NSSI. People engage in NSSI for a wide array of reasons (including a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD), but usually this involves an inability to manage emotions in some way, making Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) an ideal treatment for this population.

While most mental health clinicians will encounter NSSI at some point, there is still a paucity of research about this behaviour and why it happens; and education programs rarely teach about this behaviour and how to work with clients who are engaging in it. This workshop will help you understand NSSI, factors to consider when assessing and working with clients, and will take a DBT approach to helping clients eliminate this behaviour.

“I was very impressed. The presentation was clear, informative and definitely added to my knowledge base.”-Mary H., Psychologist, New Jersey

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are considered to be among the most debilitating and distressing mental health conditions. Despite impacting approximately 3% of the population, many clinicians lack the training and resources to recognize and best work with this vulnerable group of people, leaving many with psychosis isolated, stigmatized, and without help. Nonetheless, growing evidence suggests that, with tailored early intervention, many people with psychosis can recover from illness and lead a life of their choosing in the community. This seminar will familiarize you with psychosis, emphasizing the early phases of illness. It will then demonstrate strategies for reducing stigma, increasing empathy, and facilitating early identification. I will share screening tools and briefly touch on treatment strategies, as well as provide clinical resources for comprehensive specialty care.

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are considered to be among the most debilitating and distressing mental health conditions. Despite impacting approximately 3% of the population, many clinicians lack the training and resources to recognize and best work with this vulnerable group of people, leaving many with psychosis isolated, stigmatized, and without help. Nonetheless, growing evidence suggests that, with tailored early intervention, many people with psychosis can recover from illness and lead a life of their choosing in the community. This seminar will familiarize you with psychosis, emphasizing the early phases of illness. It will then demonstrate strategies for reducing stigma, increasing empathy, and facilitating early identification. I will share screening tools and briefly touch on treatment strategies, as well as provide clinical resources for comprehensive specialty care.

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

“I found it extremely insightful and helpful in my day to day professional life. I wasn't aware of the origins of informed consent and I learned a great deal about case law that formed it.”-Gina F., Social Worker, New York

Informed consent is an essential aspect of all professional services provided by mental health professionals and helps to set the tone for the relationship to follow. While it is a requirement, it also plays a very important role in the treatment relationship and process. Yet, many questions exist about how to appropriately provide informed consent, the details of what should or shouldn’t be included, who should provide informed consent, and how diversity factors may necessitate modifying how we provide informed consent. This webinar will address each of these issues and provide practical guidance on how to meet ethics and legal requirements, and client needs, and how to utilize informed consent to promote a good working relationship with clients, as well as how to utilize it to promote the goals of treatment for our clients. Common pitfalls and dilemmas, practical suggestions and recommendations, and relevant options to consider will each be addressed. Clinical examples will be provided to illustrate key issues to include informed consent with minors, with couples and families, third-party requests for services, and the use of informed consent for the wide range of professional relationships mental health professionals may have.

“The presentation was great.  The speaker gave great insights. I would have not changed anything about it. I learned different ways to view personality disorders to help better treat them. This will help me better serve individuals who make up this population.”-Nicolas F. Social Worker, Maryland

Personality disorders are a common co-occurring condition in about half of the patients seeking outpatient mental health treatment. While most clinicians regularly see patients with a personality dysfunction, it is not always identified and may complicate treatment. Left untreated, personality disorders place a great burden on health care systems, families and communities. When you are equipped with a basic knowledge of personality disorders and their treatment, you can incorporate strategies to increase effectiveness in reducing therapeutic ruptures and achieve better outcomes. Personality dysfunction complicates and reduces efficacy of first line treatment approaches to clinical syndromes such as anxiety, depression, and addiction, as well as increasing the challenge of working with couples and families. When patients with personality dysfunction are unidentified and untreated, therapist frustration may ensue and lead to unintended therapeutic ruptures and treatment dropouts. Early identification and appropriate treatment reduce susceptibility to addictions and other comorbid disorders. Clinicians who understand and identify personality disorders and possess a cohesive conceptual framework can effectively treat personality dysfunction, optimize treatment and Improve outcomes. This seminar provides you with the foundation necessary for identification, conceptualization, effective management, and treatment of personality dysfunction. 

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

Religion and spirituality are important dimensions of most individuals’ lives. Yet, many mental health clinicians do not receive education and training focused on how to address these issues, when appropriate, with their clients. This webinar provides information on the roles of spirituality and religion in many clients’ lives, how to address our own biases about them and how our own beliefs may impact how we view and address them, how to appropriately assess each client’s treatment needs to include religious and spiritual issues and concerns, and how to tap into clients’ beliefs, practices, and faith communities as sources of strength that may enhance the professional services we provide. Ethics issues, challenges, and dilemmas are addressed, and an ethical decision-making model is shared and clinical examples are provided and discussed to illustrate its application. Recommendations for ethical and clinically effective practice are provided. 

“The instructor was excellent! She was compassionate, listened well and was attentive to questions. I got so much more out of this webinar than I have from the in person seminars I've attended! I will watch for her other seminars! I learned how to more effectively work with trauma. I used one of the techniques taught in the session I had immediately after the seminar.”-Eve S., Professional Counselor, Alabama

After clients are stable enough to begin delving into traumatic memories, many clinicians struggle with determining which method to use for trauma processing. This webinar will specifically focus on the second phase of trauma recovery, processing and integrating traumatic memories in trauma treatment. Dr. Fatter will review the nature of traumatic memory and how it differs from non-traumatic memory. The two “gold standards” evidence-based models for trauma exposure therapy will be presented: prolonged exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy. In addition, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and internal family systems, two research-supported models, will also be discussed. This webinar will describe how each model differs in its conceptualization of trauma and specific treatment approach in integrating traumatic memories. Clinical considerations including strategies to know your client is or is not ready for trauma processing will be presented in addition to ways to determine your client is “done” with the trauma processing stage of treatment. Cultural considerations and culturally adapted models will be reviewed. Common transference and counter-transference issues that arise in trauma treatment will be described. Vicarious trauma, clinician burn out and what clinicians need to watch out for in absorbing traumatic stress from their clients will be addressed.

“I really enjoyed this training. The speaker’s knowledge and passion for the subject matter were apparent, and kept me interested and enthusiastic about what I was learning. This was a very thorough overview of IFS, delivered in an organized way, and at a pace that helped me understand and retain the information.”-Maria H. Social Worker, Minnesota

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has become an increasingly popular non-pathologizing approach to individual therapy. Developed by Richard Schwartz, Ph.D. over 30 years ago, IFS is now an evidenced-based practice for depression, phobia, panic and generalized anxiety disorder. IFS is considered a promising treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and complex trauma. In this webinar, Dr. Fatter will review the conceptual framework of IFS including basic assumptions of IFS, goals of the model, and research to date. Clinicians will learn a road map for steps in doing IFS therapy with specific interventions on how to get started applying IFS in clinical work. This webinar will include a guided experiential exercise for therapists to begin to identify their own parts to demonstrate the model experientially. Applications of IFS in clinical work and a case example using IFS for complex trauma will be discussed.

Psychological functioning is always embedded within the context of interpersonal relationships.  Maladaptive patterns that bring clients to psychotherapy are often learned in early attachment relationships.  The interpersonal context of psychotherapy can help clients explore and understand relational patterns.  Clients can practice new ways of relating in therapy and, hopefully, these more effective ways of being can be generalized to new contexts.

This seminar will teach both interpersonal conceptualization and intervention methods.  Interpersonal conceptualization will be described as way to understand interpersonal patterns in the present.  In order to promote a unified approach to treatment, the seminar will highlight how relational patterns shape cognition, emotion, and behavior.  Diversity is addressed in this seminar by describing the way cultural contexts shape relationships. 

Foundational interpersonal skills will be described and demonstrated with role-play videos.  These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of current patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. 

At a more advanced level, this seminar will explore the source of interpersonal patterns.  This section will use attachment theory to understand the roots of internalized relational models.  A video demonstration of exploring deeper patterns will be used to illustrate how this idea can be enacted with clients.  Both transference and countertransference will be explored as they are practiced within a contemporary interpersonal approach. 

This seminar is part of Level Two of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working contextually with external contexts and internal influences.  An essential part of a unified approach to treatment is understanding the impact of interpersonal patterns on dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and actions and fostering more adaptive responses.

High rates of adolescent depression and suicide present as a major international public health problem.  Suicidal adolescents are often a daunting population for clinicians to work with given their high-risk. Of the few effective treatments for this population, many are often multi-modal involving individual and group therapy, medication, etc.  An empirically supported family therapy for adolescents struggling with depression and suicide that requires only weekly sessions and which can be conducted on an outpatient, home-based, or inpatient basis is Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT).  ABFT emerges from interpersonal theories suggesting adolescent depression and suicide can be precipitated, exacerbated, or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal family relationships. It is a trust-based, emotion-focused psychotherapy model aiming to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective, secure-based, parent-child relationship. The therapy is trauma-focused while also being brief and structured. Treatment is characterized by five treatment tasks: a) reframing the therapy to focus on interpersonal development, b) building alliance with the adolescent, c) building alliance with the parents, d) facilitation conversations to resolve attachment ruptures and e) promoting autonomy in the adolescent. 

In this workshop, Dr Levy will use lecture and case studies to provide an overview of the theoretical principles, research support, and clinical strategies forABFT. Dr. Levy will review how attachment theory,emotional regulation, and trauma resolution informthe delivery of this treatment approach.  She will review the goals and structureof the five treatment tasks that provide a roadmapfor delivering this interpersonally focused psychotherapy effectively and rapidly in community mental health.

This webinar will identify the roots of CBT from philosophy and psychology. It will help you conceptualize cases from the perspective of CBT. You will learn all of the components of CBT and how to use them to develop a treatment plan. Finally, Dr. Hannan will talk about the use of CBT with anxiety disorder, OCD spectrum, Mood disorders, Eating disorders, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Personality Disorders, and pain/health psych.

“I found this seminar fascinating. I have taken some of Dr Shapiro's other seminars and will seek him out for others, I enjoy his approach. His real world examples are invaluable.”-Dawn Z., Social Worker, New York

This webinar is designed for those clinicians moving into forensic assessment from more traditional clinical settings. It will consider the important similarities and differences between clinical and forensic work, including critical legal and ethical issues regarding the concept of informed consent in different kinds of evaluations. The focus will then shift to what are called functional legal capacities, and cover in depth the way different assessment instruments may be reconceptualized in order to use them in forensic settings. Special consideration will be given to the development of instruments for assessment of trauma and malingering.

“The instructor was very likable, which increased my enjoyment. Obviously very experienced and used those experiences to bring the content alive.”-Susan B., Psychologist, Delaware

In recent decades, researchers have been learning that Mindfulness not only helps us live healthier lives, but reduces emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, and anger; helps with sleep difficulties; improves concentration, memory, and immune system function; and generates changes in our brain that helps to counteract the problems in thinking we start to experience as we age. 

This experiential seminar will provide an introduction to mindfulness. Participants will learn about the different ways mindfulness is helpful for both physical and mental health. They will be introduced to some different ways of practicing mindfulness, and will learn some tips to help them teach these skills to clients, as well as problems clients often encounter when first learning about mindfulness. 

“This was the best seminar I've seen on TZK so far. The presenter was engaging, spoke at a nice cadence (not to fast or slow). Extremely knowledgeable with clear strategies to use with clients.”-Justine M., Psychologist, Idaho

Over 28% of adults will have a panic attack in their lifetime. Many will experience repeated attacks, which can lead to struggles to hold down a job, maintain friendships, or even carry out basic chores, like shopping for groceries. When we think of panic, we often think of panic disorder. However, individuals with PTSD, depression, social anxiety, substance use disorder, generalized anxiety, and specific phobias frequently grapple with both episodic and chronic panic attacks.

This training will delve into the problems of panic. What is it and why is it so important to treat? Then we’ll explore anxiety sensitivity theory, a compelling explanation for why some people develop panic attacks. Next, using the ironic process theory (Wegner, 1997), we’ll learn how attempts to suppress panic symptoms actually cause the very thing panic sufferers are desperately trying to avoid. We will then turn to understanding how mindfulness can break panic’s vicious cycle. After we study the fundamental elements of mindfulness and their connection to panic, we will delve into helping patients use mindfulness to ameliorate panic and start living life again.

The manner in which mental illness has been dealt with in the criminal justice system especially regarding capital punishment has been described as “the shame of the states. “However the death penalty is not the only area in which we see misuse of psychological theories and research. We see this frequently in such areas as competency to stand trial, the insanity defense, involuntary medication, and failure to recognize the impacts of traumatic brain injury on cognitive functioning.Many of these areas are totally ignored in the law due to two forces: sanism and pretextuality.Sanism represents a bias against mentally ill individuals much like racial or gender bias.  Pretextualism refers to performing some forensic function in a careless or slipshod manner, but presenting it to the court in a manner suggesting that it is scientifically valid.

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability in the U.S.  As mental health providers, we will likely treat patients who have either experienced a stroke or are impacted by the effects of stroke on a member of their family, which are often sudden and debilitating.  Though stroke is prevalent, little education is provided to mental health providers concerning the events, treatment, and psychological needs of patients during physical rehabilitation and after treatment.  This webinar is intended to provide a thorough overview of the stroke patient’s experience and review important clinical considerations for treating patient who have been affected by stroke. 

This webinar is divided into three sections.  The first section is an overview of the patient’s experience throughout their course of hospitalization as well as biological and historical information about stroke and stroke treatment.  The second section focuses on important topics related to the mental health of stroke patients (i.e., Post-Stroke Depression).  The third section addresses adjustment difficulties and treatment considerations for patient who have had strokes.

Most psychotherapists combine ideas and strategies from different theoretical sources in order to meet the needs of each individual client. However, most therapists do so in an informal or intuitive manner. The purpose of this seminar is to teach a practical method of unified treatment planning that allows psychotherapists and clients to make intentional choices together.
 

Unified treatment planning includes four distinct steps. The first step involves conducting a multidimensional survey of cognitions, emotions, and behaviors that contribute to distress. This survey includes the exploration of sources of this pattern. The source of a maladaptive patterns may include external influences (like family systems or cultural contexts) or internal influences (like intrapsychic conflicts or biological health). Second, a psychotherapist can work with clients to establish an interactive focus on two or three dimensions of functioning. Third, a multitheoretical conceptualization can be formulated using constructs from theories that correspond to focal dimensions. Fourth, based on this case conceptualization, intervention strategies can be chosen that promote change within the focal dimensions chosen.
 

The outcome of unified treatment planning is a comprehensive description of a client’s problem as well as a defined place to initiate change. This unified approach to treatment assumes that working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior is ideal for most clients. Understanding the contextual influences of current functioning will support the process of multidimensional change. This seminar is the final part of Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP) and will prepare participants to put this integrative model into practice.

While you can certainly take this seminar alone, this webinar is part of a six series on Unified Psychotherapy.  Strategic Psychotherapeutics is offering a certificate in Unified Psychotherapy for those that attend each of the six webinars.  Optional discussion groups are offered after each webinar to encourage application.  Go to the Strategic Psychotherapeutics website to see the schedule for the discussion groups and more details about how to earn your certificate in Unified Psychotherapy. 

Who we are as sexual beings carries profound personal and interpersonal meaning for each of us. Research consistently demonstrates that for most people, sexual satisfaction is a critical component of relationship and life satisfaction. Yet as important as sex can be, sexual concerns are strikingly common, even among non-clinical populations. Most therapists feel they’ve been inadequately trained to address sexual issues with their clients. This talk offers actionable advice for general therapists treating sexual dysfunction in men and women, with a focus on heterosexual relationship dynamics.

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement.

“Wonderful and very well-organized presentation/webinar. Dr. Barnett was amazingly knowledgeable, professional, and nice.”-Maria F., Counselor, West Virginia

Mental health clinicians live and practice in challenging times, providing services in a wide range of settings with a wide range of clients. Numerous legal issues, ethics requirements, ethical dilemmas, stressors, and a litigious environment may make ethical practice seem to be a daunting proposition. This workshop focuses on positive ethics and risk management strategies for practicing mental health professionals, taking a positive approach to ethical practice that helps minimize risks to the clinician. Fundamental issues for ethical practice by mental health professionals will be addressed along a review of basic risk management strategies, and a process for ethical decision-making when faced with ethical dilemmas and challenges. Common dilemmas and challenges will be reviewed and specific recommendations for ethical and effective practice will be provided.

“Great presenter style, held my interest, provided a ton of interesting, useful information. Learned simple structures to organize treatment of complex trauma that will be so useful!”-Lisa G., Social Worker, Maryland

In this seminar, Dr. Hartman-Hall reviews empirically validated treatments for PTSD and trauma symptoms.  Practical strategies are presented for managing clinical challenges including self-injury, dissociation, and difficulties in interpersonal functioning. Ideas for addressing sleep disturbance and chronic pain will be discussed. Avoiding clinician burn-out and managing vicarious traumatization is also a focus. This seminar provides tools developed from clinical experience and the research literature that you can start using right away to help your clients who are struggling with trauma symptoms.

“Instructor was knowledgeable, easy to relate to and made the content interesting and easy to follow along with. Great reflective exercises!”-LisaA., Social Worker, New York

We all know that professional burnout is a problem, but what do we do about it? In this interactive seminar, Dr. Hartman-Hall provides information from the research literature and her clinical experience about the causes and consequences of clinician burnout. Recognizing that wellness is not a “one size fits all” concept, we will explore a variety of approaches for considering clinicians’ risk factors for occupational stress, improving our own self-care, and adjusting our approach to our work. Brief exercises to practice relaxation, mindfulness, and self-awareness will be utilized throughout the talk to provide participants the opportunity to practice concepts being discussed.

“This was an excellent course. I was captivated for the entire 3 hours. Material was very up to date and use of media and PowerPoint was very effective.” -Mary Kate H., :icensed Professional Counselor, Florida

Profiling Mentally Ill Mass Murderers is an introductory seminar to the problem of spree killers. The spree killer, whether or not impacted by mentally illness, is a considerable scourge upon society. Factors like easy access to guns by dangerous mentally ill, inadequate commitment laws,the inability to predict dangerous behavior, and media frenzy, contribute to an increasing death toll. This seminar uses case studies to highlight the role played by diagnostic assessment (suicide by cop, psychopathic behavior, PTSD, major mental disorders), inadequate prevention civil and gun policy strategies, and stigmatization of the mentally ill as dangerous.

The science and practice of brain health is developing at a rapid pace; there are now many ways to promote cognitive health and functioning in your middle-aged and older clients. This 2-hour workshop features clinical strategies that are (a) responsive to normative age-related changes in cognitive functioning and that also (b) support daily living that is consistent with personal values and life goals. Whether in psychotherapy, integrated primary care, or case management, behavioral health providers can help middle aged and older adults understand cognitive aging, engage in brain-healthy habits, and support decision making related to completing a cognitive evaluation. The experience of cognitive aging is embedded within social contexts and environments. Thus, this workshop guides clinicians through recommended strategies that are responsive to the needs of culturally diverse aging clients, including within the context of telehealth.

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

"I loved that self-care was partnered with ethics! Great topic and the presentation was interesting, well-paced, unhurried yet didn't belabor points. Clearly the instructor is very comfortable with the topic and presents well."-Barbara B., Professional Counselor, Washington

Working as a mental health professional can be challenging, demanding and stressful. With some clients, it can be traumatizing to the clinician. Self-care, the promotion of wellness, and the prevention of burnout are essential for every mental health professional in order to maintain our competence and clinical effectiveness. The ethical obligation to do so is addressed, ways to assess our own individual self-care needs and effectiveness, and specific strategies for the effective practice of self-care are presented. Important issues such as personal and professional challenges, vulnerabilities, and blind spots are addressed. The limitations of self-monitoring and self-assessment are reviewed and recommendations for proactively and effectively addressing these challenges are presented. A realistic approach to ongoing self-care and the promotion of wellness is presented that each mental health clinician can integrate into their daily lives, for their own benefit, and for the benefit of their clients.

According to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, approxi­mately 10% of US adults fill one or more antidepressant prescriptions each year, with many of these prescriptions coming from non-psychiatrists. They are some of the most widely prescribed medications of our generation. As more and more patients are prescribed antidepressants and other psychotropic medications, an increased need and responsibility is raised for non-prescribing therapists to be knowledgeable enough to work more effectively with patients and their prescribers in this arena. The follow­ing webinar is intended to be an introductory course that offers general, yet comprehensive information about psy­chopharmacology, including understanding neurobiological underpinnings of how medications work, commonly pre­scribed drug categories, how to work more effectively with patients, and how to work more effectively with prescrib­ers. Unique to this webinar will be the inclusion of how to maximize treatment outcomes and effectively use collab­orative care strategies.

This course will satisfy your cultural diversity requirement.

In this webinar, Dr. Williams will distinguish between color blind and multicultural approaches.  She will talk about racial identity in blacks and whites and talk about the impact of cultural stereotypes.  She will identify the impact of discrimination and racism on mental health.  This webinar will also focus on practical skills in working with African American clients, looking at cultural mistrust, diagnostic issues, and Afrocentric values.  Finally, Dr. Williams will highlight the literature on race and IQ and psychopathology assessment.  She will help participants in defining culturally sensitive therapy.

“Dr. Gibson is very knowledgeable and experienced on this topic. She also has a very pleasant, engaging method of teaching. Excellent session!”-Jeffrey T., Social Worker, New York

During a time of unprecedented crisis in the face of a global pandemic, many individuals across the globe are unfortunately impacted by another stressor detrimental to their health: racial trauma. Those who experience racial trauma have feelings of distress that lead them to seek counseling for symptom relief. Psychotherapists are charged with creating safe spaces to help clients heal from such dreadful life occurrences through the use of therapy services. 

The current webinar led by Dr. Lillian Gibson will provide mental health professionals with a practical framework to assess and treat racial trauma. The importance of recognizing both the likenesses and dissimilarities of clients’ and clinicians’ worldviews within the context of treatment will be explained. Participants will learn how to apply culturally-specific approaches when exploring trauma experiences and implement client-centered interventions. 

The on-line training will use a case vignette to guide the presentation and uncover mistakes that can be made when cultural considerations are not utilized. 

Participants will leave the webinar with a clear understanding of racial trauma, an awareness of racial trauma assessment options, the biopsychosocial impacts of trauma, symptom tracking measures, clinical pitfalls to avoid, steps to strengthen a therapeutic alliance, and a list of treatments that may be useful to decrease the effects of racial trauma (when appropriately applied).

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement.

Mental health professionals are affected by the fact that we live in an age of litigation; if  clients are dissatisfied with the outcome of an evaluation or treatment , they may file an ethics complaint or a law suit with increased frequency compared to  the past. Malpractice insurance premiums have increased by more than a factor of 10 over the past few decades.  As a result, many practitioners are “running scared”, fearful of complaints.  In point of fact, very few of these legal actions are successful; while going through them is unpleasant, if a mental health practitioner adheres to a few basic principles of risk management, the likelihood of a successful suit is vastly diminished.  This webinar will present these basic principles within a framework of the fundamental legal concepts involved,and how these concepts may be easily incorporated into practice guidelines.  Special attention will be paid to confidentiality and privilege, the nature of malpractice claims,informed consent, documentation, consultation,the most frequent areas of litigation, and concrete steps to take to minimize the risk of litigation.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy is widely considered the gold standard treatment of psychotherapy. However some clients don’t respond to standard protocols, and a number of approaches, still considered under the CBT “umbrella” have been adapted to meet the specific needs of different populations. Schema therapy is one such treatment that continues to show promise for what used to be considered “treatment-resistant” patients. Individuals struggling with personality disorders, addictions, and other impulsive and destructive
behaviours are amongst those considered to be the most challenging to reach, and many practitioners often feel ill equipped to deal with them.
 

Attend this full day workshop with internationally recognized personality disorders expert Dr. Jeff Riggenbach as he presents an integrated schema focused cognitive model for dealing with your most challenging cases. This unique, chock-full training will teach you practical strategies to implement with individuals struggling with BPD, addictions, Impulse control problems, and other emotionally dysregulated or Cluster B presentations. Leave this engaging workshop with a plethora of new tools in your toolbox that you can implement tomorrow to help you get unstuck and facilitate meaningful change that lasts. Moreover, leave with a renewed hope that you are now more equipped to deal with even the most clients that walk through your door.

“I really enjoyed the expertise of the presenter. He had so much useful knowledge to share. The case studies really went deeper into my personal knowledge and helped me to process and analyze situations differently.”-Kristie C., Social Worker, New York

It is essential that that schools and communities know the incidence of school violence and be up to date on the best safety and prevention practices. This presentation will review numerous state and national initiatives that have focused on school safety and the recommendations from a variety of foundations started by parents who lost their in tragic school shootings. Many school shooters died by suicide and this presentation will outline the major theory of murder suicide. The presenter has a wealth of practical experience responding to school crises and participants, whether they are parents, school personnel or community members will learn many lessons from school tragedies and practical strategies to prevent future school violence.

We are a part of a massive social experiment. Sex, gender, and relationship dynamics are changing faster than at any time in recorded history, all within a backdrop of exploding artificial intelligence (AI). Younger generations are increasingly comfortable with technology interfacing all aspects of their lives. The potential risks inherent in human:human sex have been highlighted by COVID-19.  Enter virtual reality porn and yes, sex robots. Experts predict that within 20-50 years, robots that move and interact in humanoid ways will be affordable for many. It is highly conceivable that an infant born today can have their first sexual experience with a robot. Mental health professionals will better serve their clients if they understand the increasingly powerful impact new developments in sex tech and AI have on sex and intimacy. The time is now for us to being this critical discussion.

“This was an excellent presentation that I think had information important to generalists that we don't often receive."-Krista B., Psychologist, Maryland

Who we are as sexual beings carries profound personal and interpersonal meaning for each of us.  Like it or not, our sexual self-image significantly impacts our broader sense of identity, as well as how we give and receive love in our most cherished relationships.  Research consistently demonstrates that for most people, sexual satisfaction is a critical component of relationship and life satisfaction.  For many people, love-making is the most intimate aspect of their lives.  Yet without specific focus on sexuality, general therapy tends not to alleviate sexual concerns.  As therapists, we have little training in these issues, making it difficult to assist our clients with their intimacy struggles.  In this talk, we will address the changing face of heterosexual sex that we and our clients are all experiencing – and gain an understanding of the “new normal.” 

This talk stands alone but is Part One of a two-part series on sex therapy for the general therapist.  It is recommended that this lecture be completed first in that series, thus offering a context for the treatment approaches addressed in Part Two.  

"Excellent speaker. Very engaging and very conversational. I only signed up due to scheduling, but she got me very interested in this subject matter. My favorite CE program for this license renewal! Opened my eyes to the long term consequences of trauma and ways to work it though.”-Martin W.-Psychologist, California

Trauma can impact one’s understanding and experience of intimacy and given the high rates of sexual abuse amongst youth and young adults, it’s important that clinicians are equipped with the skills and knowledge to talk about intimacy after sexual abuse. In this workshop participants will have an opportunity to reflect of their understanding of intimacy and how it impacts their work with sexual abuse survivors. You will learn about common sexual symptoms of sexual abuse and ways to support clients in developing healthier sexual beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.  Despite how common this can be amongst sexual abuse survivors, it is often not addressed in therapy. In this training, the trainer will discuss how trauma impacts one’s relationship with sex and how to support foster youth and transitional age youth in developing a healthier understanding and experience of sex.

“Presenter was extremely well-informed and was up to date with current apps. She was warm and engaging.”-D.C., Psychologist, California

The smartphone has changed the social world and, while social challenges have always created anxiety for some, today’s online social world has raised the bar, creating more anxiety for people of all ages, adolescents and young adults in particular. From FoMO (fear of missing out) to NoMophobia (no mobile phone phobia) and from perfectionism to procrastination, the impacts of social media have exacerbated anxiety. This seminar will offer pragmatic tips for therapists to broaden their ability to mitigate anxiety in clients who have become overly attached and overly affected by their social media world.

You will get a brief overview of the neuroscience that undergirds the compulsion for continuous connection and a look at the impact of stress responses that create the circular pattern of using social media raising anxiety – turning it off raising anxiety – turning it on. We will explore the comparison fallacy and social media’s impact on anxiety, shame and low self-esteem that interferes with healthy social and personal development. And the primary focus of this session will explore pragmatic ways to decrease our clients maladaptive use of social media (including texting) and increase their productive use of smartphones to manage anxiety.

“Brava, Dr. Ruth Ellington. The best Webinar I've experienced yet. Well done. I learned strategies to teach ASD clients and parents about handling bullying.”-William C., Psychologist, California

Deficits in social skills are considered one of the defining challenges among young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yet few evidence-based social skills programs exist for higher functioning youth with ASD.  This seminar will provide an overview of the social skills needed for making and keeping friends and handling peer conflict and rejection.  You will be given tips on how to provide social coaching using concrete rules and steps of social behavior derived from the widely popular PEERS® program, the only known evidence-based social skills program for teens and young adults with ASD. Within the framework of solid research evidence about what works and what doesn’t work socially, attendees will be given easy-to-use strategies to assist young people with making and keeping friends. The seminar will include topics such as appropriate use of conversation skills; strategies for entering conversations; and advice for managing arguments and handling teasing, physical bullying, cyber bullying, rumors, and gossip. 

“This is a solid and well presented program Good detail on how high achieving people acquire and maintain those skills and level of performance.” -Phillip B., Professional Counselor, Maryland

Although psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians interested in sports practice already have the necessary general skills to help competitive athletes deal with adversity and the multitude of emotions that sports can elicit, most typically they lack the sports-specific knowledge necessary to truly help these patients and clients. This seminar will provide mental health providers interested in sports practice with the necessary tools to improve life balance and achieve peak performance in athletes and other high achievers.  Using the expanding evidence-base from neuroscience and sports medicine and case studies from all competitive levels, eight core competencies as well as important dimensions of sports culture, team structure and function, and the shifting intensity and pressure of competition will be covered.

Although the commercial sexual exploitation of youth has occurred in the United States, it has only recently begun to get attention. Given the newness of the topic, many providers struggle to engage youth involved in the com­mercial sex industry. The Stages of Change model has been identified as a best practice for working with the popula­tion. This 3-hour training will equip you with a better understanding of the Stages of Change model and en­gagement skills you can utilize when working with youth who are commercially sexually exploited. Without a model to engage youth, providers may place undue pressure on youth, unintentionally cause harm, and develop unrealis­tic expectations for themselves. The training will discuss the stages in a practical manner. Participants will follow a youth through each stage and learn strategies to engage them and help them move to the next stage.

There are over four hundred approaches to psychotherapy, most of which branch from the primary streams of learning including clinical experience, empirical evidence, theoretical systems, and evidence from related disciplines such as developmental, relational, and cognitive psychology, as well as neuroscience. The basic building blocks of psychotherapeutics that are fundamental to most approaches are well-documented. Strategic Psychotherapeutics uses these building blocks to inform evidence-based practices, combining the best empirical evidence and clinical expertise with patient preferences and values. In this webinar, participants will be introduced to the StratPsych ®system, which delineates the domains of knowledge that constitute the basic building blocks of psychotherapy. The therapeutic scope and impact of clinicians can be enhanced when therapists are grounded in the fundamental knowledge domains, the basic building blocks of strategic psychotherapeutics. As clinicians gain an understanding of how these basics relate to approaches and technical interventions, more complex therapeutic activities such as assessment, treatment planning, clinical decision making, and alliance maintenance can be appreciated. In this symposium, participants will learn the 11 basic building blocks of psychotherapeutics that can be used to select the approaches and technical interventions best suited to each patient. The goal of this webinar is to enhance clinical expertise by providing the basic, intermediate, and advanced knowledge domains universal to all psychotherapeutics.

Psychological functioning is always embedded within the context of social systems.  Maladaptive patterns that bring clients to psychotherapy are often learned within the family-of-origin.  Psychotherapy can help clients explore and understand systemic patterns and social roles that may contribute to current psychological distress.  Clients can learn to recognize and modify maladaptive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors that may have been learned within their families. A systemic focus in individual psychotherapy can help clients function in new social systems in more effective ways.

This seminar will teach both systemic conceptualization and intervention methods that can be used in individual psychotherapy.  Systemic conceptualization will include looking at family structure, roles, and beliefs systems.  Webinar participants will learn to consider how homeostasis, family life cycle, and multigenerational patterns shape individual functioning over time.  In order to promote a unified approach to treatment, the webinar will highlight how families and other microsystems shape the way people think, feel, and act.

Foundational interpersonal skills will be described and demonstrated with role-play videos.  These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of systemic patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive social functioning, and (3) Enacting systemic adaptation outside of psychotherapy.  Practical skills that can be learned and utilized with clients will be described for each of these three phases of treatment.

At a more advanced level, this seminar will explore the way clients internalize aspects of the people who raised them in ways that continue to influence current functioning and affective states.  Current dysfunction is often related to the way family members and family experiences have been internalized in a manner that shapes schema modes.  Diversity is addressed in this seminar by describing the way cultural contexts shape families and other social systems and how families serve as a conduit for cultural socialization.

This seminar is part of Level Two of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working contextually with external and internal influences.  An essential part of a unified approach to treatment is understanding the impact of systemic patterns on dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and actions and fostering more adaptive responses.

“Dr. Hannan was extremely informative, knowledgeable, and easy to listen to. His clinical examples enhanced the learning experience. Great presentation. I learned techniques on how to effectively engage in a therapeutic relationship with a BPD patient.-Shayna S., Professional Counselor, Illinois

This seminar will talk about the All-or-None Phenomenon in Borderline Personality (BPD), looking at it from both a psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral perspective.  The talk will define the All-or-None Phenomenon, as well as providing clinical examples.  It will also look at the reactions this elicits in treating professionals.  You will leave this webinar will techniques that are useful in helping patients who suffer from BPD.

“Excellent presentation. Presenter was very knowledgeable and thorough. No improvements needed.”-Bruce G., Counselor, Illinois

The biology of reward has been well-studied and is linked to numerous mental health diagnoses. Researchers identified an anomaly in this reward cascade called Reward Deficiency Syndrome or RDS. This anomaly and its impact on psychotherapy are less evident in psychological literature, yet it provides useful knowledge in one of the most prevalent and challenging of all mental health disorders…addiction. This seminar will help you understand the cascade theory of reward and provide you with working knowledge of RDS. You will be able to talk about how RDS affects the brain, what research has found regarding the impact of RDS, as well as discuss a model of therapy that considers highly this biological aspect of mental illness. The focus of this seminar is biopsychological and psychopharmaocological in nature.

“The instructor was clearly knowledgeable and well-organized. I liked that she disclosed some of her weaker content/expertise (e.g. not good with metaphors). This was good modeling of the concepts she was teaching. I loved the developmental cube. I will look more into this model and will likely implement it.”-Phillip L., Licensed Professional Counselor, Texas

In this seminar, Dr. Saffer examines the purpose of clinical supervision, including the components and processes that are important for effective supervision. Participants are encouraged to consider different models and methods as they develop an approach to clinical supervision.  In addition,strategies are discussed regarding effectively dealing with some of the challenges that are inherent in the supervisory process.  This seminar is designed to provide participants with a thoughtful approach to the supervision process and to encourage the development of competence in this area of training.

“Outstanding instruction presented in an interesting way, especially wtih the use of short video clips. It increased my awareness of how trauma is transmitted to children and made me want to research more about this.”-Audrey H., Counselor, Alabama

Working with youth can be challenging given the generational patterns of trauma, poverty, incarceration, etc. So, it’s essential for providers to understand generational trauma and how to work with youth from a generational perspective. Without this perspective, we can have unrealistic expectations for youth and their families and encounter barriers to engagement. Providers will learn strategies to support youth with generational patterns of trauma within their families.

Many youth, especially foster care and juvenile justice youth, come from generational cycles of trauma and oppression. So, it’s necessary for providers to understand these generational patterns to effectively partner with these youth and their families.

This workshop will provide an overview of what life is like when one live in poverty or close to it. It will start with an opportunity to reflect on one’s socioeconomic upbringing and how this impacts one’s ability to work with lower socioeconomic individuals. The presenter will share information about the prevalence of poverty and populations most impacted by it. The presenter will also discuss the lasting impact of poverty on one’s educational, occupational, and physical health. Lastly, the presenter will discuss strategies to engage lower socioeconomic individuals in therapy.

It’s essential for clinicians to understand the impact of poverty, especially for those working with marginalized populations and those working in underserved areas. Many families are living below the poverty line or near it and it’s important to understand the accompanying stressors to better serve lower socioeconomic individuals. Without this knowledge, it can be challenging to effectively support individuals these individuals.

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

“I thought the activity was very engaging, informative, and really organized. I learned a lot about what can and cannot be done and also how to go about doing online counseling ethically.”-Abbee T., Professional Counselor, Louisiana

A wide range of technologies to include the Internet, e-mail, text messaging, social media, Apps, and the like have altered how most individuals communicate with each other, stay connected, and form and maintain relationships, to include in mental health practice. This workshop will provide information about the ethical, legal, and clinical issues relevant to integrating various technologies into our practices. Additionally, common pitfalls and areas where the use of various technologies, to include social media, is contraindicated will be discussed. Research on how various technologies may be effectively integrated into clinical practice to treat a wide range of presenting problems and disorders is reviewed and their implications for our practices is discussed. Guidance on decision-making for when and how to do this is provided to include the provision of clinical services across distances and the use of various technologies to enhance or augment in-person services. Clinical examples are provided to illustrate some of the benefits and challenges of utilizing these technological innovations in clinical practice.

"I really enjoyed Dr. McDuff's presentation style and was impressed with the clarity of his explanations."-Larry D., Psychologist, New Mexico 

Substance abuse is one of the most common clinical problems of patients who present for treatment.  These patients struggle with a life threatening, clinically complex problem that is subject to a variety of physiological and psychological factors.  This webinar will focus on treating people plagued by complex additions issues.  You will learn about the risk and protective factors related to addiction.  There will also be useful suggestions for assessing and treating addicted patients.  Adolescent addiction will be discussed.  There will also be material on motivational interviewing and effective stress control.

"Enjoyed the presentation.  Learned a lot.  Very organized, easy to apply to practice.  Understanding the difference between OCD and hoarding was very helpful"-Scott M. Psychologist, Washington 

Hoarding behavior has received significant attention in recent years. Due to the potential harmful effects of hoarding behavior (risk of fire, personal injury, financial hardships, etc.), it has become an important topic of research. It has also drawn the attention of the media and local governments, which have to address the impact hoarding has on citizens. In this seminar, Dr. Hannan will review the current status of hoarding as its own diagnostic entity in DSM-V. Dr. Hannan will discuss the latest research findings on the psychopathology of hoarding disorder. Participants will learn how to assess clients for hoarding disorder and will learn how to devise and implement an appropriate treatment plan. Given the complicated nature of hoarding, he will discuss potential obstacles to treatment and ways to address these issues.

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement.

“Presenter was knowledgeable and engaging. Very informative and helpful webinar. I feel more confident in the decisions that I have been making in regard to self disclosure and I feel I can look at those areas that feel more challenging with less criticism.”-Gabrielle D., Psychologist, New York

“Therapist Self Disclosure” is an introductory ethics course for practitioners who seek to navigate how to utilize self-disclosure to achieve client engagement without boundary violations in treatment environments. With the mainstreaming of peer counseling, cognitive behavioral and humanistic treatments, therapist self-disclosure is encouraged as a means to improving patient rapport & communication. Therapists need to differentiate among the nuanced differences between self-disclosure, self-involving statements, deliberate & confrontative disclosures from disclosures amounting to harmful boundary violations to avoid becoming ensnarled in questionable ethical practices.

This webinar focuses on several factors like: (1) role played by self-disclosure in relationships, (2) the history of therapist self-disclosure, (3) what is therapist self-disclosure?, (4) how theoretical treatments and the type of client in treatment impact therapist self-disclosure, (5) when are therapists most often willing to self-disclose, (6) ethics of self-disclosure and boundary violations, (7) conclusions and practical clinical checklist to prevent inappropriate therapist self-disclosure. Given these complexities, knowledge about therapist self-disclosure is crucial.

This course will utilize “clinical” situations from film and television to highlight protective measures relating to therapist self-disclosure. Excerpts from TV shows and movies, such as, “Mindhunter,” “In Treatment,” “Ordinary People,” “Good Will Hunting,” “The Sopranos,” “The Breakfast Club,” and others will be utilized.

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement.

Ever since 1976 with the landmark case of Tarasoff versus Regents of the University of California, there has been a dizzying array of cases dealing with various approaches to this topic. In some states, there is a Duty to Warn, in others a Duty to Protect Third Parties. In some states, the duty is mandatory and in others discretionary. Some states are also distinguished in terms of permissive or non-permissive duties. Small wonder that with all these variations, mental health professionals are often confused in terms of their obligations. Sometimes, the case law is inconsistent with the statutes within the same state. Research done regarding the knowledge of licensed men¬tal health professionals in 1988 showed that 93% of the sample surveyed did not fully understand the laws in their own states. Twenty years later, with continued exposure to the topic through continuing education, the number dropped to 76% who did not understand the laws in their own states. This webinar will attempt to reconcile these differences and provide the mental health professional with concrete steps to take in order to crystalize and under¬stand the laws and the ways to manage practices so as to minimize the risk of legal action.

Working with couples in the wake of an affair can be challenging for even experienced clinicians. The raw trauma and betrayal that clients experience is difficult to witness, and it can be tempting to sit back and primarily act as a supportive listener. However, this does not move couples forward through the pain to create an even stronger connection with each other. In this invaluable seminar for those who already work with infidelity or hope to start, Dr. Samantha Rodman Whiten will help you understand why and how infidelity occurs, explore your own biases that may be impeding your work with infidelity, guide you through understanding multiple theoretical models of healing and repair, teach you you practical strategies to normalize and validate your clients’ experience, and provide you with concrete frames and tools to facilitate deep empathy and healing in your post-infidelity couples clients.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with anxiety disorders will be felt for a long time to come. Rates of new-onset anxiety rose dramatically, and factors such as long-covid introduced aspects to anxiety such as ‘brain fog’ and new-onset panic and anxiety. Additionally, 24/7 negative news and the lurking threat of new variants have created ‘ambient anxiety’ that fuels the vigilance and persistent worry that are hallmarks of anxiety disorders. The spread of confusing information on social media particularly affects adolescents’ experience of anxiety and therapists can be watchful for ‘contagious panic and anxiety’. For a time, isolation felt like safety, but now, as people, emerge from restrictions, ‘cave syndrome’ affects all ages, causing especially those with social anxiety to struggle with the new ‘re-entry anxiety’. In this session, Dr. Wehrenberg will focus on practical strategies that will help any client with anxiety to suffer less panic, to increase stress resilience, and to block worry (especially health anxiety). Join us and get new ideas to manage anxiety in a world where pandemics are real.

Diminished desire and difficulty orgasming with a partner are the two most common concerns women bring to practitioners. Too often women report feeling they are the cause of these problems and are somehow “broken”, not recognizing the roles that culture, medical, and relational factors play. Furthermore, while many women feel challenged by these concerns, it is often only revealed to clinicians when directly asked. Yet, many clinicians have never received adequate training in assessing or dealing with these matters. In this webinar, Dr. Mintz will help participants better understand the cultural reasons for the high prevalence of these sexual problems among women. Participants will also become versed in the myriad medical, individual, and relational causes underlying both concerns. Most importantly, evidence-based treatments for both concerns will be presented. You will leave this webinar able to assess, normalize, and intervene with these common issues.

“Dr. Z was personable, knowledgeable and very funny. She kept my attention, which can be a challenge over an entire day. I loved her use of humor and real-life examples, and her sharing of personal stories and anecdotes. As a fellow trainer, I give Dr. Z the highest rating possible for a wonderful training day!”-Jeffrey T. Social Worker, New York

Mental health and healthcare professionals are faced with the often misunderstood and misdiagnosed symptoms of uncomplicated and complicated grief. Formal education rarely, if ever, provides extensive enough training to accurately identify and treat those who are grieving. Often grieving clients present with other diagnoses because symptoms can mimic uncomplicated or complicated grief. The grieving process is often pathologized, or misdiagnosed, resulting in potential exacerbation of the presenting issues because inappropriate interventions are utilized. As a result, those who are grieving are often are inadvertently disenfranchised by providers, which can make the professional support they sought to reconstruct their previously shattered identities and worldviews ineffective. It is essential to be versed in identifying grief related constructs that may underlie, or even cause, mental health difficulties. 

This presentation aims to provide current information on the grieving process, clarify misconceptions of outdated theories, and differentiate between uncomplicated and complicated grief, and also examines the changes in conceptualization, differential diagnosing, treatment planning, and interventions used with grieving individuals. Attendees will leave with an improved clinical skill set they can immediately use to identify and treat their clients.

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a serious mental health problem that typi­cally creates chaos in an individual’s life, often leading to risky and impulsive behaviors, damaged relationship and careers, substance use problems, hospitalization, and even suicide. Because of the complexi­ty of this disorder – the different episodes, variability of symptoms from person to person as well as from episode to episode within the same individual - Bipolar Disorder can be difficult for clinicians to recognize; improper diagnosis leads to improper treatment, which can cause worsening of symptoms for individuals. Once an accurate diagnosis has been made, however, it’s often equally as difficult to help our clients to accept and understand this diagnosis, which con­tributes to difficulties following prescribed treatment recommenda­tions.

In this webinar you will learn about bipolar disorder, including the different diagnostic categories of BD and its causes. Participants will learn about the disorders that often co-occur with bipolar disor­der and the difficulties people experience in living with this and the co-morbid disorders. In gaining a greater understanding yourself as a clinician of bipolar disorder, you will be in a more effective position to help your clients to understand and accept their mental health problems, which will typically lead to improved outcomes for clients.

“Excellent; exceeded my expectations. The instructor (Scott Hannan) was very impressive. He clearly had a very deep knowledge of the topic and also knew how to answer broad questions very succinctly but thoroughly. I'm amazed he was able to talk for 6 hrs straight in an engaging way, while being very responsive to different questions throughout the seminar, while also sticking exactly to the expected time. Bravo!.”-Teresa A. Psychologist, Maryland

Obsessive compulsive disorder can be associated with extreme levels of distress and severe impairment in one’s life. Proper diagnosis and treatment formulation is essential in assisting those with this disabling condition. Although most people are familiar with typical symptoms including washing and checking, many may not have an understanding of other presentations of OCD, such as scrupulosity, harm obsessions, and sexual obsessions. Fortunately, the gold standard treatment exposure and response prevention can be utilized to treat the various presentations of OCD. In this seminar, Dr. Hannan will review the various presentations of OCD and train attendees in making an accurate diagnosis of OCD. In addition to learning about the various presentations of OCD, attendees will learn to assess the severity of OCD. Dr. Hannan will explain the rationale of using exposure and ritual prevention and discuss how to conceptualize cases of OCD, along with creating an exposure hierarchy. Exposure therapy will be introduced through both didactics and video demonstration. Special cases of OCD, including comorbid conditions and adaptations needed to treat children, will be addressed.

Given the increasing diversity of clients seeking mental health care, there is a growing need to enhance the cultural sensitivity of therapeutic interventions with ethnoracial minority populations. One critical form of contemporary racism is the experience of microaggressions: brief, everyday exchanges, in the form of seemingly innocent and innocuous comments or behaviors that send denigrating messages to people of color. Microaggressions in mental health settings are a cause of poor therapeutic alliance and drop-out, representing a barrier to treatment. Repeated exposure to microaggressions can cause psychological unwellness and even trauma symptoms in victims. However, many clinicians are not aware of microaggressions, may commit them unknowingly against clients, and are unsure how to address them in treatment. Thus, increasing awareness of microaggressions is a critical target of clinical training and therapeutic intervention. Dr. Williams will also discuss how to recognize microaggressions, how to assess the impact of microaggressions in clients, and discuss how to address microaggressions when they occur in therapy or real-life. 

The concept of posttraumatic growth (PTG), that is, how people report personal transformations in the aftermath of traumatic events is an emerging area of research and clinical focus. These growth experiences are relatively common, but often ignored in standard trauma practice due to relatively few clinicians fully understanding the concept. In order to enhance trauma-focused clinical services, professionals should learn to integrate the PTG model into their trauma treatment strategies and practice. PTG is based on an integrative cognitive-existential-narrative theoretical foundation. The theoretical foundation of PTG also informs a highly effective intervention strategy that has been labeled “Expert Companionship”. Using the Expert Companionship clinical approach in treating trauma survivors facilitates personal development beyond the reduction of symptoms of trauma. In fact, trauma survivors are able to both reduce symptoms of PTSD and related conditions and learn to use their difficult life experiences as a means to live a more rewarding and fulfilling life. This is important considering the field of mental health recognizes that standard practice for PTSD has important limitations. This posttraumatic growth based approach shows promise for addressing these limitations.

“Very well explained and organized. Easy to follow and understand. I will use his plans to help me with creating effective behavior plans.”-Deborah S., Professional Counselor, New York

Child and adolescent behavioral issues can cause significant disruption to family life.  In addition to the effects on family, it may impact academic and social life.  Although many parents understand the concepts of reward and punishment, they may not understand the most effective ways to implement behavior management techniques.In addition, many parents may be overly reliant on punitive consequences for negative behavior rather than focusing on ways increase positive,pro-social behaviors.  Dr. Hannan’s seminar Understanding and Implementing Parent Training in Clinical Practice will teach clinicians how to instruct parents in behavior management.  Parent training is essential to positive outcomes in treatment for both externalizing and internalizing disorders.  This webinar will include instruction on performing a functional behavioral assessment, case conceptualization, and devising an appropriate behavior plan.  Beyond positive reinforcement and punishment,this webinar will present a variety of behavioral techniques including shaping,extinction, and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior.  Clinicians will learn how to tailor treatment according to developmental level and co-occurring psychiatric conditions, as well as how to address problems within typical development.  Research into the factors associated with successful implementation of behavioral principles will be discussed as well.

Most psychotherapists would like to draw from different theoretical sources in order to serve the individual needs of each client. However, this is a difficult goal to accomplish without training and structure. Unified Psychotherapy (UP) is a comprehensive approach to integration that enhances a therapist’s capacity to draw from diverse approaches by providing a holistic framework. This structure can be used to guide both conceptualization and intervention.
 

This seminar will introduce a three-tiered model of psychological functioning that distinguishes between immediate psychological functioning, external influences, and internal influences. (A) Psychological functioning focuses on the dynamic interaction between (1) cognition, (2) emotion, and (3) behavior. (B) External influences include (4) development across life experiences, (5) interpersonal patterns, (6) families and other microsystems, as well as (7) sociocultural macrosystems. (C) Internal influences include (8) intrapsychic processes and (9) biological health.
 

This seminar will include a video demonstration of a multidimensional survey of cognition, emotion, and behavior. This survey is the foundation for the process of unified treatment planning which will be elaborated upon in a later seminar (TUP 1-6). This seminar will encourage active learning by including activities and worksheets related to reflection and application. This is the first webinar in Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior.

“I was extremely impressed with the presentation from start to finish. I liked the inclusion of videos/visuals to enhance the presentation. Finally, I was extremely appreciative of the follow-up resources as well. I learned a great deal and all of the techniques would arguably enhance anyone's therapy practice in some way.”-Kristin K., Professional Counselor, Massachusetts

Although the field of clinical psychology has traditionally aimed to “fix what’s wrong,” the newer sub-field of positive psychology instead helps us to “build what’s strong.” In this seminar, attendees will learn about the nature of happiness, and discover research-backed methods from positive psychology to help lastingly increase happiness both in ourselves and in our clients. We’ll explore what it means to be happy, why happiness is so important, and why it can often feel so hard to come by. We’ll then discuss 7 research-based principles for lasting well-being, drawing from positive psychology, mindfulness-based approaches, and cutting-edge neuroscience. In addition, we will introduce and put into practice dozens of evidence-based tools and techniques that can easily be implemented into clinical practice. Through lecture, clinical vignettes, and hands-on practice, you’ll learn skills that can transform your clinical work.

Do you know the possible effect in Court of expert testimony based on poorly validated procedures? People may be sentenced to death. In similar ways, mental health professionals may be found negligent for failure to see that someone fits the psychological profile of intended victims, despite the fact that there is no science behind psychological profiling. The use and similar misuses of expert testimony will be highlighted in the webinar, along with practical suggestions for avoiding these pitfalls and making sure one’s testimony is based on well-validated theories.

There are several types of digital platforms and devices that can optimize treatment and are easily added to our clinical toolbox. Many of these devices can be used as clinician extenders by expanding therapeutic reach and augmenting treatment outside the office. While some of these technologies have been available for decades, they are now easier to use and are also cost effective. The trend in health care is increasingly digitally based and data driven, being fed by advances in digital platforms and innovative devices. Video technology and internet capacity have reached the point where they are reliable and advanced enough to make tele-mental health quite accessible to utilize. While there are still many people who have only tenuous links with the digital world, even those in rural and underserved populations may have access to care not previously available using new tools. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health clinicians by necessity have begun using telehealth platforms to continue to provide much needed services. The use of teletherapy affords clinicians opportunities to effectively broaden their scope of practice and deliver high quality treatment while doing so. The provision of telehealth has both pros and cons that need to be considered when using this technology. Smartphone applications (Apps) that can track mood, anxiety, and sleep (and provide feedback to clinicians) are rapidly developing and are widely available. Devices that can directly address brain and emotional states such as Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRV), Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), and Neurofeedback (NFB) can be incorporated into one’s practice at a reasonable cost. Many of these devices can be used by patients between sessions to retrain their “brain states” by monitoring physiological arousal and increasing vagal tone to maximize treatment effect. This seminar provides you with an overview and introduction to technology-based aids to mental health practice. 

One of the biggest challenges in trauma recovery is managing both when clients get emotionally overwhelmed and when clients numb out and shut down. Learning how to pace therapy and navigate clients’ emotional window of tolerance are key foundations of successful trauma treatment. In this webinar, Dr. Fatter will review the impact of traumatic stress on the brain in tangible ways to help clinicians better conceptualize how trauma alters the body’s arousal system. Dr. Fatter will discuss in detail symptoms of hyperarousal, hypoarousal and calm states of our autonomic nervous system based on Polyvagal Theory. This will help clinicians know signs of what state clients are in and help clinicians be able to educate clients about their nervous system. We will address one of the most important aspects of the therapeutic relationship based on what we know about the traumatized brain. A phase-oriented treatment approach will be presented so clinicians learn an evidence-based structure for pacing the intensity of trauma treatment. In addition, we will explore four research-informed adjunctive therapies to help clients maintain stabilization and regulate arousal.

"Excellent content - very knowledgeable and experienced presenter Greater understanding of instruments - research on just how limited our ability to predict violence is, and the ethical/scientific issues with sex violent predator laws/dynamics."-Kevin D., Psychologist, California

The ability to predict  future violent behavior has long been an issue for mental health professionals.  Initially it was merely assumed that we could make such predictions accurately based on our clinical skills alone.  Many decisions in the judicial system hinge on an accurate assessment of violence, such as  bond, probation, and parole decisions, committment to and release from psychiatric facilities, and even whether or not a defendant should be sentenced to death.

Recent research has demonstrated however that such predictions are not as accurate as once assumed and that the methodology used was sadly lacking in  validity.   A tremendous amount of research has gone into risk assessment for future  violence ; still,,  the accuracy remains in question even to this day; nevertheless, judicial decisions are continually made which ignore our limited ability to assess violent behavior.

This webinar will explore  the factors necessary to do competent work in this area and demonstrate the ways that risk assessment can become more precise.

“This may have been the best training overall I have seen in the 30 years of my professional life. If not the best, then clearly in the top five. Dr. Hannan maintained the pace and energy and held my attention for six hours, no mean feat whatsoever. Hats off to him!.”-James B. Counselor, Armed Forces

In this webinar, Keith Hannan, Ph.D will talk about the diagnosis and treatment of disruptive behavior disorder.  He will help you distinguish between benign mischievousness and malignant antisocial behavior.  He will explore the literature on delinquency in girls.  There will be a review of risk assessment.  Information will also be presented on the cognitive style and deficits of delinquent youth.  He will present a model for effective psychotherapeutic intervention.

When we joined the ranks of helping professionals, one of the last things that probably crossed our minds was what, if any, risk we would face in our careers. Would our forensic patient who had killed their parents ever corner us in a room and try to assault us? Would our inpatient teenager ever cyber-stalk us online? Would our outpatient client ever try to kill us in our office? Daunting questions to think about; however, these are the very questions that we should be addressing while also helping our client population in need. This course looks back over the past decades to review where mental health treatment has come and what about those shifts may contribute to our vulnerability in our professions; it helps identify the vulnerabilities we should be addressing; and it offers suggestions of actions we can take to protect our work, our clients, our livelihood, and our lives. In addition to receiving the training and education we need to make us the best helping professionals we can be, we also need training such as this to help protect ourselves from any harm that could come in the course of our work.

Multicultural guidelines and ethical standards dictate that White therapists examine their own racial identity, privilege, and fragility to better serve BIPOC clients. Dr. Fatter will review current trends in multicultural competency and discuss the clinical cost of the therapist being ‘colorblind’. This webinar will specifically focus on aspects of White supremacy culture, White privilege, White fragility, and Helms’ White racial identity model to help therapists self-assess their own White racial identity. Dr. Fatter will discuss clinical examples of ways ‘whiteness’ can show up relationally in clinical settings as well as skills needed to build racial stamina. In addition, Menakem’s H-I-P-P theory of how historical trauma is somatically held in the body will be presented to better understand the typical nervous system response in a White body and ways White therapists can work with their own somatic countertransference reactions when working with BIPOC clients. Dr. Fatter will also describe examples of specific types of microaggressions that can damage the therapeutic relationship. Dr. Fatter will also discuss practical ways to bring up racial identity with all clients and how to do a therapeutic repair when a relational rupture has occurred. 

Reproductive rights and justice for women, believed to have been won in 1973 with Roe v Wade, has a much longer history that remains unsettled up until today. Marginalized populations and those with few economic resources continue to have disparities in access to competent health services in all areas especially reproductive health. Sexuality and gender issues are regulated by politicians and religious leaders rather than health care practitioners, often based on myths and misinformation. Women continue to die unnecessarily in childbirth even in industrialized countries. Research on prevention and termination of unwanted pregnancies demonstrate the safety of surgical and medical abortion yet the laws continue to restrict women’s choice. The new reproductive technologies allow women to become a mother who otherwise might have remained infertile. Mental health clinicians need to have accurate information and know how to assess women’s competency in making these decisions. A recent research study showed that over half of psychologists and graduate students surveyed did not have accurate information necessary to counsel clients about reproductive health and abortion. Many had similar stigma about abortion and failed to address the issue with their clients leaving it to specialty clinics, many of which give false and politically motivated information. This workshop will attempt to close the gap and provide the information needed to counsel around reproductive health, justice, contraception, abortion, and assisted reproductive technologies. Participants will learn how to assess and build client’s competency in decision-making as well as assess their emotional stability. This webinar will provide the requisite knowledge, assessment and counseling skills needed to assist clients who face these sometimes life-changing decisions. 

This course satisfies your cultural diversity requirement.

The Arab/ Middle Eastern community constitutes a culturally rich and diverse ethnic group; however, in contrast to other ethnic groups in the United States,this group has received little attention in the literature.   This seminar will provide a brief description of Arab populations with regard to ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.  It will also explore the impact of actual and perceived experiences of discrimination and prejudice on Arab client mental health.  Finally, this seminar will present recommendations for culturally sensitive treatment interventions for clinicians who wish to work with this population.

This course satisfies your cultural diversity requirement.

Treating Arab/Middle Eastern populations in the United States has recently become of interest within the field of clinical psychology because of increased immigration of these groups over the last decade.  Many Arabs have immigrated to benefit from financial and occupational opportunities; however, others have left their countries of origin in the pursuit of greater freedom and to flee from persecution.  Arab sexual minorities are among these groups.  This seminar will provide a brief description of Arab populations with regard to ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. It will also explore the experiences of Arabs with same-sex attractions and the impact of familial, cultural, and religious values on the expression of sexuality and identity. Finally,recommendations will be presented to assist clinicians who seek to increase cultural competence working with this unique population.

“Dr. Satir was excellent. She kept my interest and is obviously very knowledgeable and experienced. I learned a lot about how to deal with eating disorders.”-Richard H., Psychologist, Colorado

This training will offer the opportunity to learn about the diagnosis, assessment, theory, and treatment of eating, weight and shape disorders. While working with clients with eating disorders (EDs) can present unique challenges, we will explore the perception/stigma that these clients are notoriously difficult to treat. We will focus on the importance of integrative treatments, and the role of behavioral, symptom focused techniques in addition to psychodynamic approaches that explore underlying characterological and developmental issues. This training will also consider potential challenges clinicians may face when working with clients with eating disorders and how to cope with feelings that may arise when working with this population.

"Very well done.  Great content and practicality in my practice.  New to treatment in this field.  Everything was rather new.  Great introduction to this line of work."-Matthew B., LMFT, Utah 

It has become increasingly common for children and adolescents who engage in sexually abusive or sexually troubled behavior to come to the attention of authorities, with a resulting increase in referrals to mental health practitioners for the evaluation or treatment of juvenile sexually abusive behavior. This seminar is designed to help clinicians understand current ideas about this specialized practice, and recent and evolving changes in the field, providing an overview of current thinking and models by which to understand, approach, and engage in treatment. The seminar does not focus upon treatment itself or treatment models. It instead highlights and discusses important and current ideas about sexually abusive youth and the nature of the treatment process, the importance of the collaborative treatment relationship,an approach to treatment that recognizes the individuality of each youth in treatment, and an understanding of the developmental pathways to sexually abusive behavior. The seminar will be useful for those experienced in the treatment of sexually abusive youth and those new to the field or just wishing to learn more about the work.  

Traumatized adolescents and young adults struggle with self-regulation. They are dysregulated across systems--neurologically, cognitively, physically, emotionally, behaviorally, socially, and spiritually. Anxious and vigilant, and unable to trust themselves or caregivers, they may experience even loving relationships as confusing and frightening. But to learn self-soothing, they must first be able to rely upon others and discover the comfort of co-regulation. They benefit from relationships with adults that provide them with the psychological (and physical) sense of stability and containment they cannot supply themselves.

To work effectively with these youth it’s crucial for adults to first foster their own capacity for self-awareness and self-regulation. It’s not easy, especially when our young clients’ extreme reactions—ranging from angry arousal to frozen shutting down—can trigger our own sense of helplessness, failure, dissociation, and rejection. In this webinar, you will learn about Developmental-Relational Therapy (DRT), an attachment-based model of trauma treatment. You will learn and practice mindful, empathic strategies that help teens feel more secure, connected, present, and regulated. You’ll discover how to get unhooked from old enactments by exploring:

Specific adolescent attachment styles that interact with or trigger our own

The React, Reflect, and Respond approach to corrective relational experience

Four M’s—mirroring, mentalizing, mindfulness, and modulation—to increase connection and mood regulatio

How to use moment-to-moment attunement—including strategies of validation, unflinching empathy, strategic self-disclosure, and the compassionate sharing of adult feelings and opinions-—to bring traumatized youth back into relationships with themselves and with you.