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CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM

We have designed a series of workshops comprised of popular topics and presented by expert staff.

Sexual Enrichment Program for Masters Level Clinicians
This workshop will teach clinicians how to more effectively deal with couples in treatment by gaining comfort with sexual issues. You will learn how to communicate naturally and effectively with your patients about sexual issues and how to assist couples that get stuck on the way to intimacy. The goal of this course is to provide a safe place to explore attitudes towards sex, get comfortable with feelings towards sex, and widen your understanding of sexual issues. The process involves voluntary participation in large and small group discussion and viewing of films. Participants in the program include clinicians and masters level students.

Cost: $175/person with a minimum of 8 people and $1,500 for a group containing up to 16 participants.
For more information or to schedule a date, contact Peggy Roth, MSEd, LMFT or Sue Milbourne, MS, LMFT at 610-889-0419 x5.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY!

2012-2013 CONTINUING EDUCATION SERIES SEMINARS

Intensive: Spiritual Psychology and Spiritual Beliefs in Therapy
Instructors: Flo Guynn Stiffler, MDiv, LMFT and Leah Brecher-Cohn, LMFT, MA, MS
Date:  Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This intensive introduces the contemporary model of Spiritual Psychology, an integrative approach to therapy which brings a non-denominational spiritual framework into the counseling process.  In this experiential session participants will be introduced to key attributes of this model as well as sharing how basic spiritual practices and tools are applied. The clinical application portion of this intensive focuses on the impact of individual spiritual beliefs in therapy, including those that need to be resolved and those that serve as resources for healing.  In addition, this workshop is designed to help clinicians explore and deepen their understanding of their own beliefs and worldviews and spark creative thinking about exploring spiritual themes and resources with clients.

Intensive: Military Families in Resiliency, Deployment and Reintegration
Instructor: TBD
Date:  Friday, June 14, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

Preview: Warriors and their families face extreme challenges in preparing for deployment and in returning from a war zone.  Practitioners need to know what services are available and what treatment strategies can help at each stage of the deployment and reunification process.  This workshop will define the stages of deployment and reintegration and explain the treatment strategies connected to each stage of the process for the warrior and their family.  Recognizing external events that impact the process will be discussed in detail.  Special focus will be placed on developing a plan to help children of warriors cope with war.  Included will be discussion of signature injuries of the war as well as PTSD and treatment modalities.

This workshop is designed to help you: 1) understand the deployment cycle process; 2) recognize and develop treatment strategies for warriors and their families; 3) understand external dynamics in deployment; 4) assisting children/youth in coping with deployment and war; and 5) understand combat stress reaction, PTSD, and TBI dynamics.
Learning Methods: Power point presentation, discussion, video segments, and interactive learning.

Intensive: Medical Family Therapy
Instructors: Kenneth Covelman, PhD and Matthew Purinton, MSW, LSW
Date:  Monday, June 17, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This intensive will introduce participants to the field of Medical Family Therapy. Underlying assumptions of the biomedical and biopsychosocial models of illness will be  explored and their implications for the treatment of chronic illness, disability and psychosomatic disorders will be discussed. Distinctions between illness, disease and disability will be drawn and the importance of understanding these differences for patients, their families and healthcare providers will be highlighted. A model for understanding the psychosocial challenges associated with living with various diseases will be presented. Issues related to management of pain, loss, trauma and uncertainty will be examined within a framework of meaning. The concept of somatic fixation and its relevance to the treatment of chronic illness and disability will be discussed.  Application of a systemic model of family based treatment will be demonstrated, with a focus on important treatment considerations. Participants will also have the unique opportunity to experience disability from the patient and caregiver perspective.

5 Hour Supervision Refresher Course
“Training Systems Oriented Therapists: Current Issues in the Practice of Supervision”
Instructor: Bea Hollander-Goldfein
Date: Thursday, June 20, 2013
Time: 9:00am- 3:00pm
Price: $155 for 5 CE credits

This course fulfills the requirement that AAMFT Approved Supervisors take a 5 Hour Supervision Refresher Course in order to apply for re-approval as an Approved Supervisor. This is required every 5 years. This day long course will review the MFT supervision literature and promote discussion of recent trends in the MFT field that directly affects supervision. There will also be the opportunity to discuss supervisory issues with other approved supervisors in order to engage in collaborative problem solving related to supervisory challenges. Regulatory changes in the field will be discussed along with ethical issues that arise from changes in the law. Part of the day will explore the impact of integration on the practice of MFT and the practice of MFT supervision.

Marketing Made Easy
Instructor: Irina Baranov, CPCC
Date: Friday, June 28, 2013
Time: 8:30am- 3:30pm
Price: $99 for 6 APA or Social Work CE credits
Click Here to Register

In this one day intensive course, participants will learn why marketing matters, and explore different approaches to growing their therapy practice. Through a variety of didactic and experiential learning, they will learn about self-promotion, specialty areas, and cultivating referral sources. Attendees will explore their own resistance to marketing, as well as learn how to customize their approach to fit their own unique personality. In this highly-interactive workshop, participants will work together in small and large groups, support each other in brainstorming effective strategies to grow their clinical practices, and explore different paths of marketing.

Intensive: Mindful Therapy: Clinical & Ethical Challenges
Instructor: Don McCown, PhD, MAMS, MSS, LSW
Date:  Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

Mindfulness in clinical practice has two major dimensions, which are complementary and of equal importance. First is the therapist’s capacity for authentic presence in the face of deep suffering, acquired through formal mindfulness practice and through personal psychological and spiritual development.  Second is the therapist’s skill in responding to the requirements of the moment in session, including caring for the therapeutic relationship, selecting and guiding appropriate practices, inquiring into the client’s moment-to-moment experience, and articulating principles and intentions. 

In this intensive, through formal practices and small and large group dialogue, participants will explore their inner worlds and the impact of mindfulness on their therapeutic stance. Also, through case presentations and discussions, they will gain an understanding of the many layers of information and decisions that shape a mindful therapist’s practice moment-by-moment, as well as the ethical dilemmas that may arise. Finally, through lectures on theory and experiential exercises in dyads, participants will hone a range of skills that will help them to expand their explicit use of mindfulness in their clinical work.

The course draws on materials from the instructor’s books, Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators, and The Ethical Space of Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, which have just been released in June.

Sex Therapy Workshops
Price: $45/each

COMPLETED WORKSHOPS

Intensive: Affairs
Instructor: April Westfall, PhD
Date: Monday, November 26, 2012
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

Couples entering therapy following the discovery of an affair present with intensely painful and sometimes explosive affect. In the wake of the devastation, couples look to the therapist to instill hope for possible reconciliation and for an eventual return to normalcy.

This training intensive will present therapeutic strategies for creating safety during the extramarital crisis, permitting balance between the expression and containment of strong emotion. A three-stage relational trauma model is used to understand the emotional experience of the betrayed spouse and to help the couple recover. Emotion-focused approaches for unraveling the often fused feelings of anger and sadness, for distinguishing between primary and secondary defensive emotions, and for clarifying the difference between constructive and maladaptive emotional states will be taught. Empowering interventions that move the betrayed partner from the one-down position of victimization, yet encourage emotional accountability for the damaging effects of the betrayal, are highlighted. The presenter will offer a model of forgiveness and healing that relies on the unique power of the continuing emotional connection between partners to restore healthy attachment.

Intensive: Psychopharmacology
Instructor: Dr. Sarah DeMichele, MD
Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This workshop will review a variety of medications that are prescribed to people to treat psychiatric symptoms. A review of basic brain anatomy and chemistry as it applies to modern psychopharmacology will be provided.  Five major categories of medication will be reviewed in detail: antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, stimulants and sedative/hypnotics.  Issues pertaining to medication selection, tolerability and compliance will be discussed, with an emphasis on the role of the therapist as a vital part of the treatment “team”.

Intensive: The Gender Spectrum and Family Therapy
Instructor: Wanda Sevey, MDiv, LMFT
Date: Friday, December 7, 2012
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $150

Cultural shifts in gender roles, gender expression and the emergence of previously unacknowledged gender identities, are having an impact on couples, families and our heteronormative, gender binary-based view of relationships and family therapy.  This intensive will provide foundational information for the new discourse of gender, gender identities and sexual orientation.   We will explore the richness of gender diversity as well as the challenges of gender nonconformity for individuals, couples and families.  Special attention will be given to the challenges and resources presented by faith-based communities to clients exploring the gender spectrum.

Intensive: Brain Based Therapy
The Family Brain:  The Neurobiology of Intimate Relationships
Instructor: Jonathan Baylin
Date: Friday, December 14, 2012
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This workshop is designed to help therapists integrate the exciting and rapidly growing knowledge about interpersonal neurobiology into their daily practice. The morning session will focus on a user-friendly presentation of core aspects of the “relational brain”, including the brain dynamics underlying secure attachments and lasting emotional bonds. Participants will learn about how early parent-child relationships can promote healthy brain development and about the brain chemistry of intimate relationships, including the exciting body of research about such brain chemicals as oxytocin. Brain development will be discussed in the context of evolved mammalian systems that support family life, starring such unlikely creatures as the prairie vole and the titi monkey. The discussion will include the Parent Brain, presenting a new brain-based model of caregiving. In the afternoon, we will focus on clinical applications of brain-based knowledge with case examples of ways to bring the brain into the therapy room.

Intensive: Relationship Education & Couple Communication
Instructor: Rita DeMaria, PhD
Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This workshop will be both didactic and experiential. An overview of relationship education best-practices and the core skills that are included in most programs. The art of listening and assertiveness will be described and the goal is promoting empathy and compassion between couples. Managing and transforming anger through the use of specific tools that can help couples resolve problems and minimize conflict. Participants will have the opportunity to practice a set of skills that can be used in the clinical setting. The benefits of classes in addition to individualized sessions and the role of coaching in developing skills will also be presented.

Intensive: Intimate Family Violence
Instructor:  Rita DeMaria, PhD
Date:  Monday, March 4, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This intensive workshop will provide a broad-based perspective on intimate family violence. Contemporary issues in working with family violence will be addressed along with specific recommendations for clinical practice. Child abuse and neglect will be discussed along with current guidelines for therapeutic intervention. The presentation will include a historical perspective, an overview of research, and practical requirements for addressing intimate family violence. Video presentations will serve to heighten awareness and increase sensitivity to these issues. Participants will be provided a directory of resources for the greater Philadelphia area.

Intensive: Substance Abuse
Instructors: Dr. Brendan Greer, MD , MBA, and Bill Coffey, MSS, LCSW
Date:  Friday, March 15, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

The disorders of substance abuse are common, costly, and challenging to understand or treat.  Denial of disease and resistance to treatment are hallmarks of these conditions in the individuals who suffer from them and often in their family and social systems.  Even when the disorders are acknowledged and treated wholeheartedly, treatment failure is frequent.  Our true understanding of their complexity is surprisingly limited.

In this one day Intensive our approach will focus on how to:  identify these disorders;  understand the current knowledge regarding the neural, genetic, and systemic pathology of these disorders; and care for those with these disorders based on decades of empirical experience integrated with the current state of knowledge about therapeutic and biologic approaches.

Ethics Update
Instructor: April Westfall, PhD
Date: Thursday, May 2, 2013
Time: 9:00am - 12:00pm
Price: $75

This presentation will review the essential points of ethical practice for the mental health professional practicing within a systemic context and is targeted to a multidisciplinary audience of social workers, psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists. It will begin with a conceptual overview of professional ethics, including a discussion of the function of our state licensing boards. Practical ways of keeping abreast of changes in the ethics codes of our national professional organizations and state licensing board rules and regulations are highlighted. In particular, we will review the recently revised (2012) AAMFT Ethics Code and Chapter 48 of the PA Board of Professional and Occupational Affairs as pertains to marriage and family therapists and address the impact of these changes for our work.

Issues critical to establishing the initial treatment relationship, e.g., informed consent and confidentiality, are covered. Similarly, strategies for ending the therapy constructively and with proper closure are discussed.  Laws that set limits on client confidentiality, including reporting suspected child abuse and protecting others from imminent danger, are reviewed. The essentials of good record-keeping practices are covered along with a consideration of access to records through subpoenas and court orders. Finally, issues relevant to the treatment of children are highlighted with a review of recent legislation in PA effecting the consent to treatment and access to records of minors. We will also review recent amendments to the PA Child Protective Services Law and its impact on our work.

Intensive: Families in Transition Part I
Instructors: Priscilla Singleton, MSW, LMFT, LCSW and Michele Southworth, JD, LMFT
Date:  Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

Intensive: Families in Transition Part II
Instructors: Priscilla Singleton, MSW, LMFT, LCSW and Michele Southworth, JD, LMFT
Date:  Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

The phenomenon of divorce has a large presence in modern-day America. Most clinicians will encounter the following constellation of issues in their practices: 1) couples making decisions about whether to stay in their marriages;  2) families struggling at the brink or in the midst of the divorce transition; and 3) children and adult children of divorce, and post-divorce families dealing with single or shared parenting. 

This intensive workshop will delineate the stages of the divorce process in its functional and dysfunctional aspects, as it unfolds for the adults and the children in the family, as well as for the family as a whole.  It will also consider the special strengths and limitations of the different forms that the post-divorce family can take.  We will discuss family dynamics and treatment approaches for adults in conflict and for children under stress.  The class will also cover treatment modalities such as mediation, co-parent counseling and parent coordination so that attendees can be well-informed about the options available to help the divorcing families with whom they may work.

Special Course: Mindfulness in the Therapeutic Encounter
Instructors: Ruthy Kaiser, RN, LMFT and Don McCown, MAMS, MMS, LSW
Date: June 4-July 23, 2013
Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
Price: $600

Intensive: Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity
Instructor: Jordan Leif, PsyD
Date:  Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

In this one day intensive course, participants will learn about the etiology of sex and love addiction, and about the underlying causes for this behavioral pattern.  Proper assessment and diagnosis will also be reviewed.  In a section entitled "The Experience of the Addict", participants will get to know what the addiction looks and feels like.  They will be introduced to the Addiction System and the Addiction Cycle.  A good deal of time will be spent discussing treatment issues, and how a multi-faceted treatment approach usually yields the best results.  Participants will learn about sexual sobriety and how its definition varies from patient and patient.  Lastly, the issue of long term recovery will be reviewed.  Time permitting, other potential topics include relapses vs. slips, working with spouses and partners, and couples therapy issues.

Intensive: Trauma
Instructor: Bea Hollander-Goldfein, PhD, LMFT
Date:  Friday, June 7, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This workshop will provide an overview of the field of Trauma studies through the exploration of an evolving integrated model of coping and adaptation after extreme trauma developed over the past 15 years by the Transcending Trauma Project. Important concepts in the field of trauma will emerge through this model which will also serve as an introduction to the consideration of the intergenerational impact of trauma.  The inclusion of phenomenology and positive psychology has certainly addressed the skewed emphasis on pathology that characterized the field prior to the 90’s. Advances in understanding human development and human functioning, in addition to the major contributions of the new brain science, have added to our understanding of trauma’s impact. The interpersonal perspective applied to trauma studies is a logical extension of systemically oriented concepts. The related literature on resilience will also be explored.

Intensive: Diversity
Instructors: Michelle Jackson. MSS, LCSW and Ray Fisher, LCSW
Date:  Monday, June 10, 2013
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Price: $125

This day long workshop will be an experiential and educational training in diversity issues, multiculturalism and working with African American male clients.  The workshop will address the characteristics, skills, and functions that a family therapist needs in order to be effective when working with clients from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. The goal of the workshop is to help therapists become more aware of their own beliefs, attitudes and biases, so that they can be sensitive and aware of how these affect their work with clients. In addition, the course will help to develop appreciation for diverse cultures and an attitude of comfort and understanding of differences. A goal is to help therapists face the challenges and obstacles that present themselves when one is faced with a myriad of differences working with both couples and families. In addition, the workshop will address how to match therapeutic and communication approaches with the needs and backgrounds of diverse clients and how to develop understanding of and an assessment of the institutional barriers and discrimination that affects clients’ daily experiences.

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CFR's University City Office is located at 4025 Chestnut St., 1st Floor, Phila., PA 19104.

If you would like additional information on any of our workshops/intensives for CE credits, please contact us at (215) 382-6680 or rsax@councilforrelationships.org.

Continuing Education Series Refund Policy
All workshops are 100% refundable up to two weeks before the date of the workshop.