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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!

2011-2012 CONTINUING EDUCATION SERIES SEMINARS

Intensive: Diversity
Date: Monday, September 12, 2011
Instructor: Michelle Jackson, MSS, LCSW and Ray Fisher, LCSW
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

This day long workshop will be an experiential and educational training in diversity issues and multiculturalism. 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.

 

Intensive: Sexual Attitude Reassessment I (SAR)
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2011
and Wednesday December 7, 2011 (Advanced)
Instructors: Sabitha Pillai-Friedman, PhD, LCSW and Kimberly Ludwigsen
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

The SAR is a process-oriented, structured group experience which promotes the therapist's awareness and comfort related to sexuality of the self and others. The SAR format includes lecture, explicit media, experiential activities, and small group discussions. Participation is essential since the therapist's values and attitudes affect the quality of treatment. This experience will enhance awareness of and comfort with the diversity of human sexual beliefs. Moreover, the SAR promotes non-judgmental and respectful attitudes toward others especially those who are different from the therapist in attitudes, values, feelings, beliefs and sexual behaviors.

 

Intensive: Psychopharmacology
Date: Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Instructor: Sarah DeMichele, MD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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: Relationship Education and Couple Communication
Date: Monday, November 28, 2011
Instructor: Rita DeMaria, PhD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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: Brain-Based Therapy
The Family Brain: The Neurobiology of Intimate Relationships
Date: Friday, December 9, 2011
Instructor: Jonathan Baylin
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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: Spirituality
Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Instructors: Flo Stiffler, MDiv, LMFT and Leah Brecher-Cohn, LMFT, MS, MA
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

It is an interesting coincidence that the Sanskrit word nirvana and the English word "spirit" both come from a root that means "wind." The word "spirit" means the wind sends our sails into the real life of a lived world. Our calling as therapists is a spiritual endeavor. We journey with our clients as they seek truth and beauty - we encourage our clients to access resources that enhance their physical, sexual and emotional well-being. Awareness of the spiritual components of our clients' lives can be a rich therapeutic resource. As clinicians, our own spiritual beliefs can help or hinder our clients' journeys. 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: Affairs
Date: Monday, March 5, 2012
Instructor: April Westfall, PhD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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: Cancer and Sexuality
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Instructor: Sabitha Pillai-Friedman, PhD, LCSW
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Cancer and cancer treatments affect quality of life in multiple ways. Sexuality and sexual functioning is an important aspect of quality of life. Unfortunately, sexuality is associated with youth, health and reproduction. When individuals are faced with a diagnosis of cancer, any discussion about sexuality almost seems antithetical. Hence cancer patients and medical professionals who treat them generally avoid any discussions about sexuality and sexual functioning. Sexual problems may occur due to altered sexual self-schema which may be a psychological response to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The symptoms of cancer and the side effects of cancer treatment may affect various systems in the body which may impact sexual functioning. In this workshop, the presenter will address the altered sexual self-schema of cancer patients during and after treatment. The presenter will also identify the sexual difficulties that can arise due to the physical changes caused by the illness and short-term and long-term treatment side-effects. Additionally, the presenter will discuss individual and couple treatment implications for psychotherapists.

 

In Memory of Mr. John Musewicz, LMFT, JD;
Former Director of Operation Home & Healing Services of the Council for Relationships
Intensive: Military Families in Resiliency, Deployment and Reintegration
Date: Friday, March 9, 2012
Instructor: Chaplain (Colonel) Will G. Barnes, MFT
Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

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 mTBI dynamics. Learning Methods: Power point presentation, discussion, video segments, and interactive learning.

 

Family Inclusion and Family Therapy with Psychiatric Illness Intensive
Date: March 15, 2012
Presenters: Ellen Berman, MD and Robert Garfield, MD
Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

This workshop will focus on working with couples and adult families where a member has psychiatric disorder (including psychotic disorders, depression, anxiety and ADD).

 

Families in Transition - Part I
Date: May 8, 2012
Families in Transition - Part II
Date: May 15, 2012
Instructors: Priscilla Singleton, MSW, LMFT, LCSW and Michele Southworth, JD, LMFT
Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

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.

 

Mindfulness in the Therapeutic Encounter
Dates: May 29 (9 to 12), June 5 (9 to 12) and June 12 (9 to 12), June 19 (9-3),
June 26 (9 to 12), July 3 (9 to 12) and July 10 (9 to 3), July 17 (9-3)
Instructors: Ruthy Kaiser RN, MFT and Donald McCown, MAMS, MSS

Mindfulness, defined as paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment, is being used in a growing range of psychotherapeutic interventions. This course offers a combination of experiential explorations of mindfulness practice and didactic content regarding the application of mindfulness in the therapeutic encounter. It balances two emphases: personal development as a mindfulness practitioner, and professional development through understanding the theory, empirical research base, and essential skill sets for application of mindfulness in the therapeutic setting. The first 15 instructional hours will support the cultivation of a personal mindfulness practice. Students will learn four formal practices - body scan, sitting meditation, moving meditation (yoga), and walking meditation - and will be guided in bringing mindfulness into everyday life through informal practice, as well. The second 15 instructional hours will shift the focus to applications of mindfulness in clinical contexts. Students will explore the historical and theoretical background of meditation in psychotherapy, get an overview of the evidence base supporting the mindfulness-based interventions, review the neurobiology of mindfulness practice in both intra-subjective and inter-subjective modes, and consider - explicitly - the applications of mindfulness in the therapeutic dyad and larger systems. Students will learn several mindfulness practices for immediate use with clients. Time will also be devoted to group supervision in the use of these practices.

 

Intensive: Bonding and Couples Therapy
Date: Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Instructor: Rita DeMaria, PhD
Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Intimacy and understanding in couples therapy is facilitated by 'bonding', an essential human need for physical contact and positive emotional connection. Bonding is a biological and physical need that is often disrupted when couples are distressed and experiencing negative emotions. Fostering understanding and connection through compassion often facilitates bonding behaviors between couples. This workshop will focus on how clinicians can foster bonding experiences in the clinical encounter and how to strengthen the clinician's comfort with emotional intensity and physical closeness in order to help couples transform their negative emotional interactions. Other models will be explored based on students' interests.

 

Substance Abuse
Date: Friday, June 1, 2012
Instructors: Brendan Greer, MD, MBA and William Coffey, MSS, LCSW
Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

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.

 

Medical Family Therapy Intensive
Date: Monday, June 4, 2012
Instructors: Matt Purinton, MSW, LSW and Kenneth Covelman, PhD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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.

 

Sex Addiction
Date: Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Instructor: Jordan Lief, PsyD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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.

 

Trauma
Date: Friday, June 8, 2012
Instructor: Bea Hollander-Goldfein, PhD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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.

 

Intimate Family Violence
Date: Monday, June 11, 2012
Instructor: Rita DeMaria, PhD
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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.

 

Mindful Therapy: Clinical and Ethical Challenges
Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Instructor: Donald McCown, MAMS, MSS, LSW
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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.

 

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 Africa Jones, Training & Client Care Coordinator, at (215) 382-6680 x 3134 or ajones@councilforrelationships.org.

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