The term “blended family” leaves many unprepared for the profound challenges to attachment and intimacy that stepfamily structure often creates. Just when the adult stepcouple is expecting to lean into their newfound closeness and stepchildren most need secure connection to manage a major transition, the often underestimated

When same-sex partners enter couples therapy, attachment issues often take center stage. The reasons become clear as clients reveal stories of being ostracized or kicked out of their families because of their sexual orientation. In addition, they have often absorbed and internalized the homophobia of their surroundings, leading to an ongoing angry,

Crying is a universal phenomenon, but the circumstances and emotions that elicit tears are so complex and varied that when clients cry in session, therapists can have as much difficulty understanding the cause as knowing how to respond. Fortunately, research on the physiology and psychobiology of tears is providing new insights to help pinpoint

It can be frightening when clients suffering from dissociative identity disorder begin to act out, attacking from their angriest, most self-destructive alter egos (generally referred to, in clinical shorthand, as alters). This workshop will identify the pitfalls of working with self-destructive alters and demonstrate safe, effective strategies for establishing

Partners who are completely at odds about whether their marriage is even worth salvaging challenge the basic premise of marital therapy: that both clients have at least a minimal stake in preserving their union. Most therapists are unprepared to treat a couple in which one partner is a real “customer” and the other is a spoiler. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how

Foster and adoptive parents often are unprepared for the enormous demands that can accompany kids who’ve experienced multiple layers of trauma, loss, and family disruption. This workshop will present a fresh look at the intricacies of foster and adoptive family systems. You’ll learn specific strategies for addressing issues

When Freud called what would become psychoanalysis “the talking cure,” talking became and has remained the signature intervention of most therapies. Yet, both research and clinical experience is making it increasingly clear that it isn’t talking as much as being listened to that helps clients. The full, empathic, attuned attention of the therapist or one’s

So you’ve launched treatment with a client, and all of a sudden, your client freezes, becomes rigid, or shuts down altogether. You sense that trauma plays a part in the client’s response. What next? In this workshop, you’ll learn how to identify a “traumatic” response, how to use the adaptive information processing-based techniques favored by clinicians worldwide,

A child’s imagination is a powerful weapon against anxiety, sadness, anger, fear, grief, conflict, and failure, if he or she knows how to make the most of it. In this experiential workshop, we’ll discuss ways of helping children use their imaginations to overcome fears, deal with insomnia and other bedtime issues, cope with death and divorce, handle anger or frustration,

We're sorry, but due to a scheduling conflict this workshop has been canceled.