This two-hour workshop will focus on the matter of betrayal as presented in couple therapy. A betrayal comes in many forms – sexual, financial, mismanagement of thirds, withholding of information, lying, and gas lighting. Through video and live demonstration, attendees will learn how to struct
Of all the challenges to the couple therapist the most common is the matter of the affairs, addictions, and deception. In this one-hour presentation, attendees will learn various methods of detecting cheating, lying, and substance and non-substance abuse very early in the process of couple therapy. We will be looking at these behaviors from both psychobiological and neurobiological perspectives. However, detection is but one hurdle for the couple therapist. The other is intervention. PACT has a specific orientation for dealing with affairs, addictions, and deception. Attendees will get a thorough introduction to these methods as well as takeaways that can be utilized immediately in their own practice.
One of the missing links in couples strife is undiagnosed ADHD. In this presentation, Dr. Amen will discuss how ADHD can impact relationships in both positive and negative ways. In addition, he will discuss ways to work with couples where one or both members have ADHD, including a brief overview of the 7 types of ADHD he has discovered in his clinical and brain imaging work.
Couples treatment requires an understanding of interpersonal dynamics. Clinicians need to understand the benefits and liabilities of couples vs. individual therapy, and have a mechanism for deciding when to use each approach.
CC17 Workshop 09 - When Porn is an Issue: Couples Counseling & Psychotherapy that Works - Marty Klein, PhD
We’re seeing more and more couples in conflict over one partner’s use of porn. But pathologizing one partner’s porn use while legitimizing the grievances of the consumer’s partner violates our commitment to neutrality—and more importantly, it doesn’t help the coup
Early childhood trauma has lasting and dramatic effects on attachment formation and on the later capacity for intimacy and mutuality. Instead of experiencing relationships as a haven of safety, traumatized couples are driven by powerful wishes for and fears of closeness. By using somatic and mindfulness-based interventions, conflictual patterns are disrupted, allowing couples to address the intense responses and impulsive reactions that undermine all sense of safety and hope and recreate the experience of threat in the body and in the relationship.
CC17 Workshop 10 - Beyond Words: Somatic Interventions for Couples Treatment - Janina Fisher, PhD
In traumatized couples, talking about 'what happened' often evokes more conflict than empathy and does not alter their habitual trauma-related animal defense survival responses of fight, flight, freeze, submission, or cry for help. By teaching couples to observe their somatic responses to ea
CC17 Workshop 11 - The “Deal Breaker”: Detection and Intervention - Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT
The PACT therapist is always moving couples toward secure functioning. A deal breaker is a conflict between partners for which there is no workable solution. Deal- breakers lead partners to a dead-end and therefore threaten the existence of the relationship. The couples therapist must play the long
CC17 Workshop 12 - The Sober Truth: Doing Effective Couples Therapy with Addicted Partners - Sue Diamond Potts, MA, RCC
Addiction is rampant in our society. Many of us have been both bombarded professionally with this reality and touched personally in some form. Addicts are like tornadoes ravaging their way through the lives of others, and people in need of immediate care are left bleeding on the sidelines. And yet,
Relational boundaries can be a source of problems if they are too inflexible or if they are too weak. Clinicians need a method to assess and treat boundary issues.