All Webinars

Accurate diagnosis is critical for treatment planning and documentation of medical necessity. Misdiagnosis is common. Therapists can think more deliberately by using critical thinking and being aware of ways to reduce the likelihood of cognitive biases. You will have a practical, systematic way of making diagnoses using the DSM-5-TR and being aware of questionnaires that can facilitate the gathering of necessary information. Cultural factors will also be considered within the context of the DSM-5-TR. There will be a focus on differential diagnoses in exploring major depressive disorder and PTSD.

This dynamic 3-hour seminar provides mental health professionals with essential tools to support families in conflict—whether couples are married, divorcing, or never married. Drawing on decades of clinical, mediation, and non-adversarial divorce experience, Dr. Zimmerman blends real-world strategies with clinical insight to help attendees become more effective in high-conflict family situations. Participants will gain exposure to a range of alternative dispute resolution models, learn about the effects of conflict on children, and receive actionable guidance on managing professional stress in this demanding field.

At the heart of existential and person-centered therapy lies the profound quest for meaning and fulfillment. Addressing life’s existential questions, such as “What is the meaning of life?” or “How can we cultivate healthier, more meaningful relationships?”, these therapeutic approaches offer powerful frameworks for helping clients navigate both existential and neurotic anxieties. Rooted in philosophy, phenomenology, and the pioneering work of Carl Rogers, existential and person-centered therapies emphasize the importance of choice, authenticity, and personal agency in fostering psychological well-being.
 

This seminar will provide an in-depth exploration of humanistic theory, focusing on the existential foundations of meaning-making and the core principles of person-centered therapy. Through didactic presentation and experiential exercises, participants will learn how to integrate mindfulness, present-centered awareness, and body awareness into clinical practice. Attendees will gain valuable insights into how these therapeutic approaches can be effectively applied to address a variety of client concerns, including those related to social justice, ultimately enhancing therapeutic outcomes and client engagement.

For those who are grieving to loss of a loved one, the holidays can be an especially difficult and overwhelming time. Holidays are often associated with memories, traditions, and a sense of connection to others, all of which are impacted by the painful awareness that their loved one is absent. Surrounded by messages that we should give thanks, participate in joyful celebrations, spend time with others, and share memories, the bereaved are faced with painfully complicated, sometimes conflicting, emotions that have to be navigated during this time. During this presentation, we will explore how clients can manage the painful and mixed feelings that accompany grief, maintain physical health, and explore how new and old traditions and rituals can support clients during this tough time. Just as there is no right or wrong way to grieve, how one chooses to manage difficult emotions, social events, and relationships during the holiday season will be as unique as one’s own experience of loss. This presentations aims to help clients reduce their suffering, remember loved ones, and even reconnect with the real reason for the season.

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. 

Guilt, regret, and shame are common emotions experienced after a personal or collective loss or traumatic event. These unique and complicated components are often a challenge to work with as they are regularly integrated with the already complex grieving process. At times, guilt, regret, and shame are ways in which a client maintains a sense of connection to the lost loved one, hence making the relinquishment of those feelings even more difficult to navigate in treatment. This training will assist your work to aid clients managing the “should’s” and “if only’s” of regret, end self-blame and shame, and overcome the profound sense of survivor’s guilt they may feel because loved ones succumbed to collective losses.

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 release of the DSM-5-TR in March 2022. 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. 

“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.

The practice of psychotherapy places significant demands on the practitioner. Clinical work requires advanced education and rests on a foundation of knowledge of the fundamental and advanced domains of clinical science and psychotherapeutics. Knowledge acquisition is a continual journey to advance one’s therapeutic effectiveness. Much attention is paid to traditional modes of knowledge acquisition for developing expertise and seeking mastery through structured and self-guided learning experiences, less guidance is available for other aspects of therapeutic development. While there is abundant research on the efficacy of various approaches to psychotherapy, there is some evidence to suggest that the therapist accounts for a significant degree of the variance that determines therapeutic results. The top therapists get better results and an estimated up to 40% do harm. Clinical expertise is greater than technical knowledge, as it requires advanced decision making and judgement. It is our belief that consistently positive results and the gratification that ensues is what can inoculate practitioners from burnout. In this seminar participants will explore their journey of self-development and ways of viewing the world based on a balance between the lenses of science and art. You will be guided by an early career and late career psychotherapist.

Mental health and healthcare professionals are faced with the often misunderstood and misdiagnosed symptoms of normative and prolonged grief. Formal education rarely, if ever, provides extensive enough training to accurately identify and treat those who are grieving. Unfortunately, grieving clients are diagnosed incorrectly because symptoms can mimic normative or prolonged 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 inadvertently disenfranchised by providers, which can make the professional support they sought to reconstruct their previously shattered identities and worldviews ineffective, and even, at time, exacerbate other mental health difficulties. It is essential to be versed in identifying grief related constructs that may underlie, or even cause, mental health and behavior associated problems.
 

This presentation aims to provide current, research based information on the grieving process, clarify misconceptions of outdated theories, and differentiate between normative and prolonged grief. It also examines the changes in conceptualization, differential diagnosing, and effective, clinically proven interventions that may be utilized with grieving individuals and families. Attendees will leave with an improved clinical skill set they can immediately apply to identify and treat their clients.

The clinical interview is a critical component in any intake process for therapy, counseling or coaching. Additionally, the interview should be a standard component of any evaluation process. A comprehensive interview can provide a wealth of information necessary to best evaluate, understand and/or work with a client/patient. Surprisingly, this valuable component does not appear to be adequate taught in many graduate programs. The variability of the quality and depth of interviews that this presenter has reviewed is both unfortunate and easily correctable.
 

This seminar will provide you the framework necessary to conduct a comprehensive clinical interview. You will learn the important areas to cover during this seminar. You will be able to historically track the major areas of psychological functioning throughout the interviewee’s life. You will be able to understand the unique strengths and weaknesses of the interviewee. You will be able to make an appropriate diagnosis. You will be able to use all of the information gathered to help create a treatment/counseling/coaching plan with the interviewee.

The clinical interview is a critical component in any intake process for therapy, counseling or coaching. Additionally, the interview should be a standard component of any evaluation process. A comprehensive interview can provide a wealth of information necessary to best evaluate, understand and/or work with a client/patient. Surprisingly, this valuable component does not appear to be adequate taught in many graduate programs. The variability of the quality and depth of interviews that this presenter has reviewed is both unfortunate and easily correctable.
 

This seminar will provide you the framework necessary to conduct a comprehensive clinical interview. You will learn the important areas to cover during this seminar. You will be able to historically track the major areas of psychological functioning throughout the interviewee’s life. You will be able to understand the unique strengths and weaknesses of the interviewee. You will be able to make an appropriate diagnosis. You will be able to use all of the information gathered to help create a treatment/counseling/coaching plan with the interviewee.