All Webinars

Group therapy is a treatment modality in which unrelated people meet together with a therapist, in contrast to individual therapy or conjoint family therapy. Groups are not a second-rate approach to helping people change. In fact, groups are often the treatment of choice - especially when a client’s problem has an interpersonal component (which is usually the case). Groups offer a natural laboratory in which people can experiment with new ways of being and receive feedback from numerous others. There is great power in groups: members actually experience their interpersonal dynamics playing out in the group. A group therapist can implement techniques from other modalities in a group format. However, there are dynamics, processes, and stages of groups that are not shared with individual approaches and which offer distinctive benefits. Because so many of the problems that people seek mental
health services for involve dysfunctional interactions between people, having group members actually interact with others in the group affords an opportunity for deep, experiential learning and development that is not possible in individual therapy. This seminar will emphasize how to facilitate such “here and now” interactions and processes in group work.

Group therapy is a treatment modality in which unrelated people meet together with a therapist, in contrast to individual therapy or conjoint family therapy. Groups are not a second-rate approach to helping people change. In fact, groups are often the treatment of choice - especially when a client’s problem has an interpersonal component (which is usually the case). Groups offer a natural laboratory in which people can experiment with new ways of being and receive feedback from numerous others. There is great power in groups: members actually experience their interpersonal dynamics playing out in the group. A group therapist can implement techniques from other modalities in a group format. However, there are dynamics, processes, and stages of groups that are not shared with individual approaches and which offer distinctive benefits. Because so many of the problems that people seek mental
health services for involve dysfunctional interactions between people, having group members actually interact with others in the group affords an opportunity for deep, experiential learning and development that is not possible in individual therapy. This seminar will emphasize how to facilitate such “here and now” interactions and processes in group work.

“The instructor clearly has a high level of expertise, presented the material in a well organized, comprehensive, and detailed manner, and maintained my interest throughout.”-Jay F., Psychologist, New Jersey

One in seven people over the age of 70 experiences dementia and another 22% demonstrate symptoms of cognitive decline that falls short of dementia. Those who escape the symptoms of dementia may spend a substantial portion of retirement years caring for a friend or family member with cognitive impairment. The rise of the baby boomer generation is expected bring unprecedented rates of cognitive syndromes like Alzheimer’s disease, yet most mental health professionals have no formal training to work with this vulnerable population. This workshop provides a clinical approach to understanding and assessing these syndromes.

“The instructor clearly has a high level of expertise, presented the material in a well organized, comprehensive, and detailed manner, and maintained my interest throughout.”-Jay F., Psychologist, New Jersey

One in seven people over the age of 70 experiences dementia and another 22% demonstrate symptoms of cognitive decline that falls short of dementia. Those who escape the symptoms of dementia may spend a substantial portion of retirement years caring for a friend or family member with cognitive impairment. The rise of the baby boomer generation is expected bring unprecedented rates of cognitive syndromes like Alzheimer’s disease, yet most mental health professionals have no formal training to work with this vulnerable population. This workshop provides a clinical approach to understanding and assessing these syndromes.

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement. 

 “I felt this was a very strong presentation and the clarity was extremely helpful. I liked the way the presenter listed components of ethical conduct - they are achievable and straightforward, easily applicable in practice with clients and in relationships with colleagues/supervisors.”-Bethanne S., Social Worker, Illinois

This concrete and lively seminar explores the origins of our personal ethics, along with ways to use our ethics in working with clients. Using a model for thinking about ethics in a practical, real-world action-focused manner, this lively seminar uses lecture, video and personal reflection activities as building blocks to renewed selfawareness of personal ethical behavior. 

Knowing when – or how – to do the right thing has never been easy. Behaving ethically is even harder in today’s fast-paced world of fluid values and changing social climate. The increasingly present expectation to tweak personal ethics in service of compassion, workplace requirements, cultural issues or sheer mental/physical exhaustion further complicates the dilemma of knowing when – and how to do the right thing. 

Beginning with a new way to look at ethics-in-practice, participants will discover a fresh awareness of their own ethics and will gain practical tips for ethical behavior that promotes common ground. Concrete techniques for behaving ethically in an increasingly fragmented world, without compromising personal values., will be presented.

This webinar will satisfy your ethics requirement. 

 “I felt this was a very strong presentation and the clarity was extremely helpful. I liked the way the presenter listed components of ethical conduct - they are achievable and straightforward, easily applicable in practice with clients and in relationships with colleagues/supervisors.”-Bethanne S., Social Worker, Illinois

This concrete and lively seminar explores the origins of our personal ethics, along with ways to use our ethics in working with clients. Using a model for thinking about ethics in a practical, real-world action-focused manner, this lively seminar uses lecture, video and personal reflection activities as building blocks to renewed selfawareness of personal ethical behavior. 

Knowing when – or how – to do the right thing has never been easy. Behaving ethically is even harder in today’s fast-paced world of fluid values and changing social climate. The increasingly present expectation to tweak personal ethics in service of compassion, workplace requirements, cultural issues or sheer mental/physical exhaustion further complicates the dilemma of knowing when – and how to do the right thing. 

Beginning with a new way to look at ethics-in-practice, participants will discover a fresh awareness of their own ethics and will gain practical tips for ethical behavior that promotes common ground. Concrete techniques for behaving ethically in an increasingly fragmented world, without compromising personal values., will be presented.

“Very good presenter.  Very well-organized.  Very personable in responding to questions from participants.  Adept at integrating Power Point slides with his verbal presentation. Clearly knowledgeable in this field - both theoretically and clinically.  Gracious with his time in being willing to stay online afterward to answer questions.”-Shirley R., Professional Counselor and Psychotherapist, Alabama

Non-prescribing therapists are crucial to the effective and safe use of psychiatric medications by their clients.  In contrast to clinicians who focus primarily on medications, therapists generally spend more time with their clients and are more familiar with their history and current situation. They also tend to develop a greater rapport. And  considering that most clients diagnosed with depression, anxiety, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, and virtually every other psychiatric disorder receive pharmacological interventions, the non-prescribing therapist needs to understand how psychiatric medications work, their limitations and side effects, and how to help their clients maximize gains through increasing medication compliance.   This course is designed to present the non-prescribing mental health practitioner with a review of basic concepts in clinical psychopharmacology and the effective use of common psychiatric medications in the treatment of mental health conditions.  Effective medication strategies for treating depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, psychosis, sleep disorders, and other common psychiatric conditions are covered in detail. Basic general pharmacological concepts such as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are reviewed as are more specific concepts such as drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.  You will also become aware of common medication treatment errors to avoid and learn tips for helping your clients become more educated about the medications they take as well as help them manage their side effects.

“Very good presenter.  Very well-organized.  Very personable in responding to questions from participants.  Adept at integrating Power Point slides with his verbal presentation. Clearly knowledgeable in this field - both theoretically and clinically.  Gracious with his time in being willing to stay online afterward to answer questions.”-Shirley R., Professional Counselor and Psychotherapist, Alabama

Non-prescribing therapists are crucial to the effective and safe use of psychiatric medications by their clients.  In contrast to clinicians who focus primarily on medications, therapists generally spend more time with their clients and are more familiar with their history and current situation. They also tend to develop a greater rapport. And  considering that most clients diagnosed with depression, anxiety, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, and virtually every other psychiatric disorder receive pharmacological interventions, the non-prescribing therapist needs to understand how psychiatric medications work, their limitations and side effects, and how to help their clients maximize gains through increasing medication compliance.   This course is designed to present the non-prescribing mental health practitioner with a review of basic concepts in clinical psychopharmacology and the effective use of common psychiatric medications in the treatment of mental health conditions.  Effective medication strategies for treating depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, psychosis, sleep disorders, and other common psychiatric conditions are covered in detail. Basic general pharmacological concepts such as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are reviewed as are more specific concepts such as drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.  You will also become aware of common medication treatment errors to avoid and learn tips for helping your clients become more educated about the medications they take as well as help them manage their side effects.

Psychological functioning is always embedded within a cultural context.  Maladaptive patterns that bring clients to psychotherapy are often learned in response to sociocultural macrosystems.  In order to promote a unified approach to treatment, this seminar will highlight how cultural contexts shape cognition, emotion, and behavior.  When clients move into a new culture or subculture, they engage in a process of adaptation that can be more or less successful.  Cultural adaptation will be described as a possible focus in psychotherapy.

This seminar will teach both cultural conceptualization and intervention methods.  Cultural conceptualization will be described as way to understand clients using the following concepts: (1) Ecological systems, (2) Social location, privilege, and oppression, (3) Multiple identities, (4) Identity development, and (5) Acculturation.

Foundational cultural skills will be described and demonstrated with role-play videos.  These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of cultural expereinces, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. 

At a more advanced level, this seminar will introduce the concepts of cultural humility and decolonization.  Participants will be encouraged to consider how these ideas can inform the practice of psychotherapy with diverse clients.

This seminar is part of Level Two of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working contextually with external contexts and internal influences.  An essential part of a unified approach to treatment is understanding the impact of cultural contexts on dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and actions and fostering more adaptive responses.

The manner in which mental illness has been dealt with in the criminal justice system especially regarding capital punishment has been described as “the shame of the states. “However the death penalty is not the only area in which we see misuse of psychological theories and research. We see this frequently in such areas as competency to stand trial, the insanity defense, involuntary medication, and failure to recognize the impacts of traumatic brain injury on cognitive functioning.Many of these areas are totally ignored in the law due to two forces: sanism and pretextuality.Sanism represents a bias against mentally ill individuals much like racial or gender bias.  Pretextualism refers to performing some forensic function in a careless or slipshod manner, but presenting it to the court in a manner suggesting that it is scientifically valid.