Shifting Troubled Attachment Patterns in Family Treatment

A Live, Interactive Webconference
Thursday, January 25, 2024, Venango County Human Services via Live Interactive Zoom
8:25am-12:35pm

Families treated in community based programs are often marked by fragile, insecure attachment, particularly in the parent-child relationship. Fragile, insecure, or “troubled” attachments are often at the core of negative interactional patterns, and dramatic symptomatology. To effectively help these families, it is important for therapists to be grounded in an understanding of applied attachment theory, and to be able to listen to families with an “attachment ear.” This workshop provides a brief overview of attachment theory and how it informs family assessment and treatment.

Major focus is given to how therapists can use attachment theory to improve their skills in relational reframing which is considered essential to improving family functioning. Emphasis will be given to pacing and using the language of attachment to shift caregivers from a behavioral view of their children to a relational one. This language taps into yearnings for a sense of felt safety, a sense of being seen and known (attunement), the experience of felt comfort (soothing), and a sense of being valued (expressed delight). Concepts and intervention strategies are demonstrated through videotaped case examples.

Objectives

As a result of attending this training, participants will be able to:

Describe the nature and functions of attachment.
Recognize the attachment subtext in family interactions.
Describe how the language of attachment can be used to cultivate a relational treatment frame.
Describe how to use enactments to strengthen the parent child relationship.

Agenda
8:25am-10:30am: Objectives 1-2
10:40am-12:35pm: Objectives 3-4

This is an intermediate level course. The target audience is behavioral health professionals working within an Ecosystemic Family Therapy Model. This is a live synchronous distance learning activity conducted in real time, allowing for simultaneous participation of participants and instructors from different locations.

Frequently Asked Questions
Visit our FBMHS Policies & FAQs on Live, Interactive Webconferences for additional information regarding CFBT live interactive workshops, accommodations for disabilities, reporting problems with the training, instructions for registering for a training, etc.

Facilitating Enactments

A Live, Interactive Webconference
Friday December 15, 2023, via Zoom Interactive Webconference
San Deigo Youth Services
12:30pm-3:30pm

Enactment, an experiential method grounded in systems theory that brings interactional problems into the session for direct observation and change, is a component of all current evidence-based child and adolescent focused family therapies. Enactment is the cornerstone of ESFT, where it is used to disrupt and shift negative interactional patterns to more functional ones. This workshop introduces the method, describes what it is, and explains how and why it works.

As a result of participating in this training, attendees will be able to:

Describe what enactments are and how they work.
Identify when to use enactments in treatment.
Explain the five stages of an enactment.

Agenda

12:30pm-2:00pm: Focus on Objectives 1-2
2:00pm-2:10pm: Break
2:10pm-3:30pm: Objective 3

This is an introductory level course. The target audience is behavioral health professionals working within an Ecosystemic Family Therapy Model. This is a live synchronous distance learning activity conducted in real time, allowing for simultaneous participation of participants and instructors from different locations.

Engaging Caregivers in Family Treatment

A Live, Interactive Webconference
Friday December 1, 2023, via Zoom Interactive Webconference
San Deigo Youth Services
12:30pm-3:30pm

In this three-hour training, attendees will build on the information learned in the Introduction to ESFT workshop, focusing on Engaging Caregivers in Family Treatment.

As a result of participating in this training, attendees will be able to:

Describe the tasks and goals of the first stage of ESFT treatment, creating the therapeutic system.
Identify the most common reasons caregivers are reluctant to participate and fully engage in family treatment
Apply a Stages of Change and a Motivational Interviewing approach to engaging caregivers more fully in family treatment

Agenda

12:30pm-2:00pm: Focus on Objectives 1-2
2:00pm-2:10pm: Break
2:10pm-3:30pm: Objective 3

Graduate Booster: An Introduction to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy

A Live, Interactive Webconference

Cost: This training is free but open only to supervisors and behavioral health professionals working in agencies contracted with CFBT

Thursday, November 30, 2023, All Training Groups via Live Interactive Zoom
8:25am-12:35pm

While the major focus of treatment in FBMHS is on the parent-child relationship, therapists often encounter significant conflict in the couple which undermines their ability to co-parent. This workshop introduces an evidence-based approach to working with the couple subsystem, Emotionally Focused Treatment (EFT), developed by Dr. Sue Johnson. Like ESFT, EFT has its roots in Structural Family Therapy and Attachment theory. In this training, the history and basic tenets of EFT are described, and the role of emotional experience in creating change. Focus is also given to the EFT version of the negative interactional cycle, stages of treatment, and how enactments are used to facilitate the couple relationship. This workshop uses didactic presentation, case discussion, and review of videotapes to present the material.

This workshop includes lecture, video-tape review, handouts, and breakout rooms for discussion and for practicing skills. Participants will be provided with a comprehensive list of resources for further study.

Objectives

As a result of attending this training, participants will be able to:

Describe the negative cycle in EFT
Describe the stages of EFT treatment
Recognize the role of underlying emotions in couples’ work
Describe how enactments are utilized in EFT

This is an intermediate level course. The target audience is behavioral health professionals who have completed the three-year training within Pennsylvania’s Family Based program. This is a live synchronous distance learning activity conducted in real time, allowing for simultaneous participation of participants and instructors from different locations.

Agenda

8:25am-10:30am: Focus on Objectives 1-2
10:30am-10:40am: Break
10:40am-12:35pm: Focus on Objectives 3-4

About the Trainer

Frequently Asked Questions
Visit our Policies & FAQs on Live, Interactive Webconferences for additional information regarding CFBT live interactive workshops, accommodations for disabilities, reporting problems with the training, instructions for registering for a training, etc.

An Introduction to ESFT

A Live, Interactive Webconference
Friday November 17, 2023, via Zoom Interactive Webconference
San Deigo Youth Services
12:30pm-3:30pm

In this three-hour training, attendees will learn the basics of EcoSystemic Family Therapy. Attendees will receive an overview of children with SED, their families, and the systems they live within. They will hear a discussion of the ESFT approach to problems and the differences between ESFT and more non-relational approaches.

As a result of participating in this training, attendees will be able to:

Describe the vulnerable population of youth and families ESFT is designed to serve.
Describe the ESFT perspective on how symptoms are created and maintained within family relationships and the larger ecosystem – the NIP.
Explain the difference between relational and systemic approaches to treatment and those that are symptom or behavior focused.
Demonstrate the use of ESFT in clinical cases.

Agenda

12:30pm-2:00pm: Focus on Objectives 1-2
2:00pm-2:10pm: Break
2:10pm-3:30pm: Objective 3-4