ESFT Start-Up: An Introduction to ESFT and FBMHS

Thursday, 9/21/23, Norristown (Montgomery County Intermediate Unit)
Thursday, 9/21/23, Harrisburg (Harrisburg Area Community College)
Thursday, 9/21/23 via Live Zoom interactive webconference
9:00am-1:30pm

This interactive, strength-based training provides an orientation to ESFT, FBMHS, and the training program. It is designed to set the stage for bonding with the job and growing into an effective FBMHS therapist.  The training begins with a description of the population served, describes the history of the program in PA, and reviews recent research demonstrating its effectiveness in keeping youth out of hospitals and RTFs. The second part of the workshop provides an overview of CFBT’s approach to training and normalizes the challenges therapists often face when stretching their skill sets. The third part of this workshop introduces ESFT, discusses videotapes of well-done ESFT treatment sessions, and differentiates relational from behavioral approaches to treatment.  The last 75 minutes of this workshop is experiential.  Everyone gets an opportunity to role play joining with family members and conducting a family session.

Objectives:

  1. Explain why your work in FBMHS is so important.
  2. Identify expected challenges in learning to be a family therapist.
  3. Introduce the ESFT model and how it differs from nonrelational, behavioral approaches.
  4. Practice joining with family members and conducting a family session.

Agenda
9:00am-11:00am: Objectives 1-2
11:00am-11:30am: Break
11:30am-1:30pm: Objectives 3-4

This is a beginner level workshop. The target audience is behavioral health professionals working within an Ecosystemic Family Therapy Model. For those taking part in the Zoom Webconference option, 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 for additional information regarding the CFBT online learning center, accommodations for disabilities, reporting problems with the course, instructions for viewing webinars, etc.