Understanding and Treating Enmeshment in Families

CE Hours: 4.0
Instructor: C. Wayne Jones, PhD

Thursday, November 7th, 2018, 8:30am-12:30pm, Venango County Human Services, Franklin, PA

Family structure refers to the way family members organize their relationships with respect to boundaries, close-distance, and power. Children’s presenting problems are best understood and treated in the context of their family’s structure.  Enmeshment is one of four structural patterns most associated with serious emotional disturbance in children. This workshop describes the characteristics of enmeshment and how this interactional pattern shapes children’s development of social-emotional competencies and their response to treatment. Treatment guidelines are highlighted, as well as common clinical traps therapists are likely to encounter when working with enmeshed relational patterns.

Objectives
By attending this training, participants will be able to:

    1. Explain how enmeshed relationship patterns shape children’s social-emotional competencies
    2. Describe three dimensions of family structure and how they organize caregiving
    3. Recognize the markers of enmeshment
    4. Identify the primary focus of treatment when working with enmeshment
    5. Describe common clinical traps when working with enmeshment

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