12 Wednesdays, 10am to 12:30pm
Starts April 24th, 2024
This course uses experiential methods to teach basic and advanced theory and practice of experiential couples therapy. This involves theory and practice drawn from Client-Centered Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Focusing, and Psychodrama.
Our one assumption is that people come into therapy because, in one way or another, they don’t feel the way they want to feel. For example, many partners feel lonely, unloved, unheard, unseen, ashamed, or afraid in some way.
The key goals are assisting each partner to 1) Express themselves more fully, clearly, authentically, and 2) Develop a much more complete, more understanding and more compassionate view of the other. This means:
1A) Exploring each partner’s experience, and helping to discern previously unexpressed vulnerable emotion; and 1B) assisting them to express this (vulnerable) experience, rather than expressing attack/blame/criticism or withdrawing/stonewalling.
2) Facilitating the true understanding of the partner’s actual (vulnerable) experience, rather than continuing to perceive/understand a calcified (though incomplete and less compassionate) understanding of the other.
Following these new perceptions, the therapist facilitates the expression of whatever compassion/care/love emerges as a result of these new understandings.
This is actually all quite complicated! In this course, we’ll break down the various kinds of moments that commonly show up in a couples therapy session, carefully examining the many overlapping (and often conflicting) thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and work to make a coherent whole out of the proceedings.
The training method is highly experiential, with a several group members participating each enactment of a session. Everyone moves into and out of the scenes, so that all have a chance to be in all of the roles (therapist, partner, observer, but also there are other parts to play, as you’ll see at the training).
Topics include:
- Empathic Attunement
- Process Assessment
- Empathic Reflections
- Empathic Explorations
- Mapping Relational Conflict Cycles
- Gestalt Experiments
- Alliance Building & Repair
- Ethical Decision Making
What: A course on experiential couples therapy
Who: Clinicians who want to integrate the basic theory and practice of experiential couples therapy, while learning new and advanced skills.
Facilitator: Tom Kubasik, LCPC
When: Wednesdays, from 10:00am to 12:30pm.
- April 24th
- May 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
- June 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
- July 10th, 17th
30 Continuing Education Contact Hours
Cost:
Full License: $900
Conditionally Licensed: $750
Students: $600
(If cost is a barrier, please contact me.)
Certificates of completion are issued at the conclusion of the course.
See: Training Institute Policies
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Experiential Couples Therapy in Action Registration Form: