Full Course Description

Neurobiology of Attachment: The Power of "We"

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze how relationships are shaped by early attachment histories to better understand your clients. 
Evaluate how each form of attachment influences the capacity for future closeness and impact on relationships in clients. 
Justify how “sense of self” does not have to be limited to the body so clients can have healthy relationships.

Outline

Attachment Research Made Simple

Brain-to-brain and mind-to-mind connections
Child and adult attachment research 
How attachment relationships shape the brain
Neural integration and self-regulation
Interpersonal communication and interneuronal linkages
The categories of attachment

Understanding Attachment and Relationships

Navigate relationships and how they influence the brain and vice versa 
The importance of a “soul friend” and “feeling felt” 
How mirror neurons influence relationships
Neural correlates of interpersonal attunement and resonance

The Essential Pathways Toward Trust, Truth and Transformation

Illuminating the pathways of change
Connections between the mind, the embodied brain and relationships
Transformation to create neural integration
Differentiate between empathy, compassion, kindness and joy
The power of MWe

Target Audience

Counselors
Occupational Therapists
Social Workers
Psychologists
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Psychiatrists
Other Professionals Who Work within the Mental Health Fields

Copyright : 05/06/2021

Attachment Begins in Utero: There’s No Such Thing as a Blank Slate

Program Information

Objectives

Determine two (2) ways that the neurobiology of touch supports a secure parent-infant attachment relationship.
Demonstrate 3 ways to enhance secure attachments in parent-infant relationships for (or to) - outcome.
Evaluate two ways that FirstPlay Therapy Infant Play Therapy promotes the infant-parent attachment relationship.
Distinguish two differences between pre-symbolic play and symbolic play.

Outline

Infant Mental Health and Infant Play Therapy

Demystifying infant mental health
Busting the misconception that infants don’t experience trauma
Culturally sensitive - the Therapeutic Powers of Play

Increase a Neuroception of Safety

The parent/infant relationship is everything
Understanding an infant’s window of tolerance
Supporting co-regulation
Attunement to infant cues and body language

FirstPlay Infant Play Therapy

Ages birth to 36 months
Developmental Play Therapy for nurturing gentle touch
Therapeutic storytelling to facilitate a cue-based attuned reciprocal relationship

Target Audience

Infant mental health specialists
Occupational Therapists
Play therapists
Family therapists
Psychologists
Social workers
School counselors
Other mental health and professionals that work with the infants, young children and families

Copyright : 05/06/2021

Attachment Ruptures and Repair in Children & Adolescents

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the concept of relational trauma.
Distinguish the link between interpersonal trauma and attachment wounds.
Determine 3 ways the "Crisis of Connection" can manifest in the course of therapy.
Utilize the analogy of “fawns in gorilla suits” and three ways it can be used in therapy with youth and family.
Determine three unique challenges of termination with youth experiencing attachment trauma.

Outline

Interpersonal Trauma and its Impact on Attachments
Intrusion – if needed, distance is not required
Stealth Therapy – therapy without calling it therapy
Crisis of connection – therapeutic relationship threatens closeness
Fawns in Gorilla Suits – vulnerability and protection
Termination challenges
Grief – longing for the missed attachment
Case Study: 2 sisters, ages 5 and 11 confronting attachment trauma in early life

Target Audience

Counselors
Social workers
Psychologists
Marriage & family therapists
Occupational therapists
Speech-language pathologists

Copyright : 05/06/2021

Creating Secure Attachment in Teens: Balancing Interdependence & Autonomy

Program Information

Objectives

Recognize how maladaptive attachment impacts clients’ connections and exacerbates mental health symptoms including anxiety, depression, opposition, defiance and mood stability.
Determine the risk factors of developing insecure attachment: parental substance misuse or abuse, a mental health diagnosis in the parent or child, a child with a history of abuse or neglect, and more.
Distinguish attachment patterns that are healthy versus those that are rooted in trauma.
Demonstrate strategies to meet physical, emotional and mental needs to build attunement.

Outline

The Art of Compromise

Parents Promoting Interdependence – Being the Safe Place and Secure Base
- Recognizing when Attachment with Parents has been Impacted by Trauma
- Relationship between Attachment and Mental Health
Avoiding Attachment Ruptures
- Encouraging interdependence and autonomy
- Understanding needs
Exploring and Expanding Peer Relationships
- Healthy and positive attachments
- Compromise and other social skills

Power Sharing, not Power Struggling

Timeline for Success
- Parents moving into the consultant role
- Teens earning freedom by being responsible and earning trust
- Teaching recovery and problem solving

Target Audience

Psychologists
Social Workers
Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Educators
Other Mental Health Professionals
Occupational Therapists

Copyright : 05/06/2021

Expressive Arts to Build Safety and Connection with Your Most Vulnerable Clients

Program Information

Objectives

Determine four ways that expressive arts assist with the healing process.
Distinguish between the scope of practice of talk therapy vs expressive arts.
Design a treatment plan to include expressive arts in either their personal work with clients or as a treatment team with adjunct professionals.
Demonstrate how to incorporate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into your assessment and therapy practice in a creative way.

Outline

Expressive Arts with Commercially, Sexually, Exploited Youth

Video case study
A visual experience of art to support healing for youth who have been commercially sexually exploited
Understand the use of expressive arts vs being an expressive arts therapist

Why the Arts Work

Discussion on how the creative process allows for a deeper level of knowledge and understanding of self
Assess physiological needs and safety in a non-intrusive way
Helps to avoid or heal attachment ruptures and support belonging and love
Builds Confidence and Self Esteem

Take Away Activity

Maslow’s Hierarchy (allows for psychoeducation, creativity)
Profound, powerful tool to support needs instead of assuming need
Resources shared

Target Audience

Counselors
Occupational Therapists
Social Workers
Psychologists
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Psychiatrists
Other Professionals Who Work within the Mental Health Fields

Copyright : 05/06/2021

Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Attachment: Repairing the Internal Attachment

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate the steps of working with clients' “protective parts” to improve treatment outcomes as proposed by the IFS model.
Propose how to address the “protector” fears as they arise for the client during the therapy session.
Apply the core concepts of IFS intervention to repair the internal disconnections created by trauma.

Outline

Facilitate internal attachment work
Learn to address the fears/concerns of protective parts
Establish a trusting relationship with proactive and reactive parts
Resolve internal conflicts
Gain permission to proceed with healing

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Psychiatrists
Other Professionals Who Work within the Mental Health Fields

Copyright : 05/07/2021

Emotional Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) for Healing Attachment Wounds

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate the EFIT model as a secure base for effective therapy with individual clients.
Implement evidence-based stages to increase closeness, safe attachment, and connection.
Develop client interactions that expand the client’s sense of self and open engagement with others.
Determine how working with emotion as a key change agent will help clients move toward secure attachment.

Outline

Employ the basic structure of emotion, as well as how we change models of self and others
Utilize the empirically validated EFIT “roadmap” to guide clients through their vulnerability and motivation to a clear picture of stability and growth
Validate the client’s sense of competence and worth in every session
Limitations, risks, and areas for further research

Target Audience

Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/07/2021

Disorganized Attachment: Don't Lose Sight of the Child in the Midst of Chaotic Behavior

Program Information

Objectives

Determine why a secure attachment is a protective factor in mental health.
Assess the three main features of intersubjectivity.
Distinguish how you might use each feature of PACE in developing an engagement with a disengaged child.
Construct a story that includes the child’s trauma while reducing the fear and shame associated with the trauma.

Outline

Disorganized Attachment in Children/Teens

Compassion for the way kids behave (it’s the behavior, not the child)

Severe Attachment Ruptures Impact on Child Functioning

Mistrust and Self-Reliance
Dysregulation of affective, behavioral, and cognitive states

Restoring Sense of Self and Developing Ability for Connection and Repair

Learning to Trust with Comfort and Joy
Transforming stories from despair to hope

Target Audience

Counselors
Occupational Therapists
Social Workers
Psychologists
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Psychiatrists
Other Professionals Who Work within the Mental Health Fields

Copyright : 05/07/2021

Relational Trauma and Compromised Attachment in Adulthood: From Victim to “Overcomer”

Program Information

Objectives

Apply the Life Script to assess and treat attachment patterns.
Assess Attachment Communication Training to help couples achieve trust and security.
Appraise experiential interventions (first year attachment cycle, inner-child metaphor, psychodrama) to promote positive change.
Develop new neuronal networks in the Limbic brain to desensitize fear and anxiety, approach rather than avoid frightening memories and emotions.

Outline

Life Script

Assess and treat attachment-related trauma in adults and couples

Attachment Communication Training

Mitigate destructive ways of relating, and foster trust, safety and security in relationships

Experiential Interventions

First year attachment cycle – psychoeducation about early childhood attachment
Inner-child metaphor – therapeutic method to address early life perception and emotion
Psychodrama – utilizes role play

Target Audience

Mental Health Clinicians

Copyright : 05/07/2021

Boldly Showing Up - Attachment, Shame, and Vulnerability Through a Culturally-Safe Lens

Program Information

Objectives

Demonstrate how emotional literacy can increase communication and attachment within families.
Analyze how shame, vulnerability and legacy burdens impacts family connections.
Evaluate the impact of culture and the role of the therapist within the therapeutic setting.
Analyze the value of looking beyond the presenting problem to explore the authentic self.

Outline

Looking Beyond Presenting Problem with a Culturally Safe Lens

Increasing intersectionality in the therapy room
Authentic self of the clinician within the therapeutic system

The Belief Structures of Shame and Vulnerability

How shame shields are developed
The effects of vulnerability and attachment

Intersectionality of Historical Family and Society Narratives

The impact of family narratives on attachment
How cultural beliefs and narratives affect attachment

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/07/2021

Impact of Generational and Racial Trauma on Attachment and Security

Program Information

Objectives

Develop a therapeutic environmental plan to facilitate safety for marginalized clients during therapy sessions.
Learn how to determine the appropriate intervention for a defensive response based upon the client’s arousal level.
Improve connection with clients of color through using statements of alliance.
Identify personal defenses and beliefs that interfere with authentic connection in the therapeutic space.
Learn how to use the foundational DBT principles of validation and mindfulness to communicate and embody felt safety in your clients.

Outline

Understanding racial trauma and generational trauma
How trauma impacts healthy attachment and the developing mind
Key trauma defense strategies within communities of color
How to facilitate a felt sense of cultural, emotional and physical safety in your therapeutic space

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Marriage and Family Therapists
Community Leaders
Family members of loved ones in marginalized communities receiving mental health treatment

Copyright : 04/20/2021

Attachment & Attuned Parenting: The Power of Showing Up

Program Information

Objectives

Characterize the three types of non-secure attachment and describe how they manifest in parenting styles that limit parent/child connection.
Categorize how caregiver presence and attuned parenting fosters resilience in children.
Assess the four “S’s” of attachment and relate their significance to clinicians and educators.

Outline

Influences of caregiver state of mind on interactions with child

Awareness
Attunement
Resonance

Attachment: the four S’s that foster children’s well-being and resilience

Seen
Safe
Soothed
Secure

The practical tools of “The Power of Showing Up”

Clinical methods from Dr. Siegel’s approach
Educator-focused takeaways

Questions & Answer

Target Audience

Counselors
Psychologists
Social Workers
School Psychologists
Educators
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychotherapists
Other professionals working with children and parents

Polyvagal Theory for Children: Practical Application to Build Safety, Create Attachment & Develop Connection

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate the foundational principles and features of the Polyvagal Theory in order to elicit trust in the young clients you work with.
Apply the features of the Polyvagal Theory to inform clinical treatment interventions for children.
Analyze the Social Engagement System and how the brain-face-heart connection evolved.
Analyze when a child’s Social Engagement System is compromised by stress and trauma and help to reset it.
Construct how a therapy session can be planned and carried out to maximize client safety, social engagement and regulation.

Outline

Polyvagal Theory – Application for Children

Foundational Principles and features
Applying Polyvagal Theory in Clinical Practice

Harnessing your Social Engagement System

How to Reset when Compromised by Stress and Trauma
Elicit Trust - Voice, Rhythm, Racial Expressions, Touch
- Exercises that hone in on various vocal qualities
- Create and maintain an open facial expression with defensive children
- Strategies to incorporate safe touch

Playfulness and Paradox to Suspend Defensiveness

Surprise the brain of a defensive child with novel responses to:
- Grab attention
- Down-regulate sympathetic activation
- Interrupt automatic defensiveness
- Generate curiosity

Movement and Breathing Exercises to Create Connection

Ventral vagal activities for open and engaged state
- Promote attachment behavior
Dorsal vagal activities to pendulate between arousal and relaxation
- Rhythmic activities for maintaining regulation
- Counteracting shut down, guarded or angry behavior (responses)

Target Audience

Social Workers
Psychologists
Counselors
Case Managers
Addiction Counselors
Therapists
Marriage & Family Therapists
School Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Other Mental Health Professionals

Grieving and Remembering Well: Tools for Healing

Program Information

Objectives

Assess the dynamics of different types of grief in clients and the healing processes associated with each.
Determine the relationship between traumatic events and grief as it relates to the healing process within clients.

Outline

Background
The Death Shapes Grief
- River of Grief
- Witnessing Grief
- Pure Grief vs. External Triggers
Grief vs. Trauma
Positive Psychology
Survivor’s Guilt
Grief Needs
Grief in Therapy
- Worst and Best Things to Say
Pitfalls of Getting Over Loss
Healing
- The Sixth Stage of Grief
Complicated Grief
- Multiple Losses
Goals of Grief Work

Target Audience

Psychologists, Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and other Behavioral Health Professionals

Attachment-Focused EMDR to Heal a Relationship Trauma

Program Information

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Psychologists, Social Workers

Objectives

Debate the importance of the therapeutic relationship and therapist flexibility in adapting to the client’s needs.
Develop resources for overcoming roadblocks in the therapeutic session.
Implement the modified protocol in therapeutic sessions with clients affected by a relationship trauma.

Outline

Introduction of Laurel Parnell and EMDR
Introduction of session
Exploring the Presenting Problem
History
Establishing the Bilateral Stimulation
Installments
- Peaceful Place
- Nurturing Figures
- Protector Figures
- Wise Figure
Checking the EMDR Target from Past Session
Picture
Attempting to Bridge to Find an Early Incident
- Body Sensation
Modified Protocol
Checking the Target
Checking the SUDS
Socratic Interweaves
Checking the SUDS
Checking for a Positive Cognition (PC)
Body Scan
Checking the Recent Trigger
Processing the Trigger
Imagining a Future Scenario
Closure
Session Summary

The Biology of Loss: How to Foster Resilience When Attachments Are Impaired

Program Information

Objectives

Measure the impacts of childhood trauma on psychological functioning and well-being in adulthood.
Differentiate how to uncover early traumatic events of childhood and unconscious feeling states.
Devise how to cultivate deeper therapeutic presence by bringing awareness to unconscious patterns and processes that may be exacerbating client symptoms.
Demonstrate how to keep clients engaged in present-moment experiences using a mind-body framework.
Evaluate recent developments in attachment research and trauma.
Extrapolate how early loss can translate into maladaptive behaviors in adulthood.
Propose 3 examples of skills for building resilience in the face of loss.

Outline

Defining the impacts of trauma and hidden emotional stressors
Understand the role of stress in the development of disease
Review the stress reaction from the perspective of systems theory
Understanding the nature of resilience as adaptation
The ways in which we can overcome stress and foster resilience
The social context of stress and problematic behaviors
Moving past reaction to understanding origins as adaptations
The attachment drive as a biological necessity
A paradigm for developing resilience in the face of attachment loss

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychotherapists
Therapists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Case Managers
Physicians
Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals