This course is designed for practitioners at an intermediate or advanced skill level, and will offer training and supervision to enhance their treatment of couples. Common issues involved in couples’ patterns of dysfunction often include detachment and/or emotional hyper-reactivity. Understanding of how dorsal vagal response plays a part in detachment is influenced by the work of Steven Porges (2009) and Deb Dana (2018) and will inform the diagnosis and treatment of couples. Treating emotional hyperactivity will also draw experientially from the work of Porges and Dana to help participants utilize their social engagement system to reduce excessive surges of sympathetic arousal that can both accompany and trigger hyperreactivity in the couples we treat. This course will augment the existing skills of participants with experiential practices designed to broaden their capacities of perception, reception and expression through the lens of seven channels of experience meditations and explicit use of “I-statements” incorporating moment-to-moment tracking. (Mars, 2011, 2017) This series of eight- monthly training sessions is designed to cultivate the internal capacity, skills and awareness of each training group member to treat patients using enhanced bodily awareness. We will meet for two hours each time from 8 to 10 AM PST. This Seven Channels Process Group provides a medium through which participants deepen their skills and effectiveness in engaging couples in a transformative process directed toward building bonds and connectedness and healing attachment level trauma and deprivation. Mindful self-compassion practices and exercises (Neff and Germer, 2012) will be incorporated into the training sessions to enhance both intra-relational (self-talk) and inter-relational safety. Maps and schemas derived from Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) as applies to individuals (Fosha, 2021a, 2021b) are integrated into the methods of both Transformative Couples Therapy (TCT) and the Seven Channels Process Group series. We will apply principles from Frederickson (2013) and others about the beneficial effects of positivity as a lens through which we can learn to perceive both our own experiences and that of others.

Psychologists, Social Workers, MFTs, Counselors, Substance Abuse Counselors

1. Identify three ways to help establish a secure base in treatment. (H.S. Waters, T.E.A. Waters, 2021)
2. Describe two ways to regulate emotional reactivity in both couple members. (Mars, 2011)
3. Detect the healthiest aspects of each couple member. (*Frederickson, 2013) 
4. Utilize two methods for couple members to process emotional experience. .(Fosha, D., & Thoma, N. 2020).
5. Design healing a portrayal to treat relational trauma. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
6. Define why affirmation of the self is important. (*Frederickson, 2013)
7. Explain how clients can melt defenses of both intellectualization. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
8. Find shared matching values in couple members.  (Mars, 2011, 2015)
9. Describe how to process warded-off emotional experience. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
10. Conduct meta-therapeutic processing when couples experience reparative experiences. (Fosha, D., & Thoma, N. 2020)
11.Define the value of the core affect of surprise.  (*Frederickson, 2013)
12. Integrate core affect through slowing down. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
13. Locate two ways to tailor treatment to a couple member’s attachment style. (Pando-Mars, 2016)
14. Select opportunities to help couple members to feel and show more positivity. (*Frederickson, 2013)
15. Utilize openings to soften defenses. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
16. Define three early signs of dorsal vagal response. (Porges, 2009, Dana, 2018)
17. Demonstrate knowledge of two ways to regulate dorsal vagal response. (Dana, 2018)
18. Specify how the frequency of dorsal vagal response can be reduced in treatment. (Porges, 2009, Dana, 2018)
19. Distinguish methods for engaging avoidantly attached patients in treatment. (Pando-Mars, 2016)
20. Detect an example of a tough case in which an unexpected breakthrough occurred. (Mars, 2016)
21. Explain how a meditative state of mindfulness helps in treatment. (*Neff and Germer, 2012)
22. Conduct a role play of meta-therapeutic processing. (Iwakabe, S., & Conceicao, N., 2016).
23. Explain the value of increased awareness in couple members. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
24. Identify transformance striving in a session. (*Iwakabe, S., Edlin, J., Fosha, D., Gretton, H., Joseph, A. J., Nunnink, S. E., Nakamura, K., & Thoma, N. C., 2020)
 

8:00 AM PT-8:30 AM PT Opening meditation and discussion about aspects of clinical practice, research guidelines, screening and onboarding couples and relational sense of support and safety
8:30 AM PT-9:10 AM PT First clinical video presentation with case description, couple strengths, relevant historical relational trauma and a description of the Field Therapist's wishes for support in any specific areas. The Research Team gives witnessing of their experience of the session. Then Consensus Coding is offered to gain an evaluation of how much the Field Therapist adhered to the principles of TCT according to the Fidelity Scales.
9:10 AM PT-9:20 AM PT Break
9:20 AM PT-8:55 AM PT  Second clinical video presentation with case description, couple strengths, relevant historical relational trauma and a description of the Field Therapist's wishes for support in any specific areas. The Research Team gives witnessing of their experience of the session. Then Consensus Coding is offered to gain an evaluation of how much the Field Therapist adhered to the principles of TCT according to the Fidelity Scales.
9:55 AM PT-10:00 AM PT Closing meta-processing of the experience

 

February 20, 2025

Participants must have paid tuition fee, signed in, attended the entire seminar, completed an evaluation, and signed out in order to receive a certificate. Failure to sign in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates available after satisfactory course completion at credits.education

Credits.Education is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Credits.Ecucation maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.  Course meets the qualifications for 28 hours of continuing education credits for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.