Power Dynamics in the Facilitating Environment
Presenter: Melissa Dellens, MA
6 CEs
November 7, 2021
10:00 am - 5:00 pm Pacific (1 hour lunch 1:00-2:00)
$150
Maximum Registration for the Live Event: 100
Licensed therapists who work in nonprofits price is $120 (Use coupon code: PowerNP120 at checkout)
Student/pre-licensed price is $60 (Use coupon code: PowerPL60 at checkout)
You can also get access to this course and all other courses with our memberships:
Course Description
Abstract:
Community psychology emerged in reaction to clinical psychotherapy; with a fervent belief that if mental health problems are related to the misuse of power at systemic and institutional levels then individual psychotherapy is not the answer. Community psychology believes interventions in a dyadic relationship do not begin to meet the greater unmet needs of the collective. We will explore this assertion from a perspective of psychodynamically-informed psychotherapy. Winnicott theorized that the caregiver’s facilitating environment makes developmental processes possible. We will extend the facilitating environment beyond the caregiving relationship through each level of Brofenbrenner’s ecological model and fold in Prilleltensky’s (2008) principles of power. By containing and exploring the deep conflicts between community and clinical psychology, we may begin to understand some of the unmet needs of LGBTQIA+, consensually non-monogamous, and kinky clients seeking mental health care. When we bring together multiple theories in both fields, participants can take the best of what both have to offer. Together, we will explore how therapists can make a deeper sense of personal, organizational, and systemic power in a variety of clinical settings to create safer and more affirming environments.
Learning Objectives:
After this course, participants will be able to:
- List 3 conflicts between community psychology and clinical psychology that may inform why LGBTQIA+, consensually non monogamous, and kinky clients may be hesitant to seek out mental health treatment.
- Describe how the multiple levels of Brofenbrenner’s ecological model inform and expand a caregiver’s facilitating environment.
- Discuss how Prilleltensky conceptualizes the movement of power through multiple levels of community.
- Explain elements of organizational empowerment theory and identify conscious and unconscious power dynamics at play with their clients.
- Identify two ways unconscious power has limited the liberation and well being of LGBTQIA+, CNM, and kinky clients.
- Apply at least one action to create an increasingly affirmative space for LGBTQIA+, CNM, and kinky clients in their care.
6 CEs
Who should take this course:
Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Professional Counselors, Registered Dietitians, and other professionals interested in the intersection of community and clinical psychology
$150
Licensed therapists who work in nonprofits price is $120 (Use coupon code: PowerNP120 at checkout)
Student/pre-licensed price is $60 (Use coupon code: PowerPL60 at checkout)
You can also get access to this course and all other courses with our memberships:
Continuing Education Approvals
The Affirmative Couch, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Affirmative Couch, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Course Outline
Fundamentals of Kink
Presenter: Elyssa Helfer, MA, LMFT
Homestudy
3 CEs
$90
Licensed therapists who work in nonprofits price is $40 (Use coupon code: fk2021np at checkout)
Student/pre-licensed price is $30 (Use coupon code: fk2021pre at checkout)
You can also get access to this course and all other courses with our memberships:
Course Description
Abstract:
Many psychotherapists are ill equipped to work with kink-identified and kink-practicing individuals, but it is vital for mental health clinicians to understand the complexity and nuance within kink communities. Given the high rates of individuals integrating kink practices and activities into their erotic lives, the need for relevant education is paramount. Kink research, while readily available, has not yet been integrated into the dominant educational systems. This has resulted in the delivery of inaccurate media portrayals and toxic cultural narratives, which are often received and interpreted in problematic and pathologizing ways.
This course will enhance both confidence and competence around working with individuals practicing kink. We will cover the fundamentals of kink, affording therapists the opportunity to become better versed in terminology, major consent frameworks, the history of pathology, kink representation in the DSM, and the origins of and developmental theory around kink identity. The course will include a review of the myths and stereotypes that have plagued the kink community for decades, taking a research-based approach to unpacking and dismantling those toxic narratives. Finally, we will look at practical application of kink knowledge into the therapy room by reviewing case studies.
Learning Objectives:
After this course, participants will be able to:
- Differentiate between various power dynamics that exist within hierarchical kink relationships
- Distinguish between healthy kink and abuse by recognizing at least two red flags
- Explain at least two ways in which current kink research has dismantled negative and problematic stereotypes surrounding the kink community
3 CEs
Who should take this course:
Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Professional Counselors, and other mental health professions seeking to understand working with kink clients.
$90
Licensed therapists who work in nonprofits price is $40 (Use coupon code: fk2021np at checkout)
Student/pre-licensed price is $30 (Use coupon code: fk2021pre at checkout)
You can also get access to this course and all other courses with our memberships:
Continuing Education Approvals
The Affirmative Couch, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Affirmative Couch, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
The Psychological Impact of Suppressing Kink Identity
Presenter/Instructor: Elyssa Helfer, MA, LMFT
2 CEs Available
Abstract: The world of kink exists right under our noses. From dungeons to muches, kinky folks are finding ways to express their identities within a system that encourages secrecy. To fully affirm our clients, it is imperative that we understand who they are, what they enjoy and how their desires play out in their lives. Due to the shame and stigmatization often associated with Kink identity and practice it is imperative that we, as clinicians, have the ability to work with issues related to kink, creating an open space, free from judgement and backed by knowledge. In times of isolation or separation from partners, whether by choice (long distance relationship) or by circumstance (isolation due to pandemic), the suppression or limitation of both identity and practice can result in negative psychological consequences. In order to understand the negative consequences, we must understand the ways in which healthy expression of erotic orientation can present itself in our clients, why clients may be suppressing their identity, how therapists can contribute to this suppression, and how these issues may present in the therapy room.
This course will cover the positive consequences that can result from expression of kink identity/practice, the negative consequences of suppression or limitation of said identity, reasons one may feel compelled to suppress or limit their desires and ways this may present in our clinical work. In addition, we will address strategies that can be implemented in therapy to assist clients in managing the negative consequences.
Learning Objectives
After participants complete this course, they should be able to:
- Articulate 3 major sources that may result in limitation or suppression of kink identity/practice
- Compare positive and negative consequences from limitation or suppression of kink identity/practice
- Utilize 4 strategies to address the negative consequences with clients
Elyssa Helfer, MA, LMFT is a sex-positive Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist currently working in private practice in Los Angeles, CA. She specializes in working with the kink population and folks in alternative relationship structures. Her mission is to create spaces for people where they can feel loved and appreciated, without judgment or pressure to be anything but their true selves.
$30
Licensed therapists who work in nonprofits price is $20 (Use coupon code: KinkNP at checkout)
Student/pre-licensed price is $10 (Use coupon code: KinkPL at checkout)
You can also get access to this course and all other courses – current and future – with the Lifetime Membership for a one-time fee.
The Affirmative Couch, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Affirmative Couch, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Fighting without Fighting: DBT Skills for Addressing Microaggressions
Presenter/Instructor: Rachel Jones, M.A.
2.5 CEs Available
Abstract: Microaggressions exist in the form of jokes, insults, biases, questions, and comments. They are often casual and can even be well-intended. On a day-to-day basis, microaggressions are directed toward people of color, women, gender diverse individuals, LGBTQIA+ individuals, relationship expansive individuals, and other people of marginalized groups or communities outside of the cultural norm. Their impacts on mental health range in severity and cause significant distress. While the targets of microaggressions are not responsible for the actions of others, they can develop control over their responses.
This course will provide clinicians with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) interventions to increase adult and adolescent clients’ self-efficacy and agency. The course will differentiate between microaggressions and more overt offenses, and cover the implications on mental health and the unique clinical needs of groups and communities commonly targeted. The presenter will teach a selection of DBT skills for clients who struggle with distress, rumination, anger, impulsivity, suicidal ideation, relationship issues, and ineffective communication as a result of microaggressions. The course will be presented in the form of lectures, video demonstrations, and vignettes.
Learning Objectives
After participants complete this course, they should be able to:
- Identify microaggressions and describe at least 3 ways in which microaggressions impact mental health
- Compare the changes in the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems when using DBT skills
- Select at least 1 appropriate DBT skill for each of the four modules according to the client’s subjective level of distress
Rachel Jones, M.A. – Rachel is an Associate MFT working in private practice, specializing in treating individual adults, couples/multi-partners, adolescents, and children ages 5 and up. She also provides individual therapy in conjunction with phone coaching and skills groups as a part of the Comprehensive DBT treatment team at Suzanne Wallach Psychotherapy.
$75
Licensed therapists who work in nonprofits price is $55. (Enter code NPDBTSkills at checkout)
Student/prelicensed price is $25. (Enter code PLDBTSkills at checkout)
You can also get access to this course and all other courses – current and future – with the Lifetime Membership for a one-time fee.
The Affirmative Couch, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Affirmative Couch, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.