This is a 3-hour On-Demand Webinar led by Kathy Steele that introduces another model for the therapeutic alliance.
Access information, handouts/resources, and CE credits information will be available immediately after successful registration. All registrants receive unlimited access to the recording for 365 days.
$139.00Add to cart
One of the most challenging aspects of working with clients with complex trauma is the therapeutic relationship. The therapist and client together enter into an immediate double bind: How can the therapeutic relationship be helpful when relationship has been the very source of our client’s trauma?
For most of the modern history of psychotherapy, the therapeutic relationship has been modelled on the parent-child relationship, with the therapist being a “stronger, wiser” and “good enough” other. Yet for many of our clients, the parent-child relationship was painful, if not dangerous, and inherently untrustworthy.
We will explore a different relational model based on collaboration and mutual understanding and experience rather than one rooted in attachment alone. While secure attachment is essential, it often does not exist early in therapy, and clients may be either extremely avoidant of contact or become overly dependent on the therapist.
We will discuss the dynamics of disorganized attachment (the insoluble dilemma of needing to attach to someone who is experienced as dangerous), and how to resolve it in treatment. We will explore what is activated in the therapist when our clients are distressed, and how to work with our own experience in order to preserve a solid therapeutic frame for ourselves and our clients. To this end, we will examine our own tendencies in the face of our clients’ rage, disappointment, demands, and dependency.
Sometimes we become overly available outside of sessions to prove we are reliable, only to become exhausted and resentful. Other times we may withdraw, freeze or shut down. Often, we feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of our clients’ needs.
This webinar will help you find ways to recognize and accept these common reactions with compassion and to discover the capacity to repair using compassion, curiosity, and collaboration.
Kathy Steele, MN, CS, APRN, is Clinical Director of Metropolitan Counseling Services, a psychotherapy and training centre, and is in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. A respected clinician, she presents internationally on trauma and dissociation.
Kathy is past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. She has authored and co-authored numerous book chapters, journal articles, and two award-winning books on trauma and dissociation, The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization and Coping with Trauma Related Dissociation Skills Training for Patients and Therapists.
Kathy Steele is known for her humour, compassion, respect, and depth of knowledge as a clinician and teacher, as well as for her capacity to present complex issues in easily understood and clear ways.
| Time | Topic Covered |
| 1st hour | |
| 2nd hour | |
| 15 Minute Break | |
| 3rd hour |
This training offers 3 hours of direct contact (not counting breaks or lunch). It is the participant’s responsibility to check with their individual state boards/regulatory body to verify CE requirements for their license to practice.
For Attendees of the On-Demand Recorded Version
You will need to complete a Post-Webinar Quiz with a pass of at least 80% in order to verify your attendance.
For US Participants
Instructions on how to obtain your Certificate of Attendance will be distributed after you pass the Post-Webinar Quiz following the On-Demand recorded version of the webinar.
Get details about CE credits for US participants
For Canadian and Non-US International Participants
Upon fulfillment of the above requirements, Canadian and non-US international participants will be issued a Certificate of Participation that includes:
Please check carefully with your regulatory body/organization that this certificate is sufficient proof for you to claim CE credits.
Get details about CE credits for Canadian and non-US international participants
