Clients who experienced childhood trauma carry those wounds of sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment forward, often resulting in fractured adult relationships. These relationships are often characterized by conflict, confusion, and a lack of effective communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills. Clinicians working with these clients need a common-sense, effective model with techniques aimed at healing their wounds and building hope. In this rich webinar experience renowned couples expert, Mary Jo Barrett, in conversation with Psychotherapy.net’s Editor, Lawrence Rubin, will provide you with powerful clinical tools for doing just that.
Developed over the course of an extensive clinical career deeply grounded in systems theory and practice, Barrett’s Collaborative Change Model is an engaging and accessible blueprint for creating change that will help you address clients’ childhood wounds and vulnerabilities. In the process, you will learn to augment their strengths within the therapeutic context of structure, predictability, safety, and compassion. By watching her work with Willow and RJ, adult survivors of developmental trauma, discuss her work in real time with Rubin, and field questions from a global audience, you will learn how to help couples to replace defensiveness, withdrawal, anger, and confusion with what Barrett calls, “the 8 pillars of healthy relationships”—communication, respect, trust, friendship, humility, wisdom, generosity, and collaboration. You will also learn not only effective techniques, but how to incorporate spontaneity, presence, self-disclosure, and even humor into your work with challenging couples. You will come away from this powerful learning experience better prepared to enter this challenging clinical realm, and with the confidence to integrate the core components of Barrett’s model into your own practice with deeply wounded couples.
