These workshops offer 6 Live Interactive Continuing Education Credits

Full Day Webinar

April 24th, 2025

10:00 AM - 4:45 PM EST

The cost of the full program is $99.99, an individual class is $59.99

To register for the FULL DAY SEMINAR Click "BUY IT NOW". To register for just one class, click on the Class/link below.

If you have any difficulty registering, please contact us here.

Class 1

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST

Repairing Ruptures in Couples Therapy: A Mind-body Approach

This presentation will NOT be recorded for playback review.

Couples therapy is challenging because there are two people who are in distress, each wanting more from their partner and to be understood. A common denominator in treating couples is verbal communication, which relies on what is available cognitively to the couple. However, sources of tension and disconnection are often outside of their awareness, limiting the effectiveness of the treatment. When couples become emotionally charged or shut down it’s because they’re feeling threatened, by something inside of themselves or something between them and their partner.                                

This presentation focuses on how to use the natural workings of the autonomic nervous system to help couples engage more effectively with each other. Key components are the structure of a session, strategies for nervous system regulation, tracking the body for signs of nervous system activation and intervening effectively. This somatic-based approach enables couples to identify the true sources of distress, repair ruptures, communicate more effectively and solve problems, and sets the conditions for memory reconsolidation to take place.

(Trainer - Deborah J. Fox, LICSW, is in private practice in Washington, DC. She is an AASECT Certified Sex therapist providing individual and couples psychotherapy. She conducts seminars and consultation groups on the integration of couples and sex therapy and the treatment of sexual trauma, with an emphasis on somatic intervention strategies. She has taught the integration of somatic intervention into couples therapy through PESI and the Psychotherapy Networker. She conducts consultation groups on couples therapy, sex therapy and sexual trauma. Her most recent publication is The Integration of Somatic-based Strategies into Couples Therapy. Clinical Social Work Journal Oct 2023.)

3 Hours

Class 2

1:45 PM - 4:45 PM EST

Engaging Challenging Clients Using Motivational Interviewing (3 CE Credits)

When clients are not interested in working with a mental health professional, it can be hard to create a therapeutic relationship with them. This training is designed to help experienced practitioners build on their current approach to working with clients who are difficult to engage. Attendees will learn new ways of applying supportive techniques to improve outcomes with this population.

During this class, the definition and basic principles of Motivational Interviewing will be reviewed. Strengths Based Theory will be applied to creating a therapeutic alliance with mandated or ambivalent clients. Motivational challenges on the individual and systemic levels will be identified and explored for how they impact treatment. The training will incorporate group practice exercises to allow participants to combine their new knowledge with what they already practice.  A segment on coaching supervisees and non-clinical staff will be included.

(Trainer - Lissa Ramsepaul holds a clinical license in social work in DC, MD, and VA. She received her MSW and her PhD in Social work from the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Her dissertation topic, Risk and Resilience in Young Adults Who Have Experienced Homelessness, reflects her lifelong interest in work on the individual, community, and larger systemic levels to alleviate the impact of multifarious social issues and suffering among marginalized populations.

In addition to her strong educational background in blending best practices of working with underserved populations with management, advocacy, and larger systemic change, she also brings nearly 3 decades of hands-on experience working in the non-profit sector. Lissa’s career progressed from direct services through all levels of organizational leadership, including serving as both an Executive Director and Founder and CEO. She has lectured around the world on a variety of issues and was the keynote speaker at the 35th International Conference on Psychiatry & Psychosomatic Medicine in Brussels. Lissa is also active in the academic and research community and teaches in both social work and psychology programs at several area universities. She has presented in at conferences around the world and engaged in charity work in Hyderabad, India, Madrid, Spain, and Uganda. In recent years, she has also been interviewed as an expert on Homelessness, and the cross-section of living with chronic mental illness and economic vulnerability.

Lissa brings enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to all areas of service, and is passionate about creating a stronger future society where fewer people around the world experience suffering while simultaneously providing ongoing care and support to those in need and those who provide services to them in the present. An active outdoors person and athlete, Lissa lives on a farm in Calvert County, MD with her 4 cats, 2 horses, and puppy. She is a devoted equestrian with a focus on dressage.)

3 Hours

This One Day Seminar includes two excellent classes, a total of 6 CEs. You may attend an individual class for $59.99.