2023 CTAMFT Conference Workshops

The conference will start out with a Morning Yoga Session from 8:30am-9:30am on both Friday, April 21st and Saturday, April 22nd. 

Yoga has been proven to improve concentration, connection, focus, sleep, and relaxation. Research has shown yoga decreases major trauma symptoms such as anxiety, angry outbursts, and the impact of exaggerated survival stress responses. This session will give a hands on approach to learning about emotional regulation and its impacts on the body.

Conference Specialty Tracks  

CTAMFT will be hosting 3 different specialty tracks during this conference:

Specialty Track 1: Supervisor Track  (Workshops: A1, B1, C1, D1, E1)

Specialty Track 2: Family Track (Workshops: A2, B2, C2, D2, E2)

Specialty Track 3: Couples Track (Workshops: A3, B3, C3, D3, E3)

Feel free to stay within one track or mix & match throughout the conference. 

Workshop Series A  

Friday, April 21st, 2023 10:30am-12:20pm

Workshop A1: How to be an Effective Supervisor: Keeping it Real
Presenter: Dr. Noel Casiano, AAMFT Approved Supervisor

In this workshop, supervisors will learn the essentials to provide quality supervision from a strength-based and culturally competent perspective.  The topics covered will allow for a supervisor to be able to supervise their staff and/or student interns with confidence in any educational or clinical setting.

Workshop A2: Family Constellations
Presenter: Bill Mannle, LMFT

Unresolved issues from the past may cause the heart to shut down. If left unattended, this disruption in the flow of love, carried across generations, ripples into the shadows of the family landscape, often emerging as illness, emotional difficulties, and broken relationships. Family Constellations is a unique, experiential approach to change. A kind of "living map," it provides a creative and profound way of seeing into these dynamics that shape our lives and the suffering we experience. It has the potential to touch us on a deep energetic level, often leading to a transformation in our lives and the lives of those around us. In a Family Constellations session, individuals represent family members and physical objects in a group setting, creating a visual representation of the family system. This representation allows the underlying dynamics and issues to become apparent, leading to healing and resolution. In a personal constellation, the individual presents the issue. The facilitator guides exploring the individual's relationships and connections within the family system. 

Workshop A3: Embracing Diversity: Intersectional Identities and Interventions in Couples Therapy with LGBTQIA+ Clients
Presenter: Kristen Dew, LMFT-S, CST and Marcus Tart, LMFTA

Deepen your understanding of the experiences of queer intersectional identities with factors such as race, ethnicity, ability/disability, consensual non-monogamy, socioeconomic status, or religion. Gain a deeper understanding of the impact of internalized homophobia and transphobia on conflict, and learn how to develop culturally informed interventions that promote vulnerability, support, and connection with LGBTQIA* couples.

Workshop Series B  

Friday, April 21st, 2023 1:30pm-3:20pm

Workshop B1: Ethics in Supervision

Presenter: Lauren Pedersen, LMFT-AS, Reiki Master

This workshop will expand how we think about professional ethics to include privilege, power dynamics and deepening the use of self disclosure.

Workshop B2: Terminal Illness & Death: Families facing the final human life cycle

Presenter: Deborah Pausig

Whether it is a short or a long trajectory, a child or an elderly person, an illness, specifically a terminal illness, affects the family system at its core. Families learn to navigate changes in the sick, and themselves, while their loved one is still alive. The impact of a terminal diagnosis, impending death and death of a loved one affects the entire family system in this final human life cycle.

Workshop B3: Gottman Therapy

Presenter: Audrey Elbert, LMFT

The Gottman Method of Couples Therapy is an approach to couples therapy that includes a thorough assessment and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory. The goals of Gottman Method Couples Therapy workshop would be to understand the theory’s foundation, be introduced and learn how to implement many of the interventions offered by the method, and how to adapt the approach to better serve a larger community.

Workshop Series C  

Friday, April 21st, 2023 3:30pm-5:20pm

Workshop C1: Supervision Panel
Presenters: Lauren Pedersen, LMFT-AS, Reiki Master, Dr Noel Casiano, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, William Mannle, LMFT 

 As a therapist, we come across many different cases, clients, and scenarios that we are often unsure about. As a supervisor, we are responsible for holding these therapists and guiding them through their journey, sometimes without much support or training ourselves. It is often very difficult to find a space where we can bounce ideas off of one another as supervisors and feel seen in the struggles we experience ourselves. This supervision panel will create a space for people to be able to ask their questions, share their experiences, and be provided resources and guidance.

Workshop C2: Applying the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model to Family Therapy
Presenter: Ralph S. Cohen, PhD, Professor Emeritus - CCSU Department of Counselor Education and Family Therapy, IFS Senior Lead Trainer

The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, is one of the most sought-after psychotherapy models in current times due to its powerful but gentle and non-pathologizing approach to a wide variety of presenting problems, ranging from anxiety and depression to complex trauma.  It is also being employed in relational therapies, including couples, family, and group therapies.  This workshop, taught by an experienced IFS trainer and practitioner, will provide new information and techniques in applying the model to working with families in a variety of settings.

Workshop C3: Veterans & Couples
Presenters: Georjean Lubus, LPC & Albert Guillorn, LMFT

This workshop will address the major impact of military service on family structure and interaction. Clinicians will be able to identity and access major networks of resources available to veterans, active duty, and national guard. Educating clinicians about engagement with veterans overcoming the stigma of seeking services and the impact on the family system when military member refuses mental services.

Workshop Series D  

Saturday, April 22nd, 2023 2:00pm-3:50pm

Workshop D1: Systemic & Developmental Context in Supervision

Presenter: Natale Teodoro, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor

Supervision of couples and family therapists is a complex and dynamic process. The needs of supervisees differ greatly depending on their experience, stage of training, and development. Interns, MFT Associates, and LMFT’s also present for supervision in varying contexts, each with its own unique systemic demands and constraints. Such contexts also shape a supervisor’s role and scope. This workshop offers a look at the intersection between the systemic contexts and developmental needs in supervision. Participants will also have an opportunity to practice creating goals for supervision that are sensitive to development and context. Ethical considerations will be discussed thought the workshop.   

Workshop D2: Engaging the WHOLE family: including the "little" in Family Therapy

Presenter: Jane Roets, LMFTA

Working with the whole family system when several members are barely walking and talking can seem challenging if you are used to clients who sit and can form a sentence. This can sometimes lead to disregarding the role those very little people can play in both balancing and unbalancing the system. Learn strategies for both understanding the developmental impact of having young children on a family’s ability to function, as well as ways to include little ones in the work you are doing to support a family’s path towards healing and health.

Workshop D3: The Therapists' Role in Supporting Clients Contemplating or Navigating Divorce
Presenter: Rosemarie Ferrante & Jill D. Bicks

The Therapists’ Role in Supporting Clients Contemplating or Navigating Divorce" is designed for mental health professionals who work with clients considering or going through a divorce. Participants will gain an understanding of the three divorce processes available to families: traditional litigation, mediation, and collaborative divorce.  Participants will also learn (since they are often the first professionals clients turn to when exploring divorce) how they can help guide their clients to the process that will be best for their family. Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of each divorce process, and the factors that clients should consider when choosing the process that will work best for their specific situation. Participants will learn how to assess their clients' needs and preferences, as well as how to consider the impact of the divorce process on the entire family, including, most importantly, the children. Lastly, participants will understand the various roles they may play in the divorce process and how they can work with legal and financial professionals to support their clients. "The Therapists’ Role in Supporting Clients Contemplating or Navigating Divorce" is a comprehensive presentation that aims to educate and empower mental health professionals about the myriad ways that they can serve their clients who are navigating this major life transition.

Workshop Series E  

Saturday, September 24th 3:30pm-5:20pm

Workshop E1: Supervising Across Professions

Presenter: Angeles Ramos, LMFT

Description coming soon 

Workshop E2: Obstacles & Opportunities in the Peripartum: A Systemic Exploration of Perinatal Mental Health in America

Presenter: Catherine McDonald, MS, NCC, LPC

While a growing family is a complex and evolving system during pregnancy and beyond, there are many relevant external systems that influence maternal and baby outcomes that vary between certain populations, and all carry different consequent mental health risks. We will examine how psychosocial systems intersect with maternal health and how mental health providers can educate, collaborate, and positively influence mother-baby wellness with specific consideration to the sociopolitical climate on reproductive rights, racism in healthcare, maternal health disparities in the US and worldwide, and marginalized birthing people in the US. These systemic influences impact growing families from family planning and fertility journeys through prenatal care, birth experiences, and into the postpartum period, all in turn affecting mental health outcomes for the birthing person and the newborn. How can we as mental health professionals utilize the power of the therapeutic relationship and our understanding of systems to bring birthing families back to healthier roots? Join me to find out!

Workshop E3: Families of Origin and Couples Therapy
Presenter: Debra Borzellino, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, AAMFT Clinical Fellow

This workshop is designed for participants to learn how a couple’s family of origin, including birth order influence their relationship. Couples therapy is said to be one of the most difficult therapies to provide. This complex system of two individuals bringing forth their family of origin patterns of relating, characteristics of birth order, and their personal views of how to relate to one another, can create a significant challenge for any therapist. This training will provide how to use a genogram in a tailored way to visualize what the couple is knowingly and unknowingly contenting with. A closer review of birth order will give context to how intimacy is created.

Ready to register? Go to our events page here and select the conference option that best fits your needs (Friday only, Saturday only, or Full Conference)