Full Course Description

Module 1 | The Dynamics of Abuse and Manipulation: How Abusive Relationships Form, Function, and Fracture

Toxic relationships come in all types— romantic partners, business partners, parents, siblings, friends…

and everyone, at some point in their lives, has experienced a toxic relationship.

As a therapist you’ll encounter at least one client a month who is preparing to leave or has left a toxic relationship. They’re emotionally fragile, so being well-educated on how to provide the best care for your client is a must - as well as how to deal with your own feelings of frustration when your client returns to the toxic relationship.

Stephanie Sarkis PhD is the author of the best-selling books Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People— and Break Free and Toxic Relationships: Help Your Clients Recover from Gaslighting, Narcissism, and Emotional Abuse.

Watch Dr. Sarkis, for this training where she shows you, through evidence-based practice: trauma-informed therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, solution-focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, case studies and her 20 years of experience, how to help clients rebuild their lives after the trauma of a toxic relationship:

Knowing what to do when your client gets “hooked” on the cycle of abuse & reconciliation
Client who continues to seek out similar toxic relationships
Moving on without closure
Letting go of anger and self-blame
Establishing boundaries
Practicing self-care
Grief – working through the loss
Rebuilding emotionally healthy relationships

Don’t miss out on getting answers to an all-too common but underdiscussed personality type!

Purchase today!

Program Information

Objectives

Employ evidence-based practice from trauma-informed therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, solution-focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy to assist clients in rebuilding their lives.
Assess suicidality effectively and treat it through integrative psychodynamic psychotherapy and dialectical behavior therapy.
Determine a diagnosis of complex PTSD through trauma-informed interviewing skills.
Evaluate the research-based benefits of altruism through volunteering in increasing self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Analyze how parental alienation further traumatizes clients and their children.
Build 10 tools to help clients reestablish healthy boundaries via research-based activities.
Utilize clinical strategies to uncover and heal client’s family-of-origin trauma.
Minimize symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder through trauma-informed therapeutic techniques.
Prescribe individualized therapeutic care to improve client engagement when discussing experience of abuse.
Determine level of family-of-origin pathology in order to inform choice of treatment interventions.
Demonstrate knowledge of vicarious trauma for purposes of reducing clinician burnout.
Diagnose complex post-traumatic stress disorder in a clinical setting.

Outline

Neurochemical Cycle of Abuse: Every Day is a Recovery

Harder to leave when trauma bonding has occurred
Abuse = cortisol levels and adrenaline increases
Reconciliation = dopamine and oxytocin increase
Client’s brain can get addicted to this cycle
Withdrawal and/or reframing grief after the relationship (i.e., drug withdrawal)

Phases of Toxic Relationships – Cycle of Abuse

Attachment Style – Predictor of abuse vulnerability
Idealizing - Relationship begins - seems too good to be true, pressured commitment
Devaluing - Toxic person starts emotional abuse, eventually ramps up into physical abuse
Discarding - Client discovers toxic person’s infidelity, “financial cheating” or toxic person leaves

Results of Toxic Relationships

Complicated grief
Questioning what was “real” in the Relationship
Complex PTSD
Dissociative episodes
Brief psychotic episode
Dissociative identity disorder
Suicidality
Case study: Sarah, a 52-year-old female who is experiencing complex grief as a result of an abusive family of origin and abusive relationship

Returning to the Toxic Relationship

Leave toxic relationships at least three times before they leave for good or are killed
Abusers “hoover” victims to get their “narcissistic supply”
Therapists may start “fixing” rather than supporting client – codependent behavior

Solution-Focused Therapy to Relearn Self-Care

Creating future plans
Emotional and physical safety
ADL’s – in extreme cases
Reconnecting with healthcare (infidelity, etc)
Seeking injunction – restraining order
Reframing self-care as a necessity rather than a luxury
Case study: James, a 53-year-old male relearning basic life skills that were lost as a result of severe abuse and depression

Trauma-Informed Therapy to Break Free from Codependence

Multicultural therapy’s view that codependence is a culture-bound term
Multi-cultural implication – divorce, religious, traditional gender roles/abuse
Determining clients “secondary gain” from codependent behavior

Toxic Family of Origin

Abuse can be intergenerational
Family of origin substance abuse
“Splitting” - golden child and a scapegoat child
Siblings may maintain dysfunctional roles into adulthood
Using genograms to identify client’s familial behavior patterns
Transgenerational family therapy
Caregiving and elderly toxic parents

Existential Therapy Tools to Manage Suicidality

Best way to assess for suicidality according to research
Myths about suicidal behavior
Hidden signs of suicidality
Evidence-based treatment of suicidality resulting from abuse
Case study: Emma, a 17-year-old who has ended an abusive relationship

Coparenting with a Toxic Personality

Parental alienation
Using detailed parenting plan
Resources available - parent coordinator, family law attorney (some do pro bono work)
Communicate via a coparenting app
Case study: Ian, a 48-year-old who is learning how to coparent with their ex-partner who has been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder.

DBT & Grief Therapy Techniques to Redefine Closure

Toxic person will not give closure
Toxic people keep exes and friends “in rotation”
Helping clients find their own closure
Forgiveness is not necessary for closure
Dangers of pushing an agenda of forgiveness on clients
Sometimes closure is not possible
Clients can have fulfilling lives without closure or forgiveness

Reconnecting with Trusted Friends and Family

Reassessing emotional health of client’s loved ones
Client’s level of disclosure about the abuse to friends and family – how much is too much
Case study: Jimmy, a 28-year-old male reconnecting with family after going no-contact with his mother

ACT & Trauma-Focused Techniques to Help Client Forgive Themselves

Forgiving can be a continual process
Empty chair and writing techniques
CBT – changing inner dialogue (to non-violent communication)
Altruism as pathway to healing volunteerism – increase self-esteem and self-concept

The Power of Language in Session

When to refer to a relationship as “abusive”
Go at same pace of your client
Ask client what words they prefer
Some words can be triggers
Case Study: Sheila, a 38-year-old mother of two who feels she is the cause of the difficulties in her marriage

Trauma-Informed and Solution Focused Therapy - Prepare for Life After a Toxic Relationship

Helping clients identify signs of a healthy person
Addressing client’s concerns about a healthy relationship feeling “boring”
Addiction to the excitement of a toxic relationship
Reviewing client’s progress

TIPS for Therapists

Attend regular therapy sessions and clinical supervision
Beware of client’s experiences triggering your trauma
Expect to be contacted by abuser
You may be involved in litigation
Protecting yourself and your practice
Look for signs of burnout
Practice proactive self-care

Target Audience

Addiction Counsellors
Counsellors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Physicians
Psychologists
Social Workers

Copyright : 19/09/2024

Module 2 | Interventions for Treating Survivors: Evidence-Based and Trauma-Informed Modalities to Guide Treatment Planning, Safety, and Recovery

Copyright : 19/09/2024

Embracing Self-Compassion: A Pathway to Mental Health Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse and Gaslighting

Developing self-compassion is an essential skill for survivors of narcissistic abuse and gaslighting. By nurturing self-compassion, survivors create a supportive, inner environment that reduces self-criticism and provides a safe space in which they can process trauma associated with the abuse. Join Katelyn Baxter-Musser, LCSW, C-DBT, to learn strategies and tools to empower survivors in rebuilding self-esteem, establishing and enforcing boundaries, and developing healthier relationships.

Program Information

Objectives

Identify the importance of self-compassion in the context of narcissistic abuse and gaslighting.
Apply evidence-based self-compassion techniques to guide survivors in rebuilding self-esteem, establishing, and enforcing boundaries, and developing healthier relationships.
Define self-compassion and its three components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.

Outline

The Concept of Self-Compassion

Three components of self-compassion
Self-compassion in context of narcissistic abuse and gaslighting
Self-esteem vs self-compassion

Self-Compassion Techniques

Evidence-based practices
Techniques for therapists

Building Resilience through Self-Compassion

Empowering survivors
Rebuilding self-esteem
Setting health boundaries

Target Audience

Psychiatrists
Psychologists
Counsellors
Social Workers
Marriage and Family Therapists
Addiction Counsellors
Nurses
Physicians
Other Mental Health Professionals

After Self-Betrayal

Complete loss of self and engagement in behaviours that betray themselves, perpetuates the shame that can keep clients stuck in abusive relationships. Watch licensed therapist and narcissistic abuse recovery specialist Amy Kempe, LPC and discover how to help clients differentiate themselves from their past behaviour, assist them in creating their internal compass, and empower them to find their authentic selves.

Program Information

Objectives

Extrapolate how a client’s sense of self is eroded by being in a relationship with a narcissist.
Analyze co-occurring issues related to narcissistic enmeshment that can impact treatment.
Apply values-based psychoeducation techniques to help clients differentiate between narcissistic and non-narcissistic views.

Outline

How a client’s sense of self is lost in a narcissistic relationship
Self-betrayals, co-occurring issues and problematic coping strategies
Strategies to help clients differentiate themselves from their past behavior

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
Therapists
Art Therapists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Physicians
Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals

Ambiguous Loss in Narcissistic Relationships: Clinical Skills to Process the Unresolved Grief of Estrangement

Grief and loss hit clients recovering from narcissistic abuse on multiple levels. From grieving a childhood of abuse and neglect to mourning the loss of the rosy-coloured glasses that allowed victims to stay in a cycle of abuse -- grief echoes through all corners of the adult child of a narcissist’s life. In this session, you’ll view narcissistic abuse expert and best-selling author Amy Marlow-MacCoy, LPC as she gives you the skills and tools you need to recognize grief in a client’s anger, help them identify the losses of the past, present, and future, and come to terms with the ambiguity of grieving a person or relationship that may never be peacefully resolved.

Program Information

Objectives

Differentiate ambiguous loss from other losses and identify relevant clinical implications.
Apply the theory of ambiguous loss to clinical cases involving emotional abuse and estrangement.
Support clients in exploring all dimensions of grief work, coping with past, present and future losses.
Analyze how guilt and shame can complicate grief, particularly when a client’s estranged loved one dies and they are unable to achieve resolution.
Employ a past, present and future perspective to treatment to help clients manage the pain of the past, find closure, and envisions a future after the “death” of a relationship.
Apply evidence-informed techniques for promoting resilience in circumstances of ambiguous loss in the context of estrangement or the end of abusive relationships.

Outline

Ambiguous losses in the context of abuse
The grief of the past - the childhood that happened and the one that didn’t
Grieving the present and future - helping clients come to terms with what is
Clinical skills to process grief that occurs in relationships that end or change due to estrangement
Risks, limitations and challenges

Target Audience

Counsellors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Nurses
Nurse Practioners
Psychologists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professions