When: Friday, November 18, 2022, 1-5:15pm EST
Where: On Zoom
Instructor: Dr. Laurie Watson
Level: Intermediate
Target Audience: Marriage & Family Therapists, Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Psychologists
Cost: $100
CEs: 4 CEs pending for LMFTs, LICSWs, LMHCs and Lic. Psychologists
*Evaluations and certificates are available online following course completion at www.ceuregistration.com for $30.
Therapists often feel comfortable working with communication problems or the emotional cycle in couples therapy, but sexuality has been relegated to a specialty. Yet, without a strong sexual attachment, the research shows that a couple’s bond is in jeopardy.
If you’re a couple’s therapist, you’re a sex therapist!
This workshop will orient therapists to think about sexual attachment as having a similar push-pull cycle that influences and is influenced by the emotional cycle. Since couples often don’t talk about sex, even with each other, participating therapists will learn why and how to bring up sex. A basic pattern based on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) using attachment theory for organizing emotions will be applied to a sexual pursuer and sexual withdrawer couple.
Sexual attachment is imperative to a strong bond in a romantic relationship
Emotional connection influences and is influenced by the sexual connection
Sexual pursuers and sexual withdrawers push and pull away in typical activating strategies
Bringing up sex early in treatment is the job of the therapist
Using TEMPO in Stage 1 can organize couples’ dilemmas and eventually define more productive next moves — Stage 2 involves action in the sexual cycle
Following this training, participants will be better able to:
Identify 3 reasons relationships are in jeopardy without a strong sexual bond
Define 2 characteristics of secure sexual attachment
Recite 1 way to bring up the sexual relationship in a first session
Schedule (all times in EST):
1-2:15pm Sexual Attachment Cycle (Video)
2:15-2:25pm Break Out into Small Groups
2:25-3:35pm Sexual Pursuers and Sexual Withdrawers (Withdrawer Video)
2:30-2:40pm Break Out into Small Groups
2:40-3:30pm Bringing up Sex (Role Play) & Brief Anatomy and Physiology
3:30-3:45pm Break
3:45-4:30pm TEMPO (EFT Organization of Cycle) for Stage 1 (Role Play)
4:30-5:15pm Q&A
Cancellation Policy: 50% refunds up to 7 days prior to the training; no refunds issued after November 11, 2022.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
For questions about the training, contact: Heidi Bercovici (heidibercovici@gmail.com) or Ann Zierler (annzierler@hotmail.com).
Laurie Watson, PhD, LMFT is a doctorate in sexology, licensed in marriage and family therapy and certified in both Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFET) and sex therapy. Practicing sex therapy for 22 years, she has authored a book, Wanting Sex Again, along with blogs for Psychology Today; and she lectures widely for therapists as well as the medical schools of UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University. Laurie owns and directs a clinic throughout North Carolina called Awakenings. She cohosts the popular podcast “Foreplay – Couples and Sex Therapy” which is highly ranked in sexuality on iTunes.