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Become Unstuck: Alliance Building with Challenging Clients

Mental health clinicians routinely encounter individuals with challenging personalities and behaviors. With these clients, we can become stuck in patterns of interaction that are not therapeutic, leave us feeling frustrated, and block us from engaging in healing relationships with our clients. This workshop will offer a deeper understanding of personality functioning and provide insights into improved working relationships with challenging individuals. In this workshop we will move toward a deeper understanding of the concept of personality and learn how to form therapeutic alliances in challenging professional relationships. Initially, the workshop will cover DSM-5’s alternative model for personality disorders with a focus on the elements of identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy and how individuals exist along a continuum for each of these elements. The workshop will examine how these elements manifest for clients along the spectrum, from little to no impairment through severe impairment. With insight into these personality elements, practical case examples will be reviewed along with exploration of how to form alliances with individuals who fall on the far ends of the spectrum. The outcome of the workshop will be a deeper understanding of personality more generally as well as some take-home tools for creating stronger therapeutic alliances with challenging clients.

 https://nefesh.org/workshops/BecomeUnstuck/view

Become Unstuck: Alliance Building with Challenging Clients


Friday, March 28th, 2025   10:00 AM EDT
$59.99 Sharen Barboza, Ph.D.

Mental health clinicians routinely encounter individuals with challenging personalities and behaviors. With these clients, we can become stuck in patterns of interaction that are not therapeutic, leave us feeling frustrated, and block us from engaging in healing relationships with our clients. This workshop will offer a deeper understanding of personality functioning and provide insights into improved working relationships with challenging individuals. In this workshop we will move toward a deeper understanding of the concept of personality and learn how to form therapeutic alliances in challenging professional relationships. Initially, the workshop will cover DSM-5’s alternative model for personality disorders with a focus on the elements of identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy and how individuals exist along a continuum for each of these elements. The workshop will examine how these elements manifest for clients along the spectrum, from little to no impairment through severe impairment. With insight into these personality elements, practical case examples will be reviewed along with exploration of how to form alliances with individuals who fall on the far ends of the spectrum. The outcome of the workshop will be a deeper understanding of personality more generally as well as some take-home tools for creating stronger therapeutic alliances with challenging clients.

About the Presenter

Dr. Sharen Barboza is a licensed clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in suicide prevention, crisis management, self-injury reduction, and self-care in institution settings. She holds a master’s degree in psychology from Tufts University, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and is certified in Wholebeing Positive Psychology.

This workshop Offers 3 Continuing Education Credits
This webinar is recorded and will not grant live credits.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Review the four basic elements of DSM-5’s alternative theory of personality functioning.
  2. Describe how all personalities fall along the continuum of these four elements
  3. Explore practical skills for developing a more effective working alliance with patients whose personality traits fall on the ends of the spectrum

Agenda:
What is personality? The elements of the alternative theory of personalty How individuals with little to no impairment in the elements of self (identity and self-direction) and interpersonal functioning (empathy and intimacy) present in treatment (30 minutes) Personality disorder and how it is expressed How personality elements are manifest in clients with severe impairment Results of these impairments in the therapeutic relationship (30 minutes) Professional relationships Empathic Validation Effective strategies for working with these clients (30 minutes) Case examples with interactive discussion (20 minutes) Review and summarize (10 minutes)
This presentation is open to:
  • Social Workers
  • Professional Counselors
  • Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
  • Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
  • Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
Course Level: introductory
Level of Clinician: beginner
  • New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
  • Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
  • Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
  • Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives

Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification. Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling. The grievance policy for trainings provided by the NEFESH INTERNATIONAL is available here Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid the tuition fee, logged in and out each day, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate (If this is a pre-recorded program, a post-test with a passing grade of 80% to receive a certificate.) Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion by clicking here.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
  • CE You! is an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland.
    CE You! maintains responsibility for this program.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0129.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0325.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0774.
Refund Policy: Full Refund until 48 hours before scheduled date.
48 hours before: full refund less $5.00 processing fee. After event no refund will be given.
*exclusions apply for reasonable need and cause.