On-Demand: Understanding Client Resistance as Pathological Ambivalence - 5 CEUs

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• CE Hours Included: 5 Core (please see below for details)
• Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”) ~ At your leisure to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
• Investment: $120 (provides lifetime access!)
  • To pay with PayPal, ACH transfer, or CashApp, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 404-913-2005. Otherwise, click below on "Enroll Now!"
• Presented by: Linda Buchanan, Ph.D.
  
• Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychotherapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
• Instruction Level: Intermediate

Educational Objectives:

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Classify resistance as Pathological Ambivalence (PA).
• Analyze why some individuals are more prone to developing PA than others.
• Identify common expressions of PA.
• Utilize strategies for sidestepping power struggles to empower clients to resolve ambivalence from within.
• Identify narratives and their projections while avoiding participating in the schemas or being the object of the projections.

Workshop Description:

Resistant, Oppositional, Borderline, Unmotivated. We often use such terms to describe patients who, despite expressing a desire to change, repeatedly reject our help. Therapists have all encountered clients that pay money for help and then resist the help offered often leading to labeling the client or causing the therapist to feel inadequate. Also it can be very difficult to know how to avoid getting into power struggles with our clients when they are not progressing as expected. This presentation, based on Dr. Buchanan’s Book, A Clinician’s Guide to Pathological Ambivalence: How to Be on Your Client’s Side Without Taking a Side, offers an alternative interpretation of patients’ apparent resistance, termed pathological ambivalence, which is rooted in early experience, biological functioning, and psychological narrative. These factors result in the development of strong but conflicting needs (such as wanting connection and fearing rejection) that can slow down, confuse or even halt the therapeutic process. The natural tendencies of therapists to take the side for growth can lead to many kinds of therapeutic obstacles. The therapist will be most effective when utilizing skills that promote a sense of being on the client’s side without taking any side. This workshop, will offer a framework to utilize specific strategies from a wide variety of evidence based treatments that enable the patient to resolve the ambivalence thus minimizing the likelihood that the therapy and/or therapist will become the target of the ambivalence. Case examples and experiential learning will also be utilized to educate the participants to sidestep power struggles, projections and splitting and to empower clients to resolve ambivalence from within.

Presented by: Linda Buchanan, Ph.D.

Dr. Linda Buchanan founded Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders in 1993 which was acquired by Walden Behavioral Care in 2017. She is now Senior Director of Clinical Services with Walden which provides Intensive Outpatient, Partial Hospitalization and Residential care for individuals with eating disorders in Dunwoody, Alpharetta and Decatur. Dr. Buchanan received her Master’s degree Georgia State University and a Diploma from the Psychological Studies Institute (now known as Richmont University) in Christian Counseling from which she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for her work in founding ACE. Dr. Buchanan then went on to receive her Ph.D. from Georgia State University doing a residency at the Medical College of Georgia. She currently has a book in publication titled A Clinician’s Guide to Dealing with Pathological Ambivalence: How to be on Your Client’s Side Without Taking a Side the content of which she has presented at multiple national conferences. She has published two chapters on her model of treatment of eating disorders which have been used as texts in a local doctoral program for Clinical Psychology students. Additionally, she has published four research articles on the treatment of eating disorders including two outcome studies of the treatment provided at Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders. She has been married for over 30 years and is the mother of two teenaged boys.

5 "Asynchronous" Core CE Clock Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

• PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree (TKT) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. TKT maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
• COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. For more detailed information regarding CE approvals, please click here.
  • Counselors Licensed in Canada: This workshop is approved for 5 credit hours through the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), event code: 64956056.
    
• SOCIAL WORKERS: This workshop is approved for 5 core CE hours through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW), approval #100220. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
• MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: This workshop is approved for 5 core CE hours through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT), approval #133-2020. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

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