South Region Luncheon
Presented by Sharon Mead, LMFT
Tired of feeling helpless when your couples erupt into open warfare during a session? Looking for a way to understand the anger or indifference that makes a pair look more like mortal enemies than loving partners?
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is an attachment-based approach to couple therapy grounded in 25 years of research. EFT can transform the way you work with couples, demystifying the conflict that erupts when couples feel unwanted or rejected.
Sue Johnson co-created this systemic, humanistic, and experiential model that can lead to deep, lasting and loving connections. Rather than teaching skills, EFT therapists work like empathic detectives to help couples discover the rigid and repetitive patterns that leave them feeling stuck and frustrated.
Looking thru an attachment lens, the moves each partner makes can be seen as a need for safety and a longing for connection. Johnson describes a couple’s interactions as a dance and the emotions are the music. She says, “If you change the music, you change the dance.”
Presenter Sharon Mead will show:
- How the attachment frame helps couples see their partner in a new light. "Of course, you are screaming at him; you want to know that you matter to him." Or, “Of course you spend all of your time in the garage; you are so afraid that you'll do something to alienate her and she is so important to you.”
- How understanding the triggers that lead into a negative dance or cycle can lead to de-escalation and interrupts the "trying to find the bad guy dance."
- Research that proves secure attachment changes the way the brain works.
- The empirical validation for the effectiveness and long-lasting effects of EFT.
Mead will provide practical concepts and at least two interventions that can be used right away. If you’ve been reluctant to work with couples or feel the need for more tools, this presentation will provide an overview of how to move couples from painful disconnection to a more secure, loving and lasting bond.
The goal of this program is to increase interest in EFT among therapists in working with couples, to describe what makes EFT a useful and effective tool to help couple clients, and to provide practical concepts and interventions that can be used right away.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
- Describe the EFT model of couple distress based on attachment theory
- List the 3 important change events in EFT
- Implement at least two new interventions that will help with couple de-escalation
About the Presenter
Sharon is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in west San Jose. She specializes in working with couples using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). She is a member of the Northern California Community for Emotion Focused Therapy and the International Center for Excellence in Emotion Focused Therapy. She has completed the core training for EFT (Externship and Core Skills) as well as has many specialized trainings such as EFT with families, EFT with trauma, EFT and Self of Therapist. She is currently working with an EFT supervisor toward certification in EFT. Sharon worked with low income families in her internship with Santa Clara County Mental Health CalWORKs clinic. She is very excited about the tools and roadmap EFT provides for highly effective couple therapy and wants to spread the word to other therapists, especially in the South Bay.
PRE-REGISTRATION ENDS MONDAY, JUNE 19. Registration and payments must be received by the Monday before the event to guarantee lunch. Reservations will be held until noon. "Walk-ins" are welcome at a higher rate ($33 members / $40 non-members), however lunch and seating is not guaranteed.. Register online with MasterCard, Visa, American Express, PayPal, or check (payable to SCV-CAMFT). Your check must be received by the Monday prior to the event. Mail checks to SCV-CAMFT, P.O. Box 60814, Palo Alto, CA 94306. Please allow 10 days for delivery. Continuing Education: This course meets the qualifications for 1 hour of continuing education credit for MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Science (CAMFT CE Provider #052466). SCV-CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. This presentation is suitable for all clinical levels. Certificates: To obtain your certificate, you must sign-in and sign-out at the event and complete a program evaluation. These are CAMFT requirements. You will be emailed a link to the evaluation within a week after the event. Upon completion of the evaluation, you will have access to the certificate. You must add your name and license number to make it official. This link will be active for 2 weeks after the email is sent. Audits: You can audit as a member for $10 and $15 for a non-member. Auditing does NOT include a meal or CEU credit. You can add CEUs when you register for an additional fee. For those auditing, the presentation begins at noon. Cancellations: Refunds will be issued if a request for cancellation is received by the Monday before the event. No refunds will be issued if a request for cancellation is received after the Monday before the event. To cancel, please send an email to mail@scv-camft.org or call the chapter voicemail at 408-235-0210. Refunds will be issued within ten (10) business days. Accommodations for Disability: The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CAMFT is committed to providing a presentation that is accessible to all who wish to attend. If you have a special need and plan to attend, please notify us at mail@scv-camft.org or 408-235-0210. Requests must be made one week in advance. Chapter Board Meetings are generally held prior to the chapter’s monthly luncheons, at the same location, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Members are welcome to attend by notifying a board member. Grievance Policy: Any concern or grievance can be put in writing and emailed to mail@scv-camft.org.
