See individual sessions below.

MEETS FULL REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCED TRAINING IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EDUCATION FOR DV PROVIDERS!

FRIDAY — NOVEMBER 4, 2011, 8am–5pm (8 hours):
“Wider Than The Sky: Incorporating Neuroscience and Attachment Theory into Batterer Treatment”

Anger is a universal emotion. Great social movements have been inspired and motivated by people's anger. John Bowlby wrote that anger of hope can create greater understanding, intimacy, and strengthen the social bonds between loved ones. However, anger of despair (and rage in particular) can lead to hurt, pain, disappointment, alienation, and (in its most extreme expressions) violence. This workshop will explore the emotions of anger and fear through the lens of attachment theory and incorporate the latest findings in the affective and cognitive neurosciences--so that therapists can develop the most contemporary and innovative framework for understanding and intervening with perpetrators of domestic violence. In this workshop you will learn:

• The relationship between insecure attachment and anger
• How insecure attachment can lead to violence
• How to help clients more adaptively regulate emotions in a way that enhances relationships
• How to incorporate the science of mirror neurons in psychotherapy
• The differences between emotional and cognitive empathy, contagion and sympathy
  

Faculty: Daniel J. Sonkin, Ph.D. — Daniel Jay Sonkin, Ph.D., LMFT has specialized in childhood and adult trauma, interpersonal conflict and family violence for the past thirty years. He is an internationally-recognized expert in the field of family violence who has testified as an expert witness in death penalty, domestic violence and standard of care cases. Dr. Sonkin is the author of numerous books and articles on domestic violence, child abuse, and incorporating attachment theory and neurobiology into clinical practice.

SATURDAY — NOVEMBER 5, 2011, 8am–12 Noon (4 hours):
“Innovations In Treating the Untreatable: Psychopathic Domestic Violence Offenders”

Research suggests that a small group of domestic violence offenders are most responsible for repeated acts of DV that may be among the most severe offenses. This group has also been shown to evade sentences and treatment interventions. This workshop, based on innovative treatment models for reaching this most difficult population, will teach essential skills in discriminating the treatable from the untreatable. Participants will learn the following:

• How to identify the psychopathic offender
• What we know and do not know about this psychopathic offenders
• Arguments for targeting psychopathic offenders for specialized interventions
• Developing strategies that actually make sense with this population
• Recommendations for how to intervene, both at the coordinated community response level and in treatment settings
  

Faculty: Curtis St. Denis, Portland State University — Curtis St. Denis, MA, is the Clinical Coordinator for the Special Supervision Team in Multnomah County, Oregon assessing for psychopathy and violence risk. He also provides batterer intervention groups for Allies in Change in Beaverton, Oregon and is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at Portland State University. He has worked in the field of forensic psychology since 1983, including work in three prisons and the Oregon State Hospital. His innovative work includes treatment and evaluation of sex offenders, batterers, mentally ill offenders, psychopaths and violent offenders.

SATURDAY — NOVEMBER 5, 2011,  1pm–5pm (4 hours):
“Welcoming Resistance Into the Room: Motivational Interviewing Strategies with Men in Treatment”

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an innovative therapeutic strategy treatment providers being used to increase treatment motivation and reduce resistance within the treatment process. Motivational Interviewing is informed by the Transtheoretical Model, which delineates five distinct stages of change: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, and Maintenance. Since many men enter treatment unprepared to make changes that would lower their risk for future episodes of partner violence, clinicians need skills for how to effectively assess client motivation and intervene based on their readiness to change. This workshop will provide participants with the following:

• The most current methods for assessing client motivation and readiness to change
• A theoretical framework and strategies for using MI and the TTM with DV offenders
• Skills to help improve rapport with clients and enhance treatment adherence
• Opportunities to practice MI and TTM skills with common issues that DV offenders bring to treatment
  

Faculty: Robert Scholz, Pepperdine University  —  Robert Scholz, LMFT, serves as Assistant Director and Coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs at Pepperdine University’s Counseling Center. He also regularly teaches courses at Pepperdine on the topics of Substance Abuse, Juvenile Delinquency and Forensic Psychology. He is a frequent presenter/trainer at national conferences and co-author of the book, Engaging Resistance: Creating Partnerships for Change in Sex Offender Treatment. He specializes in counseling men and adolescent boys perceived as treatment-resistant, including those who have engaged in relationship violence, sexually aggressive behaviors, and substance abuse problems. His research examines client and counselor experiences of the counseling process with men in therapy.

$125-$165 (Single day) $240-$305 (both days)
Special discounts for SDPA members.

David B. Wexler, Ph.D., an internationally acclaimed speaker, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Diego, specializing in the treatment of relationships in conflict. He is the Executive Director of the Relationship Training Institute, a pioneering non-profit agency enhancing relationship development for thousands of clients and professionals since 1986.

Dr. Wexler is the author of many books and articles, including When Good Men Behave Badly: Change Your Behavior, Change Your Relationship and Is He Depressed or What?: What to Do When the Man You Love is Moody, Irritable, and Withdrawn. The California Psychological Association has designated Dr. Wexler as a Master Lecturer, and he received the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology award at their annual convention in 2003. Dr. Wexler has been featured on the Dr. Phil show and the TODAY show, in the Washington Post, “O” magazine, Cosmo, Redbook, Men’s Health, and on dozens of radio and TV programs throughout North America to help educate the public about relationships in conflict and how to resolve them.

Workshop limited to 12 couples! Register early for best rates!

In this intensive Friday evening and all-day Saturday workshop, couples will learn about the central patterns that trip up even the most loving and committed of couples. Based on Dr. Wexler’s ground-breaking theories and more than twenty years of experience working with couples (and especially with getting “good men” to talk more and learn the skills required for successful intimate relationships), this workshop will be both educational and experiential. You will learn how to identify the “hot buttons” that trigger destructive behaviors in all of us, and how to get back in charge of how you are treating yourself, your partner, and your relationship.

Most importantly–this workshop is designed to identify the ways in which you, as a couple, are already very successful in dealing with conflicts and with bringing out the best in each other. You will learn from an expert in the field, from the other couples in the room, and from your own personal histories how to create a relationship structure to last you for years to come.

Who Should Attend:

RTI’s Building Better Relationships workshop welcomes all couples in intimate partner relationships, married or unmarried, who are committed to dealing with conflicts more effectively, re-discovering the wonderful qualities in each other, and bringing out the best qualities in their relationship. Some couples who attend are quite happy with their relationship and want it to get even better, while others may be experiencing significant distress and want to do everything they can to save the relationship.

This workshop is for you if:

• you want to make your good relationship even better
• you are in a relationship with conflicts and want to learn new tools for resolving them
• you are beginning a relationship and you want to do everything you can to build a solid foundation
• you are considering a break-up or divorce and want to decide if the relationship still has a chance

Workshop Themes:

• Learn how the “broken mirror” experience can destroy even the best of relationships
• Recognize the importance of establishing “twinship” in your relationship
• Discover the power of “emotional authenticity” in building emotional and sexual intimacy
• Learn when NOT to be totally honest with your thoughts and feelings
• Learn communication tools that generate mutual respect rather than mutual attacks
• Recognize how important your “relationship narrative” is–and what to do about it
• Celebrate all the strengths that already exist in this relationship and how to build on them
• Discover the power of “distress tolerance” to create a safe relationship environment
• Discover how easy it is to create a climate of mutual respect
• Understand how to identify the primary emotions that trigger the secondary emotion of anger
• Learn when to confront and when to back down
• Discover how to use the good, the bad, and the ugly in your relationship as opportunities for personal growth

Early Bird Registration (paid by Dec. 12, 2011) – $495/couple
Regular Registration (paid by Jan. 9, 2012) – $595/couple
Late Registration (paid after Jan. 9, 2012) – $695/couple

Paul Sussman, Ph.D.

MEETS REQUIREMENTS FOR SUPERVISOR TRAINING FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS, CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS*, AND MFTs!

This one day workshop provides an update of the latest research and a complete overview of advanced strategies for conducting clinical supervision. Integrating new skills and hands-on demonstrations for dealing with difficult supervision issues, this interactive workshop is designed as a skills upgrade for clinicians who have taken on the rewarding-and challenging-role of clinical supervisors. This program meets requirements for advanced continuing education for psychologists, clinical social workers, and MFT's.

• What Supervisees Are NOT Telling you (That You NEED To Know!)
• Setting the Stage for Excellent Supervision in the First Three Supervision Meetings
• The "Dark Side" of Mentoring: Abuse, Neglect and Supervisor Narcissism
• Current Research on What Contributes to "High Quality Supervision"
• The "Action Oriented" Supervisor
• The Tenuous Boundary Between Psychotherapy and Supervision

$125-$155 — Discounts available for Allied Agencies/early bird registration and SDPA members)

Ellen Stein, Ph.D.

MEETS REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHICS TRAINING FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS, CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS, AND MFT’S!

The Most Informative And Entertaining Ethics Training Anywhere In California!

Ellen Stein, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Alliant International University in San Diego. Dr. Stein teaches the BOP/BBS required workshops in Law/Ethics and Domestic Violence for various schools, county health departments and mental health agencies across California. She is also a forensic expert offering assessment, expert witness testimony and treatment in both civil and criminal cases. Dr. Stein consults with licensed mental health practitioners who face either inquiry or investigation by the BBS/BOP. She is also a lead instructor for the AATBS, training candidates for the national psychology license exam (EPPP) throughout the Western United States. She has published extensively on legal and ethical issues. Her training workshops are known for her outstanding interweaving of valuable ethical training in an entertaining and engaging style.

In the workshop you will learn:

WHAT EXACTLY IS “MALPRACTICE”?

HAVE THE LAWS/REGULATIONS CHANGED SINCE I WAS LICENSED?
Child Abuse/Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse/Supervision Coursework Requirements/Spousal/Partner Abuse Coursework Requirements/Aging/Long-Term Care Coursework Requirements/The NEW Tarasoff Warning

HIPAA: NEW SECURITY STANDARDS
Court Orders vs. Subpoenas/Treating Minors Without Parental Consent/Danger to Self, Others, Property of Others

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “ETHICS”?
Informed Consent/Confidentiality v. Privilege v. Privacy/Record Keeping and Disclosure/Dual and Sexual Relationships with Patients/Boundary Violations: Risk Factors

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEW TRENDS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE?
The Patriot Act/Patient Death: Personal Needs v Professional Obligations/The “Professional Will”

$130–$155 — Discounts available for students/Allied Agencies/early bird registration)

David B. Wexler, Ph.D. / Alyce LaViolette / Teresa Santana, SD DA Office / Dan Plein, SDPD / Stacy Buhbe, Ph.D. / Ellen Stein, Ph.D. /
Karen Hyland, Ph.D. / Leona Smith, MSW / Anabel Bejarano, PhD /
Esmeralda Solorzano, MFT / Vincent J. Felitti, MD

MEETS NEW CALIFORNIA REQUIREMENTS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CERTIFICATION!

Something for everybody working in the field of domestic violence!
Selected workshop days may be attended separately!

The STOP Program training model (formerly Domestic Violence 2000) has been acclaimed internationally for outstanding integration of contemporary theory, research, and practice in the complex and quickly-changing world of DV intervention. This conference integrates the leading figures in the field and presents the information in a powerful, comprehensive, and always engaging style!

This five day workshop provides a complete overview of the field of domestic violence, with specific training in group treatment and intervention. This program meets the state requirements for certification of treatment providers at approved agencies.

Day One: BEHIND THE SCENES
Day Two: NUTS & BOLTS
Day Three: DIVERSITY ISSUES
Day Four: THE BIG PICTURE: Coordinated Community Response
   SUBSTANCE ABUSE & RELATIONSHIP ABUSE: What’s The Connection?
Day Five: VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

$140-$165 — single day
$485-$585 — full conference

Ellen Stein, Ph.D.

LEARN WHAT GRADUATE SCHOOL NEVER TAUGHT YOU!

Special discount rates for students and post-grads!

Ellen Stein, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Alliant International University in San Diego. Dr. Stein teaches the BOP/ BBS required workshops in Law/Ethics and Domestic Violence for various schools, county health departments and mental health agencies across California. She is also a forensic expert offering assessment, expert witness testimony and treatment in both civil and criminal cases. Dr. Stein consults with licensed mental health practitioners who face either inquiry or investigation by the BBS/BOP. She is also a lead instructor for the AATBS, training candidates for the national psychology license exam (EPPP) throughout the Western United States. She has published extensively on legal and ethical issues. Her training workshops are known for her outstanding interweaving of valuable ethical training in an entertaining and engaging style.

Workshop highlights:

Remember all that coursework and training in how to generate a private practice in a competitive marketplace and manage it effectively? Right. Nobody else does either.

Graduate school provided you with clinical training--but it probably offered you very little guidance in developing the business skills necessary to successful practice as a mental health clinician.

This seminar provides a comprehensive overview of current clinical and business trends, plus practices and guidelines that inform sound clinical private practice today.

The topics are designed to familiarize you (whether you are about to be licensed, you are already licensed, or you have been in private practice for years) with how to establish yourself in private practice and manage it right:

• Integrate proven strategies for establishing your practice in a busy or saturated marketplace
• Manage common clinical, ethical and legal dilemmas encountered by new and seasoned practitioners alike.
• Develop and implement effective office policies, forms, and documentation

$100–$155 — Discounts available for students/Allied Agencies/early bird registration)

Earn 14.0 Professional CE hours!

FOR CALIFORNIA CERTIFIED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TREATMENT PROVIDERS ONLY: If you are seeking credit for advanced education for DV treatment providers, you may apply for 2.0 additional hours in order to complete your annual California requirement of 16.0 hours. Please notify our office via email. You will have the opportunity to gain these additional 2.0 hours via online reading and then completing a test to indicate successful integration of the material. These hours are only approved for advanced DV, NOT as CE hours for professional licensure. There is no additional charge for these hours.

San Diego Marina Village Conference Center  —  www.marinavillage.net
1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109

Preferred guest rates available at The Dana Hotel on Mission Bay,
click here for reservations

John Gottman, Ph.D. is world-renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction, including the study of emotions, physiology, and communication. He is the author of 190 published academic articles and author or co-author of 40 books, including his NY Times best seller, Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. He is the Executive Director of the Relationship Research Institute, which creates programs for new parents and treatments for domestic violence.

Julie Schwartz Gottman, Ph.D. is a highly respected clinical psychologist and educator who was recently honored as the Washington State Psychologist of the Year. She is the designer and Clinical Director for Loving Couples, Loving Children, a curriculum for couples challenged by poverty, and co-de-signer of a therapeutic model for addressing domestic violence.

This workshop also satisfies California Penal Code 1203.097c that requires that facilitators of Batterers Intervention Programs receive 16 hours of yearly continuing education.

When couples enter the therapy office, they sting with pain and despair. They look to the clinician to referee chronic conflicts, fix their partners, and rebuild burned bridges. Now, based on Dr. John Gottman’s 35 years of compelling research with over 3,000 couples, there’s a practical and highly effective approach to guiding these couples across the chasm that divides them. In this course, Drs. John and Julie Gottman provide you with a research-based roadmap for helping couples to compassionately man-age their conflicts, deepen their friendship and intimacy, and share their life purpose and dreams.

Who should attend — This course will be of benefit to all mental health practitioners, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses and related professionals working with couples. It is also of benefit to students and interns, profes-sional teachers of couples therapy, researchers in the social sciences, and employee assistance professionals.

What you will learn — In this inspirational two-day course, you will learn:

• Research-based strategies and tools to help couples successfully man-age conflict
• Skills that empower couples to dialogue about their worst gridlocked issues by uncovering their underlying dreams, history, and values
• Methods to help couples process their fights and heal their hurts
• Techniques for couples to deepen their intimacy and minimize relapse
• New assessments and effective interventions to help understand couples’ struggles

** Receive a complimentary 300-page manual featuring new relationship assessment questionnaires and clinical interventions that you can use immediately with your clients. This manual is only available for workshop participants!

** Receive Level I Gottman Method Training Certificate

** Advanced Gottman Training Videos and Manuals Available Only for Workshop Participants at Reduced Rates!

$349-$449 — Discounts available for early bird registration, SDPA members, San Diego-CAMFT and San Diego North County-CAMFT members, Allied Agencies and students