Psychodynamic Couple & Family Institute of New England

  NEW EVENT:  WORKING WITH COUPLES AND FAMILIES IN A TIME OF POLARIZATION, MAY 2      LEARN MORE


Events

Upcoming events

    • Saturday, May 02, 2026
    • 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM
    • Online
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    Presenter: Bill Doherty, Ph.D.

    Saturday, May 2nd, 2026

    Online Zoom Program

    9:00am - 12:15pm EST (3 CEUs)


    Agreement to Maintain Confidentiality of Clinical Information and Restrictions to Copying Workshop Content

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    I understand that I may hear clinical material in this course that must be kept strictly confidential and not discussed or disseminated in any form outside of the course. I agree that I will not record, take photos, or store digital content from the course other than those materials which have already been provided by the presenter and PCFINE. I understand that I need to view the on-line program in a private place where it cannot be overheard or observed by others who are not registered for the course.

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    The couples and families we see in therapy are not immune to strains caused by the deep political polarization in our country; nor are we as their therapists! In this online workshop, PCFINE welcomes expert clinician, educator and researcher in the field of couple and family therapy, Bill Doherty, PhD. Dr. Doherty will provide a road map for addressing political polarization in therapy with couples and families. He will address the sources of today’s polarization, special assessments for couples in conflict over politics, and tools for helping them buffer their relationships against these political stressors. He will also discuss how therapists can tend to their own politically charged feelings in doing this work.

    Although the primary focus will be on couple therapy, Dr. Doherty will also provide a perspective and examples of clinical work with parents and adult children. Dr. Doherty will use clinical case vignettes and video tapes to demonstrate his work. He will also discuss how he has adapted couple therapy principles in designing workshops that bring “reds” and “blues” together through the national nonprofit Braver Angels. There will be ample time for audience participation. 

    Bill Doherty, PhD, LP, LMFT is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota where he directed the doctoral Marriage and Family Program for many years. Clinically, he created discernment counseling for couples on the brink of divorce. Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, he co-founded Braver Angels, a citizen initiative bringing conservatives and liberals together to counteract political polarization and restore the fraying social fabric in American society. Among Bill’s awards is the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Academy. He is co-author of the book Helping Couples on the Brink of Divorce: Discernment Counseling for Troubled Relationships. 



    • Sunday, September 27, 2026
    • 8:45 AM
    • Sunday, June 13, 2027
    • 12:00 PM
    • Cambridge, Massachusetts


Past events

Saturday, November 01, 2025 Couples on Fire: Delving into a Self-Psychological Approach to Couple Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) for High Conflict Couples--Michelle Avigan, PhD and Carla Leone PhD
Saturday, March 22, 2025 Supporting the Mental Health of Gender Distressed Youth through Parent-Involved Therapy--Laura Edwards-Leeper, PhD
Saturday, December 07, 2024 Therapeutic Frameworks for Depressed and Suicidal Teens, Young Adults and their Parents: Spotlight on Attachment Based Family Therapy (ABFT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents and their Parents (DBT-A)-Guy Diamond, PhD and Judith Mintz, PhD
Saturday, March 16, 2024 Romantic Chemistry and Its Discontents: Assessing & Treating Lost Attraction in Couples--Suzanne Iasenza, PhD
Saturday, October 28, 2023 An Affair to Remember: How the Psychodynamic Model Has(n't) Met the Moment--Joe Shay, PhD, Magdalena Fosse, PhD, PsyD, David Goldfinger, PhD, Sejal Patel, PsyD, John Rosario, PsyD
Saturday, March 04, 2023 Working with Complex Childhood Trauma in Couple Therapy: From Dissociative Collusion to Shared Responsibility and Connection--Ron Nasim, PhD
Saturday, December 03, 2022 Difficult Conversations: 1) How Therapists Can Help Families Talk about Aging, Illness, and End of Life--Carolynn Maltas, PhD, Jennifer Stone, Ph From Love at Last to Not So Fast: Helping Couples and Families with Challenges Re-Coupling in Later Life [PM]
Saturday, February 05, 2022 Meeting the (Big!) Challenges of "Blended Families": What Works and What Doesn't for Couples and Families--Patricia Papernow, EdD
Saturday, November 13, 2021 The Impact of Racism on African American Couples: Implications for Couple Therapy--Marjorie Nightingale, PhD, JD, LMFT
Saturday, December 05, 2020 Couple Therapy at the Expanding Boundaries of Coupledom: 1) Morning Program: When One is Not Enough...Consensual Nonmonogamy--Magdalena Fosse, PhD, PsyD. 2) Afternoon Program: Can Couples Change Gender?...Exploring Gender Identity--Jean Malpas, LMHC, LMFT
Saturday, March 14, 2020 Parent-Child Attachment from Infancy through Adolescence: A Relational Lens for Prevention and Treatment in Pediatric and Mental Health Settings
Saturday, April 27, 2019 Reclaiming Intimacy in a Digital Age: Developing Relational Strategies for Families, Couples and Their Therapists--Todd Essig, PhD
Saturday, October 20, 2018 Before It's Too Late: Working with Substance Use and Process Addictions in Couple Therapy--David C. Treadway, PhD
Saturday, March 17, 2018 A Contemporary Self Psychological Approach to Couple Therapy: An Overview and Comparison with Gottman and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) Models--Carla Leone, PhD
Saturday, November 18, 2017 PCFINE 15th Anniversary Program: Couples on the Brink--Paul Efthim, PhD, Belinda Friedrich, LICSW, Jerome Gans, MD, David Goldfinger, PhD, Barbara Keezell, LICSW, Mary C. Kiely, PhD, Mark O'Connell, PhD, Joe Shay, PhD, Jennifer Stone, PhD
Saturday, April 01, 2017 Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) for Couples--David Mars, PhD, presenter, Carolynn Maltas, PhD and John Rosario, PsyD, discussants
Saturday, October 29, 2016 When Things Get Hot or Not: Countertransference to the Erotic in Couple Therapy--Suzanne Iasenza, PhD

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