Year II Educational Objectives

Psychodynamic Couple & Family Institute of New England

Educational Objectives

Couples and Parenthood

Linda Camlin, Ph.D.

To be able to describe the major intrapsychic, relational, systemic, cultural, and racial domains of a couple's life impacted during the transition to parenthood
To be able to identify two essential benefits to parents having developed a "creative couple" capacity
To be able to identify and describe intergenerational themes in a couple's life that are woven into the development of their present family system

The Fight to be Right: High-Conflict and Aggression in Couple Therapy

Larry Chud, M.D.

To be able to describe two characteristics of Narcissistic rage that distinguishes it from other forms of aggression
To be able to identify two approaches suggested by a self-psychology approach to manage intense conflict between members of a couple as reported or experienced during sessions
To be able to identify two therapist countertransference reactions to couples who attack each other and/or the therapist

Race and Other Sociocultural Dimensions of our Work with Couples

Paul Efthim, Ph.D. and Katie Naftzger, Ph.D.

To be able to reflect and identify on professional experiences in which discomfort around sociocultural differences may have impacted the treatment process
To be able to define the concepts of white guilt and white shame, and identify at least two ways these emotions can be used constructively in the couple therapy process
To be able to describe three approaches that white therapists can employ to support couples of color facing systemic racism.

Betrayal in Relationships: Infidelity and Couple Therapy

Joe Shay, Ph.D.

To be able to identify the multiple kinds of affairs and betrayals in relationships
To be able to specify the various stages of treatment for couples in which an affair or betrayal has been an issue
To be able to predict the various therapeutic challenges of working with couples in which an affair or betrayal has been an issue and to utilize these predictions in preparing the ongoing treatment

Sexual and Gender Diversity in Couple Therapy

Jenn Bortle, Ph.D.

To be able to describe the concepts of gender and sexual orientation, including concepts of gender identity, gender expression and sex assigned at birth as well as a variety of sexual orientations
To recognize heteronormative and cis-normative bias and describe how it might impact LGBTQ couples in the consulting room and in their world and to increase awareness of such bias in professional and clinical language and in oneself as a clinician and describe ways to mitigate this bias with more inclusive language use and increased therapist self-awareness.
To describe issues unique to LGBTQ couples that might be relevant to their treatment.

Moral Dimensions in our Work with Couples

Separation and Divorce

Mary C. Kiely, Ph.D. and Oona Metz, LICSW

To be able to describe potential countertransferential challenges of working with couples considering separation or divorce
To be able to describe in what ways the therapeutic focus of a couple therapy will shift once a decision to end a relationship occurs and to discern one's comfort level with seeing couples post the divorce decision
To be able to describe the use of Winnicott's concept of the transitional object as it relates to a co-parent plan

Narrative Therapy with Couples: Re-storying Problem Stories

Playing with Fire: The Peril and Potential of Play in Couple Therapy

Brent Reynolds, LMHC

To be able to describe some of the risks and benefits of applying a conceptual framework of play in clinical process with couples
To be able to identify and apply effective interventions in order to nurture flexibility, variability, and spontaneity in the couple interaction
To be able to describe how the therapist's facilitation of the process of play, in relation to and between the couple, represents a particular kind of therapeutic action enhancing mentalization, affect regulation and a more secure attachment