let's get something out of the way. This is an ad. I'm selling something.
I want to be totally upfront about that, because as we move more and more into the digital age, trust is super valuable.
That being said, I'm selling something I 100% believe it.
As long time readers of this blog know, in 2024 I got 1-1 coaching with Alyssa Di Bartolomeo. She's a researcher at York University who specializes in reading clients.
Specifically she her research is in reading and working with client's level of motivation. Through her research, which she's conducted along side her mentor Henny Westra, Ph.D, they've found that the most important dynamic in motivation is how counselors respond to client resistance.
About a month ago they reached out to me and asked if I wanted to partner with them in giving a series of trainings.
I of course said yes.
This is, hands down, the most powerful training I've been through to date. It's not just learning to work with resistant clients. That alone would be amazing. I mean how many times have you gotten stonewalled by the resistant teen? Or had a wife drag a reluctant husband into therapy? Even though the content alone is very powerful, that's not the best part of this training.
And it's not just how practical this training is. Most trainings are too abstract. You listen to a trainer connect the dots for you during the training, but afterwards, when actually sitting with a client, it's a bit confusing how to actually apply what you learned to your client. And how do you know if you're doing it right? After this training you'll know exactly when to reflect and when to chearled and when to not to.
But even that's not the best part.
The best part is learning what Henny and Alyssa call acuity, learning to read to micro nuances of a session to really see where clients are. It totally removes the guessing from therapy.
So I think you should come. if you can't come, I totally get it. Between timing and money you can't all make it. Please feel free to check out these articles.
or this podcast
They are free resources to help you become a better counselor.
Also subscribe to my newsletter. I'll keep writing about all the thing I'm learning from them.
However, if you'd like to come, I've included a summary below and the full flier below that. You can register here. Hope to see you there!
Best,
Summary
What: Learning to Identify Errors in Managing Resistance & Ambivalence in Therapy: A Video Analysis Workshop.
Who: Dr. Henny Westra, Dr. Jordan Harris & Alyssa Di Bartolomeo.
When: April 14th; in person at York University. May 16th; Virtual.
How many hours of CEs? 7CEs
How much? $300 Canadian. Discounts available for students.
How do I sign up? Click this link to go to the registration page.
Learning to Identify Errors in Managing Resistance & Ambivalence in Therapy:
A Video Analysis Workshop (Dates for Online & In Person)
Teaching therapists to ‘code’ therapy process - to explicitly tune in to and pick up on these signals (or process ‘tells’), is a new direction in training to help therapists become ‘process experts’ on a moment-by-moment basis as therapy is unfolding. These process markers, especially of unproductive process (at times of resistance, noncompliance, stuckness, criticism, etc.) are often hidden and difficult to spot without training. As a result, therapists inadvertently make responsiveness errors because they don’t recognize the signs and are not taught how to use them to steer the process back on a productive track.
In this workshop, we will use in depth analysis of video examples and lots of practice with feedback. You will learn how to identify the classic observable signs of unproductive, repetitive cycles that we all fall into that keep therapy from moving forward. You will learn to become adept at quickly identifying / diagnosing the quality of the collaboration on a moment-by-moment basis in real time during therapy; and then learn how to get it back on track when it’s off. These skills cut across therapy approach and diagnosis. Westra and Di Bartolomeo (2024) underscore the importance of being attuned to micro-moments in session as a way to track client progress in real time (i.e., Process Coding) and improve therapist responsiveness. Similarly, the method of Deliberate Practice (i.e., thoughtful and systematic continuous practice with expert feedback) has continued to demonstrate superiority to more passive training models in psychotherapy workshops (e.g., Chow et al., 2024; Westra et al., 2021). This workshop will harness both methods (i.e., Process Coding and Deliberate Practice) to improve your recognition and responsiveness to challenging therapeutic moments.
As part of this workshop, you will complete a pre- and post-workshop test of your skills (follow the YouTube link to complete the first half of the test). This will give you a sample of the kinds of difficult situations we will consider in the workshop and you will learn how to score your responses in the workshop (as well as how to generate effective responses).
Objectives. In this workshop you will:
Learn to differentiate productive from unproductive therapy process
Learn to decode and detect typically hidden signals of disengagement, noncollaboration, rupture & reluctance (the ‘tells’)
Re-engage clients by responding effectively in empirically supported ways to signals of negative process
Hone your attention to the ‘tells’ of negative process & improve your nonverbal sensitivity
Identify therapist errors in managing resistance and ambivalence
Practice and receive feedback on your responses to and management of ambivalence, resistance, and negative process
Build nonreactivity and resilience to difficult interpersonal situations and impasses
Dates & Locations
One Day Workshop (9 – 4:30 pm):
In-person version of this workshop on Monday, April 14, 2025 at York University
Online version on Friday, May 16, 2025
To Register: Use the link for the YUPC (York University Psychology Clinic)
Presenters:
Dr. Henny Westra is a professor at York University, with a particular interest in training process sensitivity, especially learning to recognize and work with resistance and ambivalence. For over 30 years, she has researched, published and presented widely on Motivational Interviewing, CBT, and Psychotherapy Process. She is the author of "Motivational Interviewing in the Treatment of Anxiety" and the upcoming book (2025) with Boritz & Eubanks titled “Developing Process Sensitivity: A Transtheoretical Path to Improving Psychotherapy Training”
Dr. Jordan Harris is lead author of the book Deliberate Practice in Multicultural Therapy. Dr. Harris is also co-developer of the Private Practice Incubator, a coaching program teaching therapists how to leave community-based work and start their own solo counseling practices. You can follow him at JordantheCounselor.com.
Alyssa Di Bartolomeo is a PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology at York University. Her research focuses on psychotherapy training, with a particular focus on harnessing novel training practices (e.g., process coding and deliberate practice) to improve therapist responsiveness to challenging interpersonal moments.
Links to the 2 Pre-tests:
Resistance Vignette Task (RVT): https://youtu.be/5bcHq_Z3Y-E
Therapist Errors in Managing Resistance (TERM): https://youtu.be/ASWDBJ1pfMU
Readings and Podcast:
Westra, H.A. & Di Bartolomeo, A. (2024). Developing expertise in psychotherapy: The case for process coding as clinical training. American Psychologist, 79(2), 163-174. (Selected as “Editors’ Choice” - papers that represent the best science, reflecting science that is exceptionally important, impactful, and deserves additional visibility for the whole field.)
Podcast – The Future of Therapy Training: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-future-of-therapy-training-exploring-process/id1427537186?i=1000655188660
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