This Hold Me Tight® Workshop is offered and facilitated by Elizabeth (Elli) Schmeltekopf, LPC, SEP and David Bate, MD, SEP. The Hold Me Tight® Workshop was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, founder of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). Hold Me Tight® is a registered trademark of Dr. Sue Johnson.
Commonwealth Educational Seminars is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Commonwealth Educational Seminars maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Psychologists will receive 13 hours of continuing education credit upon completing this program. Request for continuing education credit should be submitted on the registration form that is completed after purchasing the workshop.
Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid tuition fee, continuing education fee ($25), signed in, attended the entire seminar, completed an evaluation, and signed out in order to receive a certificate. Failure to sign in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available.
Course Description This workshop teaches the latest in attachment science and how these new understandings can change relationships. Participants work through a minimum of five “conversations” from Dr. Sue Johnson’s book Hold Me Tight to experience how clarifying and expressing the underlying attachment needs and fears can shift relationships from a negative cycle of disconnection to a positive cycle of reaching and responding which builds secure attachment. The workshop is based on the couples therapy model, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), designed by Dr. Sue Johnson and her colleagues and the workshop provides an experiential overview of this model.
Learning Objectives Objective 1: Participants will be able to discuss ways in which attachment theory applies to bonded adult relationships and how that theory can provide a model for understanding and repairing relationship distress.
Objective 2: Participants will be able to describe “primal panic” and how it impacts relationships.
Objective 3: Participants will be able to define the three “Demon Dialogues” (Find the Bad Guy, Freeze and Flee, and Protest Polka) from the Hold Me Tight book by Dr. Sue Johnson, developer of Emotionally Focused Therapy. Participants will learn to assess a relationship in terms of its cycle and will be able to apply systems concepts to understand the negative cycles couples get caught in.
Objective 4: Participants will be able to identify “Raw Spots” and describe at least two indicators that a “Raw Spot” has been activated. Participants will be able to explain how “Raw Spots” can lead couples into their negative cycles.
Objective 5: Participants will be able to demonstrate knowledge of a “Hold Me Tight®” conversation, understanding how bonding moments can emerge with the expression of vulnerability. Participants will be able to describe keys factors in shaping the positive moments of reaching and responding and explain how this relates to secure attachment.
Objective 6: Participants will be able to discuss the importance of the repair and forgiveness process and to describe and use a specific model of forgiveness developed in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT).
Target Audience This workshop is appropriate for counselors, social workers, psychologists, addiction counselors, marriage & family therapists, nurses, and other professionals working with either individuals or couples
Activity Level Beginning Level
Grievance Policy Commonwealth Educational Seminars (CES) seeks to ensure equitable treatment of every person and to make every attempt to resolve grievances in a fair manner. Please submit a written grievance to CES, 1020 Osterville West Barnstable Rd, Marstons Mills, MA 02648. Grievances will initially be directed to the training instructor. Grievances would receive, to the best of our ability, corrective action in order to prevent further problems. If you have questions or concerns, contact Commonwealth Educational Seminars at (800) 376-3345.
Accommodations for the Differently Abled We would be happy to accommodate your ADA needs whenever possible. Please contact Elli Schmeltekopf at 828-776-6200 or ellischmelt@gmail.com for more information.
Please Note It is the participants responsibility to check with their individual state boards for verify CE requirements for their state and license.