Enactment, an experiential method grounded in systems theory that brings interactional problems into the session for direct observation and change, is a component of all current evidence-based child and adolescent focused family therapies. Enactment is the cornerstone of ESFT, where it is used to disrupt and shift negative interactional patterns to more functional ones. This course introduces the method, describes what it is, differentiates it from other widely used interventions, and explains how and why it works. A five-phase model based on Nichols and Fellenberg’s work is introduced as a framework for learning how to do an enactment, including setting the stage and looking for opportunities to initiate emotionally meaningful conversations, facilitating family members through the ups and downs of the process, and meaning making. A step-by-step guide to enactment using excerpts from a family therapy session is provided.
1.5 Hours CE
- Teacher: C. Wayne Jones, PhD
In this webinar, Jorge Calopinto demonstrates the powerful influence one's perspective can have on treatment direction and outcome. He presents a case consultation involving a single-parent mother involved with the child welfare system, demonstrating through structural diagrams how a small enactment opened the possibility that her seven-year-old daughter would remain with her rather than return to foster care. The case consultation contrasts traditional psychological inside-out thinking perspectives of behavior with the outside-in perspectives of systemic approaches. The approach to the case described in this webinar is based on Structural Family Therapy (SFT), which emphasizes context as the organizer of individual behaviors.
1.0 Hours CE Credit
This course is currently in a pilot phase and will be open for enrollment soon!
- Teacher: Jorge Colapinto