WHEN: FRI JUN 05, 2026

TIME: 9:00 – 11:00AM PT

COST: FREE

ARTICLE: The Emergence of Attachment-Based Therapy >>

SPEAKER: MARK SCHWARTZ Sc.D.

CEs: 2.0

2.0 CEs provided

with the completion of an online evaluation form. This workshop provides 2.0 CEs. Application made to CEPA for specified hours of Continuing Education Credit for MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and LCSWs as is required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

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ABSTRACT

  When a child is in distress, they will optimally turn to their caretaker and “use words” (age dependent) to receive comfort and soothing. However, when the caretaker is the source of their distress and is actually frightening the child, the child:

1.  learns to associate fear with expectations of comfort
2. avoid using words because the disclosures only make things worse
3. blames themselves and ruminates with punitive self-talk rather than recognizing that the caretaker is the problem
4. turns inward and has no container for affect regulation, and;
5.  is unable to differentiate Self in relation to others.

All of these deficits are indicative of Disorganized Attachment and interfere with utilizing a therapist as a resource later in life. i.e. defensive resistance

In this webinar, the discussion is related to creating Secure Attachment in order to optimally facilitate processing trauma. Utilizing both the therapeutic relationship and creation of a Secure Attachment between the Self of the client and their injured parts is necessary for processing trauma. Exposure Therapies, EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and various other models for facilitating trauma processing are explored and implemented. An emphasis on ruminations resulting from neglect or abuse becomes more critical than the actual content of the recalled memories themselves. Dealing with defenses and disorganized reaction that are activate in response to fears of intimacy is the primary focus of the webinar. Establishing coherency and integration of affect, cognitions, and behavior as well as facilitating a coherent sense of self are the ultimate goals of Attachment-Based Therapy.

WEBINAR OBJECTIVES

In this webinar, clinicians will learn state-of-the-art, leading-edge therapy protocol focused on attachment disturbance and its recovery:

1. Describe approaches to attachment-based therapy with a focus on utilizing secure attachment to facilitate intimacy with others and self.
2. Idemtify blocks to the therapeutic relationship that interfere with developing secure attachment.
3. Examine ruminations related to attachment that block the trauma recovery process.

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MEET DR. MARK SCHWARTZ, CLINICAL DIRECTOR of HARMONY TREATMENT CENTERS
With more than 30 years of experience and a degree in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University, Mark Schwartz, D.Sc., LMFT specializes in working with 1) couples, marriage, and intimacy disorders; 2) family difficulties; 3) eating disorders, 4) PTSD, addiction, and; 5) sexual difficulties, sexual dysfunction, and sexual addiction.

His national recognition afforded him the experience of lecturing to over 50,000 therapists nationally, as well as editing three books. He specializes particularly in working with the deeper issues from childhood. He is extremely compassionate and forms exceptional connection with his clients.

Dr. Schwartz was the Director of Masters & Johnson Institute and the Masters & Johnson Trauma and Dissociative Disorders Programs. Mark was also one of the founders of Castlewood and Monarch Cove Treatment Centers, specializing in eating-disorder treatment. In addition, Dr. Schwartz trained directly under Masters & Johnson in the treatment of sexual dysfunction, low sexual desire, and arousal disorders.

Where Lives are Recovered and Harmony is Restored.