Dynamics, not diagnoses: Understanding and responding to the needs of the polarized child
Course: Dynamics, not diagnoses: Understanding and responding to the needs of the polarized child Instructor: Benjamin D. Garber, Ph.D. Approved for 2.0 Hours of CE Credit Fulfills Requirements for Psycholgists, MFTs, LCSWs, and Licensed Professional Counselors. This course is designed for Full and Part-Time Private Practitioners, and Full and Part-Time Agency Employees High Resolution Online Streaming Video |
When co-parents conflict, some children become allied with one parent and resist or refuse contact with the other. This two-hour presentation brings to life a cutting edge understanding of the systemic dynamics that can impact a polarized child. Our historical reliance on an either/or abuse/alienation model is long ago outdated. The well-known hybrid model that emphasizing the co-occurrence of alienation, enmeshment and estrangement, is a step in the right direction, although similarly outdated.
In their place, Dr. Garber introduces an ecological model that describes fourteen or more mutually compatible family system dynamics that must all be carefully understood in order to have the greatest chance of supporting the child’s right to enjoy a healthy relationship with both of his or her parents. This presentation builds on Dr. Garber’s 2020 Family Court Review article, “Sherlock Holmes and the case of resist/refuse dynamics: Confirmatory bias and abductive inference in family law” and lays the foundation for his forthcoming book, “Mending Fences: A collaborative, cognitive-behavioral “reunification” protocol serving the best interests of the post-divorce, polarized child” (Unhooked Media, 2020). Read more about this presentation and about Dr. Garber at www.FamilyLawConsulting.org.
Course Goal and Objectives
- Define the distinctions between dynamics and diagnoses
- Recognize common dynamics of high conflict families such as triangulation, enmeshment, parentification, estrangement, alienation, and polarization.
- Evaluate fifteen or more mutually exclusive dynamics that can cause a child to align with one parent and resist or reject the other.
Your access to the course material extends for 1-year from the date of purchase. This includes after passing the post-test, so you may continue to review its contents.