Couples and Family Therapy Training Through Role-Play

An educational program for therapists sponsored by Jonah Green and Associates, LLC

psychologist consulting a woman client indoors discussion therapy

For MD or DC Credit!

  • “Couple and Family Therapy Training through Role-Play” is an online, interactive educational program for therapists that teaches couples and family therapy skills through role-playing.  Couple and family training has incorporated role-play for over 50 years and is consistent with the empirically-supported systematic skill-building methods of Deliberate Practice.

This is a practical “how-to” course that offers students the opportunity to learn and apply couples and family therapy approaches and techniques in real time. This is the fifth year of the course, and the format and curriculum has been fine-tuned with the help of extensive feedback.

Each 1.5 hour class session starts with a didactic presentation and a role-play demonstration. During the remainder of the class, participants apply the skills presented, alternating between therapist, client, and observer roles. Students can access class recordings and other educational materials outside of class. 

The program consists of two series, each of which grants a Certificate:

  • Series One: Foundational Skills in Family Therapy (Sessions 1-15)
  • Series Two: Advanced Family Therapy Practice: Specialized Techniques, Populations, and Presenting Problems (sessions 16-30)

Topics covered each week:

Series One: Foundational Skills 

  1. Course overview/A person-centered approach to families
  2. First contact: Joining, collaborating, planning
  3. First session: Connecting, gathering information, goal-setting
  4. Developing a Safe and Hopeful Therapeutic Environment
  5. Collaborative Assessment and Planning; Use-of-Self and the Therapeutic Stance
  6. Reframing
  7. Stimulating Relational Dialogue
  8. Deepening the Process; Enactments
  9. Strengths and Solution-Focused Approaches 
  10. Strengthening Sub-Systems and Supporting the Family Structure 
  11. Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy
  12. Building Collaborative Conversation with Couples
  13. Emotion-Focused Couples and Family Therapy
  14. Supporting and Guiding Parents
  15. Experiential and Play-Based Techniques

Series Two: Advanced Family Therapy Practice

  1. Using Genograms
  2. Trauma-Focused Family Therapy
  3. Couples Therapy: Best Practices
  4. Families and Addiction
  5. Separating and Divorcing Families
  6. Stepfamilies
  7. Self-Harm and Suicide
  8. Sibling subsystems
  9. Aging Families
  10. Emerging Adults in Families
  11. Mindfulness and Couples and Family Therapy
  12. Cultural Humility
  13. Disability and Mental Illness
  14. LGBTQ+ Families
  15. Families and Termination

Participants who attend 13 sessions from either Series One or Two may obtain Certificates. We offer make-up sessions throughout the year.

Classes are on Wednesdays from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. The first series will begin on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, and end on Wednesday, December 18, 2025. We will skip December 27. The second session will begin on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, and end on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. 

Pricing

Participants who pay by class pay $50 per class. Those who pay for an entire series receive a 10% discount, with a cost of $600 per series. Groups or agencies who enroll multiple people may receive further discounts. We do not offer refunds for missed classes.

Continuing Education Credit

Eligible participants can obtain Category 1 Credit for Continuing Education through the Maryland and DC Boards of Social Work. CE Credit may be available through the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists.

I took the Couples and Family Therapy Training Through Role-Play course last academic year and found role-play to be a unique way to learn from my teachers and colleagues in the class. I found the collaborative, emotion-focused approach to be very helpful in my work. Jonah Green's calm, positive, and nurturing demeanor creates a safe place for learning. I highly recommend this class if you are looking to improve your therapeutic skills.
~ Katie Smeltz, LMSW, Student, 2023-2024

Instructors

Jonah Green, LCSW-C, the owner and director of Jonah Green and Associates, LLC will present, facilitate, and mentor students throughout both series.  Jonah is a Clinical Social Worker who obtained his Master’s Degree from Boston University and has over 30 years of experience practicing family therapy. He has trained via role-playing and live supervision at the Philadelphia Child and Family Guidance Center and the Minuchin Center, among other venues. Jonah is a Registered Social Work Supervisor in Maryland and a Registered Supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapists in DC.

Aron Carlson, LCSW-C, a clinical social worker and Registered Social Work Supervisor, has 16 years of experience and expertise in working with parents, couples therapy, sex therapy, and families with emerging adults, will co-lead the class. Aron’s approach helps families break through power struggles and develop relationships of greater meaning and intimacy.

Dani Delgado is a Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor with a master’s degree from New York University and a proud former student of Jonah Green & Associates’ “Couples and Family Therapy Training Through Role-Play.” Dani directs her passion and experience working with diverse cultural identities toward creating a nurturing environment for individuals, couples, and families to embrace the best parts of themselves and each other. 

Chris Erb, LCMFT, is a marriage and family therapist who obtained his Master’s Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Chris is passionate about helping couples and families develop new strategies to communicate, empathize, strengthen connections, and heal. He brings a wealth of practical experience to the class, having worked with families from diverse backgrounds and with a range of issues.

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