How Trauma and Stress Impact Relationships

Elizabeth Earnshaw is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Certified Gottman Therapist, Clinical Fellow of the AAMFT, and the author of I Want This To Work: An Inclusive Guide to Navigating the Most Difficult Relationship Issues We Face in The Modern Age” and “‘Til Stress Do Us Part, How to Heal the #1 Issue in Our Relationships”. Elizabeth founded the therapy practice A Better Life Therapy, LLC and shares relationship health content on Instagram as @lizlistens.

Content Description: 

During How Trauma and Stress Impact Relationships, participants will learn:

• Couples Under (Mismanaged) Stress: The Impact of Stress on Relational Functioning and Happiness
  • Types and origins of stress in modern partnered relationships
  • Neurological underpinnings of stress
  • 3-part stress cycle
  • Diffuse Physiological Arousal (DPA)
  • Identifying and navigating the mental load

• In-Session Tools for Flooded, Heated Couples: Decreasing the Emotional Temperature in the Room  
  • How to recognize when an individual is flooded
  • When to step in, when to step back
  • Tools: Stop Action, BPM tracking, Deflating the Balloon, The Dan Wile, Cross Questioning, Relaxation, Mindfulness, Breathing, and Breaks
  • Recovery, repair, and personal responsibility
  • Tools: Psychoeducation, Acceptance, The Stress-Reducing Conversation, Negotiation, Remembering “we”, Coregulation, creating a Break Plan

• Couples that De-Stress Together… : Lifestyle Changes for Long-Term Relational Happiness 
  • Helping couples identify the stress they “create”
  • The 3-part system for managing stress – individually and together
  • Radical Responsibility
  • Tools: Completing the Stress Cycle, Awareness of tasks + Redistribution, North Star Values, Meaningful Time together, The Weekly Meeting

Course Agenda

How Trauma and Stress Impact Relationships  

with Elizabeth Earnshaw

Live Online Zoom Session 1 – Understanding How Stress and Trauma’s Impact on Individuals Impacts the Relationship – Wednesday, April 9th – 9-10:30am PDT/12pm-1:30pm EDT/5-6:30pm BST 

Overview– Couples therapists are often trained to help couples learn to communicate better by supporting them in developing skills and increasing insight and understanding while helping couples to problem-solve and make decisions together. However, couples therapists are often not taught that communication skill development, insight, understanding, problem solving, and intimacy can be challenging to address when couples are under significant stress or have experienced/ are experiencing trauma. In this session, we will explore how stress and trauma influence physiology and the ability to communicate and how this might show up within a partnership inside and outside of the therapy room. 

Session Content

• Understanding how stress and trauma impact physiology and therefore communication (15 minutes)

• Exploring the various types of trauma and stress that individuals might bring into the relationship (10 minutes)

• Overview of the ways in which stress and trauma can impede “relational” behaviors (10 minutes). 

• Examining how therapists might unknowingly contribute to further break down of communication, trust, and closeness during sessions  (10 minutes)

• Utilizing “case studies” to describe how couples might describe their issues when stress or trauma is an underlying component (20 minutes)

• Utilizing “case studies” to describe how couples might present in session when stress is an underlying component. (20 minutes)

• Reflection with participants/Question and Answer (20 minutes)

Live Online Zoom Session 2 – Stress and Trauma Intervention in Couples Therapy – Wednesday, April 23rd – 9-10:30am PDT/12pm-1:30pm EDT/5-6:30pm BST

Session Overview:

Couples therapists are often trained to help couples learn to communicate better by supporting them in developing skills and increasing insight and understanding while helping couples to problem solve and make decisions together. However, couples therapists are often not taught that communication skill development, insight, understanding, problem solving, and intimacy can be challenging to address when couples are under significant stress or have experienced/ are experiencing trauma. In this session, the presenter will provide specific interventions couples therapists can utilize in and outside of session. 

Session Content

• Interventions to utilize during the session with examples of “case studies” provided. (40 minutes)

• Interventions to offer couples to utilize outside of session with examples of “case studies” provided  (30 minutes)

• Reflection with participants/Question and Answer (20 minutes)

How Trauma and Stress Impact Relationships

with Elizabeth Earnshaw

Learning Objectives

Session 1: Understanding How Stress and Trauma’s Impact on Individuals Impacts the Relationship 

1. Identify the two types of stressors couples experience in their relationships.
2. Name at least four interventions that can be utilized in session to address the impact of stress and trauma on relational functioning.
3. Describe three ways that couples engage with each other when stressed.

Session 2: Stress and Trauma Intervention in Couples Therapy

1. Identify two signals that a participant in couples therapy is distressed.
2. Name at least two interventions that can be utilized in session to respond to diffuse physiological arousal.
3. Identify at least two “assignments” that can be given to a couple to do at home to reduce their stress load.

For intermediate mental health professionals including Psychologists, Social Workers, LPCs, and LMFTs.

Continuing Education

This program offers limited Live CEs/Contact Hours.

Continuing education credit/Contact hours are awarded on a per-session basis, with full attendance required for the entire 90-minute duration.  There is no additional charge for the CEs.  Application forms and other required CE materials will be available to participants by the Academy of Therapy Wisdom.

NOTE:  To receive continuing education credit, applicants must complete all CE materials, comply with attendance regulations, and submit an evaluation form for the session attended.  It is the responsibility of the attendee to determine if CE credit/contact hours offered by Academy of Therapy Wisdom meet the regulations of their state licensing/certification board.  

Psychology:  This course does NOT provide CEs for Psychologists.

Counseling:

Academy of Therapy Wisdom has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7370. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Academy of Therapy Wisdom is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.  This program is approved for 1.5 CE Credit Hours for each live session for a possible total of 3 CE Credit Hours.

NY State Social Workers: Academy of Therapy Wisdom is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Workers as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. #SW-0814.

NY State Mental Health Counselors: Academy of Therapy Wisdom is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0285.

Marriage/Family Therapy: See below for CAMFT information.

This course is $97 per month or $997/year. You can purchase it here.