REGISTER HERE
Monday, April 13th | 1:00 - 4: 15 PM
Zoom | 3 CEs
Program Description:
Current political realities affect all of us, no matter which side of the political aisle we are on. How do you handle the significant anxiety that your clients may feel due to the current political climate? How do you handle your own anxiety about this? What do you do if your client has political beliefs you vehemently disagree with? How do you manage your own countertransference when your client’s beliefs conflict with your own? Imagine being able to enter into sessions with your clients knowing that you have a plan to manage conflicting value systems, while staying true to yourself. Imagine being able to help deepen their understanding of how they are being affected by the current political climate, and what they can do about it. Imagine seeing political countertransference as an aid to your clinical work instead of an obstacle.
With the training your will receive from this workshop, you will be able to confidently decide how and when to disclose political beliefs and how to use either the similarities or the differences with your clients’ beliefs to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and deepen your clinical work. Does that seem impossible? Rest assured that it’s actually quite doable. But it does require a reframe, some conscious thought and ongoing in-the-moment decisions that are made by you, the clinician. So join us for an interesting journey exploring this crucial ethical issue that is more and more relevant as time goes on.
Level of Instruction:
Intermediate
Learning Objectives:
-
List three reasons that disclosing political beliefs can strengthen the therapeutic alliance.
-
Compare and contrast reasons for and against self-disclosure.
-
Recognize and name two different interventions to manage client anxiety around political uncertainties whether their beliefs align or conflict with your own.
-
Describe three ways implicit bias can influence countertransference reactions.
-
Integrate ethical principles relevant to political self-disclosure with clients.
-
Develop an ongoing countertransference management plan centered on best practice from current literature and scholarship on this topic.
About the Presenter:
Kirsten Lind Seal, PhD, LMFT holds an MA in Counseling Psychology and a PhD in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lind Seal teaches Ethics at two universities and regularly conducts trainings on Ethics and Cross-Cultural issues at the national level. Her research has been published in Psychology Today, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy and Family Process. She has published several case studies and an ethics focused “In Consultation” article in the Psychotherapy Networker. She is currently conducting research examining the impact of her Cultural Context Ethical Decision-Making model on graduate students’ cultural growth and ethical decision-making at Chaminade University of Honolulu.
She has a completely virtual private practice where she works with individuals, couple and family systems, and offers ethics consultations to colleagues. She has been interviewed as a content expert by MPR, CNN.com, Politico, Minneapolis Star Tribune and most recently for the APA Monitor (September 2025). For the last eleven years Dr. Lind Seal has been a regular on-air contributor on Relationship Reboot, a weekly segment on relationships on WCCO TV’s Channel 4 (CBS Twin Cities).
------------------------------
NHPA prices workshops by CE credit hour:
$25.00 per CE for members; $35.00 per CE for non-members
Group Rates Available:
3 - 5 people = $15 off workshop cost per individual (member/non-member)
6 - 8 people = $20 off workshop cost per individual (member/non-member)
8 + people = $25 off workshop cost per individual (member/non-member)
Please contact ce@nhpsychology.org for more information. Please include first name, last name and email address for each participant in the group, along with a contact person for the invoice.
Paying with a check:
Checks must be received within one week of the event. If payment has not been received, registrant will still have option to pay online with a credit card up until the day before the program. If an invoice remains open on the day of the event, the registrant will not be allowed to attend.
Cancellation policy:
Refunds, minus a 10% cancellation fee, will be issued for all cancellations received two weeks prior to the start of the course. No refunds or vouchers will be made thereafter. No-shows are not refunded.
Attendance policy:
Full attendance is required to obtain CEs per NHPA policy. No partial credit will be given. Those who attend the workshop and complete the evaluation form will receive 3 continuing education credits. Please note that APA CE rules require that we only give credit to those who attend the entire workshop. Those arriving after the scheduled start time or leaving before the workshop is completed will not receive CE credits.
Registrations are Transferable:
Registrants can transfer an event confirmation to another individual. The NHPA office must be notified of the transfer at least 24 hours prior to the event.
This program is sponsored by the New Hampshire Psychological Association. NHPA is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. NHPA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
