Training and CE page.
Institutional Teaching, Community Engagement & Clinical Impact
Lead Continuing Education Instructor | A Home Within
My work with A Home Within focuses on delivering advanced, trauma-responsive curricula to clinicians serving the foster care community. To date, these workshops have reached over 350 combined clinicians, achieving a high standard of clinical utility and practitioner satisfaction.
- The U-Model™ in Action: Combining IFS and ACT (2025):
A 4-part intensive series integrating IFS and ACT for over 150 clinicians (8.0 CE Credits).
- From Pain to Possibility: Transforming Abandonment Wounds (2024):
A 4-part series on leveraging ACT principles to treat complex abandonment trauma (8.0 CE Credits; 200+ attendees).
Founder & Facilitator | Monthly Monday Fireside Group
Beyond formal CE training, I host a monthly interactive "Fireside Group" where the boundaries of traditional hierarchy are softened. This space brings together clinicians and clients for open dialogue on healing, parts work, and resilience. It serves as a living laboratory for the "Human-to-Human" connection that is central to my clinical philosophy.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/8_08b8YgQc6Ei3Ib-K6c8Q
Join "Beyond Acceptance" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/utKN6WT4Bgp6gAtW/
National & International Workshops
NASW-NC Fall Conference (2025): The U-Model™ in Action (1.5 CEUs).
NAASCA Special Topic Series (2013–2016):
Co-hosted weekly discussions on Child Abuse, Trauma, and 12-Step Recovery for 500+ listeners.
Clinical Training & Continuing Education
From Exiled Burdens to Bold Justice: The U-Model's ACT-IFS Revolution
Live Webinar: Thursday, Jan 22, 2026 | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM ET
Host: ACBS Social Work Special Interest Group (SIG)
In this session, we move beyond theory to examine how macro-contexts - such as systemic injustice and cultural burdens - become internalized as "Protective Parts."
I will demonstrate how The U-Model™ provides a structural bridge to resolve clinical impasses, turning "Exiled Burdens" into a foundation for bold, values-based action.
Register for Jan 22nd Training.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bjQtZxVwSMWKLOrebWWqjw
Learning Objectives & Accreditation
Educational Goals
1. Identify Functional Alignment: Identify precise intersections between ACT processes (Defusion, Self-as-Context) and IFS elements (Unblending).
2. Frame Macro-Context: Use "Descent" stages to address cultural and systemic burdens as adaptive protectors.
3. Design Committed Action: Leverage the "Ascent" stages to bridge internal parts-work with measurable, real-world behavioral change.
Accreditation Details
APA: Sponsored by the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), an APA-approved provider for psychologists.
NYSED: ACBS is an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers in New York State (Provider #SW-0461).
ASWB/NBCC: Credits available to meet cross-state licensing requirements.
Conference Keynotes & Webinars
The U-Model™ in Action: Integrating IFS and ACT
- Feb 5–7, 2026: Florida Mental Health Counselors Association (FMHCA) Annual Conference. In-person 3-hour presentation on process-based integration and clinical innovation.
Healing through Self-Energy (A Home Within Part 4).
- Feb 10
Featured Webinar Series.
A deep dive into the 7-stage therapeutic framework for clients navigating anxiety, trauma, and relational impasses.
[Register via FMHCA]
- April 10, 2026 (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST)
Incoherent Grief (Forgotten Voices International Conference).
- Apr 17-18
International Research & Scholarly Presentations
Forgotten Voices: Holocaust Memories Through the Perspective of Minorities International Conference | April 17–18, 2026 (Online)
Organized by the CEMORY Project & Jagiellonian University, Kraków.
Presentation: Incoherent Grief: Somatic Residue and the Missing Narrative in Pre-Verbal Jewish Child Survivors. This research examines the "existential guilt" found in survivors who experienced persecution as infants (ages 0 - 4). By analyzing archival silences and implicit memory, I introduce the concept of "incoherent grief" - a somatic response to primary loss that exists without a conscious narrative, complicating both mourning and the transmission of identity.
Full paper and archival citations available upon professional request.
Recurring Series (A Home Within)
2025–2026 Trauma-Responsive Series: Internal Family Systems (IFS)
As the Lead Continuing Education Instructor for A Home Within, I am conducting an advanced multi-part series focused on the clinical application of IFS for former foster youth and those navigating complex trauma.
- Feb 10, 2026 (3:00 PM EST): Healing through Self-Energy and Advanced Techniques. Focusing on Unblending, Witnessing, and Retrieval, and how the therapist’s Self-energy creates the necessary therapeutic container.
- Jan 13, 2026 (Archive): Mapping Internal Systems for Trauma-Bonds. Interactive application and parts-mapping via case vignettes.
- Dec 16, 2025 (Archive): Core Concepts of the IFS Model. In-depth exploration of Managers, Firefighters, and Exiles within the foster care context.
- Oct 21, 2025 (Archive): Foundations of Trauma-Bonding in Foster Care. An introductory exploration of the IFS approach to healing trauma-bonds within the foster care system, focusing on the unique internal architectures of displaced youth.
The U-Model™ in Action: Combining IFS and ACT for Clinical Practice (2025)
Format: 4-part intensive CE series.
Impact:
Trained 150+ clinicians with 8.0 CE credits awarded.
Focus: Bridging the internal parts-work of IFS with the functional flexibility of ACT to optimize clinical outcomes.
From Pain to Possibility: Transforming Abandonment Wounds with ACT (2024)
Format: 4-part intensive CE series.
Impact: 200+ attendees with 8.0 CE credits awarded.
Focus: Leveraging Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles to address abandonment trauma with precision and empathy.
Clinical Certifications & Advanced Training
To maintain the highest standards of trauma-informed care and process-based integration, I hold the following professional certifications and advanced clinical designations:
IFS Level I Trained & Certification Candidate: Trained by the IFS Institute.
Psy.D. & Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW): Over 16 years of expertise in trauma-informed care and inner child healing.
Master Relapse Prevention Specialist (M-RAS): Advanced training in addiction and recovery frameworks.
Somatic & Trauma Specialist: Specialized focus on the intersection of bodily-registered trauma and psychological flexibility.
Approved ASWB Provider: Certified to provide continuing education for social workers nationwide.
The U-Model™ Certification Program
Professional Certification Waitlist I am currently developing a formal certification track for clinicians who wish to master The U-Model™ framework. This program will provide intensive training in the process-based integration of IFS and ACT, specifically designed for treating complex trauma and systemic burdens.
- Target Audience: Licensed mental health professionals, social workers, and trauma specialists.
- Curriculum: Advanced 7-stage application, somatic integration, and macro-contextual clinical strategies.
- Status: Curriculum in final development for the 2026-2027 cohort.
Join the Certification Waitlist:
https://forms.gle/vj1yvMZvNLogTWC4A
