ONLINE WORKSHOP: Diversity & Couples Issues with Nicoletta Heidegger, LMFT, Dr. Zhana Vrangalova, PhD & Dr. Melody Brown, PhD, LMFT
Join relationship experts, Dr. Zhana Vrangalova, Nicoletta Heidegger, LMFT, and Dr. Melody Brown, working with diverse couples and relationship structures over two days of interactive work on Zoom!
Choose between 1 day or the full two days for the most in-depth clinical work. Develop your skills and delve deeper into your couples and relationship work.
Day 1: Friday, February 26th, 2021
10am - 2pm CST:
8am-12pm PST | 9am-1pm MT | 10am - 2pm CST | 11am-3pm EST
Couples That Play with the Edge of Sexuality
Presenter: Nicoletta Heidegger, LMFT
&
2pm - 6pm CST:
12pm-4pm PST | 1pm-5pm MT | 2pm - 6pm CST | 3pm-7pm EST
Healthy Casual Sex for Individuals and Couples
Presenter: Dr. Zhana Vrangalova, PhD
8 State & AASECT CEs available for this day!
Couples That Play with the Edge of Sexuality w/ Nicoletta Heidegger, LMFT
10am - 2pm CST (guided lunch activity from 1pm - 2pm CST)
8am-12pm PST | 9am-1pm MT | 10am - 2pm CST | 11am-3pm EST
About the Workshop:
Sexuality encompasses many aspects of the self from experiences and feelings to attitudes and personal values. This workshop will cover how to assess couples and attain a comprehensive sexual and relational history using an expanded version of the Circles of Sexuality. It will also cover some case studies featuring the most common presenting issues Nicoletta sees in her practice including:
Sexual shame
Desire discrepancies
Spontaneous versus responsive desire
Keeping things curious and exciting
Painful sex (emotionally and physically)
“Forbidden” fantasies
We will also discuss how to support partners in opening up or maintaining different styles of non-monogamy as well as how to navigate Kink/BDSM for both beginners or seasoned lifestyle folx.
Agenda (All times in Central Standard Time):
10:00am - 11:00am CST Introductions and Circles of Sexuality
11:00am-12:00pm CST Opening up and Kink/BDSM
12:00pm-12:05pm CST Break
12:10pm- 1:00pm CST Common presenting issues / creative case conceptualizations
1:00pm-2:00pm CST Lunch Break & Activity: Do your own circles of sexuality
Objectives:
At the end of this talk, participants will be able to:
Challenge and confront some of their own sexual and relational biases
Identify and utilize the Circles of Sexuality as an assessment instrument
Cite specific treatment tools in working with non-monogamous and Kinky couples
Become more familiar with creative approaches to sex therapy
Healthy Casual Sex for Individuals and Couples w/ Dr. Zhana Vrangalova, PhD
2pm - 6pm CST
12pm-4pm PST | 1pm-5pm MT | 2pm - 6pm CST | 3pm-7pm EST
About the Workshop:
World-renowned sexuality educator and researcher, Dr. Zhana, joins SHA for a specialized workshop on healthy casual sex that is not to be missed! Whether you’re a mental health and/or sexuality professional looking to assist clients with their attitudes towards casual sex or are looking to broaden your sex-positivity spectrum, this workshop will delve into it all. Get ready for engaging content, the latest research, and the most up-to-date information on casual sex for singles and couples. Leave with all the right tools for your clients and yourself!
Workshop Agenda
Friday, Feb 26th, 2021, 2pm - 6pm CST
The Basics
The sociosexual orientation spectrum
Types of casual sex
Attitudes toward casual sex: Slut-shaming vs sex positivity
Casual sex in cross-cultural perspective
Gender differences in casual sex: Are men more into casual sex than women?
Healthy Casual Sex for Single People
Autonomous motivation
Pleasure
Consent
Sexual health
Casual Sex for Couples
Swinging
Open relationships
DADT (Don't Ask Don't Tell)
Day 2: Saturday, February 27th, 2021
Working with African American Couples through Context
Presenter: Dr. Melody Brown, PhD. LMFT
8am-4pm PST | 9am-5pm MT | 10am - 6pm CST | 11am-7pm EST
8 State & AASECT CEs available for this day!
About The Workshop
The last year has highlighted how critical it is to create space for the realities of marginalized communities. This workshop will teach you how to connect with African American couples in therapy particularly with regards to their marginalized experiences and to work with them from a culturally respectful clinical lens. Our ability to connect with our clients is often more important than the theory through which we practice. Such is the case when working with marginalized clients. Too often our clinical training with regards to working with diverse communities is surface at best. Couple inadequate clinical training with a society where subjugated people are constantly being systemically erased, and you find African Americans less likely to attend therapy. Further, should they pursue treatment, they are less likely to remain in therapy. In this training, you will learn ways to set the tone for an inviting and accepting therapeutic environment. You will enhance your ability to explore the experiences and contexts of African American clients. Lastly, you will improve your skills by engaging with clients through a process designed to meet the therapeutic needs of marginalized clients.
Over this day you will dive into:
The phenomenon of shame from a privileged point of view | What are the lived experiences of African Americans?
The impacts of White privilege on African American couples
Discretion for preservation/Cultural Mistrust (Ex. COVID-19 Vaccinations)
Infractions in working with African American couples
In our own words: what clients say about working with White or other non-marginalized clinicians
Defining and working from a culturally responsive clinical practice
Learning objectives
Create a culturally respectful therapeutic environment
Develop an understanding of the lived experiences of African Americans
Identify missteps in practicing with African American clients
Creating a path to difficult dialogues in therapy
Assess for the impact of marginalization on the couple relationship
Integrate self of the therapist privileged context into clinical practice with African American couples
Apply cultural awareness to case conceptualization
Identify and use the client’s cultural resilience to assist in resolving presenting problems in therapy
Workshop Agenda (all times are Central Standard Time):
Saturday, Feb 27th, 2021, 10am - 6pm CST
10:00am - 10:55am CST:
Welcome & Introductions
Setting the intention for the coming process,
Locating the presenter within the topic for the day (i.e., my identity as a person of color in relation to this work),
Review presenter style and participant needs given presentation content/set community norms (I present/practice/teach from a place of vulnerability and want to set the stage for a similar expectation of the audience). This same perspective needs to be incorporated into their work with clients.
10:55am – 11:00am CST
Break
11:00am – 12:20pm CST
Experiences of the African American community (film, client perspectives, other media and breakout groups)
12:20pm – 12:30pm CST
Break
12:30pm – 1:00pm CST
Group Process
1:00pm – 2:00pm CST
Lunch on your own with an activity to complete
2:00 – 2:10pm CST
Temperature check/questions
2:10pm – 2:40pm CST
Infractions in therapy with African Americans (client perspective)
2:40pm – 4:00pm CST
The Path to a Culturally Responsive Practice-Defining cultural awareness, knowledge and skills
4:00pm – 4:05pm CST
Break
4:05pm – 5:30pm CST
Breakout groups for practice
5:30pm – 6:00pm CST
Group Process
Q & A
Closing
Attendee & Registration Information
*Cant attend live? No problem! This event will be recorded and made available within 7-10 business days. Make sure to purchase a ticket prior to the workshop as it will not be available to purchase after the workshop ends. Please note: If you purchased CEs, you will receive asynchronous credit.
16 LPC, LMFT, LCSW and AASECT* CEs for the Entire Weekend (Friday & Saturday)
8 LPC, LMFT, LCSW and AASECT* CEs for Friday Only or Saturday Only
For other professions needing CEs (psychologists, nurses, other health professionals), please check with Cassidy Seminars.
Please note: CEs for Texas and Colorado licenses are included in the CE ticket(s) price options.
**FOR ALL OTHER STATE CEs outside of Colorado & Texas: Please purchase a ticket through Sexual Health Alliance AND use the link below to purchase your state CEs through Cassidy Seminars. You MUST purchase both to get access to the conference and obtain your specific state’s CEs.
CASSIDY LINKS:
Day 1 or Day 2 Only:
https://www.academeca.com/CEUReg/SeminarInfo.aspx?seminarId=4015
Full 2-Day Workshop:
https://www.academeca.com/CEUReg/SeminarInfo.aspx?seminarId=4015
NEED A SCHOLARSHIP FOR THIS WEEKEND CONFERENCE?
In collaboration with the BIPOC Collective, SHA donates two full weekend scholarship spots to every conference for BIPOC-identifying individuals.
*The BIPOC Collective's mission is to support the diverse community of BIPOC adult performers and sex-workers within the adult industry through mutual aid and advocacy with dignity and respect.
STUDENT DISCOUNTS
Are you a current college or graduate student? Email shacertifications@gmail.com with a copy of your student ID and current or next term’s course schedule to get each conference day for $99.
*Please note, this discount does not include CEs.
WANT TO BECOME SHA CERTIFIED?:
Want to stop paying for conferences one by one and gain hours towards AASECT Certification too? This program can also be registered for and included as part of SHA’s full Sexuality Educator/Counselor/Sex Therapy Certification & Sexuality Consultant Program. Apply HERE to become SHA Certified and to gain all the CEs you need to apply towards AASECT Certification. Take your sexuality education even further and become sexceptional.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Dr. Melody Brown, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Brown is a licensed marriage and family therapist with both her M.A. and PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy. Her clinical training began nearly thirty years ago where her studies included a concentration on working with systems while addressing issues of power, privilege, and oppression. After completing her master’s degree, she began working in child welfare in long term foster care. While in this position, she witnessed the trauma children experienced both within their homes and at the point of being removed from their families. She collaborated to develop models for what is now called concurrent planning in foster care. She later became a foster care placement specialist. Prior to completing her doctorate, Dr. Brown held several positions at Denver Children’s Home, a treatment center for traumatized children and families. In her initial work as a residential therapist, she was trained by the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) to work with sex offending youth. She also participated in training and case consultation with the Child Trauma Center where she learned to work with families using trauma informed treatment. She transitioned to work in community organizing as the Site Coordinator for the East Denver Collaborative of Family to Family. Through these experiences, she maintained her focus on highlighting the importance of understanding cultural norms and differences in marginalized communities.
She joined the counseling center at the University of Colorado Denver where she returned to clinical work, supervision and training in 2011. In 2019, she joined the Counseling Program at CU Denver specializing in couple and family therapy through a multicultural lens. She maintains a private practice offering consultation, clinical supervision, and individual, couple, and family therapy.
Dr. Brown is a clinical fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. She presents and trains both locally and nationally on clinical supervision through a social justice lens and on the complexities of working with oppressed and marginalized communities.
Nicoletta Heidegger, LMFT
Nicoletta von Heidegger is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#110256) practicing in Los Angeles. Nicoletta received her BA in Psychology from Stanford University, her MA in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University, and her MEd in Human Sexuality from Widener University. Nicoletta is currently pursuing her PhD in Human Sexuality from Widener. In addition to seeing clients in private practice, Nicoletta also works as an EAGALA certified equine assisted therapist at Stand in Balance. Nicoletta believes in embodied practice and is also certified in levels I and II of The Trauma Resiliency Model. When not working with clients, Nicoletta creates and hosts the growing hit podcast Sluts & Scholars and teaches educational seminars and classes to help others learn about sexual and mental health.
Dr. Zhana Vrangalova, PhD
Zhana Vrangalova, PhD, is a NYC-based sex and relationships consultant, speaker, and writer focusing on sexually adventurous lifestyles. She holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University, teaches Human Sexuality courses at New York University, and has published academic research on casual sex, sexual orientation. Dr. Zhana is the creator of Uncensored with Dr. Zhana, a unique format for open, honest conversations about sexuality and relationships in a globalized world. She recently launched Open Smarter, an online course helping people make smarter decisions about their relationship choices using their unique personality. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook as @DrZhana
AASECT CREDITS
*This program meets the requirements of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) and is approved for 16 AASECT CE credits. These CE credits may be applied toward AASECT certification and renewal of certification. Completion of this program does not ensure or guarantee AASECT certification. For further information please contact ce@aasect.org