Supporting High-Conflict Couples Without Burnout (3 CEU's)

COUPLES, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS

Supporting High-Conflict Couples Without Burnout 3 CEUs

Overview:

High-conflict couples often present with intense emotional reactivity, entrenched patterns of blame, and difficulty engaging in productive dialogue, creating significant clinical challenges for providers. Sessions may escalate quickly, leaving clinicians feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, or pulled into alignment with one partner. Without a structured approach, therapists may experience burnout, lose therapeutic neutrality, or inadvertently reinforce maladaptive dynamics that sustain conflict.

In this presentation, Dr. Zairys Feliz, Ph.D., LCSW, will guide participants in effectively working with high-conflict couples while maintaining clinical clarity, boundaries, and personal sustainability. Attendees will explore the underlying drivers of high-conflict dynamics, including attachment injuries, emotional dysregulation, and maladaptive communication patterns. The course will address strategies for de-escalation, maintaining neutrality, and structuring sessions to reduce reactivity and increase safety. Emphasis will also be placed on recognizing therapist burnout, managing countertransference, and implementing practices that support both clinician well-being and ethical care. Participants will leave with practical tools to navigate high-conflict interactions, maintain therapeutic control of the session, and sustain their effectiveness without becoming overwhelmed or disengaged.

Objectives:

• Identify core dynamics and patterns commonly present in high-conflict couples and their impact on treatment.

• Explain strategies for managing escalation, maintaining neutrality, and structuring sessions effectively.

• Apply practical approaches to reduce clinician burnout while providing ethical, effective care to high-conflict couples.

Scope and Limitations Disclosure

This course provides licensed mental health professionals with an overview of clinical strategies for working with high-conflict couples while maintaining therapist effectiveness and well-being. Participants will learn approaches to manage reactivity, maintain structure, and reduce burnout in challenging clinical situations. While evidence-informed strategies are introduced, this training does not provide certification in specific couples therapy modalities (e.g., EFT, Gottman Method) and is not a substitute for advanced training in specialized couples therapy interventions. Attendees are expected to apply the material within their professional scope of practice, ethical guidelines, and licensure requirements.

Financial and Commercial Disclosure

The presenter has no relevant financial relationships or conflicts of interest to disclose. Any references to therapeutic models, interventions, or resources are provided solely for educational purposes. Participants are not required to purchase any additional materials to complete this course.

Refund Policy – Pre-Recorded (Self-Study) CE Courses

All purchases of pre-recorded (self-study) CE courses are subject to this refund policy. By enrolling, you agree to these terms. Participants who have not accessed any portion of the course may request a full refund within 7 days of purchase. Once a course has been accessed, streamed, or downloaded, refunds are no longer available due to immediate access to course materials. Refunds will also not be issued to participants who do not complete the course, fail the required post-test, or do not meet participation requirements, as certificates are only awarded upon successful completion. If you experience verified technical issues that prevent access, we will make reasonable efforts to resolve the problem; if it cannot be resolved, a full or partial refund may be issued. If you believe the course did not meet its stated learning objectives, you may submit a written complaint within 7 days of completion for review, and a partial or full refund may be granted at our discretion. All course purchases are non-transferable and may not be shared, resold, or assigned to another individual.