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When Clients Lie: Clinical Responses Without Rupture (2 CEU's)
HIGH-RISK & CLINICAL EDGE CASES
When Clients Lie: Clinical Responses Without Rupture – 2 CEUs
Overview:
Clients may withhold information, distort details, minimize behaviors, omit important context, or present narratives that are inconsistent with prior disclosures. While dishonesty in therapy can evoke frustration, confusion, or concern for clinicians, client deception often reflects deeper psychological processes rather than intentional manipulation alone. Shame, fear of judgment, trauma histories, attachment wounds, self-protection, ambivalence, survival strategies, or concerns about consequences can all contribute to dishonesty within the therapeutic relationship. How clinicians respond in these moments can either strengthen the alliance or create rupture, defensiveness, and disengagement.
In this presentation, Dr. Zairys Feliz, Ph.D., LCSW, will guide participants through clinically effective approaches for responding to client dishonesty while preserving therapeutic rapport and maintaining a non-defensive stance. Attendees will explore the underlying functions of deception in therapy, differentiate intentional manipulation from protective coping strategies, and examine how clinician assumptions and countertransference can influence responses. The course will address common scenarios including inconsistencies in reporting, concealed substance use, undisclosed infidelity, hidden self-harm behaviors, contradictory information, and client omissions that affect treatment planning. Emphasis will be placed on responding with curiosity rather than confrontation, asking therapeutically productive questions, and addressing discrepancies in ways that support safety, insight, and alliance repair. Participants will leave with practical tools for navigating one of therapy’s most uncomfortable and clinically complex challenges.
Objectives:
Identify common psychological factors and clinical functions underlying dishonesty or concealment in therapy.
Differentiate protective behaviors, ambivalence, and manipulation while considering clinical context and treatment implications.
Apply therapeutic communication and intervention strategies that address inconsistencies while minimizing rupture and preserving the therapeutic alliance.
Scope and Limitations Disclosure
This course provides licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals with an overview of responding to client dishonesty and inconsistencies in therapy. Participants will learn assessment considerations and therapeutic strategies designed to preserve rapport while addressing clinically relevant concerns. This training does not provide specialized forensic training, deception detection certification, or methods for determining factual truthfulness. Attendees are expected to apply course material within their professional scope of practice, ethical guidelines, and clinical judgment.
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 – Live CE Trainings (Virtual & In-Person)
All registrations for live CE trainings are subject to this refund policy. By enrolling, participants agree to these terms. Cancellations made 7 days or more prior to the scheduled training date are eligible for a full refund minus a $25 administrative fee, or participants may elect to receive a full credit toward a future training. Cancellations made less than 7 days before the scheduled training are non-refundable; however, registrations may be transferred to another eligible training or another attendee with prior written approval. Participants who fail to attend a scheduled live training, do not complete attendance requirements, or fail to satisfy course participation requirements are not eligible for refunds or CEUs. If a training is canceled or rescheduled by the provider, registrants will be offered either a full refund or the opportunity to transfer to another training. Refunds will not be issued if participants are unable to earn CEUs due to incomplete attendance, failure to complete required evaluations, or licensing board eligibility restrictions.
HIGH-RISK & CLINICAL EDGE CASES
When Clients Lie: Clinical Responses Without Rupture – 2 CEUs
Overview:
Clients may withhold information, distort details, minimize behaviors, omit important context, or present narratives that are inconsistent with prior disclosures. While dishonesty in therapy can evoke frustration, confusion, or concern for clinicians, client deception often reflects deeper psychological processes rather than intentional manipulation alone. Shame, fear of judgment, trauma histories, attachment wounds, self-protection, ambivalence, survival strategies, or concerns about consequences can all contribute to dishonesty within the therapeutic relationship. How clinicians respond in these moments can either strengthen the alliance or create rupture, defensiveness, and disengagement.
In this presentation, Dr. Zairys Feliz, Ph.D., LCSW, will guide participants through clinically effective approaches for responding to client dishonesty while preserving therapeutic rapport and maintaining a non-defensive stance. Attendees will explore the underlying functions of deception in therapy, differentiate intentional manipulation from protective coping strategies, and examine how clinician assumptions and countertransference can influence responses. The course will address common scenarios including inconsistencies in reporting, concealed substance use, undisclosed infidelity, hidden self-harm behaviors, contradictory information, and client omissions that affect treatment planning. Emphasis will be placed on responding with curiosity rather than confrontation, asking therapeutically productive questions, and addressing discrepancies in ways that support safety, insight, and alliance repair. Participants will leave with practical tools for navigating one of therapy’s most uncomfortable and clinically complex challenges.
Objectives:
Identify common psychological factors and clinical functions underlying dishonesty or concealment in therapy.
Differentiate protective behaviors, ambivalence, and manipulation while considering clinical context and treatment implications.
Apply therapeutic communication and intervention strategies that address inconsistencies while minimizing rupture and preserving the therapeutic alliance.
Scope and Limitations Disclosure
This course provides licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals with an overview of responding to client dishonesty and inconsistencies in therapy. Participants will learn assessment considerations and therapeutic strategies designed to preserve rapport while addressing clinically relevant concerns. This training does not provide specialized forensic training, deception detection certification, or methods for determining factual truthfulness. Attendees are expected to apply course material within their professional scope of practice, ethical guidelines, and clinical judgment.
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 – Live CE Trainings (Virtual & In-Person)
All registrations for live CE trainings are subject to this refund policy. By enrolling, participants agree to these terms. Cancellations made 7 days or more prior to the scheduled training date are eligible for a full refund minus a $25 administrative fee, or participants may elect to receive a full credit toward a future training. Cancellations made less than 7 days before the scheduled training are non-refundable; however, registrations may be transferred to another eligible training or another attendee with prior written approval. Participants who fail to attend a scheduled live training, do not complete attendance requirements, or fail to satisfy course participation requirements are not eligible for refunds or CEUs. If a training is canceled or rescheduled by the provider, registrants will be offered either a full refund or the opportunity to transfer to another training. Refunds will not be issued if participants are unable to earn CEUs due to incomplete attendance, failure to complete required evaluations, or licensing board eligibility restrictions.