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When You Dread a Specific Client: What That Actually Means (2 CEU's)
HIGH-RISK & CLINICAL EDGE CASES
When You Dread a Specific Client: What That Actually Means – 2 CEUs
Overview:
Most therapists eventually encounter a client whose name on the schedule evokes tension, anxiety, avoidance, dread, or emotional heaviness. Clinicians may notice physical tightness before sessions, procrastination with documentation, urges to cancel, relief when sessions end, or persistent thoughts about difficult encounters. Because professional culture often assumes therapists should maintain consistent compassion and positive regard, these reactions can evoke guilt, shame, confusion, and self-criticism. As a result, therapists may attempt to suppress or ignore these experiences rather than explore what the reactions may be communicating clinically.
In this presentation, Dr. Zairys Feliz, Ph.D., LCSW, participants will examine practical and ethically grounded approaches for understanding therapist dread toward specific clients. Attendees will explore how countertransference, unresolved personal experiences, attachment patterns, burnout, emotional overextension, high-risk presentations, therapeutic impasses, relational dynamics, and unconscious role expectations contribute to these reactions. The course will address common therapist responses including over-functioning, emotional withdrawal, rescuing behaviors, avoidance, rigidity, and self-blame. Participants will learn practical strategies for identifying emotional signals in real time, differentiating personal activation from clinical information, utilizing supervision and consultation effectively, and transforming dread into meaningful clinical insight rather than shame. Through case examples and applied discussion, attendees will gain practical tools for navigating one of psychotherapy’s most common and often misunderstood professional experiences.
Objectives:
Identify factors that contribute to therapist dread and strong emotional reactions toward specific clients.
Recognize countertransference patterns and behavioral responses that may emerge when therapists experience avoidance or apprehension.
Apply practical strategies for increasing self-awareness, utilizing consultation, and transforming emotional reactions into clinical insight.
Scope and Limitations Disclosure
This course provides licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals with an overview of ethical and clinical approaches for understanding therapist emotional reactions and countertransference dynamics. Participants will learn practical assessment and intervention considerations relevant to outpatient clinical practice. This training does not provide comprehensive psychodynamic training or certification in specialized countertransference treatment models. Participants are expected to apply course material within their professional scope of practice, ethical standards, and ongoing consultation practices.
Financial and Commercial Disclosure
The presenter has no relevant financial relationships or conflicts of interest to disclose. Any references to therapeutic frameworks, attachment concepts, interventions, or resources are included 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 You Dread a Specific Client: What That Actually Means – 2 CEUs
Overview:
Most therapists eventually encounter a client whose name on the schedule evokes tension, anxiety, avoidance, dread, or emotional heaviness. Clinicians may notice physical tightness before sessions, procrastination with documentation, urges to cancel, relief when sessions end, or persistent thoughts about difficult encounters. Because professional culture often assumes therapists should maintain consistent compassion and positive regard, these reactions can evoke guilt, shame, confusion, and self-criticism. As a result, therapists may attempt to suppress or ignore these experiences rather than explore what the reactions may be communicating clinically.
In this presentation, Dr. Zairys Feliz, Ph.D., LCSW, participants will examine practical and ethically grounded approaches for understanding therapist dread toward specific clients. Attendees will explore how countertransference, unresolved personal experiences, attachment patterns, burnout, emotional overextension, high-risk presentations, therapeutic impasses, relational dynamics, and unconscious role expectations contribute to these reactions. The course will address common therapist responses including over-functioning, emotional withdrawal, rescuing behaviors, avoidance, rigidity, and self-blame. Participants will learn practical strategies for identifying emotional signals in real time, differentiating personal activation from clinical information, utilizing supervision and consultation effectively, and transforming dread into meaningful clinical insight rather than shame. Through case examples and applied discussion, attendees will gain practical tools for navigating one of psychotherapy’s most common and often misunderstood professional experiences.
Objectives:
Identify factors that contribute to therapist dread and strong emotional reactions toward specific clients.
Recognize countertransference patterns and behavioral responses that may emerge when therapists experience avoidance or apprehension.
Apply practical strategies for increasing self-awareness, utilizing consultation, and transforming emotional reactions into clinical insight.
Scope and Limitations Disclosure
This course provides licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals with an overview of ethical and clinical approaches for understanding therapist emotional reactions and countertransference dynamics. Participants will learn practical assessment and intervention considerations relevant to outpatient clinical practice. This training does not provide comprehensive psychodynamic training or certification in specialized countertransference treatment models. Participants are expected to apply course material within their professional scope of practice, ethical standards, and ongoing consultation practices.
Financial and Commercial Disclosure
The presenter has no relevant financial relationships or conflicts of interest to disclose. Any references to therapeutic frameworks, attachment concepts, interventions, or resources are included 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.