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Cultivating Trust and Safety For Therapists in Solution Focused Work (CM 4)

CE Hours 6

About this course

Trust and safety are foundational to effective therapeutic work, particularly in solution-focused practice where the relationship itself is a primary mechanism of change. This course offers therapists practical skills for cultivating an environment of mutual respect and trust, including how to offer observations with permission, how to share intuitions without attachment, and how to acknowledge clients' beliefs, feelings, and perceptions in ways that are clinically distinct from praise. Drawing on contemporary research on therapeutic alliance, cultural humility, and psychological safety, the course also addresses the common clinical pitfall of overemphasizing identity exploration ("the who") at the expense of concrete behavioral planning ("the what"). Participants will leave with usable language and frameworks they can apply immediately in their next session.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the components of a safe, supportive therapeutic environment that allows clients to share freely while maintaining mutual respect and trust in solution-focused work.
  • Differentiate therapeutic acknowledgment from praise, and identify the role each plays in cultivating trust within the therapeutic relationship.
  • Apply permission-based language ("contribution per permission") to offer clinical observations, intuitions, and reflections in a manner that preserves client autonomy.
  • Demonstrate the use of "sharing without attachment" and "invitation to discard" to maintain a stance of remaining in service of the client.
  • Analyze the distinction between identity-focused work (the "who") and behavior-focused work (the "what") and identify common pitfalls in balancing both within a session.

Learning Levels

  • All

Course Instructor(s)

  • Dr. Liz Lasky, PhD, LCSW, ACC

    Dr. Liz Lasky, PhD, LCSW, is the founder of The Coach Training Program For Helping Professionals™ and lizlasky.com. She is passionate about teaching therapists how to coach ethically and well. Dr. Liz Lasky is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (NY State, MSW from Yeshiva University). She holds a PhD from Yeshiva University in Social Welfare. She is also a New York University Certified Coach and holds the International Coach Federation credential of Associate Certified Coach (ACC). She is an adjunct professor at Fordham University. She is a published author (both in peer reviewed academic journals and her own book), a professional expert for Bravo TV, and presents her research on coaching single women internationally, most notably at Harvard University. She is also a proud Fellow of The Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, Harvard University.

Disclosure

DISCLOSURE OF RELEVANT FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity ― including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests). The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity’s planners, faculty, and the reviewer: PLANNERS AND REVIEWER The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships. FACULTY The faculty of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

References

  • American Psychological Association. (2017, August). Multicultural guidelines: An ecological approach to context, identity, and intersectionality.
  • Aafjes-van Doorn, K., Spina, D. S., Horne, S. J., & Békés, V. (2024). The association between quality of therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes in teletherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 110, 102430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102430
  • Elliott, R., Bohart, A. C., Watson, J. C., & Murphy, D. (2018). Therapist empathy and client outcome: An updated meta-analysis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 399. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000175
  • Eubanks, C. F., Muran, J. C., & Safran, J. D. (2018). Alliance rupture repair: A meta-analysis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 508. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000185
  • Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 316. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000172
  • Kolden, G. G., Wang, C. C., Austin, S. B., Chang, Y., & Klein, M. H. (2018). Congruence/genuineness: A meta-analysis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 424. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000162
  • Mehra, L. M., Udupa, N. S., Sachs-Ericsson, N. J., & Joiner, T. E. (2026). Therapist cultural humility in early psychotherapy: A catalyst for improved client functioning at treatment termination. Psychotherapy Research, 36(2), 287–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2025.2481268
  • Norcross, J. C., & Lambert, M. J. (Eds.). (2019). Psychotherapy relationships that work: Volume 1: Evidence-based therapist contributions. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190843953.001.0001
  • Orlowski, E. W., Moeyaert, M., Monley, C., & Redden, C. (2025). The effects of cultural humility on therapeutic alliance and psychotherapy outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 25(2), e12835. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12835
  • Podolan, M., & Gelo, O. C. (2023). The functions of safety in psychotherapy: An integrative theoretical perspective across therapeutic schools. Clinical neuropsychiatry, 20(3), 193. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10405669/

CE Process Info

Content

  • Joint Accreditation (JA)

    In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

  • American Psychological Association (APA)

    Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.

  • New York Education Department's State Board for Social Work (NYEDSW)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #0060.

  • New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors (NYSEDLMHC)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.

  • New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology (NYEDPSY)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #PSY-0016.

  • New York Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy (NYEDMFT)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MFT-0045.

Cultivating Trust and Safety For Therapists in Solution Focused Work (CM 4)
You Have Completed This course
$1000
You are enrolled
  • CE Hours
    6
  • Type
    Self-Paced
  • Publication Date
    Apr 28th, 2026

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