About this course

Learning Objectives

• Describe therapist presence as a multi-dimensional clinical construct (physical, emotional, cognitive, and relational) and its role in solution-focused practice.
• Apply radical acceptance, drawn from Linehan's dialectical behavior therapy framework, as a foundation for maintaining therapeutic presence during clinical sessions.
• Differentiate between the "who" (the client's identity and self-concept) and the "what" (concrete behavioral planning) within solution-focused therapy, and identify the clinical purpose of attending to both.
• Demonstrate the use of curiosity, silence, pause, and reflection as therapeutic skills that create space for the client to engage in change, potential, and growth.
• Analyze the distinction between growth and fixed mindset orientations — including the contextual application of victim/victor framing — and identify clinical implications for therapeutic work.

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

References

• Garrote‐Caparrós, E., Bellosta‐Batalla, M., Moya‐Albiol, L., & Cebolla, A. (2022). Effectiveness of mindfulness‐based interventions on psychotherapy processes: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 29(3), 783-798. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2676
• Geller, S. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2012). Therapeutic presence: A mindful approach to effective therapy. American Psychological Association.
• Goldberg, S. B., Riordan, K. M., Sun, S., & Davidson, R. J. (2022). The empirical status of mindfulness-based interventions: A systematic review of 44 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. Perspectives on psychological science, 17(1), 108-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620968771
• Gülüm, İ. V., Dilekler-Aldemir, İ., İkizer, G., & Karancı, A. N. (2025). The temporal dance: How therapist presence and alliance evolve across early sessions of psychotherapy? Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 98(4), 1017–1032. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.70001
• Linehan, M. M. (2025). DBT skills training manual. Guilford Publications.