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Digital Seminar
Confrontation Without Defensiveness

Confrontation Without Defensiveness

Standard - $129.99 $68.89 Anniversary Sale 2026 - 47% off!

Like it or not, confrontation is a necessary part of all therapy. Maybe your client comes into therapy with grand pronouncements: “I’m all in—I'll do the work!” And for a little bit, it seems like they’ll follow through. But when you bring up, even gently, the ways in which they’re undermining their goals, they deny, diffuse, or become defensive, and the work stalls. In this workshop, you’ll discover the six skills that are proven to help clients take accountability without triggering defensiveness. Using video from actual client sessions—including moments of confrontation—we’ll break down the “confrontation cycle,” walking through techniques that move clients forward, instead of causing them to regress or feel attacked. You’ll learn how to: 

  • Prime clients for moments of confrontation  

  • Use confrontation in individual and couples sessions 

  • Recognize and process your own emotional reactions during confrontation of all sorts, including soft, empathetic, and indirect 

  • Help clients confront themselves 

Here's What You'll Learn


What is confrontation and why is it necessary in therapy? 

What is involved in skillful confrontation 

The 6 types of confrontation 

Confrontation challenges the therapist 

The confrontation cycle 

Symbiotic beliefs and regressive patterns that require skillful confrontation 

Preparing a client for a confrontation 

How to decide whether a confrontation should be made by the client themselves, by their spouse or by the therapist 

Video demonstrations  

Risks and Limitations 

Everything You're Getting


  • More than 1 hour of video content
  • Up to 2.0 CE credits
  • Certificate of completion
  • Handouts and resources

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Confrontation Without Defensiveness
Digital Seminar
$68.89
$129.99

Meet Your Experts


Ellyn Bader, PhD

Toggle speaker biography

Ellyn Bader, PhD, is a psychologist, codirector of The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California, and co-creator of The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. She’s one of the early founders of couples therapy, as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy. She coauthored the award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate and Tell Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build a Loving Marriage with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. She’s been featured on Nightline, Good Morning America, and NPR, as well as in O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and the Wall Street Journal.


Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ellyn Bader is the director of The Couples Institute and receives compensation as a consultant. She receives royalties as a published author. Ellyn Bader receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ellyn Bader is a member of the American Psychological Association, the International Transactional Analysis Association, and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

100% Demo Guarantee

Register for this intensive training course without risk. If you're not completely satisfied, give us a call at 800-844-8260. We're that confident you'll find this learning experience to be all that's promised and more than you expected.

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Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.

For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com

Questions?

Visit our FAQ page at www.pesi.com/faq or contact us at www.pesi.com/info


Media Type:
Digital Seminar
Product Code:
NOS096469
Duration:
1 hour, 51 minutes
Copyright:
Mar 21, 2025
Closed Captions:
Available
Format:
Audio and Video

ADA Needs


We would be happy to accommodate your ADA needs; please call our Customer Service Department for more information at 1-800-844-8260.

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