how to be a relational therapist
A three-part training for therapists — start to feel more confident being relational with clients & build a more sustainable practice
Join us in january 2025 for this exciting training opportunity
We know that relational therapy works. It helps you efficiently establish a strong therapeutic relationship with your clients through a practice of shared vulnerability and helps to put new clients more at ease as they embark on their therapy journey with you. It also supports you to work from a values-aligned perspective where you’re not required to leave your authentic self and what you stand for at the door. In fact, relational therapy encourages you to be YOU—it’s valuable for you to be who you are as both a therapist and human, and this helps your clients to build more authentic relationships with you.
In graduate school we’re taught to be blank slates, to be neutral to a fault. We disagree. In our practice, we find that our clients deeply value getting to know us personally—they want to know that we share in their values and beliefs. They also appreciate working in the here-and-now and having a space to practice increased intimacy and vulnerability, and feel more safe to do so when intimacy is not one-sided. Clients also love hearing that we’ve thought about them and even more so, that we are deeply impacted by their experiences and their humanity.
Our relational training, How to Be a Relational Therapist will help you better understand the core tenets of a relational therapy approach, gain practical interventions you can immediately apply to your work with clients, and explore some of the challenges that arise in the therapy room when you’re working more authentically and vulnerably.
Our hope is that you’ll leave this training feeling more confident as a relational therapist, know what to do when you find yourself in a challenging moment with a client, and have a new community of fellow therapists to reach for who are setting out to do this work alongside you.
the deets
Dates & Time
This 3-part workshop will meet once a month in January, February, and March of 2025.
Part One: Sunday, January 26th 1-4pm
Relational Therapy 101 (The Basics of Relational Therapy)
Part Two: Sunday, February 16th 1-4pm
Taking a Stance in the Therapy Room
Part Three: Sunday, March 30th 1-4pm
Therapist as Human First
Scroll down for more detailed information about what topics will be covered in each training module.
Investment
There are two payment options available for the full, three-part training.
You can pay in full at the time you register for $499.
You can pay in two installments of $275 each. The first payment is due upon registration for the training and the second will be due after the first January training has completed.
There are four reduced fee spots for $350 (or two installments of $185) available for Associate-Level clinicians & graduate students currently enrolled in therapy programs. If interested, please email training@kindman.co
Commitment
Our hope is that all registrants will plan to attend all three training days. This is important because each day’s material will build upon the previous training modules. Additionally, the training is designed to be a cohort model. As the focus of this training is on relational work, which is largely experiential, building relationships with your fellow training participants is a significant support to furthering your learning. Consistency will also help you build a community of other relational therapists for continued support when the training has concluded. We encourage you to keep in touch with other participants, as long as this makes sense for you!
detailed info about each training module
Part One: Relational Therapy 101
What is relational therapy?
What are some basic relational therapy interventions?
What are relational therapy goals and outcomes?
How is relational therapy different than what I already know?
How does relational therapy improve therapeutic outcomes? How do we measure effective therapy?
How do you know you’re actually doing relational therapy?
Why the therapist’s vulnerability is essential when working relationally & to build a strong, secure therapeutic relationship
Discussion of limitations of other modalities when a relational approach is not included
Includes a demo of working in the here-and-now and basic relational practice
Facilitated by Team Lead & Training Coordinator, Anna Kim, LCSW; & Kindman & Co. Co-Founder, Paul Kindman, LMFT
part two: Taking a Stance in the Therapy Room
How being neutral can actually cause harm
How to start challenging sociocultural narratives around professionalism in therapy
Deconstructing the idea of a “blank slate” and therapist neutrality
Modeling your own messiness, your humanity, and considering including touch
Exploring the importance of allowing yourself to be moved and impacted by your clients and why this is helpful
Exploring power & privilege in the therapeutic relationship and why you need to be doing this
Includes a demo of modeling how to take a stance in the therapy room
Facilitated by Team Lead & Training Coordinator, Anna Kim, LCSW; & Clinical Supervisor, Dani Marrufo, LMFT
part three: the therapist as human first
How to be a therapist and a person in the therapy room
Valuing and being transparent about your own authenticity & humanity
Practicing your own vulnerability in the therapeutic relationship
How relational therapy helps you address burnout & recognizing when you’re starting to get “crispy”
Support for navigating personal life circumstances/events and how to discuss these moments with clients
Recognizing how building dependence on your care works against therapeutic goals and the importance of setting boundaries that serve you and your cients
Includes breakout groups to discuss common challenges you may encounter working relationally and ways to feel confident addressing these moments
Facilitated by Team Lead & Training Coordinator, Anna Kim, LCSW; & Clinical Supervisor, Dani Marrufo, LMFT, & Kindman & Co. Co-Founder, Kaitlin Kindman, LCSW
f.a.q.’s
training daily schedule
1:00-2:15pm — introductions, educational material, & demo
2:15-2:30pm — break and tea!
2:30-3:45pm — dyad practice and q & a
3:45-4:00pm — closing exercise and check out
who should attend this workshop?
Licensed Therapists, Associate Therapists, & Graduate Students currently attending a psychotherapy program who are able to attend an in-person training in Highland Park, Los Angeles
Therapists wanting to understand relational therapy more
Therapists wanting to gain and practice relational therapy skills
Therapists wanting to build community with other therapists with shared clinical interests
Therapists wanting to increase their ability to question therapeutic norms and standards rooted in oppressive systems
Therapists wanting to find a therapeutic style that fosters more personal authenticity, sustainability, and works to combat burnout as a clinician
Therapists wanting to learn new clinical skills and interventions for working with individual clients
Please note that the training material will be primarily focused on supporting therapists working in private practice who have the flexibility of seeing clients on a long-term basis (min. 1 year). If you work in an agency setting or work more short-term with clients, you absolutely can benefit from this training, just know that it is geared towards longer-term work.
spots available & cancellations
To support a cohort feel, our ideal size for this workshop is 10-14 registrants in order to provide a trauma-sensitive, containing space that better supports learning and makes room for all attendees to ask questions. Once you have submitted your registration and payment, your spot is secured and you will recieve more information as the start date gets closer. If you need to cancel your registration for any reason, you must do so by Sunday, January 12th by sending an email to training@kindman.co for a full refund. Any cancellations after this date will only be eligible for a partial refund.
Accessibility
We are dedicated to making our service offerings and trainings accessible to all who are interested. We do have a handicapped parking spot available in our private lot that can be made available to you with advance notice. Please know that depending on the size of the training, we may need to move to a larger space above our office, that does require the use of stairs. If you need any accommodations, please email us at training@kindman.co and we will do our very best to meet your needs!