The Therapeutic Alliance: Engaging young people (January 2018)

This webinar will discuss The Therapeutic Alliance, a key element in engaging young people in mental health treatment. Although it is well known that building a collaborative relationship with clients is fundamental to effective treatment, this becomes a challenge when aspects of the client’s presentation, context or circumstances lead to ruptures, or breakdowns in the quality of the alliance between clinician and client. This webinar will explore a number of evidence based models of managing challenges in engagement and provide information about the skills needed to build more effective therapeutic relationships with young people.

The information in this webinar is current as at January, 2018.

Who is this webinar for?

Clinicians who work with young people in mental health services, private practice and primary care.

What will you learn in this webinar?

  • Understand why engagement is important
  • Define the therapeutic alliance
  • Identify alliance ruptures in theoretical and clinical contexts
  • Explore different approaches to resolving ruptures
  • Understand key skills to cultivate to improve the capacity to resolve alliance ruptures

Presenter

Dr Elon Gersh

Elon Gersh is a clinical psychologist and clinical educator at Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health. He completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne, studying The Therapeutic Alliance in young people with Borderline Personality Disorder. He completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, investigating the use of technology to screen and intervene with adolescent health risk behaviours. Elon has also held clinical appointments at Orygen Youth Health, working with young people with psychosis and mood disorders, and has also worked as a family therapist at Berry Street.