0623 - Secure Functioning in Action: Using Neuroscience and Attachment through the PACT Method for Advanced, Experiential Couples Therapy
Course Description
Hours: 12
This two-day Professional Development course offers an experiential and theoretical introduction to the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin. PACT integrates cutting-edge neuroscience, attachment theory and arousal regulation to help couples build secure-functioning relationships.
Through lecture, discussion, clinical vignettes and practice-based activities, participants will explore key concepts of the PACT framework, including the two-person psychological system, moment-to-moment tracking, threat response cycles, and secure-functioning principles. This course is ideal for mental health professionals interested in attachment-based and somatic models of couple therapy and will provide both foundational knowledge and practical skills to integrate into existing clinical work.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the three domains of the PACT framework
- Attachment
- arousal regulation
- neurobiology
- Define "secure-functioning" and differentiate it from codependence, enmeshment, and insecure relating.
- Identify markers of threat response and misattunement in couple interactions.
- Use basic PACT techniques such as cross-tracking, staging, and using the therapist’s body as an instrument.
- Begin to conceptualize couples as a two-person psychological system.
- Apply select interventions to increase safety, repair ruptures, and improve emotional synchrony in sessions.
Notes
Time Zone: All listed class times are held in ET (Ontario, Canada)
For more information contact the Faculty of Social Work Professional Development office:
Email: fswprofessionaldevelopment@wlu.ca
Phone: 548-889-4967
Cancellations and Transfers
Be sure to carefully review our cancellation and transfer information before registering.
Website: wlu.ca/fswpd
Applies Towards the Following Certificates
- Family and Couples Counselling : Family and Couples Counselling