“Activating the Therapeutic Misalliance”

Honored to be speaking at the IEDTA International Conference in San Diego, California, November 13 - 15, 2024

Despite our best efforts and good intentions, as therapists we can miss a cue, head down the wrong path, or assume too much or too little about the capacity of our patients.

In trainings, these misalliances are often absent from presentations, depriving students of the opportunity to see how therapy can go wrong and how it can be righted. How these miscalculations are responded to can offer valuable opportunities not just to repair, but can also serve to accelerate the therapeutic process.

In this case, I will show what went wrong, what went right, and how the initial fumble boosted the course of therapy. This presentation will include video excerpts from the initial session, the repair process, and finally, a pivotal juncture in the therapy.