Innovations in child and family therapy certificate program
Elevate your clinical expertise with this comprehensive four-day certificate program is designed for both seasoned professionals and those new to the field. This program empowers professionals, who work closely with children, adolescents, and their families, to make a lasting impact on their clients’ lives, fostering positive change and growth.
This program covers a wide range of techniques, approaches, and topics, including:
- Rapport-building strategies for effective client engagement
- Techniques for engaging resistant children and parents
- Implementation of innovative assessment models
- Strengthening core family therapy skills
- Utilization of play and expressive arts techniques
Through a blend of didactic presentations, experiential exercises, and videos of actual client sessions, this training seamlessly integrates theoretical concepts with hands-on therapeutic techniques. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the material while developing practical skills for immediate application. Upon completion of the program, participants will emerge with a wealth of new and innovative interventions for engaging, assessing, and treating children and families facing a diverse range of issues.
Each of the four modules that make up this program series explores a crucial aspect of a child and family therapy covering topics such as assessment, therapeutic approaches, child-focused family therapy, and the closing phases of family sessions all geared to expand professionals’ therapeutic repertoire.
This program is offered as an open module series, allowing the flexibility to register for any of the four individual modules or the entire series, depending on your learning objectives. Whether you choose to join one module or all four, this series aims to provide valuable insights and practical tools for those looking to support the mental health of children, teens and families.
Individual modules include:
Module 1: What’s going’ on? An innovative model for assessing children and teens
When: October 20, 2025 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Facilitator(s): Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S.
Learning objectives:
- Articulate the importance of developing a positive therapeutic rapport.
- Utilize a variety of creative interventions to engage children and teens in therapy.
- Implement an innovative model to assess children and teens.
- Develop tailored treatment plans that address specific goals.
Module 2: Wanna come out and play? Creative use of games, stories, puppets and art with children and teens
When: October 21, 2025 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Facilitator(s): Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S.
Learning objectives:
- Identify the therapeutic value of game play, and the criteria for game selection.
- Utilize basic skills in bringing a puppet to life.
- Describe the steps to writing therapeutic stories and how to integrate metaphors.
- Articulate guidelines to processing client artwork.
- Implement a variety of play and expressive arts techniques.
- Describe key processing skills to deepen therapeutic work
Module 3: Essential theory and practical skills for child-focused family therapy
When: November 3, 2025 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Facilitator(s): Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S, and Greg Lubimiv, MSW, CPT-S.
Learning objectives:
- List the benefits of conducting sessions with all family members.
- Apply core therapeutic skills in family therapy.
- Implement strategies to overcome common challenges in family therapy.
- Utilize a creative approach to mobilize change in the family system.
Module 4: Creative family therapy techniques
When: November 4, 2025 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Facilitator(s): Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S.
Learning objectives:
- Implement creative techniques to engage and assess families.
- Utilize innovative techniques in family therapy sessions including games, puppets, psychodrama, phototherapy, and storytelling.
- Integrate creative interventions into ending sessions with families.
Please note: This is a four-module certificate program. You must complete all four modules within a year to obtain the certificate. Each of the modules may be taken on their own as a stand-alone training.