Understanding the Basics
Beyond the Presenting Problem: Assessing the Family System & Emotional Safety for EMDR Therapy
Cathy Schweitzer (left), MS, LIMHP specializes in treating trauma resolution and attachment problems in children and adolescents.
Cathy is part of the treatment team that created the Integrative Attachment Trauma Protocol for the treatment of attachment trauma in children. She has co-authored books, chapters, and articles related to the treatment of attachment trauma.
Stefanie Armstrong (right) MS, LIMHP, is a licensed independent mental health practitioner. Stefanie specializes in treating trauma and attachment problems in children and adolescents. Stefanie helped develop the EMDR and Family Therapy Integrative Model: Treatment for Attachment Trauma in Children research project and co-facilitates trainings for the protocol around the country.
Understanding the basics - Beyond the Presenting Problem: Assessing the Family System and Emotional Safety for EMDR
Presented by Cathy Schweitzer
and Stefanie Armstrong
Friday, October 23, 2026
Live Online via Zoom
Introductory / Intermediate
1 YEAR access to the recording
Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychotherapists, MFTs, LPCs, graduate-level Counselors
*Completion of Part 1 of an EMDRIA approved Basic EMDR training is required to attend this program
$165 CAD + tax
$125 USD
Registration is now open
Workshop Description
Within the first parent/caregiver intake sessions, the goal is not only to “get the history,” but also to understand the child in context: developmentally, relationally, emotionally, behaviourally, medically, socially, and within the family system. Children and youth rarely present with symptoms in isolation. Understanding the relationships and environments surrounding them is essential to developing an informed and responsive treatment plan.
This workshop introduces clinicians to a systemic approach to assessment within EMDR therapy with children and youth. Participants will explore the developmental, behavioural, emotional, cognitive, educational, biomedical, family, peer, and social components of a comprehensive assessment, while examining the caregiver-child relationship, emotional safety, and home environment.
Particular attention will be given to how communication patterns, conflict, boundaries, parenting responses, caregiver stress, and caregiver mental health can shape or maintain child and youth symptoms. Emphasis will be placed on conducting assessments in a respectful, non-blaming, and trauma-informed way. Participants will learn strategies for asking sensitive questions, responding to caregiver defensiveness or distress, and exploring differing child and caregiver perspectives with curiosity and care.
The workshop also addresses emotional and physical safety, risk screening, and indicators for parent-focused support, family-based intervention, safety planning, or referral to additional services.
Through guided practice and demonstration, clinicians will strengthen their ability to translate assessment findings into collaborative treatment plans that support the child, caregivers, and their relationships.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
✔ Identify at least five (5) areas of assessment that help clinicians understand a child’s symptoms within developmental, relational, family, social, educational, and emotional contexts.
✔ Explain at least three (3) ways family dynamics, caregiver stress, communication patterns, or home environment may contribute to or maintain child and youth symptoms.
✔ Apply a trauma-informed, non-blaming approach to parent/caregiver intake questions when assessing the family system and emotional safety.
✔ Identify when assessment findings indicate a need for parent-focused support, family-based intervention, safety planning, or referral to additional services.
Who should attend
✔ Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychotherapists, MFTs, LPCs, graduate-level Counselors, and Psychotherapists who have completed at least Part 1 of an EMDRIA approved Basic EMDR training.
✔ Therapists working with trauma, attachment wounds, and dissociation
✔ Therapists wanting clinical tools for working with children and their families/caregivers
The Envision Difference
100% Online via Zoom
Live Q&A with
Cathy Schweitzer
and Stefanie Armstrong
1 year access to the recording and materials
Certificate with CE's for home study version
Practical applicable clinical learning
Workshop Schedule - Eastern Time Zone (Canada / USA)
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
-
Conducting a Comprehensive Child and Caregiver Intake Assessment
-
Moving beyond “getting the history” to understanding the child within their broader developmental and relational context
-
Establishing the purpose, structure, and priorities of the initial parent or caregiver intake sessions
-
Explaining informed consent, child assent, confidentiality, its limits, and how information will be shared between the child, caregivers, and clinician
12:30 pm - 12:45 pm
Break
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm
-
Clarifying the presenting concerns, the caregiver’s priorities, and the child’s perspective
-
Assessing the onset, frequency, intensity, duration, and functional impact of symptoms
-
Assessing Family Dynamics, Caregiver Well-Being, and the Home Environment
-
Understanding the child as part of an interconnected caregiving and family system
-
Exploring how family patterns may influence the development, expression, or maintenance of symptoms
2:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Break
2:15 pm - 3:30 pm
-
Exploring caregiver stress, emotional availability, coping capacity, trauma history, and mental health as they relate to the child’s treatment
-
Trauma-Informed Caregiver Interviewing, Safety Assessment, and Treatment Planning
-
Framing sensitive questions with transparency and explaining why the information is clinically relevant
-
Validating caregiver challenges while maintaining focus on the child’s needs and emotional safety
-
Responding to defensiveness, disagreement, guilt, fear, or caregiver distress
-
Maintaining curiosity when caregivers and children provide different accounts
-
Assessing emotional safety, physical safety, supervision, family conflict, exposure to violence, self-harm concerns, and other potential risks
-
Recognizing when additional risk assessment or safety planning may be required
Continuing Education (CE) Credits:
4 CE credits/contact hours awarded
*CE credits also available for the home study version (watching the recording)!
See our FAQ section below for more information
American Psychological Association (APA)
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Association of Social Work Board (ASWB)
Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.
Envision Counselling and Consulting, Inc., #1895, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/19/2025-1/19/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 4 clinical continuing education credits.
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Envision Counselling and Consulting has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7241. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Envision Counselling and Consulting is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program.
Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) to sponsor continuing education. This workshop is approved for 4 CEC.
Envision Counselling & Consulting, Inc. is an EC Provider #18032 and this program is approved for 4 EMDRIA Credits.
Please ensure to check with your individual state boards/regulatory body to verify Continuing Education Credit Hours requirements and if the workshop you are planning to take qualifies. Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about a specific course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.
START LEARNING :
About Cathy Schweitzer (left), MS, LIMHP and Stefanie Armstrong (right) MS, LIMHP
Cathy Schweitzer (left), MS, LIMHP specializes in treating trauma resolution and attachment problems in children and adolescents.
Cathy is part of the treatment team that created the Integrative Attachment Trauma Protocol for the treatment of attachment trauma in children. She has co-authored books, chapters, and articles related to the treatment of attachment trauma.
Cathy is an EMDRIA Approved certified EMDR therapist and consultant and provides consultation to professionals across the country.
Stefanie Armstrong (right) MS, LIMHP, is a licensed independent mental health practitioner. Stefanie specializes in treating trauma and attachment problems in children and adolescents. She is certified in EMDR and is an EMDRIA approved EMDR consultant. Stefanie helped develop the EMDR and Family Therapy Integrative Model: Treatment for Attachment Trauma in Children research project and co-facilitates trainings for the protocol around the country.
She has co-authored books, chapters, and articles related to the treatment of attachment trauma.