Confrontation Without Defensiveness
- Speaker:
- Ellyn Bader, PhD
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 51 Minutes
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
- Copyright:
-
Mar 21, 2025
- Product Code:
- NOS096469
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Like it or not, confrontation is a necessary part of all therapy. Maybe your client comes into therapy with grand pronouncements: “I’m all in—I'll do the work!” And for a little bit, it seems like they’ll follow through. But when you bring up, even gently, the ways in which they’re undermining their goals, they deny, diffuse, or become defensive, and the work stalls. In this workshop, you’ll discover the six skills that are proven to help clients take accountability without triggering defensiveness. Using video from actual client sessions—including moments of confrontation—we’ll break down the “confrontation cycle,” walking through techniques that move clients forward, instead of causing them to regress or feel attacked. You’ll learn how to:
-
Prime clients for moments of confrontation
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Use confrontation in individual and couples sessions
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Recognise and process your own emotional reactions during confrontation of all sorts, including soft, empathetic, and indirect
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Help clients confront themselves
Credit
Program Information
Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationshipsAll members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.
NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.
Continuing Education Information: Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval.
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.
Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.
For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.
Earn up to 2.0 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession.
PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This self-study activity is approved for 2.0 credit hours.
PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 2.0 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement

PESI, Inc., #1062, 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: January 27, 2026 - January 27, 2029. Social workers completing this course receive 2.0 Clinical continuing education credits.
Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.
Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities offered by providers approved by the ASWB ACE program for ongoing professional development.
This self-study activity qualifies for 2.0 continuing education clock hours as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.

This self-study course has been approved by PESI, Inc., as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #77553. PESI, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of their programming.
This self-study course offers 2.0 continuing education contact hours in the Counseling Services skill group. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.
Handouts
| File type | File name | Number of pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual - Confrontation Without Defensiveness (2.6 MB) | 20 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Confrontation Without Defensiveness - French (2.6 MB) | 20 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Confrontation Without Defensiveness - Italian (2.6 MB) | 20 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Confrontation Without Defensiveness - German (2.6 MB) | 20 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Confrontation Without Defensiveness - Spanish (2.6 MB) | 20 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Speaker
Ellyn Bader, PhD Related seminars and products
The Couples Institute
Ellyn Bader, PhD, is a psychologist, codirector of The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California, and co-creator of The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. She’s one of the early founders of couples therapy, as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy. She coauthored the award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate and Tell Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build a Loving Marriage with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. She’s been featured on Nightline, Good Morning America, and NPR, as well as in O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and the Wall Street Journal.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ellyn Bader is the director of The Couples Institute and receives compensation as a consultant. She receives royalties as a published author. Ellyn Bader receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ellyn Bader is a member of the American Psychological Association, the International Transactional Analysis Association, and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Additional Info
Program Information
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com
Questions?
Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.
Objectives
- Describe at least three confrontation skills to create accountability in defensive clients.
- Define three elements of an effective confrontation.
- Distinguish positive motivations for one spouse to confront the other.
Outline
What is confrontation and why is it necessary in therapy?
What is involved in skillful confrontation
The 6 types of confrontation
Confrontation challenges the therapist
The confrontation cycle
Symbiotic beliefs and regressive patterns that require skillful confrontation
Preparing a client for a confrontation
How to decide whether a confrontation should be made by the client themselves, by their spouse or by the therapist
Video demonstrations
Risks and Limitations
Target Audience
- Counsellors
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Social Workers
- Physicians
- Psychologists
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Total Reviews: 532
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