Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue
A Developmental Approach to Restoring Connection
- Speaker:
- Ellyn Bader, PhD
- Duration:
- 2 Hours
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
- Copyright:
-
Oct 10, 2025
- Product Code:
- POS150450
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Couples often begin therapy with the complaint, "We can't communicate." Feelings of frustration, disappointment, and despair often lie behind this common problem, along with a mistaken belief that communication techniques will easily restore love and connection. But true healing and reconnection requires something deeper: embracing differentiation. In this workshop, you’ll explore this essential developmental stage and identify the emotional capacities required for partners to relate to each other clearly—not as idealized extensions of themselves, but as separate, unique individuals. You’ll learn to help couples:
- Identify where they are in the developmental model
- Move through the challenging terrain of the differentiation process
- Draw on practical strategies to increase genuine understanding, respect, and appreciation
- Transform relational trauma into opportunities and growth
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., #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 - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue (4.8 MB) | 21 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Transcript - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue (175.7 KB) | 24 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - French (4.8 MB) | 21 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Transcript - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - French (175.7 KB) | 24 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - Italian (4.8 MB) | 21 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Transcript - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - Italian (175.7 KB) | 24 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - German (4.8 MB) | 21 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Transcript - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - German (175.7 KB) | 24 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - Spanish (4.8 MB) | 21 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Transcript - Healing Trauma Through Transformative Dialogue - Spanish (175.7 KB) | 24 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Speaker
Ellyn Bader, PhD Related seminars and products
The Couples Institute
Ellyn Bader, PhD, is in private practice and is co-director of The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California. Over the past 25 years she has conducted professional training programs in couples therapy and has trained therapists throughout the United States as well as Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. She is a past president of the International Transactional Analysis Association and a recipient of the Clark Vincent Award for an outstanding literary contribution to the field of marital therapy from the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. Dr. Bader is frequently invited to speak at national and international conferences. She and her husband, Peter Pearson, PhD, coauthored the books, In Quest of the Mythical Mate: A Developmental Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment in Couples Therapy (Brunner/Mazel) and Tell Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build an Honest Marriage (St. Martin’s Press).
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
- Analyze the role that differentiation plays in the facilitation of significant personal growth for each partner.
- Utilize developmental continuums to help partners progressively build empathy, improve listening skills, and confidently initiate challenging conversations.
- Define differentiation and explain how embracing differentiation facilitates significant personal growth for each partner.
- Determine the impact that unresolved trauma has on a couple's developmental progress.
- Formulate effective questions partners can use during emotionally charged conversations.
Outline
Understanding the Communication Myth
- Why “we can’t communicate” is rarely about technique
- Moving beyond surface-level fixes
The Role of Differentiation in Couple Therapy
- Defining differentiation and its role in relational development
- Emotional capacities required for authentic connection
Mapping the Developmental Journey
- Using developmental continuums in assessment and treatment
- Identifying where each partner is in their growth process
Trauma’s Impact on Relational Development
- How unresolved trauma disrupts differentiation and connection
Facilitating Transformative Dialogue
- Strategies and sample questions for emotionally charged conversations
- Supporting partners in building empathy, respect, and emotional presence
Clinical Application and Integration
- Practical tools for helping couples grow through conflict
- Therapist stance
Risks and Limitations
- Discussion of the accuracy and utility of the materials presented, research limitations, and the severe and common risks associated with the content of the program
Target Audience
- Counsellors
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Social Workers
- Physicians
- Psychologists
- Addiction Counsellors
Reviews
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