Counter-Transference On-Demand CE Webinar for therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists
 

Your Feelings Matter Too: Effective Use of Counter-Transference in Formulation and Treatment - 3 hours

To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.

  • CE Hours Included: 3 (please see below for details)
  • Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”, Non-Interactive) ~ At your leisure this recorded video is to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
  • Investment: $87 (provides lifetime access!)
  • Presented by: Trevor Ahrendt, Psy.D. (see bio below)
  • Date of Recording: July 8, 2026
  • Instruction Level: Intermediate
  • Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists
  • This workshop is not yet available; by pre-registering, you will receive immediate access when it becomes available in July.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:

  • Contrast multiple historical ideas and attitudes towards psychotherapists’ understanding of counter-transference and its utility in psychotherapy.
  • Assess barriers to understanding and applying one’s own counter-transferrence to improve clinical outcomes.
  • Apply Relational Psychotherapy models to understanding how to utilize counter-transference in case formulations

Workshop Description:

Isn't the field of psychotherapy confusing when it comes to countertransference? Some models treat it as the very heart of the work — the therapist's feelings, reactions, bodily sensations, and reveries understood as critical instruments of effective therapy. Others barely mention it, focusing entirely on matching techniques to diagnosis, with some going so far as to call too much attention to countertransference self-indulgent, even harmful. And to make matters worse, the field itself has shifted dramatically over time — whole eras dismissing countertransference entirely, others redefining it, still others making it the cornerstone of good clinical practice.

This course will help make sense of these competing trends and chart a through line that can fundamentally change how you work. We'll explore how to examine our own countertransference effectively and non-judgmentally, and apply thoughtful, empirically grounded models for distinguishing when it's signal, when it's noise, and how to use it in case-specific ways. We'll also take seriously the role of identity — how our backgrounds and social locations shape our reactions to patients, their needs, and how we adapt treatment accordingly. You'll leave with a clear map for when countertransference is clinically useful, when it belongs in your own consultation or therapy, and when to simply set it aside. Finally, we'll examine several cases in depth to see how countertransference actually shapes treatment from session to session.

Workshop Agenda:

  • Introduction and Outline (15 min, 15/180)
    • Welcome
    • Inclusion Statement
    • Outline of course
    • Opening Experiential
  • History of Counter-Transference (20 Min, 35/180)
    • Psychoanalytic Models
    • Behavioral Reactions
    • Humanistic Models
  • Current Trends and Tensions (25 min, 60/180)
    • Current Attitudes about CT
    • Gap between Models
    • Understanding the Fields Disintegration
  • Current Models for Integrating Transference Into Case Formulation (40 min, 100/180)
    • Control-Mastery Theory
    • Other convergent Models
      • TLDP
      • Relational Psychodynamic Models
  • Self-Reflective Practice (30 Min, 130/180)
    • How to identify your own CT more effectively
    • Barriers for therapist to know and utilize CT
    • CT in reaction to Personality VS CT in reaction to Content
    • Cultural Humility and CT
      • Understanding how identity may shape CT
      • Understanding how this may shape treatment
      • When to address directly and when not to
  • Case Examples and Practice (40 min, 170/180)
    • Video Clips to Identify one’s CT
    • Example 1 – Two cases of Panic D/O
    • Example 2 – Two cases of Depression
  • Discussion/Questions/Overflow (10 min, 180/180)

Presented by: Trevor Ahrendt, Psy.D.

Trevor M. Ahrendt, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice in San Francisco, where he sees adults and provides Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. He is the co-founder and head clinical supervisor of The San Francisco Therapy Group. He received his doctorate from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He serves on the board of the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group and previously on the board of the Northern California Group Psychotherapy Association. A lifelong student of both therapy and personal transformation, he has studied across most major modern theories, lived and practiced in a Zen residential center, and taught more than 100 continuing education courses over the past decade.
Dr. Ahrendt has provided trainings to organizations and clinicians on addiction, the therapeutic relationship, and mindfulness in therapy. He is particularly passionate about teaching Control Mastery Theory — a poorly named but incredible theory that offers a truly unifying, trans-theoretical understanding of the therapeutic process. He has presented on resolving conflicts in the therapeutic field and the value of an examined life. You can find him and his cardigan collection on Instagram and TikTok @SFTherapyGroup.

3 "Asynchronous" CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

  • PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
  • COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
    • This course offers 3 Core CE hours for GA LPCs. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
  • SOCIAL WORKERS: The Knowledge Tree, a Summit Professional Education Company, provider #2470, 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: 1/14/2026-1/14/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3 general continuing education credits.
    • TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
  • MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

Registration: To register for individual workshops, you may use our online payment option, or to pay by check you may print and complete the Registration Form and mail or fax it to our office. The registration form is available on our website: www.theknowledgetree.org. Registration is permitted until the time the workshop begins, unless otherwise specified.

Multiple Workshop Special: There is a 10% Discount with registration for two workshops. There is a 15% Discount with registrations for three or four workshops. There is a 20% Discount with registration for five or more workshops.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: If you can no longer attend a workshop you have registered for, you can either receive a credit for another workshop or receive a refund if you are within the refund policy period. Refunds will be given for cancellations received at least five days prior to the workshop. More information about refund/cancellation can be found here.

Attendance Policy: 100% attendance, completion of a course evaluation and passing a post-test with a score of 70% or higher (you will have 2 retake opportunities) is required at any asynchronous CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once these completion requirements have been met.

ADA Requests: We will make every effort to accommodate any reasonable ADA request. Please call or email us at least two weeks prior to the event. Payment and registration are required to fulfill an ADA request.

No Conflict Policy: Neither The Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program. 

System Requirements: Live Interactive Webinars are facilitated via Zoom. System requirements for the Zoom platform are linked at our FAQ page.

We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.


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The Knowledge Tree, a Summit Professional Education Company, offers courses that provide continuing education hours as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and holds Approved Continuing Education Provider/Sponsor status with professional organizations including APA and NBCC. Each licensee should check our detailed CE information page and ensure courses taken meet their specific state board requirements.