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Description
Black couples may experience relationship challenges shaped by cultural expectations, systemic inequities, racial stress, gender-role expectations, and intergenerational or relational trauma. This three-hour recorded workshop equips mental health professionals with culturally responsive tools for helping Black couples build emotional safety, strengthen communication, and develop healthier approaches to conflict.
Participants will explore fierce self-compassion, emotional awareness, trigger identification, and compassionate accountability. Through clinical examples, guided reflection, and applied exercises, clinicians will learn strategies for helping couples connect present conflicts to earlier relational experiences, interrupt recurring patterns, manage triggers, and engage in constructive conflict resolution.
The workshop also addresses the influence of personal and systemic bias on clinical work. Participants will gain practical interventions for supporting Black couples in developing greater self-awareness, resilience, emotional connection, and relational wellbeing.
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About the Presenter:
Dr. Linnéa Parsons-Willis is a clinical behavioral health supervisor and doctoral candidate in General Psychology with a focus on Instruction and Cognition. She specializes in emotional intelligence, relationship wellness, and helping individuals heal from relational hurt. With extensive experience training and supervising clinicians, she blends clinical expertise with practical strategies for growth. Her mission is to make emotional health accessible, inclusive, and transformative for both professionals and the clients they serve.
Learning Objectives:
- 1. Define and apply the concepts of fierce self-compassion, emotional safety, and emotional wellness when working with Black couples.
- 2. Identify biases and systemic influences that affect relational health in Black couples and integrate culturally competent practices into clinical work.
- 3. Support couples in recognizing and labeling emotions, linking them to past relational trauma, and breaking cycles that repeat in current conflicts.
- 4. Equip couples with tools to manage triggers and engage in fair, constructive conflict resolution strategies.
- 5. Facilitate the development of insightful selves in couples by fostering self-awareness, compassion, and resilience within the relationship.
Agenda:
0:00 – 0:15 | Welcome & Introduction
- Facilitator welcome
- Icebreaker: “One word that describes how you show up in your most authentic relationships.”
- Overview of workshop goals and structure
0:15 – 0:45 | Session 1: Understanding Social & Cultural Contexts
- Mini-lecture: Systemic influences on Black couples (racism, stereotypes, historical trauma, gendered expectations)
- Activity: Video for Cultural Lens Reflection – Participants may also journal how their own biases or cultural backgrounds shape their work with Black couples.
- Guided discussion: Sharing insights in small groups
0:45 – 1:15 | Session 2: Emotional Safety & Fierce Self-Compassion
- Define emotional safety in relationships
- Introduce “fierce self-compassion” (protective self-compassion in setting boundaries, fighting fairly, and addressing conflict)
- Activity: Case vignette analysis – Identify barriers to emotional safety in sample scenarios
- Group discussion: Strategies for helping couples create safe emotional spaces
1:15 – 1:25 | Break
1:25 – 1:55 | Session 3: Facing Biases & Identifying Triggers
- Teaching: Common relational triggers rooted in cultural and historical contexts
- Guided Activity: Trigger Mapping – Participants practice guiding a couple through identifying triggers and linking them to past relational trauma
- Discussion: How trauma cycles repeat in relationships and ways to interrupt them
1:55 – 2:25 | Session 4: Helping Couples Fight Fairly & Label Emotions
- Teaching: Tools for fair conflict resolution and emotional labeling
2:25 – 2:45 | Session 5: Building Insightful Selves & Emotional Wellness
- Explore concept of “insightful selves” – cultivating self-awareness and compassionate accountability in couples
- Guided Activity: Emotion → Belief → Behavior Chain (help partners map emotional triggers to underlying beliefs and repeated patterns)
- Discussion: How therapists can integrate this tool into sessions with Black couples
2:45 – 3:00 | Closing & Integration
- Large group reflection: “One shift I’ll make in my practice to support Black couples more effectively.”
- Q&A
- Wrap-up and resources provided (reading list, worksheets, reflection prompts for couples)
Accreditation - This Webinar Offers 3 Continuing Education Credits
This webinar is recorded and will not grant live credits.
- CE You! is an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland.
CE You! maintains responsibility for this program.
This presentation is open to:
- Behavior Analysts
- Social Workers
- Professional Counselors
- Therapists
- Psychologists
- Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
- Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
- Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
This online class is offered at an intermediate level, and is beneficial for an intermediate level clinician:
- New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
- Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
- Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
- Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives
Additional information
- Refunds: Registrants who are unable to attend a CeYou! Plus! seminar or live webinars may ask for, and will receive, a credit or refund (your choice). Refund requests will be processed within 3 business days. When an attendee knows in advance that they are unable to attend we ask that they inform CeYou! Plus! ahead of time by emailing [email protected] or by calling or texting 607-249-4585 this allows us to free up the spot in the training in the event that a training is at or near capacity.
- Disability Access: If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification.
- Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly.
- The grievance policy for trainings provided by CeYou! Plus! is available here
- Satisfactory Completion: Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion in your account or by clicking here
- Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.
- There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
- System Requirements: Any device (such as a computer, tablet, or phone), Dual-Core 2 GHz or higher processor, and at least 4 GB of RAM capable of running a Zoom session, along with a stable internet connection.
- Although early registration is recommended for this class in order to ensure the best experience, attendees may register and join until the start of the program