TrackA
Workshop 1: Sex, Attachment, Desire, & Connection: An EFT-Informed Experiential Workshop
An EFT-Informed Experiential Workshop 9 AM – 12:00 PM
In this 3-hour experiential pre-conference workshop, EFT Trainer Dr. Silvina Irwin and Supervisor Dr. Lisa Blum invite participants into an EFT-informed exploration of intimacy, desire, and the sexual bond. Participants will get a glimpse of how the principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy as applied to sexuality operate in their own personal sexual relationships, as well as enhance their understanding of these important aspects in their clients’ lives. We will embark on a deeper exploration of the self-of-the-therapist in working with sexuality, examining how our attitudes, beliefs, biases, and anxieties shape both our comfort and clinical decision-making when sexual concerns arise in couples therapy.
Participants will be guided to understand sexual struggles not as individual inadequacies or compatibility problems, but as expressions of a shared sexual negative cycle shaped by attachment needs, protective strategies, early sexual learning, and cultural narratives about gender, identity, desire, and worth. Through EFT-informed teaching, guided self-reflection, dialogues, journaling, and experiential exercises, participants will explore:
Through EFT-informed teaching, guided reflections, dialogues, journaling, and experiential exercises, participants will explore:
- How personal sexual history shapes present-day desire, safety, and responsiveness
- How sociocultural messages about bodies, gender, sexual orientation, faith, race, and power influence erotic expression and vulnerability
- How attachment dynamics play out in sexual pursuit, withdrawal, shutdown, or compliance
- How to translate this self-of-the-therapist work into the therapeutic process to work more effectively and go to greater depths with couples navigating sexual
concerns.
*Bring your partner or come alone*
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Describe the impact of sociocultural, developmental, and relational factors on sexual attitudes and how this shapes sexuality
- Identify areas of personal comfort and discomfort related to sexuality and identify strategies to expand clinical capacity in addressing sexual concerns.
- Apply an attachment-based framework to conceptualize and respond to
sexual concerns in couples therapy.
Presenters:
- Dr. Silvina Irwin
- Dr. Lisa Blum
Workshop 2: From Chaos to Tango 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM
In this four-hour training, participants will learn how to move beyond surface-level content, cognitive debate, and escalated reactivity to uncover the underlying attachment plot organizing couples’ interactions. The training addresses common clinical blocks through video-recorded sessions, demonstrations, guided discussion, and experiential practice.
Participants will observe two contrasting clinical demonstrations: Natalia Gilabert working with a highly escalated couple (conducted in Spanish with English subtitles), and Sam Jinich working with a highly cognitive, English-speaking couple under the live supervision of Sue Johnson. Together, these sessions demonstrate how the EFT Tango helps therapists move past escalation and intellectualization, restoring access to the attachment channel where emotional engagement and lasting change can occur.
Presenters:
- Dr. Sam Jinich
- Dr. Natalia Gilabert
