When: Friday, September 27, 2017
Where: 40 Center Street, Northampton, MA
Instructors: Jack LaForte, Ph.D., LMFT, Nancy Knudsen, LMFT, and Peter Titelman, Ph.D, LMFT

This workshop was designed to ground clinicians in the fundamentals of family systems theory and practice. Starting with the work of Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy, the founder of General Systems Theory; progressing to two of the giants of the family therapy movement, Salvador Minuchin, the founder of Structural Family Therapy, and Murray Bowen, the originator of Bowen Systems Theory; and ending with Susan Johnson, the originator of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the three presenters elucidated the theme of “thinking systems.” A way of thinking about people in the context of their family relationships, the great paradigm shift that revolutionized the field of psychotherapy can be applied to working with individuals, couples, families, or even larger social groups. Lecture, video clips of these great originators at work, discussion, and a live case consultation with a workshop participant on the application of Bowen theory with a therapist’s own family made this day a full experience.

Jack LaForte, Ph.D., LMFT has worked with literally thousands of clients during his career as a psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, life coach and consultant. With over 35 years experience, he has developed an integrated client-focused approach which combines family systems, positive psychology, communications theory, cognitive behavioral therapy, and emotionally focused therapy.

Nancy Knudsen, LMFT is a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Northampton, MA with over 30 years experience in the field. She has used a family systems orientation over the years to work with individuals, couples, and families on a wide range of issues.

Peter Titelman, PhD maintains a private practice in clinical psychology, specializing in Bowen family systems therapy, consultation, professional education, and supervision in Northampton, Massachusetts. Dr. Titelman has been leading consultation groups on the professional’s own family for close to thirty-five years. He is a founding member of the New England Seminar on Bowen Theory in Worcester, Massachusetts.