Loving the Person, Not the Addiction: Working with Clients in Relationships

Explore how bias, cultural narratives, and stigma about addiction, recovery, and relationships shape assessment, formulation, and treatment. ***This event is in-person AND on-line. Substance use disorders affect not only the individual living with addiction but also intimate partners and the broader relational system. Psychologists frequently encounter clients experiencing the emotional, relational, and existential consequences of a loved one's substance use, yet the experiences of these partners are often marginalized within treatment. This presentation examines clinical work with individuals whose intimate relationships are affected by addiction through a humanistic, relationship-centered, and evidence-informed framework that emphasizes empathy, lived experience, relational meaning-making, and client autonomy. Drawing on person-centered, existential, and relational-humanistic perspectives, the workshop emphasizes therapeutic presence, empathic understanding, and respect for clients' capacity to construct meaning and make choices within complex relational contexts. Participants will examine how personal assumptions, cultural narratives, and stigma surrounding addiction, recovery, and intimate relationships influence therapeutic assessment, case conceptualization, and intervention. Participants will review current evidence supporting partner- and family-focused interventions, including Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT), interdisciplinary collaboration, and recovery-oriented approaches that strengthen individual and relational well-being. Throughout the program, presenters will integrate didactic instruction, reflective exercises, facilitated discussion, and case-based application to help psychologists cultivate greater self-awareness, relational presence, and clinical competence when working with clients navigating intimate relationships affected by addiction. Continuing Education Information RMHCPA partners with Division 32 (Society for Humanistic Psychology to offer CE programs. APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology, is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology, maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Disability Accommodations For disability accommodations and more information on the CE offering, contact us at [email protected].