Friday CE Series: Mapping Relational Cycles, Meaning-Making, and Cultural Context in Couples Therapy

Gain more tools for working with couples

Mapping Relational Cycles, Meaning-Making, and Cultural Context Considerations in Couples Therapy

Presented by Kenya Rocha, LMHC

2 CEs available

Free for Marin CAMFT members and RECAMFT reciprocal chapter members!

Registration for this "live" training does not include access to a recording. Please read the full event description for all registration terms including refund policy.

Workshop Description

This intermediate to advanced training introduces a structured, meaning-centered approach to couples therapy that integrates attachment, systemic thinking, and the impact of past experiences on present relational functioning. These are the concepts from Adaptive Information Processing which focus on  how the past shows up in our present. Participants will learn how emotionally charged interactions between partners are shaped by previously encoded experiences that become activated in moments of conflict, influencing perception, behavior, and connection. 

In this presentation, clinicians will be guided in identifying and mapping the couple’s interactional cycle, with particular attention to how partners assign meaning to each other’s behaviors and how these meanings reinforce patterns of disconnection or closeness. The training covers the idea from Adaptive Information Processing that relational distress is maintained not only by communication patterns, but by the deeper emotional and experiential associations each partner brings into the relationship.

Participants in the training will learn a structured framework for establishing relational safety, emotional regulation, and co-regulation, using relationship-based resource development strategies that support stability and engagement. A set of core relational conditions that support trust, emotional engagement, and accountability will be introduced as an organizing framework for intervention with considerations for culture and identity.

Special attention will be given to cross-cultural couples, including Latino/Caucasian dynamics, and how cultural constructs such as machismo and marianismo influence emotional expression, power, and meaning-making within relationships. Clinicians will learn how to facilitate culturally responsive conversations that promote empathy, reduce misinterpretation, and strengthen connection.

This training is designed for clinicians with prior experience in couples therapy seeking a more structured framework for conceptualization and intervention. No prior knowledge of Adaptive Information Processing is required, however you may be interested in taking the Marin CAMFT On-Demand course on this topic if you would like to become more familiar with AIP in advance of taking this training.

Educational Goals

Clinicians will learn a practical framework for identifying how connection is built and disrupted through six key relational conditions. This model helps clinicians recognize where breakdowns occur in the couple’s cycle and provides a roadmap for intervention, showing how strengthening these conditions leads to de-escalation and creates space for deeper, connection-focused work to take hold.  

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:

1. Describe at least three ways past experiences influence present relational interactions.
2. Map a couple’s interactional cycle, identifying at least two triggers, associated meanings, and resulting behavioral responses that contribute to relational distress.
3. Explain at least three core relational conditions that support safety, emotional engagement, and accountability in intimate relationships.
4. Demonstrate at least three relationship-based strategies for increasing co-regulation and emotional stabilization between partners.
5. Differentiate between adaptive and maladaptive meaning-making patterns by identifying at least two ways partners may misinterpret each other’s behaviors during conflict.
6. Apply at least two culturally responsive interventions when working with cross-cultural couples.
   
   
   
   

Presenter Kenya Rocha, LMHC

Kenya Rocha, MS, LMHC, NCC is a prominent EMDR therapist known for her specialized use of EMDR in couple and family therapy contexts. Her deep engagement with the EMDR community is evidenced by her role as an international Basic Trainer for Roy Kiessling’s EMDR Consulting, where she leverages her extensive understanding of the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and EMDR’s 8 phases. As the owner of EMDR & Beyond and Mosaic Family Counseling, Inc., her contributions span innovative clinical concepts and leadership, enhancing EMDR’s ethical application through education, training, consultation and clinical supervision.

With comprehensive expertise in systemic interactions and relationship dynamics within couples and families, Kenya’s clinical practice is enriched by her ongoing practice in Attachment & Developmental psychology theories, Ego State Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy & Transpersonal psychotherapy integrations. Fluent in both Spanish and English, she effectively addresses the needs of culturally diverse populations, fostering significant therapeutic advancements in EMDR and trauma treatment across individual, couple, and family settings. Her unique blend of rigorous clinical practice and dedication to education establishes her as a respected figure in the therapeutic community.

PLEASE NOTE:  By registering for this event you are consenting to a recording being made which may include your voice and/or image. By registering for this event, you are agreeing for your likeliness to possibly be used by Marin CAMFT.

Also, while we plan to produce this training as an on-demand program, registration for the different formats of a program is offered separately and each is sold through a different platform. Registering for this Zoom training does not include access to any recording or an on-demand version. If you cannot attend "live" on the training date listed here, please do not register for this Zoom training, and instead, check Marin CAMFT On-Demand for the recorded program at a later date. If you register for this "live" training and are unable to attend, please cancel your registration per the terms below which govern our refund policies for this event.

Attendance at the live event in full and completion of the evaluation at the end qualifies for 2 hours of Continuing Education (2 CEs).

Date: Friday, December 11
Time: 12:00 to 2:00 pm Pacific

Cost: Free for Marin CAMFT members and reciprocal members, $30 for non-members. Please see refund policy below.
Location:  Online via Zoom. Instructions for registering with Zoom, in order to receive your Personal Zoom Join Link, will be sent in your confirmation message from Marin CAMFT. You will need to complete that second Zoom-registration step in order to receive your Zoom Link by email.

Additional Information about Marin CAMFT CE Programs

For more information about the Friday Continuing Education Series or about joining the Marin CAMFT Continuing Education Committee, please contact our Director of Programs Arianna Sifuentes.

• Continuing Education: This workshop meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and/or LPCCs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. These CEs will be provided by Marin CAMFT (CAMFT Provider # 56895), which is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs. We regret that at this time we are not able to provide CE credits for Licensed Psychologists. Participants must attend the full duration of the program (on Zoom, or in person, per event details above) and complete the course evaluation to receive the CE completion certificate. Course evaluations must be completed within 90 days of the training date. A $20 administrative fee will be charged for requests received more than 90 days after the course asking for course evaluation instructions, replacement CE certificates, or for research into missing or lost CE certificates. Marin CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. Contact our Director of Programs for more information.
  
  
• Continuing Education Goal: Marin CAMFT is committed to offering continuing education courses to train LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs to treat any client in an ethically and clinically sound manner based upon current accepted standards of practice.
  
  
• Refund Policy: Our refund policy requires a $20 processing fee, and we must be notified in advance of the event if you would like to cancel. We do not provide refunds in case of non-attendance by the registrant.  Please contact our Director of Programs with any questions.
  
  
• Request for Accommodations: If you need accommodations for this event, please contact the Director of Programs.

• Grievance Procedure: Marin CAMFT will respond to complaints in a reasonable, ethical and timely manner, when submitted by program attendees in writing to the Director of Programs.
  
  
• Anti-Discrimination Policy: Marin CAMFT shall not discriminate against any individual or group with respect to any service, program or activity based on gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, creed, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, ability, or other prohibited basis. Marin CAMFT does not require attendees to adhere to any particular religion or creed in order to participate in training. Marin CAMFT will not promote or advocate for a single modality of treatment that is discriminatory or likely to harm clients based on current accepted standards or practice.
  

Continuing education credits are available for attendance in the Zoom presentation. You must stay on the Zoom meeting for the entirety of the training and complete the course evaluation afterward in order to receive a completion certificate. Because of the requirement to attend the training in full, if you attempt to log in to the Zoom late, after the training is already underway, you may not be admitted. Please log onto the event promptly at the listed start time.