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              2025 New Perspectives on Treatment Series: The Art of Holding in the Therapeutic Space
            
            
          
          
          The Power of Holding: Enhancing Leadership Through Mentalization
  
  
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          The Power of Holding: Enhancing Leadership Through Mentalization
                
                
                  1.0 CE Hours
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                  1.0 On-Demand
                
              
              
              
                
                
                  Intermediate
                
              
              
                
                
                  $0
                
              
            Information
Recorded
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Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
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      Identify at least two challenges mental health leaders face in creating a "holding environment" for their clinical teams, particularly when managing client-related stressors. 
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      Identify at least two effective holding behaviors within mental health leadership and describe their impact on staff well-being and client care. 
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      Explain how mentalizing skills help leaders manage emotional responses, maintain perspective, and support both their teams and clients. 
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      Define the Adaptive Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT) framework and explain its application in fostering a mental health workplace culture rooted in mutual support, trust, and reflective practice. 
Educational Goal
The educational goal of this workshop is to explore how mentalization can enhance leadership practices. 
Description
Leaders in mental health organizations play a crucial role not only in managing teams but also in fostering psychologically safe environments that support both staff well-being and client care. The ability to create a "holding environment", a space of emotional containment and trust, is vital for maintaining effective clinical practice and organizational health. However, mental health leaders often face unique stressors, from navigating high-stakes client situations to managing team dynamics, which can undermine their capacity to provide this critical support.
This presentation explores how mentalization, the process of understanding one's own and others' mental states, can strengthen leadership practices within mental health settings. Grounded in the Adaptive Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT) framework, the session focuses on practical strategies for mental health leaders to foster a supportive, resilient workplace culture. Participants will learn how to address leadership challenges, such as responding to team members' emotional reactions to client crises, managing staff burnout, and guiding teams through moments of clinical uncertainty. Additionally, the session rethinks common leadership frustrations, like staff resistance to feedback or difficulty in handling complex client cases, through the lens of mentalization and holding.
Target Audience
- Addiction Professional
- Counselor
- Marriage & Family Therapist
- Psychologist
- Social Worker
Presenters
 
  
    Shelly Simpson, LCSW
  
    
  
    Shelly Simpson, LCSW, is Clinical Director and Director of AMBIT at Ellenhorn, LLC. She specializes in attachment, interpersonal relationship difficulties, and mentalization, with expertise in helping teams build secure, supportive relationships through the use of mentalization. Shelly holds a BSW and MSW, and completed a postgraduate Psychodynamic fellowship.
  
  Financially Sponsored By
- Ellenhorn