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• BVPA Peer Consultation Group (Zoom), Spring 2026

  • Start
    20 Mar 2026
  •  
  • End
    21 Aug 2026
  •  
  • Schedule
    6 sessions
  • Location
    Zoom link to be sent upon registration

  Register

  Can you believe it? It's time for...

  Yet-ANOTHER ROUND OF THE

  BVPA Peer Zoom Consultation Group

  Spring 2026 SCHEDULE

  begins at 12pm on March 20

  Meetings are a free benefit for BVPA Members

  & Associate Members

  and are eligible for 1 CEU per meeting

  (Depending on content of discussion, could count towards Ethics requirement)

  Registration is restricted to BVPA Full and Associate Members.

  Interested non-members are encouraged to join BVPA

  in order to attend.

  Peer Consultation Meetings provide an opportunity for members to provide one another with valuable information to increase the efficacy of our work, as well as provide an opportunity to engage in “best practices” for consultation about difficult cases.  As you may recall, one of the best risk management practices, when dealing with difficult clients or situations, is to document peer consultation in your notes. 

  In addition to consultations on individual cases brought by participants, issues of general concern that we address include professional liability questions, compliance with regulations, the impact of changes in legislation, insurance guidelines, and practical questions about the business of running a practice.  Additionally, you may have a specific area of expertise that you would be willing to share with the group, such as training in specific treatment modalities, expertise with certain populations, teletherapy expertise, or insights that come from years of practice. 

  Please join us and take advantage of this free membership benefit.  

  Our Spring 2026 meeting schedule begins at 12:00 PM Central Time, on Friday, March 20, and then continues at 12:00 PM third Friday every month, through August 21, 2026. (Often the 3rd Friday of the month, but some date changes may occur due to holidays or unavoidable conflicts).

   Meetings run for 1 hour. Registration is for the full series of meetings, but we understand that scheduling conflicts come up, so if you can't make a particular session, please notify info@bvpa-tx.org.

  Registration is limited, so please register early.

  
  

  Date changes may be required due to unavoidable conflicts,

  in which case registered participants will be notified via email.

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• FREE Threat Assessment Training (3 CEUs)

  • When
    10 Jul 2026
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online/Zoom (Link will be sent 2 days before & midnight prior to the event)

  Register

  Threat Assessment Training- Free

  (3 CEUs)

  with:

  Lauren Ghoston & Heather Kloeker-Webster, Ed.D.

  When: July 10, 2026 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. 

  Where: Online via Zoom (link will be emailed 2 days before the event) 

  Cost: Free

  Program Description Flyer: 

  
  

  

  About Our Speakers

  

  Lauren Ghoston serves as the Threat Assessment Manager at North Carolina A&T State University, where she became the university’s inaugural lead for behavioral threat assessment upon joining in 2023. She developed a comprehensive threat assessment and management program designed to proactively address safety and security concerns across the campus community.

  Lauren brings extensive specialized experience to this role, drawing from her work in protective intelligence for public figures, investigations of workplace violence, and advocacy for victims and survivors of stalking, intimate partner violence, and other forms of threatening behavior. She has assessed thousands of inappropriate or concerning communications involving public figures, corporations, and Fortune 500 executives across the education, technology, and entertainment sectors.

  As an active ATAP member, Certified Threat Manager, and registered Private Investigator in Virginia, Lauren advances prevention efforts by approaching the identification and management of potentially threatening behavior through a culturally competent and ethical lens.

  
  

  Dr. Heather Kloeker-Webster is the Threat Assessment and Management Coordinator for UNC Charlotte’s Office of Threat Assessment and Management. Dr. Kloeker-Webster is responsible for coordinating the threat assessment and management process for the University community, including students, employees, and non-affiliates. Dr. Kloeker-Webster also serves as the Chair of the Campus Behavioral Intervention Team. Prior to this role, Dr. Kloeker-Webster worked in behavior management for over a decade within the field of student conduct.

  Dr. Kloeker-Webster has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Student Conduct Administration and as a three-time threat assessment faculty member for the Donald D. Gehring Academy. She has completed Behavioral Threat Assessment training with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations and presented with US Secret Service special agents, on the importance of threat assessment teams on college campuses to campus law enforcement officers. Dr. Kloeker-Webster’s doctoral research focused on threat assessment and management teams within higher education.

  Dr. Kloeker-Webster is a Certified Threat Manager through the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and is a Certified Master Trainer through the Department of Homeland Security’s National Threat Evaluation and Reporting.

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• Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy - Training (3 CEUs)

  • When
    28 Aug 2026
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online/Zoom (Link will be sent 2 days before & midnight prior to the event)

  Register

  Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy - Training

  (3 CEUs)
  

  with:

   Dr. Karen Hammack & Dr. Brett Marroquin
  

  When: Friday, August 28, 2026 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. 

  Where: Online via Zoom (link will be sent 2 days before & at midnight prior to the event) 

  Cost: BVPA Members Free, Non-Members $80, TPA Members 10% discount at registration with TPA Member Number, Student Non-Members $10.

  Program Description: 

  Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT) is an evidence-based approach to couples therapy. It is rooted in behavioral couple therapy but has integrated the concept of emotional acceptance as a therapeutic target (in addition to the target of behavior change). IBCT was created by Dr. Andrew Christensen and Dr. Neil Jacobsen. Dr. Christensen is a clinical psychologist and distinguished research professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), while Dr. Jacobsen unfortunately passed away before seeing his work come to full fruition.

  In IBCT, the therapist combines two types of interventions: those focusing on increasing mutual understanding, emotional intimacy and acceptance, and those focusing on altering negative interaction/communication patterns, resolving or ameliorating couple conflicts, and promoting positive behavior.   We use a four session assessment phase, followed by an average of 12-20 sessions of intervention. The primary interventions are unified detachment and empathic joining, followed by more specific behavior change later in therapy if needed.
  

  1. The Assessment phase: during this phase, the therapist develops the formulation of one or two core issues and a plan for treatment using the DEEP analysis. The D-E-E-P is an acronym and describes how the couple’s issue is the result of Differences between the partners, Emotional sensitivities, External stressors, and Patterns of negative communication/interaction.

  2. The Feedback phase: during this phase, the therapist shares the DEEP formulation with the couple, outlines the active treatment phase, and secures a commitment from the couple to engage in that treatment phase.

  3. The Active Treatment phase: during this phase, the therapist applies acceptance-oriented strategies targeting Differences, Emotional sensitives, and External stressors and change oriented strategies targeting Patterns of communication and External Stressors (if they can be changed).

  4. The Termination phase: during this phase, the therapist may space sessions at longer intervals until the couple is confident they can continue on their own. This phase ends with a termination session that reviews the DEEP analysis, the progress the couple has made during treatment, and ways to handle inevitable slip-ups and back-sliding.

  
  

  Learning Objectives:

  1. An overview of IBCT

  2. Begin to learn how to apply IBCT interventions straegies and techniques to couples therapy 

  3. Begin to develop the ability to assess couple's issues and develop a DEEP case formulation 

  4. Provide feedback to couples 

  5. Work consistently with the conceptualization during the treatment phase, using unified detachment and empathic joining.

  About Our Speakers 

  

  Dr. Karen Hammack is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Charleston, SC. She obtained her Master’s degree from Columbia University, Teacher’s College in NYC, followed by her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (emphasis in children and families) from the University of Mississippi in 2007.  As part of her training, Dr. Hammack completed a child and family internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia, before moving on to the VA healthcare system in 2009. During her time at the VA, she received extensive training in couples work, primarily Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, and continues to serve as a national trainer and presenter for IBCT.

  

  Dr. Brett Marroquin is a clinical psychologist in solo private practice at Arches Psychology Denver in Denver, Colorado.  He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Yale University, and completed internship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a postdoctoral fellowship in health psychology at UCLA.  His clinical work focuses on anxiety, anxiety disorders, and relationship issues, primarily with LGBTQ+ individuals and couples.  A former Associate Professor of Psychological Science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, his research focuses on the role of interpersonal emotion regulation in close relationships.
  

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• Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy with Diverse Couples: Accepting the Elephant in the Room (3 CEUs)

  • When
    11 Sep 2026
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online/Zoom (Link will be sent 2 days before & midnight prior to the event)

  Register

  Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy with Diverse Couples: Accepting the Elephant in the Room

  (3 CEUs)
  

  with:

   Dr. Karen Hammack & Dr. Brett Marroquin
  

  When: Friday, September 11, 2026 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. 

  Where: Online via Zoom (link will be sent 2 days before & at midnight prior to the event) 

  Cost: BVPA Members Free, Non-Members $80, TPA Members 10% discount at registration with TPA Member Number, Student Non-Members $10.

  Program Description: 

  The primary purpose of this presentation is to discuss the importance of acknowledging a variety of diverse identities and potential issues in the couple therapy process (IBCT), to offer guidance on IBCT modification, and to build a deeper framework with specific questions and language to create a more focused approach. IBCT is built upon a foundation of understanding and acceptance as essential for change, and considering a client’s personal and social history is vital. As IBCT explicitly incorporates these individual factors and vulnerabilities (emotional sensitivities), as well as the broader context (external stressors), it is the ideal couple therapy to intentionally consider cultural factors (Christensen, 2020). 

  This presentation allows for a focused discussion of challenges and opportunities using IBCT across racial and sexual identity lines particularly. The panelists will discuss: (1) strategies to acknowledge and address race and sexuality flexibly and effectively with couples, considering racial and sexual identity and cultural context of the therapist and the members of the couple (2) factors related to race-based and sexuality-based emotional sensitivities (trauma including macro and microaggressions); incorporating these into case conceptualization (DEEP) and intervention (3) considerations with interracial couples and couples with sexual identity differences, particularly when only one partner might be similar to therapist; (4) generalizability to other CBTs.

  Learning Objectives:

  By the end of the session, the learner will be able to: 

  1. Name three strategies therapists can use to invite conversation about race and/or sexual identity.

  2. Name three sensitivities that are common among Black/African American couples in America, as a consequence of the nation’s systemic racism and violence; and three sensitivities common among sexual minority couples, as a result of this country’s legal and societal violence and marginalization.

  3. Identify strategies for naming race-based or sexual identity sensitivities in an effective and non-harmful way.

  4. Name two pitfalls when the therapist has similar racial or sexual identity to one partner but not both; name one strategy for maintaining alliance with both.

  About Our Speakers 

  

  Dr. Karen Hammack is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Charleston, SC. She obtained her Master’s degree from Columbia University, Teacher’s College in NYC, followed by her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (emphasis in children and families) from the University of Mississippi in 2007.  As part of her training, Dr. Hammack completed a child and family internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia, before moving on to the VA healthcare system in 2009. During her time at the VA, she received extensive training in couples work, primarily Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, and continues to serve as a national trainer and presenter for IBCT.

  

  Dr. Brett Marroquin is a clinical psychologist in solo private practice at Arches Psychology Denver in Denver, Colorado.  He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Yale University, and completed internship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a postdoctoral fellowship in health psychology at UCLA.  His clinical work focuses on anxiety, anxiety disorders, and relationship issues, primarily with LGBTQ+ individuals and couples.  A former Associate Professor of Psychological Science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, his research focuses on the role of interpersonal emotion regulation in close relationships.
  

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• The Role of the Behavioral Health Provider in Treating GI Disorders: Increasing Gut-Brain Competencies

  • When
    09 Oct 2026
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Online/Zoom (Link will be sent 2 days before & midnight prior to the event)

  Register

  The Role of the Behavioral Health Provider in Treating GI Disorders: Increasing Gut-Brain Competencies

  (3 CEUs)
  

  with:

  Ellen Joseph, PhD
  

  When: Friday, October 9, 2026 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. 

  Where: Online via Zoom (link will be sent 2 days before & at midnight prior to the event) 

  Cost: BVPA Members Free, Non-Members $80, TPA Members 10% discount at registration with TPA Member Number, Student Non-Members $10.

  Program Description: 

  The gut and brain are in constant conversation — and for many patients, that connection is at the heart of their gastrointestinal (GI) struggles. This presentation offers behavioral health providers a practical, engaging overview of common GI conditions and the gut-brain axis, including an introduction to the field of gastropsychology and its growing role in whole-person GI care. Attendees will also explore how sex, gender identity, and cultural norms shape the way patients experience and manage these conditions, and will walk away with concrete tools, patient-friendly language, and actionable strategies to integrate into their practice right away.

  Learning Objectives:

  By the end of the session, the learner will be able to: 

  1. Identify 3–5 GI disorders that fall within the scope of behavioral health treatment.

  2. Explain the gut-brain interaction in clear, accessible, patient-friendly language.

  3. Examine how sex, gender identity, social norms, and cultural background intersect with patients' lived experiences of GI conditions.

  4. Apply 2–3 targeted modifications to assessment and treatment approaches to better serve patients with GI conditions.

  5. Connect patients to 2–3 practical, patient-focused resources for living with GI conditions.

  
  

  About Our Speaker 

  

  Ellen Joseph, PhD (she/her) is a Counseling Health Psychologist and Partnership Liaison at GI Psychology, a virtual, national group psychology practice that specializes in treating GI disorders. Dr. Joseph has a wealth of experience working in integrated medical settings and has a passion for treating patients of all ages with chronic and acute medical conditions. She particularly enjoys treating patients with gastrointestinal disorders given the associated stigma and significant impact on valued areas of their lives. Dr. Joseph's passion is helping patients reclaim control over their lives and enhance overall satisfaction and meaning. With regard to research, Dr. Joseph explores the role of positive psychology, self-compassion, and acceptance-based interventions to address health psychology-related issues like IBD, chronic pain, and weight stigma.

  
  
  

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