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.
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: Name three strategies therapists can use to invite conversation about race and/or sexual identity. 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. Identify strategies for naming race-based or sexual identity sensitivities in an effective and non-harmful way. 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.
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:
Name three strategies therapists can use to invite conversation about race and/or sexual identity.
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.
Identify strategies for naming race-based or sexual identity sensitivities in an effective and non-harmful way.
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.
