Participants will gain practical, integrative competencies across the full arc of supportive psychotherapy, including:

• The defining principles and evidence base of supportive psychotherapy across diagnoses and settings
• How to conduct a targeted patient evaluation applicable to any presenting problem or clinical population
• Strategies for establishing and maintaining a strong working alliance and clear treatment contract
• How to structure and conduct an effective supportive psychotherapy session
• Developing individualized case formulations that capture strengths, vulnerabilities, stressors, coping style, and therapeutic targets
• Evidence-informed intervention strategies for promoting adaptive functioning, resilience, and meaningful change
• Live case supervision with real-time clinical reasoning and peer discussion

• Define the core principles, theoretical framework, and evidence base of supportive psychotherapy and distinguish it from other psychotherapeutic modalities
• Conduct a focused, targeted patient evaluation applicable across diagnoses that identifies presenting problems, strengths, vulnerabilities, and treatment targets
• Apply strategies for establishing and maintaining a reliable working alliance, developing a treatment contract, and structuring the psychotherapy session
• Develop individualized supportive psychotherapy case formulations that integrate patient strengths, stressors, coping style, and goals into a coherent treatment plan
• Implement evidence-informed supportive interventions that promote adaptive functioning, enhance resilience, and facilitate incremental behavioral and emotional change
• Demonstrate integrative clinical reasoning through live supervision of complex cases drawn from participants’ own caseloads

This intensive, full-day program integrates didactic instruction with two live supervision sessions to ensure that learning is immediately applicable at the clinical level. Morning sessions build the conceptual and technical foundation; afternoon sessions shift to case formulation, intervention strategy, and a second live supervision. Participants are encouraged to bring a current case for presentation and discussion. The format is small-group and interactive throughout.

This program is designed for licensed mental health clinicians — psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, and counselors — practicing across inpatient, outpatient, primary care, and community settings who conduct or supervise individual psychotherapy.

Robert E. Feinstein, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Northwell/Zucker/Hofstra School of Medicine, with over 40 years of clinical, supervisory, and academic experience. He is founder and CEO of Empathian and has held senior academic leadership roles across Columbia University, New York Medical College, the University of Colorado, and Dell Medical School. He is the author of more than 100 publications and three Oxford University Press textbooks.

October 9, 2026