Sub-Total: $0.00
EMPATHIAN
A Continuing Education Program for Licensed Mental Health Clinicians
Course Director:Â Robert E. Feinstein, MDProfessor of Clinical Psychiatry, Northwell/Zucker/Hofstra School of Medicine
Course Date: October 9, 2026
6.50 CE Credits |  $350 per person
Supportive psychotherapy is the most widely practiced form of individual psychotherapy across all mental health settings — yet it remains among the least formally taught. Clinicians working across outpatient, inpatient, primary care, and community settings deliver supportive interventions daily, often without a structured framework for what they are doing or why it works. This full-day immersive training directly addresses that gap, providing licensed clinicians with a comprehensive, clinically grounded introduction to the theory, assessment, and practice of supportive psychotherapy. The program moves sequentially through the complete arc of supportive treatment: from defining the model and conducting a targeted patient evaluation, through establishing a working alliance and treatment contract, to case formulation and evidence-informed intervention strategies. Two live supervision sessions — one before and one after lunch — give participants the opportunity to present their own cases and receive real-time expert feedback in a collaborative small-group format. The day is designed so that every concept taught in the morning is applied clinically by the afternoon.
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
| # | Time | Session Title |
|---|---|---|
|  | 8:00 – 8:15 | Introduction & Program Overview |
| 1 | 8:15 – 9:30 | Supportive Psychotherapy & Targeted Patient Evaluation |
| 2 | 9:30 – 10:30 | Working Alliance, Establishing a Contract & Conducting Sessions |
|  | 10:30 – 10:45 | Break |
| 3 | 10:45 – 12:00 | Live Supervision — Session I (Participant Case Presentations) |
|  | 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch |
| 4 | 1:00 – 2:00 | Supportive Psychotherapy Case Formulation |
| 5 | 2:00 – 3:00 | Strategies & Interventions for Change |
|  | 3:00 – 3:15 | Break |
| 6 | 3:15 – 4:15 | Live Supervision — Session II (Continued Case Presentations) |
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.
$350
per person practicing clincian
$250
per person recent graduates ( 3 years)
$100
Students ( With an ID)
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.
Continuing Education Information
This activity offers 6.50 CE credit hours for mental health clinicians and especially useful for psychiatric nurse practitioners. It and has been designed to meet the educational needs of any licensed mental health clinicians. CE credit will be provided upon completion of the program. All content is derived from peer-reviewed literature on evidence-informed approaches to supportive psychotherapy. No commercial support has been received for this activity, and planners have no relevant financial conflicts of interest to disclose.