Cosmetic Psychotherapy: Ethical Considerations – “Is It Therapy, Just Because?”

With stigma around therapy decreasing with time, we are seeing some newer and emerging characteristics of the broader prospective therapy client pool. Some pop culture shows and movies portray having a therapist as “cool”, “hip”, and even a sign of affluence. What does this mean for how we develop treatment plans for presenting clients who aren’t suffering in the traditional sense?

This course delves into the emerging and intriguing topic of cosmetic psychotherapy. The term “cosmetic psychotherapy” pertains to therapeutic treatment for individuals who experience satisfactory emotional and behavioral functioning but aspire to enhance their performance. Much like the principles underpinning cosmetic surgery and cosmetic psychopharmacology, cosmetic psychotherapy places less emphasis on addressing impairments and more on fostering self-actualization. This course offers an exploration of the ethical intersection where psychology, medicalization, and marketing collide. Clinicians will gain valuable insights into the systemic discussions surrounding the merits and considerations associated with the practice of cosmetic psychotherapy.

Cost: $75 – Want ALL of your individual event registrations and course enrollments on our platform for FREE with exclusive member status??!! Join hundreds of your colleagues learning on our Everything Plan here.

Agenda:

9:00 am – 9:30 am: Psychotherapy Marketing

9:30 am – 10:15 am: 5 Ethical Precepts of Health Communication

10:15 am – 10:30 am: Break

10:30 am – 11:00 am: Social Scripts and Ailing Identities

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: The Enigmatic Self

Objectives:

This training will provide participants clinical knowledge and tools to:

a). Define the concept of cosmetic psychotherapy.

b). Describe the medicalization process and its relevance to the field of psychotherapy.

c). Discuss the ethical benefits and concerns of the practice of cosmetic psychotherapy.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this event includes psychologists, social workers, counselors, MFT’s, psychiatrists and other clinical mental health professionals.

Instructional Level: Intermediate

Instructor(s): Corey Petersen, PhD, LCMFT

Material Author(s): Corey Petersen, PhD, LCMFT

Dr. Corey Petersen is a communication specialist and the owner of Communication and Connection Therapy. She completed her Ph.D. in Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, where her research focused on psychotherapeutic language and communication ethics. Prior to her Ph.D., Corey earned Master’s degrees in Marriage and Family Studies and Professional Communication. In addition to her formal education, she has completed training in four Gottman Method programs (Level 1, Level 2, Seven Principles, and Bringing Baby Home), Collaborative Language Couples Therapy, and has further training with various other relationship-oriented theories and models. Corey has been teaching collegiately for over 9 years in both the psychology and communication fields. When she is not teaching, she meets with clients in her private practice.

For additional information about this course, the instructors, or the material authors, please contact Content Assistance at content@onlinececredits.com.

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