CE Trainings for mental health professionals

grounded in attachment theory and emotionally focused therapy

Close-up of a woman's hands holding a smartphone, seated in a waiting area, with other people visible in the background.
A woman with a distressed expression touching her forehead during a therapy session with a counselor who is taking notes.

Hard conversations are unavoidable in therapy. This training shows you how to welcome mistrust, invite “no,” and view ruptures as relational opportunities, so clients feel safer, not smaller.

Courageous Conversations

An Attachment-Informed Framework for Clinical Ethics

A 3 hour CE workshop for individual, couple, and family therapists

Why this training

Ethics that clients and clinicians can feel.

Ethics are often taught as rules to follow. Using attachment science and therapeutic alliance research, we teach you to create a secure base that help clients risk vulnerability when therapy activates attachment stress.

You’ll practice, not just listen.

Expect brief demos, case vignettes, and a safely scaffolded “saying no” exercise to embody consent, autonomy, and repair.

A man sitting on a light-colored sofa with a yellow pillow, holding his head with both hands, appearing distressed or upset, in a well-lit living room.

What you’ll learn

  1. Understand the core principles of attachment theory relevant to clinical ethics and difficult conversations.

  2. Apply ethical principles (beneficence/non-maleficence, fidelity, respect for rights & dignity) through an attachment lens.

  3. Conceptualize how attachment patterns shape client reactions to boundaries, feedback, and rupture-repair moments.

  4. Recognize mistrust as adaptive and consent as relational.

  5. Identify at least two of your own protective strategies (e.g., over-explaining, placating, over-controlling) and the attachment fears underneath.

A smiling woman with curly black hair wearing a mustard yellow sweater, holding eyeglasses in one hand and a clipboard with a pen in her lap, sitting on a gray couch in a bright living room.

Join Us for Courageous Conversations

  • Houston, TX

    January 31, 2026
    8:45 am - 12:30 pm

    Join the Houston Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy for a networking breakfast and our workshop.

    Location: Council on Recovery
    303 Jackson Hill Street
    Houston, TX, 77007

    Registration Closed

  • Houston, TX

    March 27, 2026
    9:00 am - 12:00 pm

    Join us for the Houston Psychological Associations Ethics workshop. Networking breakfast and lunch available.

    Coming Soon

  • Albuquerque, NM

    April 25, 2026
    1:00 - 4:00 pm

    Join the New Mexico Emotionally Focused Therapy Community for our workshop.

    RSVP

  • In over 30 years of clinical practice, this was the most engaging and clinically relevant ethics workshop I have attended. I especially appreciated the attention given to the therapist’s internal state and how it impacts ethical decision-making in complex situations. Thoughtful, practical, and immediately applicable—I highly recommend this workshop to clinicians at all stages of practice.

    — Dr. Irena Milentijevic
    Licensed Psychologist

  • "This course provided a well-structured and clinically relevant overview of how attachment theory intersects with ethical practice. It effectively integrated foundational attachment concepts with real-world client dilemmas. The content was presented in a logical and accessible manner, balancing academic rigor with practical application. In over 20 years of practice, it's truly one of the best ethics courses I've ever taken! ."

    — Hannah Golub, LCSW

  • "Ethics trainings tend to be very rules-based, so this felt very new and refreshing. The different perspective was a joy to learn about, and made me more curious about EFT as well. It also made for a much more interesting and engaging training than other ethics trainings!."

    - Attendee of the January 31st Training

  • "Great course, led by seasoned, authentic clinicians with meaningful educational materials and most of all, real life examples of how to ethically handle attachment, rupture and repair with clients in service to their healing."

    - Attendee at Houston Jan 31st training

  • "I liked that this was an ethics course that is more relevant and personal; focused more on the therapist; not a drag like usual ethics CEUS haha."

    - Attendee at Houston Jan 31st training

We’re Tahlia Rainbolt, PhD and Laura C. Spiller, PhD—psychologists, trainers, and ICEEFT-certified supervisors who believe ethics should feel relational, not rigid.

Since 2021 we’ve co-led trainings and consultation that help therapists hold clear boundaries without losing the bond.

Our style is grounded, practical, and very human: we model a secure base so participants can practice safe-enough discomfort, invite a client’s “no,” and repair when it matters most.

What we bring

  • Supervisor-level EFT perspective + deep attachment science

  • Real-world scripts for consent, limits, transparency, and repair

  • A supportive learning atmosphere (small group, hands-on, zero shaming)

About Us

A woman with curly black hair smiling outdoors with a blurred green background.

Meet Dr. Laura Spiller

Laura is a Texas-licensed psychologist, ICEEFT-Certified Supervisor, and founder of Heights Couples Therapy and PractiSage. A former university faculty member and clinic training director, she has supervised and taught therapists for years and served in professional leadership, including as President of the Houston Psychological Association and Houston Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy.

Meet Dr. Tahlia Rainbolt

Tahlia is a New Mexico-licensed psychologist and ICEEFT-Certified Supervisor who trains and consults with clinicians integrating attachment-informed ethics into everyday practice. Active in EFT community leadership, she designs experiential, alliance-focused learning that helps therapists welcome disagreement, use metacommunication, and move confidently toward repair.

A mature woman with short gray hair outdoors, wearing a light-colored button-up shirt, looking contemplative with a soft expression, in a natural setting with trees and flowers in the background.

 FAQs

  • Secure Base Training is seeking approval to offer continuing education credit for this program. Final details will be posted upon confirmation. Whether the CE certificate is included or an extra charge depends on the pricing set by the hosting organization.

  • Item desWe aim to be fair and predictable. All windows below reference the program start date and local time at the venue (or host platform).

    Participant cancels

    • ≥ 30 days prior: 100% refund minus a $25 administrative fee or one free transfer to a comparable SBT program within 12 months.

    • 14–29 days prior: 50% refund or one free transfer within 12 months.

    • < 14 days or no-show: No refund. At any time before the program begins, you may transfer your seat to a qualified colleague at no cost (email us their full name, credentials, and email).

    • How to cancel/transfer: Email securebasetraining@gmail.com

    • Refund method & timing: Approved refunds are returned to the original form of payment within 10 business days. Any third-party payment processing fees are non-refundable.

    SBT cancels, reschedules, or converts format

    • If SBT cancels, you may choose a full refund or a free transfer to a future offering.

    If SBT reschedules or converts to live online delivery for reasons beyond its control (e.g., illness, venue failure, extreme weather), you may accept the change or request a full refund.

  • No. It’s an attachment-informed ethics training focused on difficult conversations in therapy.

  • No. We’ll cover the essentials and apply them to ethics and consent.

  • Yes, there will be brief, opt-in micro-practices with clear instructions and alternatives for observers.

  • Yes! Please contact us for on-site or private online cohorts.

Get in Touch

Handwriting notes in a small notepad during a therapy or counseling session, with another person sitting across and blurred in the background.