Communication Theories and Strategies for Therapists
August 8, 2025, from 12:00 pm - 3:20 pm EDT
Join us for a Live Webinar
3 CE hours available for behavioral health clinicians
Discover the science behind therapeutic connection - how we communicate shapes how we heal. Strengthening your understanding of communication theory can transform your sessions, offering you and your clients new language, insight, and strategies for change.
Whether you’re noticing the same patterns surface in client relationships or you want to respond more effectively to emotional cues in session, this course will help you move from recognition to confident, compassionate action.
Dr. Corey Petersen, Ph.D., LCMFT, is a psychotherapist, continuing education trainer, and communication expert who brings over a decade of experience in both academia and clinical practice. With a Ph.D. in Communication Studies and extensive teaching and therapy experience, Dr. Petersen offers a rare blend of theoretical depth and real-world application.
Using a dynamic and accessible teaching style, Dr. Petersen connects foundational communication theories to clinical techniques that enhance therapeutic outcomes. From managing relational tension to interpreting paralinguistic markers, this training provides practical tools for more effective conversations with clients.
Instructor
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., Dr. Petersen earned a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Studies and Professional Communication. She has over 9 years of collegiate communication and psychology teaching experience and is currently a continuing education and corporate trainer. When not teaching, Dr. Petersen can be found working and meeting with clients in her private practice.
Key Takeaways:
- Apply evidence-based theories: Learn how Facework Theory, Relational Dialectics, and more can reveal invisible patterns in client interactions.
- Improve trauma-informed communication: Understand how affect, tone, and timing influence how trauma stories are shared and heard.
- Support relational healing: Help clients identify systemic dynamics and reshape their interpersonal narratives.
Why this course?
- Research-backed guidance: Gain tools that integrate rigorous communication theory with trauma-informed, client-centered practice.
- Taught by a rare expert: Dr. Petersen is uniquely qualified, with deep roots in both psychotherapy and communication science.
- Tailored for therapists: This course is specifically designed for behavioral health clinicians with real-world examples, not generic theory.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the core principles of Facework Theory, Structuration Theory, Communication Privacy Management Theory, Relational Dialectics Theory, and Fantasy Theme Theory.
- Demonstrate discussions with clients about shared narratives, systemic patterns, and the management of relational tensions.
- Identify verbal and nonverbal communication patterns commonly seen in trauma survivors, including paralinguistic markers.
- Determine the impact of the therapist’s affect on the processing of trauma narratives and therapeutic outcomes.
By deepening your understanding of how meaning is made in conversation, you can unlock new potential in the therapeutic alliance. This is your opportunity to engage with communication science in a way that is clinically relevant, emotionally attuned, and immediately applicable.
Credit Hours: CEs provided with this live webinar include 3 continuing education hours of credit.
Counselors: Telehealth Certification Institute LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6693. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors. #MHC-0048.
Marriage and Family Therapists: Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations. You can check with your board to determine if this course would be accepted by your licensing board.
Social Workers: Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2024 – 05/02/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3 clinical continuing education credits.
Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers #SW-0435.
Addiction Professionals: This course has been approved by Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #193104, Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is responsible for all aspects of the programming.
Psychologists: Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0128.
Other Professionals: This activity qualifies for 180 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.
This is a live, interactive online webinar.
Register for the webinar by midnight before the event. So that we can provide you these CEs, you are required to:
- login and access the direct link to the webinar through your account
- participate fully during the event
- complete a post-test and course evaluation at the conclusion of the event
- collect your certificate of completion on your account after steps 1-3 are completed
Enroll in a course by adding it to the cart and proceeding through the check out process. Create an account (or login to yours) during the checkout process.
Prepare: Download Zoom software. Participants must use a device that is connected to adequate internet speed with a camera, microphone and speakers (or headset).
Attend: At least 15 minutes before the start time the day of the event, login to your account on the website. Go to "My Courses", click on the title/date of the webinar. The link to join the meeting/webinar will be listed in the course content.
Attendance is automatically recorded when you use the link to join.
Any recording made of a live event is NOT included with live webinar registration.
When possible, webinars are recorded and converted into online self-study courses, available for separate purchase/enrollment for those who did not attend the live event.