Course Details

  • Live, virtual workshop:  August 28th-30th, 2022, 9 am - 5:30 pm CST


  • 18 CE hours available for completion of this three day course (see details below).


  • This course is open to all practitioners who work with (or would like to work with) NICU families. This includes therapists, psychiatrists, hospital chaplains, nurses, lactation consultants, physicians, physician assistants, doulas,  birth workers, and more.


  • The cost of this course is $750 for three days of content with two trainers. Payment plans are available for this course and can be selected from the dropdown menu above. 

Course Introduction

Hear from Mara and Debbie about this new training!

Course Summary

What you will gain from this training

In this course, you’ll explore the complicated landscape of parenting in the NICU and beyond with clinician Mara Tesler Stein, PsyD, PMH-C  and developmental psychologist Deborah L. Davis, PhD. To prepare for this course, you’ll read Parenting Your Premature Baby & Child: The Emotional Journey and/or Intensive Parenting: Surviving the Emotional Journey through the NICU and learn how to think deeply about: 

  • Perinatal crisis, grief, and trauma; 

  • Quality care of parents in the NICU and beyond; 

  • Evaluating, supporting, and interacting with parents;

  • Therapeutic approaches that support parenting, adjustment, and healing; and

  • The strengths, limitations, callings, defenses, and biases you bring to your job.


This informative, engaging course can boost your competence and build your confidence in the important work you do with NICU parents and families.

This workshop will equip you with the insight and skills you need to understand, support, and therapeutically intervene with these families, and parents will benefit from your calm competence and compassionate support during their NICU experience, and beyond.



Pricing options

This course can be paid for using a payment plan or one-time payment. If you select a payment plan, you will automatically be charged monthly to your credit card on file. Select the payment plan that works best for you!

  • $750.00

    One-Time Payment

    Register
  • 5 monthly payments of $150

    Five Month Payment Plan

    Register
  • 3 monthly payments of $250

    Three Month Payment Plan

    Register

Instructors

EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Consultant and EMDR Faculty Trainer for ICM Mara Tesler Stein

Mara Tesler Stein, Psy.D., PMH-C is a clinical psychologist practicing in Chicago and Jerusalem. She is the founder and director of The Touchstone Institute for Psychotherapy and Training where she offers both EMDR Foundational trainings for perinatal specialists & advanced EMDR workshops which take a deeper dive into the intersections and applications of EMDR and perinatal mental health. Dr. Stein is a staunch advocate for trauma-focused care and is trained and certified in a range of integrative trauma therapies. A certified EMDR therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Trainer for the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, Dr. Stein is also certified in Emotion-Focused Family and Couple Therapy, Brainspotting, is a Gottman Certified Therapist, and continues to pursue training in Clinical Hypnosis, Yoga-Informed treatment, advanced applications of EMDR, Brainspotting, and Ego-State therapies. She is the co-author (with Deborah Davis, Ph.D.) of Parenting Your Premature Baby and Child: The Emotional Journey (Fulcrum, 2004) and Intensive Parenting: Surviving the Journey Through the NICU (Fulcrum, 2013). Her trauma work is grounded in her personal perinatal journey, which began 25 years ago taking her through infertility, twin pregnancy, prolonged hospital bedrest, the NICU, and years of raising NICU graduates.

Deborah Davis

Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D. is a developmental psychologist who writes books that support parents through heart-wrenching crises such as the death of a baby during pregnancy or infancy, premature birth, parenting in the NICU, perinatal hospice and palliative care, and making end-of-life medical decisions. She has also contributed to a number of other parent books, medical texts, and professional guidelines that inform and support health care practitioners on developmentally supportive, relationship-centered care, perinatal bereavement care, and medical ethics. She is best known for her books, Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby (1991; 1996; 2016) and A Gift of Time: Continuing Your Pregnancy When Your Baby’s Life is Expected to Be Brief (2011; in press). She is forever inspired by the resilience of bereaved parents and the healing transformations they experience on their journeys.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please read through all answers below

  • What are the prerequisites for this course?

    This course is open to all practitioners who work with (or would like to work with) NICU families. These include hospital chaplains, nurses, lactation consultants, physicians, physician assistants, doulas, and other birth workers. While this course was developed with psychotherapists in mind, it’s designed to also support and guide other practitioners who work with perinatally bereaved families. 

  • If this course is open to non-psychotherapists, will it be too basic for me?

    This course is meant for psychotherapists. However, because of how it's structured, those who are not psychotherapists but whose roles bring them into connection with NICU families will ALSO benefit and find applications to their roles with families.

  • Do I need to be trained in EMDR to take (or benefit from) this course?

    NO!  EMDR training is NOT a prerequisite for this course. We are not teaching from a specific method or model, instead, taking a holistic, integrative approach and offering a framework that explores the NICU through the intertwined lenses of grief and trauma. Whichever models you already use in your work with families, there will be information and guidance here that you can integrate into your practice.

  • If I am trained in EMDR will I benefit from this course?

    Yes!  Think of this as an adaptive information processing informed training. EMDR applications will be addressed while also incorporating other methods and modalities (attachment focused couple's work, yoga therapy, Brainspotting, Hypnotherapy, as well as our tried and true foundational relational framework). 

  • If I'm not trained in EMDR will I be lost when you mention EMDR applications?

    NO!  While Mara is an EMDR trainer, she is also certified in a number of other models and methods. In addition, she operates from an attachment-focused, relational framework regardless of any specific additional model. Even when EMDR applications are mentioned, they will be in the company of other approaches and options as well.

  • Is there a registration limit or deadline?

    No registration limit or deadline.

  • Does this workshop count towards EMDRIA’s CE requirement for certification?

    The application for CE approval is in and we anticipate that it will be approved. The course offers 18 CEs. For more details about other CE approvals, see the CE information located at the bottom of this landing page.

  • Does this workshop count towards PSI’s CE requirement and/or advanced training requirement for the PMH-C?

    Yes! This course has been approved for 18-CEs towards the PMH-C advanced course requirement as well as to maintain the PMH-C.

Continuing Education Hours

This course meets the requirements for 18 Continuing Education credit hour by the following CE approval bodies:

State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board

The Institute for Creative Mindfulness is an approved provider of continuing education by the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for counselors, social workers, and marriage/family therapists. Approval: #RCS091306

American Psychological Association

The Institute for Creative Mindfulness is approved by American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Institute for Creative Mindfulness maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

National Board for Certified Counselors

The Institute for Creative Mindfulness has been approved by National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. [6998]. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Institute for Creative Mindfulness is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.


EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)

This course is approved by EMDRIA for 18 CEs EC Program Approval Number: pending


Postpartum Support International  (PSI)

This course is approved by PSI for the advanced track requirement towards obtaining the PMH-C. It is also approved for continuing education towards maintaining the PMH-C.


A General Note About Approvals

Please also note that APA-approved sponsors are accepted by many state boards, such as California BBS and major licensure boards within the state of Pennsylvania. In both of these cases, separate paperwork does not need to be filled out. Many state boards also accept out-of-state providers, which is why our Ohio approvals appear on every training. In some states, pre- or post-program approval forms must be sent, and you are responsible for checking into the rules of the licensure board in your state as to what is required. Please let the Institute for Creative Mindfulness know if you need support documentation in any way for these pre or post-program approval applications.


Refund Policy

If canceling prior to two weeks before a scheduled event, trainees are entitled to a full refund less a 5% processing fee OR the option to apply the dollar amount paid towards a future training with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. If canceling less than two weeks before a scheduled event, trainees are entitled to a 50% refund, OR the option to apply the dollar amount paid toward a future training with ICM. 


Only medically documented reasons or family deaths are considered as an exception to this policy. No-shows are generally not eligible for a refund. If you terminate your training or need to leave it early for any reason, you are not eligible for a refund. Attendance at the entire training is required for our program to remain compliant with CE  standards. All other situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.


Please contact us with any questions.

By Registering For This Training, You Acknowledge And Agree To The Following:

Technological Requirements: Attendance at all live sessions on the indicated dates is mandatory for the completion of this course. These live lectures and discussion blocks will be hosted by the video conferencing platform Zoom. Links for joining these live sessions via zoom are included in the course portals. By registering for this training, you acknowledge that you meet the technological requirements needed to participate.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: By registering for this training, you acknowledge you have read and agree to ICM's Organizational Policies, which stipulate the terms for refunds, cancellations, and resolving grievances and disputes. 

Professionalism: You will show up on time and be fully present for each session, acting in a professional manner. You will reach out to your faculty member or any assistants if any unexpected problems arise. 

Staying present for online learning can come with its unique set of challenges, and you agree to take full responsibility for addressing your needs in the area of grounding and self-care during the training. You agree to refrain from all alcohol and illicit drug use during the training and agree to speak with your faculty member or any assistant if you anticipate that your impairment due to prescribed medications might pose a problem during the training. 

The faculty and staff reserve the right to remove trainees at any time if trainee creates an unsafe environment for you or for other trainees, or for any other reason, at their sole discretion.

Confidentiality: There is no client relationship or other privilege that would create a duty rising to the level of clinical confidentiality in this training setting; however, you are expected to respect the confidentiality of other trainees in the group, and your trainer will explain the importance of confidentiality. Trainees who observe a problem with another trainee are expected to bring the problem to the lead trainer or other training staff. Similarly, if a staff member observes an issue with professionalism, they reserve the right to discuss that issue with the lead trainer.

Preparedness for Doing Your Own Work: Throughout the training, you will be invited to participate in reflective practices and group discussion. Please be prepared to approach these learning blocks with both openness and attention to your own emotional needs.

Correspondence from Training Organization: The Touchstone Institute regularly sends correspondence about the training, including an email confirmation at registration and several emails leading up to each training. The emails presently come from [email protected]. You are responsible for reading these emails in full. 

If you are not receiving these emails, you are required to check your Spam folder as correspondence from new organizations often ends up there. Once you receive your first correspondence, please save the email to your address book. If you have not received a confirmation email or other correspondence from the organization within seven days of the event, it is your responsibility to reach out to us by email or phone. 

Email [email protected] with any questions or concerns.