The value of confronting clients, including interventions and reasons we shy away from it

Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT

  • Course Description

    This discussion addresses a therapist's crucial role in effectively challenging clients, helping them see the ways they might be hedging against painful truths or avoiding the developmental tasks in front of them. While therapeutically working with clients, it's important to offer support and validation, but it's equally important to bring direct, skillful confrontations, so there's an avenue for clients learning to confront themselves. This course discusses the clinical value of confronting clients, interventions to implement challenges, and various reasons therapists often shy away from strongly challenging their clients.

  • Learning Objectives

    Upon completing this course, participants will be able to: Describe two reasons why confronting clients is crucial for clients’ development; Explain critical factors relating to effective client confrontation, including with clients who have sensitive nervous systems; List three or more ways for therapists to become more comfortable with therapeutic confrontation


    Target Audience and Instructional Level
    This course is intended for psychologists, therapists, social workers, clinical counselors, and addiction counselors. Instructional level: Intermediate

  • How To Take This Course

    In order to receive a certificate of completion reflecting the associated CE credit hour, you must:
    #1: Have an active paid Clearly Clinical membership
    #2: Listen to the corresponding course podcast
    #3: Achieve a passing grade on the post-presentation test (the test has up to ten questions and you must earn a score of at least 80%; users can re-test up to three times. After three attempts, users are advised to re-listen to the audio course in its entirety and then subsequently re-test. Psychologists who are seeking CE credit may not be awarded credit if they attempt to pass the post-test more than three times.)
    #4: Complete the requested course evaluation.

    Course elements (including the course audio, post-test, and requested course evaluation) can be completed on a computer or mobile device via your Clearly Clinical account.

  • Course Format

    This high-quality and interesting course contains a one-hour, non-interactive audio podcast presentation which is available for free via all major public podcast providers. You can also listen to and download the file via our course player.

  • Commercial Support

    There is no known commercial support or conflict of interest for this CE program, presenter, sponsor, instructor, or content. The instructor references their own resources as a potential option for further learning.

  • Certificate Access Details

    Once you've completed the course, your certificate will automatically populate in the 'Certificate' section of your account; it will also be emailed to you. Access to completion certificate will expire 365 days after issuance. Course certificates will be on file for ten (10) years from date of course completion.

  • Accommodations

    If you have special needs or need an accommodation, please email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to assist you.

Interviewer and Interviewee

Elizabeth Heaney, LPC

Supervision Trainer

Elizabeth Heaney, MA LCMHC maintains a private practice in Asheville NC, working with individuals and couples. Drawing on four decades of clinical experience, Elizabeth also provides case consultation and clinical training for therapists.

“I’ve always been fascinated with how we keep our work both highly effective for our clients, and (at the same time) richly fulfilling for ourselves. I work with therapists at the crossroads of technique and presence – where our technical skills get infused with creativity and meaning.”

Please visit her at HeaneyConsulting.com and The Honor Was Mine- A Look Inside the Struggle of Military Veterans (Amazon.com).

Elizabeth 'Beth' Irias, MS, LMFT

Interviewer & Clearly Clinical Founder

Elizabeth 'Beth' Irias (she/her) is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and the Founder and President of Clearly Clinical. She has specializations in Clinical Documentation, Best Practice, and Utilization Review, and works closely with clinical teams across the US as a trainer and national conference presenter; Beth was formerly an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University in the Graduate Psychology and Education department. Licensed in California and Oregon, she provides therapy via her private practice to young adult and adult clients, members of the LGBTQ population, and those with addictive disorders. She has two young children, a super cool spouse who helps out with Clearly Clinical's tech, and a rescue dog.

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