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Not All Feelings Are Equal: Understanding the Hierarchy and Function of Emotions in Therapy
3 CE Course Hours Live Synchronous
Presented by Cristine Seidell, BSEd, MA, LPC, CCH, and Madison Reed, APC, NCC
LPCAGA Approval: pending
Presentation Dates:
Time: 9am-12pm
Friday, December 12, 2025
Friday, February 6, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Summary:
This continuing education (CE) course challenges the oversimplified idea that all emotions carry equal weight or function in therapeutic work. While all emotions are valid, they are not equivalent in their accessibility, visibility, or psychological impact. Some emotions—such as anxiety or irritability—often present as surface-level indicators of deeper affective states like fear, grief, or shame. Others, such as resentment or guilt, operate internally and can silently shape behavior and self-perception without being consciously acknowledged.
This course will explore how therapists can conceptualize emotions within a layered hierarchy—recognizing which feelings act as defenses, which signal vulnerability, and which require deeper processing. Clinicians will learn how to attune to emotional displacement, help clients identify root emotions beneath their initial presentations, and build tolerance for affective depth. Emphasis will be placed on both youth and adult presentations, helping therapists guide clients from emotional confusion toward embodied awareness and integration.
Objectives:
By the end of this workshop:
Therapists will define emotional hierarchy and identify distinctions between primary, secondary, and masked emotions.
Therapists will explore how certain emotions (e.g., anxiety, guilt, resentment, envy, anger) can mask or protect against deeper affective experiences.
Therapists will identify common emotional patterns in children and adults who mislabel or substitute emotions due to avoidance, fear, or learned family dynamics.
Therapists will examine therapeutic strategies to help clients name, validate, and process complex emotional layers through cognitive, somatic, and narrative approaches.
This course has been approved for 3 Core CE Hours through LPCGA.
Details of access to be emailed after order is confirmed.
3 CE Course Hours Live Synchronous
Presented by Cristine Seidell, BSEd, MA, LPC, CCH, and Madison Reed, APC, NCC
LPCAGA Approval: pending
Presentation Dates:
Time: 9am-12pm
Friday, December 12, 2025
Friday, February 6, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Summary:
This continuing education (CE) course challenges the oversimplified idea that all emotions carry equal weight or function in therapeutic work. While all emotions are valid, they are not equivalent in their accessibility, visibility, or psychological impact. Some emotions—such as anxiety or irritability—often present as surface-level indicators of deeper affective states like fear, grief, or shame. Others, such as resentment or guilt, operate internally and can silently shape behavior and self-perception without being consciously acknowledged.
This course will explore how therapists can conceptualize emotions within a layered hierarchy—recognizing which feelings act as defenses, which signal vulnerability, and which require deeper processing. Clinicians will learn how to attune to emotional displacement, help clients identify root emotions beneath their initial presentations, and build tolerance for affective depth. Emphasis will be placed on both youth and adult presentations, helping therapists guide clients from emotional confusion toward embodied awareness and integration.
Objectives:
By the end of this workshop:
Therapists will define emotional hierarchy and identify distinctions between primary, secondary, and masked emotions.
Therapists will explore how certain emotions (e.g., anxiety, guilt, resentment, envy, anger) can mask or protect against deeper affective experiences.
Therapists will identify common emotional patterns in children and adults who mislabel or substitute emotions due to avoidance, fear, or learned family dynamics.
Therapists will examine therapeutic strategies to help clients name, validate, and process complex emotional layers through cognitive, somatic, and narrative approaches.
This course has been approved for 3 Core CE Hours through LPCGA.
Details of access to be emailed after order is confirmed.