Course Description

This workshop is designed to dive deeper into the depths of body image and its impact on our clients throughout the perinatal experience. We will explore the impact of billion dollar diet industry, anti-fat bias and its roots in racism, role of the medical community,  the emotional aspects of exploration of a client's relationship with their own body and the impact of the perinatal period on all of these factors. 

We will be discussing ways for the clinician to explore their own relationship with body image, their own body biases and ways to empower clients to create a more functional relationship with their own body. Through small and large group discussions, individual prompts for exploration and case examples, we will explore ways to support our individual clients in creating a more sustainable and self-compassionate relationship with their body. Bring your expressive art supplies, your own experience with your body, or just some curiosity to this training as we work to more deeply understand and inform our clients relationship with their body and the perinatal period. 

Registration Deadline: January 11, 2025

This course takes place live on Zoom. Check out this link for Zoom requirements.

For more information on our work at The Touchstone Institute, visit our website.

Course Overview

  • Live Interactive Workshop on Zoom

    January 13, 2025 from 9am - 1pm EST

  • Prerequisites

    This training is open to mental health professionals working with perinatal clients.

  • CE Credits

    Participants are eligible to receive 4 CE credits for this training (see more details below)

Note on Accessibility:

We include captions in all of our live and self-paced trainings. If there is anything else you need to make our trainings accessible to you, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We recognize that every person has access needs and we are happy to do everything we can to meet yours.
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Instructor

Monica O'Connell, MA, LMFT

Instructor

Monica O’Connell is a licensed therapist, coach, trainer and consultant. She is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist in the state of Minnesota. She owns and operates her own private practice both in a suburb of St. Paul, MN and online via telehealth. She has practiced Marriage and Family Therapy since 2009. Monica is an EMDRIA Approved Trainer and network member with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness facilitating EMDR basic trainings. Monica is a local and national presenter of various trainings ranging from trauma informed care, trauma recovery, secondary trauma, and body image, women’s issues and motherhood. In her clinical practice, Monica specializes in working with couples, women’s specific concerns, body image, self esteem, treating childhood trauma and other adverse childhood experiences, complex PTSD and LGBTQIA+ specific support needs Monica challenges traditional siloed models of mental health therapy, instead creatively weaving each strand of the client’s unique complexity into her conceptualization process. Honoring the intricacies and often less visible aspects of each individual’s story provides the client with a fresh opportunity to authentically understand, and strengthen their relationship with, their inner and outer self as well as the external relationships and structures in which they exist. In sessions, Monica’s approach is direct, her thinking divergent, and her ability to make unseen connections is eerie.

Tiered pricing options:

Questions? See our FAQ below.

More about our pricing:

We offer tiered pricing for all of our trainings in order to make our courses accessible to as many practitioners as possible. If you are unsure which tier of payment is right for your financial situation, please read through our FAQ section below or visit our website.


Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you are interested in a multi-month payment plan. We are always happy to create a custom payment plan to make it more feasible for everyone to participate in our courses. 

Course curriculum

    1. Course Description

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Training Schedule

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. Timed Course Outline

    4. Zoom Information

    5. Learning Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    6. Anti-Oppression Statement from The Touchstone Institute

    7. About Course Recordings

    1. Copy of Receiving your CE certificate

About this course

  • $125 - $225
  • January 13, 2025, 9am - 1:00pm EST
  • 4 CEs, see below for specific approvals

Timed Course Agenda

9am-9:20am: Introduction of the trainer, course, and learning program. Outline of the training.  

9:20am-10:30am: Lecture on anti-fat bias, weight stigma, body image, and the perinatal period.

10:30am-11:15am: Lecture exploring clinical considerations when working with body image and the perinatal body, distress tolerance, and connecting with the body skills. 

11:15am-1pm: small group exploration of anti-fat bias, distress tolerance, and body connection skill practice.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  1. Identify the unique challenges of body image within the perinatal period.
  2. Describe specific clinical concerns related to body image and stages of the perinatal period.
  3. Understand the connection between the perinatal body changes and the impact of this on mental health. 
  4. Describe two techniques clients can use to strenghten and foster their connection to their bodies and body image. 

Continuing Education Credits

Participation in all training sessions and submission of a course evaluation is required to receive a CE certificate for this course. Course evaluations are made available after all live sessions have been completed within the course portal. After completing the evaluation, participants will be able to submit a request for their CE certificate. This training offers 4 CE credits.

  • It is your responsibility to verify CE coverage in your State or Province.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7346. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, [provider number:1876], is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: [1/19/2024-1/19/2025]. Social workers completing this course receive 4 continuing education credits.

  • This course is approved by Postpartum Support International (PSI) for continuing education towards obtaining and maintaining the PMH-C

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is the Generative Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Own the home you live in (even with a mortgage); live in a two-income household; have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money; travel recreationally; have access to family money and resources in times of need; work part-time by choice, etc.

  • Is the Sustaining Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Have income available for recreational activities (going out to dinner, movies, concerts etc.); have consistent work compensated at a median income rate based on your region; pay rent that is not more than 25% of your monthly household income; do not own your own home, etc.

  • Is the Supported Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Are a graduate student paying tuition; have major medical expenses not covered by insurance; have been denied work, or experience discrimination related to ableism, racism, sexism, gender discrimination or other forms of oppression; are eligible for public assistance; have immigration-related expenses; have ever been denied work due to incarceration history; are supporting adult children, extended family members in need or have other adult dependents; are an elder with limited financial support; are primarily working in a setting with under-resourced populations and your income reflects this work, etc.

  • Are there payment plan options available?

    Yes! We are happy to work with you to create a payment plan that fits your needs. Please reach out to us over email with a brief description of the length of the plan that you are interested in using to pay for this course: [email protected].

  • How can I learn more about your pricing?

    Please visit our website for more information on our approach to pricing our trainings: www.touchstoneinstitute.org/pricing.

  • What is your refund policy?

    More than 14 days notice is required for a full refund minus 7% administrative fee. Cancellations made within 14 days of training are eligible for a 50% refund or full transfer to another training within The Touchstone Institute. Only 1 transfer to another training is allowed. If you can not attend the transferred training your fee will be forfeited. No-shows are not eligible for a refund or transfer. Exceptions to this policy are limited to medically documented circumstances or family bereavements. Failure to attend without prior notification (no-shows) will not qualify for a refund.

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