Course Description

The concept of codependency is rooted in a history of weaponizing socialized mandates of responsiveness against women, while inciting shame as a means to mobilize change. Further, women are brought up to operate as invisible givers or rescuers without boundaries, all the while being criticized for enabling harmful behavior in others. This training seeks to highlight the practice of codependency being used to perpetuate the use of women’s nervous system and emotional capacities in mental health treatment, while failing to acknowledge its harmful past.  


We will then unpack the cultural and societal stories imposed on women as young girls, including expectations around emotional labor and caretaking within relationships. The deconstruction portion of the training will then focus on depathologizing and normalizing responses to internalized social rules to address the shame of engaging in relational dynamics often labeled as “enabling.” The intervention portion of the training will allow participants to learn strategies for helping women become embodied and center pleasure in their daily lives. We will provide strategies for identifying boundaries that are self-preserving and self-serving, as well as ways to shift focus from others to self. We will identify and enhance personal needs and encourage therapists to challenge their own discomfort with confronting relational dynamics that further unhealthy social constructs.


Registration Deadline: July 13, 2026


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 Webinar on Zoom

    July 14, 2026, 10:00am - 3:15pm EST

  • Prerequisites

    This training is open to all mental health professionals.

  • CE Credits

    Participants are eligible to receive 5 CE credits for this training. (see below for specific approvals)

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.

Meghan Kane, MS LMFT

Meghan has been drawn to helping others return to the light within themselves. As a systems thinker and certified sex therapist, she operates from an eco-systemic model, honoring the complex layers that influence who we are outside of our neurology. She also works to inform and educate herself on the most recent neuroscientific evidence, de-pathologizing neurology and reinforcing an accommodation versus assimilation view of support. From that, she strives to maintain a presence of non-judgmental openness and unconditional positive regard. Meghan has an ASECT sex therapy certification.

Course Curriculum

    1. Get to know Meghan Kane!

    2. Course Description

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. Course Date(s) & Time

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Course Agenda

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Zoom Information

    6. Learning Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    7. Values Statement from The Touchstone Institute

    1. About Course Recordings

    1. Receiving your CE Certificate

About this course:

  • $225 - $275
  • July 14, 2026, 10:00am - 3:15pm EST
  • 5 CEs (see below for specific approvals)

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.

Timed Course Agenda

(All times are listed in Eastern Time)

10:00am – 10:15am - Welcome & Opening Reflection:

  • Introductions
  • Setting intentions and agreements for the day


10:15am – 11:15am — Understanding Codependency in Context:

  •  Historical and cultural roots
  • Societal expectations of girls and women
  • Clinical implications


11:15am – 12:00pm — Small Group Discussion #1:

  • Reflect on how gendered expectations shape professional caregiving roles
  • Share insights or personal experiences 


12:00pm – 12:15pm — Break 


12:15pm – 1:30pm — Reframing Codependency: From Pathology to Adaptation:

  • Shifting narratives around care and self-sacrifice
  • Identifying adaptive strengths within codependent patterns 


1:30pm – 2:15pm — Small Group Discussion #2: 

  • Exploring clinical applications
  • Supporting client empowerment and boundary development 


2:15pm – 3:15pm — Integration & Closing:

  • Guided self-reflection: your relationship to care
  • Creating sustainable practices for self and client work
  • Closing ritual and takeaways

Learning Objectives

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

  • Describe and analyze the history of codependency as a pathology in women. 
  • Describe socialized constructs and traumas that have contributed to learned patterns of rescuer responses in relationships.
  • Describe and contextualize the origins of adaptive relational patterns deemed codependent and symptoms of shame related to worth that present in therapy settings, and create new strategies for addressing this.
  • Name at least 3 dynamic interventions for supporting women healing from codependency.  

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 within the course portal after all live sessions have been completed. After completing the evaluation, participants will be able to submit a request for their CE certificate. This training offers 5 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 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: [1/19/2025-1/19/2028]. Social workers completing this course receive X 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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