Avoidant Coping:
Managing Withdrawal & Low Engagement

Live Online 3hr CPD Workshop for Mental Health Professionals

Course Overview

This 3-hour training workshop supports mental health professionals to work more effectively with clients who appear disengaged, withdrawn, ambivalent, or “unmotivated.” Rather than treating avoidance as resistance or lack of effort, the workshop introduces a psychologically informed framework that understands avoidance as a threat-based protection response.

You’ll learn how perceived safety, nervous-system regulation, and relational dynamics directly shape engagement and motivation. The focus is practical, ethical, and clinically grounded — helping you recognise early signs of withdrawal, prevent relational ruptures, and restore engagement without pressure or confrontation.

What will this course give you? 

A clearer understanding of why avoidance and disengagement occur in therapy

Practical ways to reduce defensiveness and increase psychological safety in  session

Greater confidence responding to missed appointments, ambivalence, humour, or shutdown

Skills to repair subtle relational ruptures before engagement is lost

Tools you can apply immediately to support motivation without pushing or persuading

Teaching Methods    

This training is delivered live online and uses a mix of brief expert instruction, facilitated discussion, live demonstration, and supported practice. Participants engage in guided reflection, clinical vignette work, and practical exercises, with debriefs to consolidate learning.

Downloadable worksheets and participant reference materials are provided to support integration into clinical practice.

Assessment / Evidence of Learning                                

Learning is evidenced through active participation in guided reflection activities, clinical discussion, and practical exercises during this live workshop. Engagement in skills practice demonstrates attainment of learning objectives.
Participants receive a statement of attendance for 3 CPD hours.

Please note, to fulfill the learning outcomes, this course does require active participation and contribution in activities and exercises. Participants are expected to have their camera on, especially in breakout rooms. 

If the above is not possible on the day, a certificate of attendance may not be awarded and participants will have the option to attend the training at a later date where available.

About the Presenter

Karen Bartle is a postgraduate in Health Psychology, Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist and coach, clinical supervisor, educator, and consultant. She co-founded the Academy of Advanced Changework in 2006, and is the founder of HealthTalk Psychology - 'The psychology of patient/client change'.

For over 25 years, Karen has worked with individuals, caregivers, and health professionals navigating behavioural, lifestyle, and psychosocial challenges. She has seen first-hand how caring practitioners can feel stuck when empathy, education, coaching and even motivational interviewing can’t shift engagement — and how reframing avoidance can transform therapeutic outcomes.

Karen’s teaching style blends clinical depth with clarity and compassion. She is known for translating complex psychological concepts into language practitioners can use immediately, and for creating learning environments that feel safe, reflective, and practical.

Who is this course for?

This training is designed for mental health professionals who want to feel more confident working with clients who withdraw, disengage, or struggle to follow through. It is especially suited to practitioners working with anxiety, shame, overwhelm, health behaviour change, or ambivalence around change. 

Places are limited to ensure an interactive, skills-focused learning experience.