Brand-New!
Law & Ethics CEs!
The Ethics of Caring for Both the Body and the Psyche: A Two-Part Workshop
Presented by: Eric Ström, PhD, Attorney at Law, LMHC and Dr. Kristen Allott
When: Thursday, January 29th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Pacific Time
Where: Live on Zoom. You will receive your Zoom link/invitation the week of the workshop.
Continuing Education Credit Hours: 6 CEs – 3 are Law & Ethics CEs | $199.00
This two-session workshop offers the clinician a new holistic lens for approaching clients whose cognitive, somatic, and physical symptoms can very often be directly linked to dis-harmony between our bodies, the foods we eat, our polyvagal states, and our Internal Family System (IFS) parts.
Many mental health practitioners have been incorrectly told that discussing the physical body and its interactive systems will be viewed as operating “out of our lanes” or areas of competence. Because of this, clinicians may avoid having all-important and life-altering discussions about the connection between our bodies and our psyche—how the foods we eat and our nutritional health impact not only our physical but also our mental health.
To address the reluctance of mental health practitioners to discuss the very real connection between the somatic and the cognitive, the body and the psyche, we have invited Eric Strom to present the first session of this two-session day. Eric Strom’s Law and Ethics training will address the law and ethics around the Scope of Practice as it applies to mental health practitioners.
Kristen Allott will then follow Eric Strom’s three-hour law and ethics training and present her unique, effective approach to explaining why many highly motivated clients still cannot make lasting changes in their dietary habits. Kristen shares how our IFS parts and protectors could be causing the subconscious resistance to dietary changes that could fuel inner harmony. Kristen’s approach to finding inner harmony and health using both IFS parts work and polyvagal states has proven to be highly effective AND entertaining, a truly novel holistic approach to providing therapy. Her afternoon session will be both informative and engaging as she combines her specialties in nutrition and mental health. You will never view dietary habits in quite the same way after hearing Kristen’s techniques for incorporating IFS and polyvagal states in finding and fueling inner harmony and lasting change.
MORNING SESSION (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time): The Law and Ethics of Operating within Our Scope of Practice
Presented by: Eric Ström, PhD, Attorney at Law, LMHC
As behavioral health providers, it is essential that we practice only within the legal scope of our clinical license. At the same time, many clinicians find it difficult to identify clear boundaries around the scope of practice for their licensure. In this three-hour morning session of a two-session workshop, we will focus on demystifying the legal, ethical, and practical boundaries with regard to clinical scope of practice. We will also consider areas in which clinicians are most likely to find themselves needed to extend or adjust those boundaries. This course is intended to meet law and ethics continuing education requirements.
Learning Objectives:
Participants in this workshop will be able to:
1) Identify the legal standards that define the scope of clinical practice;
2) Describe the ethical standards that define clinical competency;
3) Create and evaluate strategies to support client best interest through consultation, termination, referral, and coordination;
4) Apply best practice standards to engaging in advocacy activities for clients.
AFTERNOON SESSION (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM Pacific Time):
Fueling Your Inner Harmony: Using Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Polyvagal States to Improve Your Relationship with Food and Your Body
Presented by: Dr. Kristen Allott
In the last 20 years, Internal Family Systems, Polyvagal Theory, and somatic practices have offered new insights into mental health that mirror ancient systems, such as Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, in our understanding of what it means to be human.
Dr. Kristen Allott, a naturopathic doctor with a master’s degree in acupuncture, a black belt in Aikido, and a Polyvagal practitioner, will connect how our food choices influence the vagus system and impact our Internal Family System.
In this seminar, we’ll delve into how our food choices profoundly influence both our vagus system and our internal family system. You’ll discover how the body itself can often manifest as an “exiled child,’ how a “rebel” part might seek sugar for protection, and how our “protectors” can wage war over what we “should” or “shouldn’t” eat. You will learn how, by consciously fueling the prefrontal cortex, we can access our compassionate, creative Selves, significantly reduce acute distress, improve sleep quality, and cultivate a much deeper connection to our bodies and ourselves.
This live virtual training equips clinicians with practical tools to manage acute emotional distress by integrating Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and nutrition-based interventions. Participants will learn to identify nervous system states and internal “parts” that arise during emotional reactivity and apply targeted strategies to support regulation.
The course explores how diet, stress, and glucose levels affect emotional stability and introduces rapid-response tools, such as the Protein for All Initiative and Lizard Brain Treats, to help clients shift out of fight, flight, freeze, or collapse. These techniques are especially effective for anxiety, anger, mania, emotional withdrawal, and self-harm ideation. Through case examples, interactive demonstrations, and downloadable resources, attendees will gain actionable methods to enhance therapeutic outcomes. The virtual format enables flexible participation and ongoing access to learning materials.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the Polyvagal Ladder and its relevance to emotional regulation and therapeutic engagement.
- Learn to apply IFS principles to identify and work with internal parts activated by physiological dysregulation.
- Learn how diet and stress impact glucose levels, and how these fluctuations influence mood and behaviors.
- Learn to implement nutrition-based interventions to stabilize the nervous system and reduce emotional reactivity.
- Learn to utilize physiology-based calming techniques to support clients in acute reactive states.