FLPN workshop: Telling the truth/Dealing with difficult people

Posted Thursday 04 July 2024 | Family Law Pathways Network

Presented by Dr. Phil Watts, Forensic Psychologist at Mindstate Psychology, you can choose to attend either or both workshops.

Morning session (9am–12pm)

Tell the truth! How hard can it be?

Truth telling is a difficult thing when the stakes are high. People are motivated to keep their children by presenting the best they can. We know a lot about lying and malingering but there are real limitations in what we can assess. It is not as easy as TV shows on catching the liar! The typical family court litigant may use methods which entail distortion and positive impression management through to down-right lying. The question of how good individuals are, and court is, at detecting lies is the subject of this presentation. It includes a discussion on how lying may be detected and what professionals need to do to give good evidence in court.

Afternoon session (1pm–4pm)

Difficult people: Identifying and managing high conflict people before they destroy you!

Most people are reasonable and treat their therapist, family, friends, and colleagues with respect and understanding. However, a small but significant number of people do not act like this. They may be your client, or the reason a client has come to therapy. Even worse they may be a colleague, family member, or workmate.

This workshop is about identifying and understanding these people, whether it is personality disorder or some other cause. Dr Phil’s workshop discusses some of the differences between 
reasonable and unreasonable people, explains the links of how unreasonable people are often the high conflict parties, and will teach you some ways to recognise and manage the unreasonable person.

Registrations close on Monday 10 July 2023.

Cost: $50.00 per person to attend either the morning or afternoon session or $90.00 to attend both.