Utah Psychological Association

Events

Upcoming events

    • February 21, 2026
    • 9:00 AM
    • November 21, 2026
    • 4:30 PM
    • Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 8575 S 700 E, Sandy, UT 84070 (downstairs in “The Quad”)

    Presented by Rob Pramann, PhD, ABPP, TEP

    Enrollment limited to 25 participants per session

    Workshop Description

    The 2026 Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy Training Series provides an immersive and experiential learning environment for clinicians who want to strengthen their skills in action methods. Each Saturday session offers a full day of training that integrates demonstration, practice, observation, discussion, and group process. Participants learn through direct experience with warmups, psychodramatic and sociodramatic enactments, structured exercises, and reflective processing. The method is taught in action so that participants can observe and practice the approach as it naturally unfolds.

    This training emphasizes attention to the client’s actual process. Psychodrama supports authentic expression, relational clarity, and creative problem solving by meeting clients where they are rather than asking them to adapt to a rigid method. The training reflects this same philosophy. While each session has a planned theme, the specific direction of the work is shaped by the needs and interests of the group as they emerge throughout the day.

    Participants will engage with the foundational elements of psychodrama, including roles, warm up, action, sharing, and processing. They will also deepen their understanding of sociometry and group psychotherapy as essential components of the method. Each session includes at least one hour devoted to ethical considerations relevant to experiential and action based clinical work. Whether attending a single workshop or the full series, participants will gain practical tools, increased spontaneity, and a richer appreciation for the power of action methods in clinical practice.

    Goals

    The training series is designed to help participants:

    1. Develop confidence and facility in the use of role-playing interventions in their many clinical applications.
    2. Strengthen skills in psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy through direct experience and guided practice.
    3. Increase personal and professional awareness, development, and growth through active engagement in the method.
    4. Understand and apply ethical principles that support safe and effective experiential work.

    Learning Objectives

    By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

    1. Develop proficiency in attending to the client’s actual process rather than asking the client to adapt to a method.
    2. Identify and apply psychodramatic methods and interventions that can be used with individuals, couples, families, and groups.
    3. Describe and explain the five instruments of psychodrama: stage, protagonist, director, auxiliary egos, and audience.
    4. Describe and explain the three phases of a psychodrama session: warm up, action, and sharing, as well as the processing phase used in training.
    5. Assess interpersonal connections and subgroup dynamics within a larger group and use sociometric interventions to address them.
    6. Participate effectively in various psychodramatic and sociodramatic roles, including protagonist, auxiliary ego, enactor, director, and group member.
    7. Use psychodramatic and sociodramatic techniques with creativity, adequacy, and spontaneity.
    8. Practice psychodramatic techniques in structured exercises in dyads, small groups, and the full group.
    9. Design and plan interventions that address relational trauma repair.
    10. Apply psychodramatic methods and interventions in an ethical and professional manner within one’s own clinical setting or intended area of practice.

    Workshop Schedule

    • February 21, 2026: Introduction: Psychodrama and the Celebration of Life, “To everything there is a season”
    • March 21, 2026: Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy: The Triadic System, “The Three Legs of the (S)Tool”
    • April 11, 2026: Psychodrama and Creativity, “Background, Demonstration, & Applications Ready-To-Use”
    • April 25, 2026: Psychodramatic Roles: The Auxiliary Ego and Role Playing, “Psychodrama Short and Simple: Role Reversal and the Auxiliary”
    • May 23, 2026: Psychodramatic Roles: The Double and Doubling, “Touching the Heart: Developing Deep Empathy Directly”
    • August 22, 2026: Starting and Stopping in Psychodrama: Warming Up and Sharing, “Starting and Stopping, How to.”
    • September 26, 2026: Exploring Sociometry, “Critical Group Connections”
    • October 24, 2026: Psychodramatic Roles: The Director and Directing, “Directing Plain and Simple and ….”
    • November 21, 2026: Bibliodrama and Psychodramatic Encounter with God, “Touching (or Being Touched by) the Divine”

    All workshops are held on Saturdays from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

    About the Presenter

    Rob Pramann, PhD, ABPP, TEP, is a board-certified psychologist with more than three decades of experience in psychotherapy, supervision, teaching, and psychodrama training. He is certified in Group Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology and is a Trainer, Educator, and Practitioner through the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy. Dr. Pramann serves as Clinical Director at the Christian Counseling Centers of Utah and directs CCCU’s Training in Psychodrama.

    He is an Adjunct Instructor in Psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine and a Mental Health Professional with the Utah Critical Incident Stress Management Team. Dr. Pramann is a Fellow of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, a former Executive Editor of the Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy, and the current Cochair of the ASGPP Research Committee. He is the recipient of the 2020 David A. Kipper Scholar’s Award and the 2024 ASGPP Executive Council Award as part of the Research Committee.

    Dr. Pramann’s psychodrama practice is wide ranging and includes clinical work with individuals, couples, families, outpatient and inpatient groups, and residential treatment programs. He has applied psychodrama in staff development, organizational consultation, spiritual retreats, Bibliodrama, community performance work, and trial preparation. His teaching and training experience spans graduate and undergraduate courses, professional workshops, and work with diverse clinical and community populations.

    Location

    Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
    8575 S 700 E, Sandy, UT 84070
    Downstairs in “The Quad”

    Registration Fees

    • Single Session: $130.00 (6 CE Hours)
    • Four Sessions: $475.00 (24 CE Hours)
    • Five Sessions: $570.00 (30 CE Hours)
    • Entire Series (Nine Sessions): $900.00 (54 CE Hours)
    • Students: $50.00 per session (with documentation of student status from school official)
    • Bring a Friend: Free for their first session!

    All registrations include continental breakfast and lunch.

    Payment Methods

    For Further information

    Rob Pramann, PhD ABPP: utahssccc@aol.com

    • January 06, 2027
    • 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
    • Zoom
    Register

    Join Dr. Jamie Brass, Utah Psychological Association's Director of Professional Affairs, to learn about the upcoming Utah legislative session. We will discuss the legislative process in Utah, how it affects mental health treatment, and how you can track and be involved with the session. We will also discuss any bills that are already numbered that are likely to affect psychologists/the practice of psychology. 

    Learning Objectives

    • Briefly describe Utah's legislative process.
    • Identify legislative issues likely to affect your practice.
    • Describe how to track legislation of interest to you. 

    Registration

    UPA Members: Free
    Non-Members: $25

    • January 07, 2027
    • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Centered Yoga Studio, 920 East 900 South, Salt Lake City, UT, 84105
    Register

    Join us for an unusual social gathering that can benefit you in many ways. Leave feeling refreshed and calm.

    This special two-hour experience for UPA Members only combines 1 hour of continuing education with an additional hour of restorative self-care.

    Overview

    Hour One: Rest as an Ethical Imperative (1 CE Hour)

    Burnout among psychologists is common and lasting. In APA’s practitioner surveys, roughly a third or more report feeling burned out, and early-career psychologists report the highest rates. The usual answer is “self-care,” which puts the problem on the individual. This workshop instead treats clinician well-being as a matter of professional ethics and shared responsibility. The first hour is didactic: it looks at burnout through Maslach and Leiter’s six areas of worklife and links clinician well-being to the APA Ethics Code (Principle A; Standard 2.06). It then reviews the evidence for individual strategies, including self-compassion, mindfulness, recovery experiences, and values-based action and is candid about where that evidence is strong and where it is limited.

    The second hour is a restorative yoga session. Forget the misconception that yoga is only for those in peak physical shape: This practice will be trauma-informed, open to all bodies and experience levels, and requires no prior yoga experience. Through breathwork, mindful presence, and nervous system regulation, this will be an experiential opportunity to implement some of what was discussed in the previous hour.

    Objectives

    1. Identify at least three systemic contributors to psychologist burnout using Maslach & Leiter’s six areas of worklife, and explain why clinician well-being is an ethics issue (APA Principle A; Standard 2.06).
    2. Summarize the evidence, including its limits, for individual strategies: self-compassion, mindfulness, recovery experiences and values-based action.
    3. Apply at least two brief, evidence-informed regulation practices (e.g., self-compassion break, paced breathing, supported rest) and identify ways to adapt them for use between sessions and outside of work.

    Hour Two: Restorative Yoga (Non-CE)

    One hour of restorative yoga

    Easy, gentle, and open to all ages and abilities. No prior yoga experience is necessary.

    Presenter

    Dr. Jess Farrar

    Jess Farrar, PhD, RYT-200 is a licensed psychologist, yoga teacher, and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Utah. She practices at the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, where she provides psychological evaluation and therapy services to patients with complex health conditions (e.g., amputation, spinal cord injury, stroke, TBI, chronic illness) to address presenting concerns including adjustment to disability, trauma, mood disorders, and pain management. Her clinical work is grounded in acceptance-based and compassion-focused approaches. As PM&R wellness co-chair, steering committee member for Widening Impact in Health, Medicine, and Science (WiHMS), and adaptive yoga instructor for the TRAILS program, Dr. Farrar is committed to building a culture in which both patients and professionals can thrive.

    Registration Fee:

    UPA Members only: $25 (1 CE hour)

    • January 29, 2027
    • 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Zoom Webinar
    Register

    Confidently Treat Borderline Personality Disorder Without Becoming a BPD Specialist

    Presenter: Shannon Sauer-Zavala, PhD

    Shannon Sauer-Zavala, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky, a licensed clinical psychologist, and an internationally recognized expert in cognitive behavioral therapy, personality pathology, and personalized evidence-based treatments for borderline personality disorder (BPD).

    Dr. Sauer-Zavala is the developer of BPD Compass, a personalized cognitive behavioral treatment approach that matches interventions to the specific mechanisms driving each client's symptoms. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the IDEAS Center, and the John Templeton Foundation.

    She has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and has delivered over 100 invited presentations, workshops, and continuing education trainings throughout the United States and internationally.

    Workshop Description

    Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is far more common than many clinicians realize, yet most therapists receive little formal training in its treatment. As a result, many providers feel overwhelmed by the complexity of these cases, struggle to identify treatment priorities, or believe that extensive specialty training is required before they can effectively help clients with BPD.

    The good news is that you do not need to become a BPD specialist to make a meaningful difference.

    In this practical, evidence-based workshop, participants will learn the BPD Compass approach, a personalized framework that helps clinicians identify the key processes maintaining a client's symptoms and select interventions that fit.

    Rather than attempting to address all nine DSM symptoms at once or juggle multiple protocols for co-occurring disorders, participants will learn how to simplify treatment planning by targeting three core maintaining processes:

    • Emotional sensitivity
    • Relational and attachment difficulties
    • Impulsivity

    Participants will leave with a clear roadmap for personalizing treatment, addressing common comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, and eating disorders within a unified framework, and implementing evidence-based interventions with greater confidence.

    Learning Objectives

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

    1. Develop a case conceptualization for borderline personality disorder based on the personality dimensions that maintain symptoms, including negative affectivity, relational/attachment difficulties, and impulsivity.

    2. Describe how the personality traits underlying BPD contribute to its high rates of comorbidity with anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, substance use disorders, and eating disorders.

    3. Explain how to personalize the delivery of BPD Compass using the BPD Compass Assessment.

    4. Discuss the role of values identification as a motivational enhancement strategy for individuals with borderline personality disorder.

    Registration

    UPA Member: $75 through January 22, 2027; $100 after January 22, 2027
    Non-Member: $125 through January 22, 2027; $150 after January 22, 2027
    UPA Student Member: No Fee
    Student Non-Member: $15

    Register online through the Utah Psychological Association website.

    • March 17, 2027
    • 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
    • Zoom
    Register

    Join Dr. Jamie Brass, Utah Psychological Association's Director of Professional Affairs, to learn about legislative changes that affect psychologists and the practice of psychology. 

    Learning Objectives

    • Understand how recent legislative changes will affect you, your clients, and your practice.
    • Identify specific changes you may need to make to ensure you are complying with new laws.

    Registration

    UPA Members: Free
    Non-UPA Members: $25

address: 5442 South 900 East, Suite 512, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 | phone: (801) 410-0337 | email: utahpsych@gmail.com
Accept Online Payments

UPA CE events are typically held on Fridays and are fully refundable until noon on the Wednesday preceding them. 

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