A Year-Long Learn-Along
Discernment Counseling in Practice
A Year-Long Learn-Along
This year-long learn-along is for clinicians who are currently in, or preparing for, Discernment Counseling certification and want a steady, supportive place to integrate the work while moving through the training.
Discernment Counseling looks straightforward on paper. In practice, it lives in the small decisions — how you hold the frame, how you respond when clients pull you toward therapy, and how you stay anchored in the model without losing sight of each person’s lived experience.
Year Overview
Month 1 Foundations & Research
Why DC exists. Divorce ideation.
Hope, realism, and what the research actually says.
Month 2 Leaning In & Leaning Out
Mixed agendas. Required ingredients.
What makes DC work — and what quietly breaks it.
Month 5 Session One: Structure & Choreography
Divorce narrative. Repair narrative.
Starting strong without drifting into couples therapy.
Month 8 Session Three
Decision formation.
Personal agendas.
Month 11 Complex Cases
Abuse. Addictions. Affairs.
High-conflict and destabilizing dynamics.
Month 3 Interaction Patterns
Personal contributions. Scene-It.
Learning to see the dance, not just the complaint.
Month 6 Session One: Individual Depth
Working skillfully with LO and LI.
Summaries. Regulation. Leverage without pushing.
Month 9 Sessions Four & Five
Managing ambivalence.
Clean path clarity.
Month 12 Advanced Stance & Integration
Therapist mindset. Pessimism. Fragility.
Case consultation and refinement.
Month 4 The Phone Screen
Theory, protocol, rule-outs, safety.
How to protect the model from the first contact.
Month 7 Session Two
Deepening responsibility.
Avoiding premature Path 3 pressure.
Month 10 The Three Paths
Path 1. Path 2. Path 3.
Ethics. Transitioning. What happens next.
What We’ll Focus On
Over the year, we’ll work through the Discernment Counseling model section by section, with particular attention to the moments where clinicians most often feel stuck or pulled off course, including:
Knowing when you are practicing Discernment Counseling — and when the work has shifted into something else
Connection is a core part of the process. You’ll learn just as much from the group as from the content itself.
Examining the micro-moves — language, pacing, sequencing, and stance — that make DC distinct
Responding when clients resist the discernment frame or want you to “just help them fix it”
Staying grounded in structure and protocol without becoming rigid or dismissive
Practicing containment without shutting clients down or slipping into therapy mode
Monthly Live Meetings
When: Last Friday of each month
Time: 12:00–1:30 PM EST
Format: Virtual, live
Length: 12 months
Each 90-minute meeting focuses on a specific piece of the model, with teaching, discussion, and shared clinical thinking. This is a collaborative space designed to support integration, not performance.
Meetings are live only. If you miss a session, you’ll receive a written summary with key takeaways.
Weekly Check-In EmailsBetween meetings, you’ll receive brief weekly emails that include:
Reflection prompts connected to the current focus
Questions to notice your stance, reactions, and pulls in session
Light accountability to stay engaged with the material
Additional SupportEach participant receives one complimentary 30-minute 1:1 consultation to use at any point during the year
Participants are welcome to reach out between sessions to talk through questions or reflections as they arise
Who This Is ForThis learn-along is open to clinicians who are:
Actively pursuing Discernment Counseling certification, or
Certified and wanting to revisit and deepen their practice
A monthly, live learning space for clinicians pursuing or holding Discernment Counseling certification who want support integrating the model in real clinical work. Through structured monthly meetings and weekly check-in prompts, we focus on staying in the discernment frame, managing common pull-offs, and refining the subtle clinical moves that make Discernment Counseling distinct.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This learn-along is designed for licensed clinicians who are currently pursuing Discernment Counseling certification or who are already certified and want to revisit and strengthen their practice.
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No. This learn-along supports clinicians as they move through certification or continue integrating Discernment Counseling into their work. It is meant to complement formal training, not replace it.
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The focus is on learning the practice of Discernment Counseling over time—examining structure, stance, and the micro-moves that keep the work from drifting into couples therapy. The emphasis is on shared learning and clinical thinking rather than directive case guidance.
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We focus on how Discernment Counseling actually unfolds in session, including staying in the discernment frame, responding when clients push for couples therapy, holding containment without shutting clients down, and recognizing the subtle clinical choices that make the model distinct from other approaches.
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No. Meetings are live only. If you miss a session, you’ll receive a written summary with key takeaways.
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Participants are welcome to reach out between sessions. Each clinician also receives one complimentary 30-minute individual consultation to use at any point during the year.
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Meetings are held live on the last Friday of each month from 12:00–1:30 PM EST.
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No. Some clinicians join while actively seeing cases, while others participate to prepare before offering Discernment Counseling or to revisit the work after time away.
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You can join at any point during the year. The learn-along is designed to be flexible, allowing clinicians to jump in when it best fits their training timeline or caseload. Some participants choose to join later in the year to move through the material in a more condensed timeframe, while others prefer to start early and integrate the work gradually.
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Reach out anytime! Lynda@attachedny.com