September 17th 7:00 – 8:00 pm Central Time Presentation
8:00 – 9:00 pm – Networking, resource sharing, and community building
Presenter: Kara M. Johnson, LMFT, MSE, MEd, oncology psychotherapist at the Park Nicollet Frauenshuh Cancer Center
Description: A primer on basic counseling and connecting skills for all in the helping professions, and information on how to develop a therapeutic alliance that leads to positive counseling outcomes and change for our patients.
- Apply essential counseling skills and self-attending skills to professional situations via cases provided by participants.
- Understand situations that call for advanced skills and understand how to develop these skills.
- Define“therapeutic alliance” and identify the important predictors of this relationship.
- Identify barriers to building a therapeutic alliance.
Presenter Bio: Kara M. Johnson, LMFT, MSE, MEd, is oncology psychotherapist at the Park Nicollet Frauenshuh Cancer Center. As a licensed family therapist, she counsels patients, partners, caregivers, and families as they learn to cope with a new cancer diagnosis, cancer treatment, and/or difficult prognoses. She develops and teaches educational classes focusing on critical periods in the cancer experience: newly diagnosed, after treatment, recurrence, and end of life issues. Specializing in healthy family functioning, she offers parenting support for patients who have children under the age of 18, and family communication sessions as opportunities for family members to express feelings, hopes, and fears with one another is a safe and helpful space. Kara is currently studying medical family therapy to educate on the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to medical and mental health care. She was an adjunct instructor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, teaching human development and counseling courses. Prior to her work at Park Nicollet, she provided grief counseling at North Memorial Hospice and provided therapy in private practice.
For future educational seminars and trainings on family emotional health, grief, anticipatory loss, end of life, and talking to children about illness and death, please email
50% of the donations raised through this presentation will be donated to Open Arms of Minnesota. https://www.openarmsmn.org/
50% of the donations raised will be contributed to the Living Spirit Therapy Services Pay It Forward Campaign to fund grants for music therapy, early childhood music, and wellness programs for individuals from historically marginalized communities.
