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Covert Emotional Incest: 5 Clinical Markers and What Therapists Need to Know for Ethical, Effective Treatment

CE Hours 1

About this live event

What happens when a child becomes a parent's emotional partner — and no one calls it what it is? This one-hour CE presentation unpacks the subtle, often-misread signs of covert emotional incest, equipping therapists with a compassionate and clinically grounded framework for assessment and ethical, effective treatment. We'll also take an honest look at what this work asks of us — exploring the countertransference it consistently stirs and why our own self-awareness may be the most powerful tool we bring into the room. Grounded in attachment theory and relational trauma, this training honors both the complexity of our clients' experiences and the humanity we carry as healers.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify at least five clinical markers of covert emotional incest and distinguish them from other relational trauma presentations commonly seen in therapeutic practice.
  • Apply ethical and trauma-informed treatment strategies when working with clients who have experienced covert emotional incest, with attention to pacing, attachment repair, and the therapeutic relationship.
  • Recognize countertransference responses that commonly arise when treating covert emotional incest and utilize self-reflective practice to maintain ethical boundaries and clinician wellbeing.

Target Audience

This educational activity is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, and MFT's.

Live event Instructor(s)

  • Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LIAC, BCETS, CP

    Adena is an internationally recognized speaker, author, trainer, and consultant, providing a fresh and important look at addiction treatment, traumatic stress, and recovery. Her specialty is childhood sexual abuse, in particular, covert emotional incest. A leader in the field of traumatic stress and addiction, Adena has been offering expert clinical psychotherapy to clients as well as training and consulting services to professionals around the globe for over 25 years. Adena’s driving passion is to equip professionals to be effective practitioners, as evidenced by the 1000+ workshops she has conducted on topics such as child sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse and addiction, and related mental health issues.

    Adena is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, an internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, and a Board Certified Expert® in Traumatic Stress, and a Certified Psychodrama Practitioner. Adena received her BA in Psychology from SUNY Binghamton and her MSW with honors from Adelphi University. In her clinical practice, Adena incorporates a variety of disciplines and approaches obtained through advanced training including Psychodrama, Imago Relationship Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

CE Process Info

Before the event, you will receive an email from CE-Go with access to the virtual event. After the event, you will receive access to your evaluation and continuing education certificate via a personalized "attendee dashboard" link, hosted on the CE-Go website. This link and access to the virtual event will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event.

Upon accessing the CE-Go "attendee dashboard", you will be able to:

  • Complete evaluation forms for the event
  • Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go platform, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ceactivities.com".

If you have any continuing education related questions, please contact your event organizer.

Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case those emails get "stuck". We'd also suggest "Allowlisting" support@ceactivities.com. This tells your email client that you know this sender and trust them, which will keep emails from this contact at the top of your inbox and out of the junk folder.

  • Joint Accreditation (JA)

    In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

  • American Psychological Association (APA)

    Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.

  • Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)

    As a Jointly Accredited Organization, CE Learning Systems is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1 clinical continuing education credits.

  • New York Education Department's State Board for Social Work (NYEDSW)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #0060.

  • New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors (NYSEDLMHC)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.

  • New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology (NYEDPSY)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #PSY-0016.

  • New York Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy (NYEDMFT)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MFT-0045.

CELS Grievance Policy

If a grievance arises pertaining to continuing education activities or processes, please contact Tyler Gibson via confidential email to tyler@celearningsystems.com as soon as possible, so that the nature of the concern may be addressed in a timely fashion.
Covert Emotional Incest: 5 Clinical Markers and What Therapists Need to Know for Ethical, Effective Treatment
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Free
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  • CE Hours
    1
  • Type
    Live Interactive Webinar
  • Date
    Tue Aug 25th, 2026
  • Time
    12:00pm - 01:00pm PDT

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