Both workshops provided by Jennifer Benjamin and Pinky Patel earned “Highly Attended Presentation” badges for their engaging and well-received trainings.
We left feeling inspired, energized, and with more great memories (and photos) than we can count. You’ll have to wait for the full newsletter for the complete photo recap—but until then, here’s a sneak peek:
Pinky Patel and Jennifer Benjamin had the exciting opportunity to record a podcast episode with the National Center for Innovation and Excellence. The conversation focused on all things strengths-based and context-sensitive, with a key takeaway reminding us: “You can’t psychoeducate a strength into someone… they already have them.”
Stay tuned for more highlights from this incredible event in our upcoming newsletter!
An important distinctions we make in Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) is the difference between first-order change and second-order change. Understanding this difference is crucial for therapists committed to creating meaningful, sustainable outcomes for families.
First-Order Change: Behavior Changes in Interactions (Linear, External, and Compliance-Driven)
First-order change focuses on surface-level behavioral shifts. It’s linear, cause-and-effect in nature, and often driven by external factors like rewards, consequences, or direct instructions. The goal is to stop or start a behavior, and the motivation is frequently tied to the fear of punishment or the promise of a short-term incentive.
While first-order change can offer temporary relief, it rarely addresses the deeper relational dynamics that sustain the behavior over time. In many cases, the family’s underlying patterns remain intact because the structure is still the same. The change is often fragile—likely to regress the moment the external motivator is removed.
For example, a child might stop yelling because they’ve been threatened with the loss of screen time. But without addressing the relational patterns driving the behavior—like poor emotion regulation or lack of parental leadership—the change won’t last.
Or the professional may step in and redirect the child. This makes the therapist part of the structure. So of course the behavior changes. When the therapist leaves the unwanted behaviors signaling distress come racing back!
Second-Order Change: Relational Changes in Interactions (Internal and Transformative)
Second-order change, in contrast, happens at the level of structure, meaning, and relationship. It’s not just about doing something different—it’s about thinking, feeling, and relating differently. The structure (hierarchy, boundaries, and family culture) requires a collaborative change and active in deliberating practicing shift in roles, and new patterns/ emotional responses.
Second-order change is: ✅ Internal – driven by insight, motivation, and relational shifts ✅ Dynamic – involving multiple members of the family system ✅ Sustainable – changes are maintained because they’re meaningful and integrated into daily life ✅ Collaborative – both caregivers and children participate in creating and maintaining new patterns
In ESFT, we guide families toward second-order change by focusing on co-regulation, attachment, co parenting, alliance building, and caregiver leadership. We help families see their patterns, understand their emotional processes, and take ownership of creating new interactional cycles that are healing, not harmful.
For instance, instead of a caregiver demanding a child “just calm down,” the family works together on building emotional safety and regulation strategies that change how stress is handled systemically.
Why the Difference Matters
First-order change may help in the short term—but second-order change transforms the family system. It’s the difference between managing symptoms and reshaping the emotional environment that sustains wellness over time. At PCFTTC, our focus is always on helping therapists and families work toward deep, relational, and lasting change—the kind of change that doesn’t rely on external control but grows from within.
Example of First-Order Change (External, Linear, Compliance-Based)
Scenario: A teenager is refusing to complete homework and is spending excessive time on video games.
Therapist Intervention (First-Order): The therapist coaches the caregiver to implement a behavioral consequence plan:
The caregiver tells the teen, “If you don’t complete your homework by 7 PM, you lose access to video games for the rest of the night.”
The teen complies with the homework expectation—but only because of the fear of losing privileges.
What makes this First-Order Change?
It’s linear: If you don’t do X, Y will happen.
It’s externally motivated: The change happens due to fear of consequence, not internal motivation.
It’s compliance-focused and likely temporary: If the caregiver stops enforcing consequences, the old pattern will likely return.
Example of Second-Order Change (Internal, Relational, Sustainable)
Scenario: Same teenager, same homework avoidance.
Therapist Intervention (Second-Order): The therapist works with the entire family system to explore the relational and emotional dynamics driving the avoidance through the family assessment tools. Therapist discovers:
The teen feels disconnected and overwhelmed but doesn’t know how to express this.
The caregiver tends to escalate quickly into frustration and yelling, which increases the teen’s avoidance and emotional shutdown.
The therapist guides the family to deliberately practice in session:
Improve caregiver leadership and co-regulation:
The caregiver practices giving clear, emotionally regulated instructions and checks in with the teen about emotional needs before setting expectations.
Build emotional safety:
The teen is helped to voice feelings of anxiety around schoolwork.
Develop a new relational pattern and anchor it:
Together, the family creates a homework plan that includes built-in support, positive connection time afterward, and space for emotional check-ins.
What makes this Second-Order Change?
This change is caregiver lead and therapist facilitated.
The family shifts relational dynamics and emotional responses—not just behaviors.
Motivation becomes internal and relational, not driven by fear or reward.
Caregiver leadership is strengthened, and the teen feels emotionally safer and more engaged, making the change sustainable over time.
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Zoë will be managing the learning portal, certificates, evaluation analysis, and training course access.
Zoë Rogers is a versatile and passionate wellness professional dedicated to supporting others on their journey toward health, balance, and personal growth. As the owner of 333 Divinity, she blends her expertise as a certified life coach, Reiki practitioner, licensed massage therapist, and esthetician to create personalized healing experiences for her clients.
Zoë holds certifications in Reiki (Levels I–III), Health & Life Coaching, Medical Massage, Cupping, Hydrotherapy, Clinical Massage, and Stretch Therapy. She completed her training at Cortiva Institute, earning licensure as both a massage therapist and esthetician.
With a professional background that spans wellness, customer service, and team leadership. Zoë brings strong communication, organization, and interpersonal skills to every environment she works in. Whether managing pop-up events or providing therapeutic bodywork, she leads with empathy, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to client care.
Her approach combines intuitive energy work with practical coaching strategies, helping individuals increase their quality of life and achieve meaningful personal goals.
Rachael will be managing video editing for continuing education programs and Homestudy course build outs.
Rachael Roberts, M.S., is a dedicated and compassionate human services professional with over 20 years of experience supporting children, youth, and families. She holds a Master of Science in Human Services with a specialization in Counseling Studies from Capella University, and a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University.
Rachael currently serves as a Lead Teacher at Lower Providence Presbyterian Preschool, where she designs and implements curricula and collaborates with families and mental health providers to ensure holistic care for young children. Her previous roles include Child & Adolescent Outpatient Therapist and Case Manager Supervisor at the Devereux Foundation, where she provided therapeutic services and led teams delivering critical behavioral health supports.
Known for her empathy, leadership, and deep understanding of child development, Rachael combines clinical insight with practical classroom strategies to support emotional wellness and academic readiness. She is also skilled in coordinating care, crisis intervention, and advocating for children’s mental health across home, school, and community settings.
In addition to her clinical and educational expertise, Rachael brings strong technical skills in communication, documentation, photography and digital content creation, including website design and social media outreach.
Before we announce the recipients of this year’s Marion Lindblad-Goldberg (MLG) Award, we want to pause and honor what this award truly represents.
Dr. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg’s vision shaped the foundation of Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) and transformed the landscape of Family Based Mental Health Services. Her work reminds us that healing happens in relationships—and that our most powerful tool as clinicians is the ability to see the whole system, join with families in their distress, and lead with compassion, clarity, and integrity.
Each of this year’s nominees embodies that legacy in their own way—through their commitment to growth, their systemic insight, and their unwavering dedication to the families they serve.
This moment isn’t just about who receives the award—it’s about celebrating the collective strength, heart, and brilliance of this entire community.
💙 Please join us in recognizing the incredible nominees for the 2025 MLG Award—you are the living legacy of Marion’s work.
Recently, I watched a short video of a foster mother cat gently caring for a kitten who had clearly endured trauma. The kitten flinched at every movement, tucked itself into corners, and froze at any attempt at touch. But the mother cat didn’t retreat. She moved slowly, calmly—relentlessly. With every lick, every soft purr, every patient pause, she sent the same message: You are safe now. I won’t hurt you. I’m not going anywhere.
As I watched, I realized: this is exactly what it looks like to build attachment with a child who has experienced complex developmental trauma.
In Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT), we talk about the importance of reestablishing safety and connection as the foundation of all therapeutic work. For children who have learned through experience that adults are unpredictable, unavailable, or unsafe, attachment isn’t automatic—it must be earned through consistency, patience, and deep emotional attunement.
The caregiver’s role is to embody safety. Not to demand closeness, but to offer connection without pressure, and to remain emotionally available even in the face of rejection or withdrawal. Just like the foster mother cat, the caregiver must be willing to show up again and again, saying with their actions: 💬 I see you. 💬 Your fear makes sense. I would be afraid too. 💬 I’ll stay until you trust.
Attachment doesn’t come from grand gestures—it comes from the quiet, repeated moments of co-regulation: sharing calm, honoring the child’s emotional state, and staying present without needing immediate results.
In a trauma-informed, strength-based model like ESFT, we understand that healing happens through relationship, not in spite of it. And while the journey is slow, the impact is profound.
That tiny kitten eventually crept toward the mother cat and tucked itself under her warmth. It didn’t happen all at once—but it happened. The same is possible for the children we serve.
Traumatized children don’t need perfect caregivers. They need relentless ones. Ones who stay. Ones who wait. Ones who whisper safety through every calm breath and patient act of love.
Because healing begins where fear once lived—and trust is the bridge we build one steady step at a time.
If you’ve ever heard the iconic spoken-word song “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen),” you know it’s packed with practical, poetic, and unexpectedly emotional advice. Originally a column by Mary Schmich and popularized by Baz Luhrmann, the song reads like a love letter to life’s complexity—with one recurring reminder: wear sunscreen.
But if you listen closely, the heart of the song is about more than sun protection—it’s about perspective. It’s about embracing uncertainty, holding paradoxes, and trusting that life is rarely linear. And if there’s any therapeutic model that echoes that spirit, it’s Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) – making the complex simple by seeing the challenge as relational not behavioral.
“Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long—and in the end, it’s only with yourself.”
In ESFT, we often help families move away from competitive, comparison-based narratives and toward shared emotional connection. Healing happens when we shift from proving or winning to joining and reframing. Families don’t need perfect answers—they need safe spaces to be seen, to struggle, and to grow.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
In the family therapy room, vulnerability is that one thing. Asking a caregiver to hold limits with love, encouraging a teen to share hurt instead of anger, or guiding a therapist-in-training to sit in discomfort—these are ESFT moments. Progress isn’t comfortable; it’s courageous action inside safe structure.
“Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.”
We help families appreciate the everyday, not just the crisis. ESFT is a model rooted in social ecology, reminding us that growth doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in schools, homes, neighborhoods, and quiet moments. The small, unseen strengths families already possess often become their greatest tools for change.
The Therapist’s Sunscreen? Structure.
Just as sunscreen protects us from invisible harm, structure protects families from the chaos of unchecked patterns. The ESFT therapist holds that structure so families can safely explore their agency. We aren’t rescuers—we’re guides walking families toward their own power.
In a way, wear sunscreen is exactly what we ask families to do: protect what matters, risk connection, trust the process—and be gentle with yourselves.
