Rooted in Relationships: Building Stronger Couples and Families in Rural and Tribal Communities
October 21, 2026 | 2pm to 3:30pm CT | 1.5 credit hours
**Registration for this live course closes on Monday, October 19, 2026 at 5pm CT**
This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $243,215.00 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the US Government.
Investment: This course is FREE if you meet at least one of the following criteria (enter code RHTPHMT at checkout for free registration):
- You are a rural or Tribal North Dakota resident (i.e., live anywhere in North Dakota EXCEPT for Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks, or Bismarck); OR
- 50% of the clients that you serve or people you employ are rural or Tribal North Dakota Residents
If you do not meet criteria for free registration, the registration fee is $35+ sales tax.
CE/CEU credits included: 1.5 (see below for approval details). You must attend at least 90% of the live webinar to receive continuing education credits, and attendance is monitored (partial credit not awarded).
Format: Live, virtual workshop via Zoom. If you are interested in the on-demand course, click here.
Presenter: Erin Haugen, PhD, LP, CMPC (see bio below)
Panelists: Dave Jackson, PhD, LP, and Katya Mickelson, PhD, LP (see bios below)
Abstract:
Interpersonal relationships are a crucial component to health and well-being, in that they impact mental health, health behavior, physical health, and mortality risk (Ross et al., 2019; Umberson & Montez, 2010). Specifically, there is strong evidence to support the positive influence of romantic (Robles et al., 2014; Smith & Baucom, 2017) and non-romantic family relationships (Woods et al., 2020) on overall health and improved health outcomes. Similar results have been found in studies with rural residents (Roberson et al., 2023) and studies examining relationality in American Indian/Alaska Native communities (O’Keefe et al., 2019). Relationship challenges and family stressors are also risk factors for suicide (Hammond et al., 2025; NDSFRC, 2026; Stack, 2021), and improving family and couple relationships can assist with decreasing suicide risk (Li et al., 2025). Therefore, strengthening romantic and family relationships can be a meaningful avenue for upstream suicide prevention for rural and Tribal residents. In this webinar, the presenters discuss relevant research findings regarding the impact of family and couple relationships on health, well-being, and suicide. Then, they will outline how relationship education programs can be used as upstream suicide prevention strategies, which will include presenting data from a project funded by the North Dakota State Suicide Prevention Program focused on service member and Veteran couples. The presenters will discuss the expansion of this program to include rural and Tribal North Dakota couples and families (with teens and adult children) as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program within North Dakota. Although we provide continuing education credits for this webinar, it is relevant for anyone interested in the topic.
Objectives:
- Describe the positive and negative roles that relationships play in health, well-being, and suicide
- Examine how an evidence-based weekend relationship workshop can positively impact relationships using data from a project focused on service member and Veteran couples in North Dakota
- Describe features of an expanded project for rural and Tribal ND couples and families (with teens & adult children)
Non-Discrimination:
HPC and ATAGF do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, military status, sexual orientation, or age.
Conflict of Interest Statements:
Dr. Haugen is the Founder & CEO of Haugen Performance Consulting and is employed by ATAGF. Dr. Jackson is the co-owner of ATAGF, and Dr. Mickelson is employed by ATAGF. They all receive compensation for this webinar through their work on the project from the funding source identified above. Dr. Haugen also receives financial benefit from any course sales through HPC.
There are no relationships between the CE sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could be construed as conflicts of interests. There is also no commercial support or benefits for endorsement of products (e.g., books, training, drugs).
The presenter will inform participants of the utility and validity of content discussed (including the basis for statements about utility/validity), as well as limitations of the approach and the most common and severe risks, if any, associated with program content.
Requests for Accommodations:
HPC and ATAGF are committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in all aspects of its continuing education activities. Participants with special needs should contact program organizers so reasonable accommodations can be made.
To request accommodations, contact ATAGF'S Continuing Education Vice Chair, Christine Boulton-Olson, PhD, LP, at training@grandforkstherapy.com.
Presenter: Erin Haugen, PhD, LP, CMPC
Dr. Haugen is an author, psychologist, and consultant specializing in clinical & sport psychology. She has a PhD in clinical psychology and is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.
Dr. Haugen is the Founder and CEO of Haugen Performance Consulting, a firm specializing in mental health, well-being, leadership, and performance psychology training for high-stakes industries. She is also employed at Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks where she works with a limited number of individual clients.
Since 2021, Dr. Haugen has been involved in several state-wide suicide prevention initiatives in North Dakota. She is the Project Director for a comprehensive transition to retirement from sport program for athletes and supporters (Ready, Set, Next) and a workplace suicide prevention project throughout North Dakota. She is also the Project Manager for the HMT project with service member and Veteran couples and the expanded HMT project with rural and Tribal North Dakota residents.
Panelist: Dave Jackson PhD, LP
Dave Jackson, PhD, LP, is a Licensed Psychologist (ND & MN), Certified EFT Therapist, and Certified EFT Supervisor located in Grand Forks, ND. He specializes exclusively in couples therapy and is passionate about helping others find secure, meaningful connections with their partners.
Dr. Jackson has over 20 years of supervision experience and currently provides mentorship to licensed professionals & supervision to pre-licensed professionals and graduate student trainees interested in EFT.
Dr. Jackson is co-founder of Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, a group practice dedicated to providing compassionate, effective services that enhance the quality of life of their patients. He is Project Director for the HMT project with service member and Veteran couples and the expanded HMT project with rural and Tribal North Dakota residents.
Panelist: Katya Mickelson, PhD, LP
Dr. Mickelson is a Licensed Psychologist and EFT-trained therapist working at Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks. Her areas of clinical interest are working with survivors of trauma and providing couples and relationship therapy within an EFT framework. She is also pursuing the Certified EFT Therapist credential.
Dr. Mickelson received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Dakota. She completed her pre-doctoral internship through the Wichita Collaborative Psychology Internship Program in Wichita, KS.
Dr. Mickelson is a Core HMT Instructor for the HMT project with service member and Veteran couples and the HMT Family Programs Lead for the expanded project with rural and Tribal North Dakota residents.
Course Curriculum
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Continuing Education Approvals (CE/CEU)
This course is available for 1.5 CE/CEU credits. You must be present for at least 90% of the webinar to receive credit (attendance is monitored and verified). Partial credit is not awarded.
Continuing education credit note: Many licensing boards will accept continuing education credits from other state boards as long as the approval is the same license type. If you are not sure, check with your licensing board to see if they will accept any of these approvals.
This course is co-sponsored by Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks.
Athletic Trainers: This program has been planned and implemented in accordance with the requirements and policies of the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC) through the joint sponsorship of Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC, and Haugen Performance Consulting, PLLC. Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks is approved by the BOC to provide continuing education for Athletic Trainers (approval #P10213).
Psychologists: Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
New York State Licensed Psychologists: Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks/Haugen Performance Consulting is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists (#PSY-0328).
ND Licensed Social Workers: Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC, is approved by the North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners (NDBSWE) to sponsor continuing education for social workers in North Dakota (approval through 4/5/27, provider #P-217).
ND Licensed Addiction Counselors: Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks is an approved continuing education provider for the North Dakota Board of Addiction Counseling Examiners (NDBACE; approval through 1/29/27).
ND Licensed Counselors: This course will be submitted for approval to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) for 1.5 credit hours.
ND Licensed Nurses: Per the North Dakota Board of Nursing (NDBON) website, contact hours approved by any other health care regulatory board (e.g., North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners [NDBSWE]) within the state or out-of-state will be accepted as meeting the NDBON requirements. You are encouraged to check with them to ensure this information is still accurate.
ND Licensed Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants: This webinar will be submitted to the North Dakota State Board of Occupational Therapy Practice for 1.5 credit hours.
ND Certified Peer Support Specialists: This program will be submitted for approval for continuing education credits for North Dakota Certified Peer Support Specialists.
Those who complete the live course will have lifetime access to the portal for this course. If you register for but do not attend the live version of this course, you will automatically be entered into the on-demand version of this course.
To view our workshop policies, including refund policy, please click here.
FREE for those meeting eligibility criteria ($35 + tax otherwise)
Free registration eligibility criteria are described above. Clicking the button below will bring you to a registration page where you enter information that will be on your CE certificate.
After you submit that form, you will be directed to the payment page for the course that you select. To receive the course for free, enter the code RHTPHMT at checkout.
You will not be enrolled in the course until you submit your payment information (or enter the free registration code on the payment page).