Suicide attempts, physical violence, psychosis, sexual abuse, substance abuse, and eating disorders--or several of these at once--can intimidate even veteran therapists. How can you establish a therapeutic connection immediately with severely symptomatic families, develop a clear map with practical targets for systemic change, and get treatment rolling fast enough to prevent disaster before therapy has a chance to take effect? In this two-part workshop, you'll find out how to catalyze the therapeutic process from the first few minutes of therapy, bring about real change in the opening session, and get the family committed to therapy over the long haul. You'll learn how to engage the family right away, do brief but accurate assessment, realign the family system, generate meaningful change quickly, and anchor clinical gains over time. (This session will continue with Workshop 529.)