Event details

  • September 26, 2025

  • 9:30am-3:30pm (1hr lunch break)

  • 5 Core CE hours

  • In-person event!

  • Mercer University Atlanta Campus, Administrative and Conference Center Auditorium

Pricing options

Register Now! All pricing includes lunch provided. Please email [email protected] if you have dietary restrictions.

Learning Objectives

  • Participants will be better able to adequately describe the functions of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, and the relevance of these brain regions to lowering couple and family distress, curtailing emotional responding, and improving their communication patterns.

  • Participants will be better able to adequately describe how the dopaminergic and endorphinergic reward centers of the brain interact with the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus to activate and sustain enjoyable experiences; and how strengthening these neural networks can then lead to greater couple and family relational satisfaction, deepening the felt sense of connection, and improving general well-being.

  • Participants will be better able to adequately describe how couples and families can be guided in therapy to savor enjoyable interactions and capitalize on pleasant sentiments to improve communication and problem-solving, derive more relational satisfaction, heal old wounds, increase vulnerability, create deeper intimacy, and strengthen the in-the-moment experience of love.

  • Participants will be better able to articulate considerations for tailoring these strategies when working with couples and families who have experienced discrimination, prejudice, or marginalization.

Instructor(s)

Instructor Bio:

Rick Weinberg is Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida (USF). He earned a BA (cum laude) from University of Michigan, PhD in Clinical-Community Psychology from USF, and completed a Clinical Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently Dr. Weinberg teaches Marital Therapy, Family Therapy and Group Therapy at the graduate level, and Behavioral Health & the Family for undergrads. In 2014-15 and again in 2022-23, Dr. Weinberg was recognized with the university’s most prestigious accolade, the Provost’s Outstanding Teaching Award. He identifies as a Couple and Family Psychologist, has been licensed in Florida since 1984, and maintains a clinical practice in Tampa. For 30 years he volunteered and served on the Board of Directors of Community Tampa Bay, a local organization dedicated to creating a community free from all forms of discrimination by promoting dialogue, cross-cultural interactions, and discovering commonalities.

Dr. Rick Weinberg

Cancellation Policy

Registration may be refunded up to 48 hours in advance of the event. A $10 administration and transaction fee will be deducted from your refund.

About the Armour Lecture Series

The Armour Family Therapy Lecture Series is made possible by a gift from retired faculty members Dr. Mary Anne Armour and Dr. Rollin Armour. Dr. Mary Anne Armour came to the School of Medicine in 1982 when the first class of medical students enrolled. She retired as Associate Professor in 1998. 

While at Mercer, she established with colleagues the medical student program in family and psychosocial issues and served as co-director of the Master of Family Therapy Program, which she founded at Mercer in 1983. Dr. Rollin Armour, former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, retired in 1998 as Professor in the Department of Christianity, College of Liberal Arts.