Balint Leadership Training Intensive

Training leaders in relationship centered care.™

Join us in Charleston, NC
September 4 - 7, 2025

Sponsored by:

Registration Deadline: July 7, 2025

First 20 registrants receive a reduced rate!

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Course Overview

The four-day Intensive course is designed to teach Balint group leadership technique primarily through experiential groups, supplemented by topic-focused small discussion groups and faculty panel discussions. Attendees will have ample time to present cases, practice leading a Balint group, and engage informally with other participants. Faculty-guided debriefings provide opportunities to receive feedback on participants’ practice sessions in a safe and supportive setting. Participants emerge from the course with a deeper understanding of Balint group leadership techniques and responsibilities and improved awareness of the method’s limitations and risks. This course is given a minimum of twice a year, and we will follow public health guidelines regarding COVID 19 to ensure a safe learning environment. Each offering has unique aspects because of the mix of faculty and the specific cases offered in the Balint groups themselves.

Tentative Schedule

Registration Fees

Space is limited and previous Leadership Intensive courses have filled before the early registration deadline. Early registration is strongly encouraged. Registration fee includes syllabus, refreshment breaks, breakfasts, one dinner and one lunch.

Single Registration:
    $900 early rate*; $975 thereafter.

ABS Member Registration:
    $800 early rate*; $875

Residents, students, fellows receive a 20% discount:
    $640 early rate*; $700 thereafter.

ABS Member Residents, students & fellows:
    $560 early rate*; $620 thereafter. 

*Early rates are limited to the first 20 registrants.   

Those registering at the non-member rate will have an option to apply for a one-year complimentary membership to the ABS following the conference. Current members of other countries' Balint societies also qualify for a registration discount. They should contact the Course directors, Allison Bickett or Alec Chessman, by email prior to registering. If you have any issues with the registration process, contact Shantel Beckers.

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Financial Aid

The American Balint Society (ABS) seeks to increase inclusivity in its educational activities and among its membership. To support this goal, ABS has two financial aid programs available to applicants of underrepresented groups (e.g. ethnic, socioeconomic, professional background, etc.) for whom the regular course tuition would present a hardship or barrier. 1) The ABS Financial Aid program provides up to $500 tuition support for up to two individuals who have been accepted into an ABS Leadership Training Intensive course. 2)The Jerome and Maureen Lebowitz Scholarship provides reimbursement of course registration for nurse practitioners and family medicine or surgery residents. You must complete the registration process prior to submitting one of the financial aid application.

Please note that the deadline for financial aid applications is June 30, 2025. Note: buttons below will download the application.

ABS Intensive Financial Aid Application

Jerome and Maureen Lebowitz Scholarship Application

Cancellation Policy

Registrants wishing to cancel their registration must do so in writing by the cancellation deadline of July 7, 2025. For cancellations received by the cancelation date, $100 of the registration fee will be withheld for administrative fees and the refund will occur within 30 days of acknowledgment of cancellation. For cancellations received after the deadline, no refunds will be available. 

Welcome to Charleston!

The conference will be held at the Francis Marion in downtown Charleston. Located downtown on Marion Square, the hotel is within walking distance of the magnificent gardens, house museums, antique shops, local boutiques, restaurants, and nightlife that has made Charleston one of the south’s premier cities. Rising 12 stories above the Historic District, the hotel offers spectacular views of Charleston’s church steeples, historic mansions, and famous harbor, providing easy access to the wealth of Charleston’s attractions. The ABS has negotiated a conference rate of $189 per night which includes high-speed WiFi and onsite fitness center.The hotel is also home to the Spa of Charleston which offers massages and facials.
Hotel Information

In reserving your room with the following link, you're getting the best possible rate and helping us fulfill our contractual obligation with the hotel. Rooms booked through other methods will not be protected by our cancellation policy with the hotel and will not count toward fulfilling our contractual obligation. 

Reservations can be made by calling reservations at (877) 756-2121 and indicate you are attending the American Balint Society Fall 2025 Intensive.

Rooms must be booked by August 11, 2025.

Explore the City

Charleston is an historic and vibrant city known for its rich cultural heritage, stunning architecture, and coastal beauty. Charleston’s historic downtown area is a living museum, featuring cobblestone streets, charming 18th-century buildings, and landmarks like the Battery, a promenade offering views of historic mansions and Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. This area is also home to the famous Rainbow Row, 13 colorful historic homes along East Bay Street, showcasing Charleston’s distinctive Georgian architecture.

The Francis Marion is just down the street from the Charleston City Market, a beautiful historic site featuring local vendors selling Lowcountry specialties, including sweetgrass baskets and handmade goods.

Whether you're interested in war history, architecture, ghost stories, or food, Charleston has plenty of tour options that offer a deeper dive into some of the important elements of Charleston's past and present. Come early, stay late, or schedule during your free time in the conference. 

You'll also want to pack your appetite, because Charleston is home to some of the best seafood and BBQ in the country! Lowcountry cuisine is famous for its flavorful sauces and excellence in dishes like shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, and oyster roasts. The city has a reputation for its fine dining, but boasts just as many iconic, low-cost, high-value spots like Bertha's Kitchen, Hannibal's Kitchen, and Gaulart & Maliclet French Café. Charleston blends its colorful past with modern charm, offering visitors a rich array of historic attractions, natural beauty, and cultural experiences. We hope to see you there!

Conference Co-directors

Allison Bickett, PhD, MS
Director of Behavioral Medicine Education
Atrium Health
Charlotte, NC

Alec Chessman, MD
Chair, Department of FM
Medical University of SC
Charleston, SC

Additional Faculty

Vidush Athyal, MD
Professor of Family Medicine
Kaiser Permanente Family Medicine Residency
San Diego, CA

Clive Brock, MD
Professor, Department of FM
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC

Mary Hall, MD, FAAFP
Professor Emeritus
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Atrium Health SVP Medical Education (retired)
Charlotte, NC

Darlene Lawrence, MD, FAACP
Associate Program Director
The Wright Center FM Residency at Unity Health Care
Washington, DC

Phil Phelps, LCSW, BCD
President-American Balint Society
Director of Behavioral Science (retired)
UPMC Shadyside Family Medicine Residency
Pittsburgh, PA

Terri Wall, PhD
Director of Behavioral Health
Ascension St. Vincent's Family Medicine Residency
Jacksonville, FL

All faculty members are credentialed as Balint Group Leaders by the American Balint Society. Faculty present will depend on number of small groups.

In accordance with ACCME requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials distributed at the time of the conference.

Requirements

Participants should be clinically active and willing to present one of their cases. Because group cohesiveness affects participants’ experience of the course, registrants are asked to commit to attending all sessions and to attending each session in its entirety. Please do not plan to arrive late, leave early or miss sessions. The Balint Leadership Intensive is a training course and is not intended as therapy. Nevertheless, Balint Group work can sometimes stir up strong feelings. Prospective registrants who are experiencing a particularly vulnerable period in their lives may want to consider participating in this training at a later date. The world COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. All participants should anticipate that they will be required to provide proof of having received the CDC-recommended number of COVID-19 vaccinations no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Additional requirements may include having received a booster and/or testing before the event. Registrants will receive updates closer to the start of the course.

Notes

Application does not  guarantee acceptance. The American Balint Society (ABS) reserves the right to choose the participants and registrants for its programs and to assign participants to small groups in order to maximize the educational and professional experience offered. We reserve the right to refuse registrations and to cancel registrations already made. In the event of cancelation by the ABS, any registration fees paid will be refunded. Such refund shall represent the entire liability to the registrant. 

COVID-19 considerations: we will monitor and comply with public health guidelines for a safe conference. Registrants will be informed closer to the event of any recommendations.

During this Balint Leadership Training Intensive, a few experienced participants may be co-leading small group sessions as part of an evaluation process by which they hope to become credentialed as Balint group leaders. If this occurs, we may ask all members of their small group to complete an assessment of the candidate's expertise during one of the two sessions in which he or she is acting as co-leader. We believe this process furthers your learning of Balint leadership skills in addition to offering the candidate helpful feedback. 

Balint Groups

Balint groups provide an opportunity to develop insight into the interpersonal aspects of the clinician/patient encounter and to become more empathic with patients and with oneself. They are used by health care clinicians throughout the United States and internationally to improve clinician/patient communication and clinical effectiveness, increase practitioner satisfaction, and decrease isolation. Residencies and other training programs use Balint groups as part of their curriculum addressing professionalism, clinician/patient communication, and clinical ethics.

Target Audience

The Charleston Leadership Intensive course is appropriate for clinicians new to the Balint Group method as well as experienced Balint Group leaders. The course is well-suited to those who are currently leading, expect to lead in the future, or are seeking a better understanding of Balint groups.  The curriculum is appropriate for physicians (primary care, psychiatry, other specialists), psychologists, social workers, other mental health care providers, veterinarians, and pastoral care providers.

Course Goals

At the end of the training, attendees will be able to:

1. Describe verbal and non-verbal behaviors of Balint Group Leaders.
2. Recognize the effectiveness of different leadership interventions.
3. Identify the process and progression of a Balint group over multiple sessions.
4. Define the new perspective of a presenter as a result of the Balint group process.

Note: a complete list of learning objectives is available on request.

Grievance Policy

Any concerns should be brought to the attention of the Course Directors, Allison Bickett and Alec Chessman.
ABS Grievance Policy

Accreditation

AMA/AAFP Equivalency: AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 Credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.

The American Balint Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The American Balint Society maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This activity is approved for 19.25 CE credits.

This activity is pending approval from the National Association of Social Workers.