In our 2023 kick-off team meeting, one of our colleagues that supports our online courses for therapists inspired us with a quote she saw online that goes like this:
Every year you make a resolution to change yourself.
This year, make a resolution to BE yourself.
We couldn’t agree more. We are proud of our community, proud of who you are. We know that the work you do, the way you have dedicated your life to helping others, is making a true difference in the world. May your resolutions honor that to the fullest!
Following this inspiration, we invite you to consider key ways you can grow your clinical practice, not only in volume or reach, but as a full expression of who you are as a therapist, and as a person.
We care about your growth as a therapist.
Because we are who we are as a team and organization dedicated to your growth, we will always be inviting you to learn directly from some of the most influential and supportive therapists teaching online today. Here, we respectfully include five of our most popular Academy of Therapy Wisdom learning opportunities to help you make the most of this fresh new year.
If you are resolved like we are to be more of who you are this year, we hope our work supports you in this intention, and on your path as a therapist and human being.
Five Ways to Grow Your Therapy Practice in 2023
1. MASTER YOUR CRAFT
Studies have shown that becoming a Master Therapist and getting better outcomes with your clients is not determined by how long you’ve been a therapist, nor by choosing and mastering a specific therapeutic technique.
In Becoming a Master Therapist with Tori Olds, Ph.D., you’ll get practical help in being a better therapist, no matter what philosophy or technique you focus on. Together with your peers, you’ll learn about the emerging science that supports “deliberate practice” and how to apply it so that your clinical practice can grow and flourish, and you see better and better client outcomes over time.
2. FOCUS ON BOUNDARIES FROM THE BRAIN DOWN
Client therapist boundaries, relationship boundaries, containing boundaries… without fail, every client seems to need support to develop healthy boundaries needed for true healing and self-actualization. 2023 is the perfect year to fold neurobiology into your client boundaries work.
In Jules Shore’s beloved course The Neurobiology of Feeling Safe – Working with Boundaries Inside and Out, you’ll get foundational understanding of brain function as it relates to boundaries, as well as practices you can give to your clients from day one to support their growth.
3. GET CERTIFIED AS A TRAUMA THERAPIST
As the world continues to resurface after years of lock downs and reports of epidemic-level trauma response across the globe, there has never been a more important time to feel confident working with trauma.
In her course, following her revolutionary best-selling book by the same name, Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors, Janina Fisher Ph.D. teaches us the TIST method of trauma therapy. Trauma-informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) is a recognized and leading technique for working with trauma survivors of all levels, even the highly complex cases.
Academy of Therapy Wisdom has partnered with Dr. Fisher to offer an introductory Level 1 course, as well as an extensive bundled TIST therapist certification course. If you have becoming a certified TIST practitioner on your intention list for 2023, we recommend you sign up soon.
4. PUT GENDER IN ITS PLACE
For decades, gender identity therapy has been treated as a specialty, as if average licensed therapists couldn’t be trusted to understand and support clients questioning their gender identity, or wanting to change their gender expression – especially the gender identity of children and teens.
In The Essential Guide to Gender Diversity in Children and Adolescents, Sarah Burgamy, Psy.D. helps us normalize “gender issues” and build confidence in giving therapeutic support to clients and the families of clients of all ages who are questioning, transitioning, or living with a range of gender roles, identity, and expression.
We all have a gender. In 2023, it´s time we as a profession build skill and confidence in working with gender as a core human issue right in our own practices, versus a specialty we need to refer out.
5. STAY INSPIRED BY YOUR PEERS
At Academy of Therapy Wisdom, we have a saying: The best teachers are students, and the best students are teachers. As therapists, we are part of a diverse and richly resourced community we can draw on for support, camaraderie, and nitty gritty instruction. When we purposefully learn from each other in group settings, we magnify the learning and deepen the wisdom we draw upon to help our clients heal and live a more fulfilling life.
Most of our online courses for therapists have a strong group aspect where you will learn from your peers, and they will learn from you. Each year, we also offer the greater therapy community a spotlight to share wisdom and reflection in our Wise Therapy Spotlight. It’s an offering we make to help nurture our community and the growth we can all experience by staying open to and reflecting on a myriad of perspectives.
In December 2022, we published the third annual Wise Therapy Spotlight after a call for submissions based on the question, “How do you sustain hope and resilience?” Read what some of your peers had to say in response. [Click here for the announcement and to download the PDF] Next year, we hope you’ll consider submitting your own essay or artwork for consideration.
JOIN a FREE Training with Dr. Tori Olds
Introduction to Deliberate Practice in Psychotherapy
In this video series, you will learn:
The essential problem with most other therapy training programs.
Six myths about becoming a more effective therapist.
What Deliberate Practice is and why it is so important
The five steps on the roadmap for clinical excellence
