COURSE DESCRIPTION

The therapeutic relationship is one of the most powerful determinants of successful outcomes. This means that our therapeutic presence is the foundation of supporting how people heal and whether they respond positively to therapeutic efforts. Upon completion of this course, participants will have demonstrated the ability to intentionally place attention on clinically relevant, yet less obvious, aspects of the therapeutic experience. This attention will serve as a foundation for inspiring therapeutic presence, enhancing relational depth, deepening therapeutic intimacy, advancing clinical work, and increasing positive clinical outcomes.
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GENERAL INFORMATION

Course meets the qualifications for 12 hours of continuing education credit for LMFT’s, LCSW’s, LPCC’s and LEP’s as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. 12 CE Units included at no additional charge.

This course is designed specifically for mental health professionals and pre-professionals, yet all helping professionals are welcome to take the course if it feels advantageous to do so. This course in particular is suitable for spiritual counselors and chaplains. Self-paced course with both written and audio files for each lesson. Best suited for beginners to advanced level practitioners, but especially exciting to those looking to enhance their theoretical approaches with self-reflection, self-awareness, mindfulness, and personal/professional growth. Course content designed by considering how to expand clinical training to include self-awareness and relational mindfulness. Practical assignments and exercises at the end of every session. Practical learning experiences with case examples, exercises, and meditations. Numerous references for deepening presence during and after the course.

WHAT PRACTITIONERS ARE SAYING

"I recommend this course to therapists and graduate students alike."

by Sarah P., LMFT

This course on deepening therapeutic presence was a delight to take, I feel more connected to myself as a therapist, and I found the wisdom in the course to be invaluable as I move forward in my practice. I took for the CEUs, and I would recommend this course to therapists and graduate students alike.

"I look forward to taking other Inner Science courses in the future."

Catherine M., LMFT

I enjoyed the Therapeutic Presence training! Easy to listen to, maintained my attention, and provided a much needed refresh on therapeutic presence. I look forward to taking other Inner Science courses in the future.

Course Curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

    • Welcome to the Course

    • Before we begin...
  • 2

    Introduction

    • Introduction

    • Defining Presence and Therapeutic Presence

    • Theory of Therapeutic Presence

    • Test your learning
  • 3

    EXPLORING PRESENCE IN THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP

    • Exploring Presence in the Therapeutic Relationship

    • EXERCISE: CONTINUUM OF PRESENCE

    • Traditional Story: Two Birds

    • MEDITATION: TWO BIRDS AND BEYOND

    • Test your learning
  • 4

    RECOGNIZING UNCONDITIONED PRESENCE

    • Recognizing Unconditioned Presence

    • MEDITATION: UNCOVERING PRESENCE & REVEALING THE SELF

    • MEDITATION: OBSERVING THE STILLNESS

    • Diagnosis in Buddhist Psychology

    • REFLECTION: AVOIDANCE, ATTACHMENT, MISUNDERSTANDING

    • Curiosity

    • Present Moment Awareness

    • Silence

    • REFLECTION: DROPPING INTO INTENTIONAL SILENCE

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    • REFLECTION: RECOGNIZING AND ALLOWING UNPROCESSED PAIN

    • Test your learning
  • 5

    ACKNOWLEDGING UNFOLDING INTERNAL PROCESSES

    • Acknowledging Unfolding Internal Processes

    • EXERCISE: LISTENING FOR THE UNCONSCIOUS

    • Self-Awareness

    • Foreground and Background

    • Test your learning
  • 6

    FOCUSING ON THERAPEUTIC INTIMACY THAT ENCOURAGES RELATIONAL PRESENCE

    • Focusing on Therapeutic Intimacy that Encourages Relational Presence

    • Identifying with the Unconditioned Self

    • Presence as Vulnerability

    • Encouraging Relational Presence: Tending to the Relational Unconscious

    • Encouraging Relational Presence: Emotional Regulation

    • Encouraging Relational Presence: Transforming Core Affect

    • MEDITATION: SELF-COMPASSION BREAK

    • Test your learning
  • 7

    FOCUSING ON THE IMMEDIACY OF THE INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

  • 8

    Challenges to Therapeutic Presence: Dissociation

    • Navigating Dissociation
  • 9

    Next steps

    • References - Downloadable PDF

    • EXERCISE: CREATING AN INDIVIDUALIZED PRACTICE

    • Before you go...

    • Post-Test: How to Deepen Therapeutic Presence

    • Course Evaluation: How to Deepen Therapeutic Presence

    • Completion and Next Steps for CE Credit and Certificate

Instructor

Lead Instructor

Tamara Thebert

Tamara Thebert, MFT is a licensed psychotherapist (#53456) and psychospiritual educator in Berkeley, CA in the San Francisco Bay Area. She the CEO and co-founder of Inner Science Institute (InSci), providing courses and events for lifelong learners as well as mental health professionals interested in fulfilling continuing education units. An integrative institute informed by the inner sciences of psychology and spirituality, InSci offers transdisciplinary education and training to those interested in personal transformation, social change, and spiritual awakening. Tamara has degrees and certificates in integral counseling psychology, neurobiologically-informed trauma treatment, mindful self-compassion, meditation, spiritual counseling, and ecopsychology. Since 2004, she has studied and trained in spiritual and psychological traditions from all over the globe and is dedicated to teaching spiritual principles and practices specifically tailored to improve mental and emotional health. In her private practice Tamara specializes in helping women recognize & amplify inner resources to recover from trauma, addiction, anxiety, and depression while attending to the important relationships in their lives. To find out more about her psychotherapy practice, go to www.psychospiritualcounseling.net.

Measurable Objectives

  • define the therapeutic presence

  • describe three main ideas regarding the theory of therapeutic presence and why it is important for all psychotherapeutic approaches

  • describe four ways to explore the continuum of therapeutic presence

  • identify and explore three qualities that increase the likelihood of recognizing unconditioned presence: curiosity, present-moment awareness, and silence

  • describe three main causes of suffering in Buddhist Psychology

  • name and explore three factors that help us facilitate the unfolding internal process, including multilevel listening, self-awareness, and foreground and background

  • understand three ways to refine relational presence, including cultivating presence as intimacy, presence as vulnerability, and identifying with the unconditioned Self

  • describe three main ways to focus on the immediacy of the interactive experience: mindfulness, relational mindfulness, with particular attention to rupture and repair

  • recognize one main obstacle in being fully present with clients

  • create an individualized practice that includes applying at least four meditation practices, exercises, or reflections that will serve to deepen professional work while navigating the subtleties of therapeutic presence

CERTIFICATES AND ACCOMMODATIONS

CERTIFICATES Course completion certificates will be awarded at the end of the course in exchange for a completing the test and evaluation form. Course meets the qualifications for 12 hours of continuing education credit for LMFT’s, LCSW’s, LPCC’s and LEP’s as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Inner Science Institute is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor Continuing Education for LMFT’S, LCSW’S, LPCC’S and LEP’S. Inner Science Institute maintains responsibility for this course and its content. ACCOMMODATIONS To request accommodations for special needs, please email the Program Administrator at admin@innerscience.net. To obtain the grievance policy or report a grievance please email admin@innerscience.net. No refunds.