Short Courses

We are excited to announce the launch of our new, high-quality, and affordable online course designed to benefit the mental health community. More titles coming soon.

Understanding Dissociation and How to Work with It

Dr Nick Bendit

Dissociation is an area of mental health that few practitioners know much about. It is shrouded in mystery and controversy, but in the last 10 years there is an increasing literature of the science and clinical practice of dissociation. In particular, complex dissociation appears in clients with severe borderline personality disorder and clients with dissociative identity disorder. This Online Course will introduce you to dissociation, discuss cognitive neuroscience of dissociation, clinical syndromes in dissociation with both PTSD and BPD subtype, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

Personality, impacts on mental health and practical implications for treatment

Dr Kevin Keith

Personality research remains a vibrant, yet relatively untapped resource for counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, psychologists & other mental health workers. Addressing ‘research to practice gaps’ serves as the primary goal of this course.

Practical & Ethical Framework for Online Therapy (Free Short Course)

Dr Kris Rao

In this Short Course, you will gain understanding of some of the key legal & ethical issues involved in providing online therapy especially around current industry requirements, informed consent, jurisdiction, legal requirements, etc.

Understanding the Complexities of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Dr Kevin Keith

Domestic violence is often complex: the intersection of multiple lives, histories and contexts. But it is also damaging to lives, indeed lethal in cases! When it comes to prevention and intervention, heterogeneity such as, multiple individual personality and risk factors, lifespan considerations, social cultural and contextual influences’ presents formidable challenges. Studies have shown that key attachment dynamics and other developmental antecedents are helpful for understanding typical profiles for both victims and perpetrators. This short course will explore attachment pathways to adult Interpersonal Violence (IPV): antecedents and predispositions for victims and perpetrators, Childhood exposure to DV and distinguish Intimate Terrorism (IT) and Situational Couple Violence (SCV). It will also discuss current efforts to conjointly treat attachment injuries within the context of SCV.

 

Introduction to Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy

Peter McKay

This short online course offers an in-depth exploration of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy (CSP) and the key theories that have shaped its development. Participants will examine the historical context of somatics, the influences of Contemporary Trauma Theory (CTT), Self Psychology, Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB), and Relational Psychotherapy on somatic practices, as well as the future directions of the field. This short course is designed to provide a thorough grounding in both the historical foundations and contemporary theoretical frameworks that shape Somatic Psychotherapy today, while also encouraging exploration of its future potential.

 

The Use of Imagery in the Treatment of Complex Trauma-related Dissociation

Prof Onno van der Hart

A survivor with a complex trauma-related dissociative disorder once remarked that therapists should realize that dissociative people have a great capacity for imagination, which often remains greatly under-utilized. However, imagination may also act as a liability, playing a major role in the maintenance of trauma-related dissociation of the personality, which consists of dissociative parts mainly functioning in daily life (Apparently Normal Parts of the Personality; ANPs) and parts stuck in trauma-time (Emotional Parts; EPs). EPs may intensely and involuntarily imagine, even hallucinate, that the traumas of the past occur again. Such experiences can be regarded as malignant hypnotic trance states, in which the involved part of the personality is caught, having no possibility to reflect on the experience. Indeed, hypnotic states are characterized by a narrowed field of consciousness, absorption, and (often but not always) suggestibility. In this webinar Prof Van der Hart will discuss the application of two types of hypnotic-like guided imagery work in which clients are assisted in voluntary and deliberately realize reaching mutually agreed positive treatment goals:

(1) Resolving specific problems or symptoms with concrete or metaphoric images. Regarding metaphoric approaches, language is full of metaphors, with so-called metaphoric kernel statements referring to something essential; e.g., the way a patient may experience a particular problem. Whether concrete or metaphoric, these pathogenic kernel statements will be taken as point of departure for guided imagery.

(2) systemic work for fostering safe communications and increased collaboration among dissociative parts, in particular with regard to the construction and utilization of protective imagery,  imaginary inner meeting places, safe or calm places, confrontation with and titration of traumatic memories, fusion rituals among dissociative parts. The short course will cover theoretical literature, case illustrations, and practical guidelines.

The Therapist: Ethics, Legal & Professional Issues (Releasing April 25)

Dr Kris Rao

This course will provide you with the opportunity to explore the ethical and moral issues that arise when working as a professional in a therapeutic context. We will explore the myriad complexities and contradictions associated with ethics, morals, legal and professional responses and responsibilities in the professional setting. Special attention will be given to the cultural and socio-political factors that frame ethical behaviour and moral decision-making and what impact these factors have when working with clients. Professional and legal standards for therapists in practice will be identified and implications for professional practice determined.

A Psychological Understanding of Loss, Grief & Mourning (Releasing April 25)

Dr Paul Martin

This course explores the dynamics of separation, grief, and mourning in normal development and as they contribute to an individual’s experience of loss. Lectures will provide a deeper understanding of different types of loss, the circumstances that exacerbate or mitigate the pain of grief, what individuals need to do to adjust, how to assess for potential pathological responses to loss and the mourning process, and various psychological treatments for normal grief and complicated bereavement.

Developing a Successful Private Practice (Releasing April 25)

Dr Kris Rao

In this course, you will discover practical steps to set up your private practice effectively such as writing a business plan, understanding how working for yourself differs from employment, and learning about the therapy market. You will gain an understanding of your target client group, sources of referrals for that group, and opportunities within the allied health systems. You will also learn important management skills around fees and billing, financial and other mandated recordkeeping, and risk assessment/mitigation best-practices

Attachment across the lifespan: Therapy informing practice (Releasing Feb 25)

Dr Kevin Keith

Attachment across the lifespan: Therapy informing practice, practice informing therapy is a certification course designed to assist practitioners in navigating this immense terrain. This course provides a thorough foundation for engaging the expanding corpus of Attachment Theory and offer a strong focus on practical applications of theory and interventions in clinical practice.