Psychotherapy Notes - Page 3 of 36 - Advances in the mental health professions

Takeaways from the Therapy Reimagined Conference

October 31, 2018November 1, 2018 by Robin Andersen

If you weren’t able to attend the first-ever Therapy Reimagined Conference on October 5-6 in Culver City, CA, then I’m sorry to say you missed some incredible speakers. Their presentations covered a number of topics that are relevant to the modern therapist, including navigating the prelicensed years, engaging in advocacy, increasing efficacy with clients, becoming more business-saavy, avoiding burnout, practicing more authentically as a therapist, and so much more!

As I listened to the various speakers (and took my turn up on the stage at one point), I marveled at how each individual was unique yet similar in certain regards. It led me to wonder, “How did this speaker get to where they are professionally?” Although everyone’s story was different, I believe we can learn quite a bit from what they had in common.

Studying for counselor licensing exams

October 28, 2018October 29, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Matthew Henry / Burst / Used under license Licensing exams are a major milestone in the development of a professional counselor (specific license titles vary, but LPC, LPCC, and LMHC are common). While there are differences from state to state, most states use one or both of the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam and National Counselor Exam, and most states require that the exam be taken at the completion of at least two years of full-time, post-masters experience in supervised practice. As you approach completion of the experience necessary to take counselor licensing exams, how can you best prepare? Here are five things that can help:

Why I left full time academic work

October 21, 2018October 22, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

A little more than two years ago now, I left my position as an Associate Professor at Alliant International University in Los Angeles. Many people have asked me since then why I left full time academic work. The position was relatively well-paid, with good job security. I had good colleagues, many of whom are friends to this day. I had the closest thing to tenure that the university offered: A five-year rolling contract. And I was teaching and doing research, both of which I love.

I’ve gotten used to providing a diplomatic answer to that question. My wife and I were starting a family, and the time had come for me to make a change. That’s true, it’s just purposefully incomplete. Here’s the full story.

Shaming is OK

October 15, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

“Shame” is now a verb in therapist circles. It’s usually one we use pejoratively. We scold others for shaming, apparently with no sense of irony. We shame people for shaming other people.

As a noun, shame refers to a sense of sadness and embarrassment upon recognizing (or being told) that you’ve done something wrong. Cultures around the world understand the concept. We can safely say that experiencing shame is part of being human.

I’ve got beef with the Talking Therapy podcast guys

October 9, 2018October 10, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

A couple of years ago, I appeared on an episode of the Talking Therapy podcast. I love the show. RJ Thomas and John Webber are good guys and good hosts, and I’ve thought that since before they invited me on. Their show is rightly popular. They’ve even featured one of the world’s most prominent therapists: Dr. Susan Johnson.

Johnson developed Emotionally Focused Therapy, which I use in my own practice with distressed couples. As you can imagine, a lot of her interview focused on couples and couple therapy. Almost as an aside, early in the interview, Webber noted that half of US marriages end in divorce. That’s flat wrong.

So I went back on the show to yell at him about it.

Earn CE credit for reading Basics of California Law

October 8, 2018October 8, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Graduate programs around the state use Basics of California Law for LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs to teach their students. If you’re a grad student in California, and your program doesn’t use it, they should. It’s a good desk reference for clinicians as well, considering how often the law changes. If you’re licensed, you can now meet your license renewal requirement for CE in Law and Ethics by reading Basics.

Therapy Reimagined: A different kind of conference

September 30, 2018October 1, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

This Friday and Saturday, I will be presenting at the Therapy Reimagined conference in Los Angeles. It’s a different kind of conference from any I’ve spoken at before, and I can’t wait. You should be there.

Different by design

Academic and professional conferences tend to focus on research and clinical application. Those are obviously critically important for keeping your practice up to date. But those conferences don’t tend to talk broadly about what it means to work in mental health. In other words, most conferences are more about doing therapy, and less about being a therapist.

Cyber-stalk yourself

September 24, 2018September 26, 2018 by Emma Jaegle

When potential or current clients or employers search your name, what will they find? What impression do you leave? There’s one easy and absolutely necessary way to find out: Cyber-stalk yourself.

Even if you are still in grad school and not seeing clients in the near future, it is never too early to start caring about your professional reputation. This is not as simple as switching your social media accounts to private. When you search your name on Google or any other search engine, things from your past may come up that you may have forgotten about. And if those results show up for you, they’re like to show up for others, too. Like prospective clients. And potential employers.