Module I:
Client-Centered Talk Therapy
Course description
Foundation course offered in the year I and year II of IHC Training Program
Time commitment
Students meet one Friday evening per month for 10 months for a total of 80 hours
Course Overview
Client-centered talk therapy is the foundational scaffolding upon which the somatic psychotherapy modalities of Modules II and III are built. In this course, students are oriented to the theories, core concepts, principles and techniques for clinical work through required readings, written assignments, and in-class instruction. Students also take an active role in experiential and process-based learning activities. These activities are carefully designed to demonstrate concepts and theories so students can more easily integrate the skills necessary to support professional development of competencies as a therapist.
Components of the Training and Learning activities
Learning Activity: In Class Therapy Sessions
Instructor Lead
In-class therapy sessions are initially instructor lead with instructors assuming the role of therapist. They conduct a live in-class session with one of the student trainees. In these sessions, students witness effective client-centered therapy practices. At the end of each session, students are invited to voice their observations, and ask questions about the material and the techniques used. Class sizes are small, maximum 10 students, to ensure each student is able to contribute to the in-depth discussions following each therapy session.
Students are trained to:
identify the client issues presented
evaluate the direction the session took
discuss the applied interventions and techniques used by the therapist.
Instructors will use it as a teaching tool to:
discuss presenting issues
highlight features of the character structure that arose in the session to further develop awareness around client material
offer potential future therapeutic interventions
This training exemplifies the core principles of client centered talk therapy, highlighting communication styles and relational dynamics required to form a professional and effective therapeutic alliance.
Students will be taught through witnessing and participation:
How to open a first session, then how to open subsequent sessions
Methods used to form an alliance, clarify, support, and deepen the session material
Establishment of supportive therapeutic boundaries around the therapist’s role with the client
The importance of identifying transference and counter-transference
Confidentiality,
Informed consent,
Client history intake
Identifying client presenting issues, then underlying issues
Developing a treatment plan in partnership with the client, that is reviewed periodically
Closing procedures, regular sessions, and ending session(s)
Students take turns participating as clients and gain perspective of both therapeutic roles and any inherent power dynamics present in therapeutic work. This experience helps integrate students’ understanding of the importance of professional relational dynamics and the upholding of practice ethics.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Create a professional framework based upon established psychotherapeutic theories.
Integrate knowledge of human and cultural diversity in relation to psychotherapy practice.
Use effective professional verbal and non-verbal communication.
Understand and integrate legal and professional code of ethics.
Understand and recognize the dynamics of Transference and Counter-Transference
Learning Activity: In class Therapy Sessions
Student Lead
Once the instructor feels the class has grasped the core concepts, procedures and effective application of client-centered talk therapy, students will assume the therapist role and begin practicing with fellow classmates. These sessions are videotaped, and given to the student therapist for later self-review, deepening the understanding of self within the therapy process, strengthening entry level skills for future independent work. Students are expected to keep these videotapes in a safe place where confidentiality is ensured. As previously demonstrated by instructors, students will be expected to apply typical procedures to each session including:
Openings
Describing methodology used
Confidentiality
Seeking informed consent
Establishing professional boundaries
Taking client history
Identifying presenting issues, and uncovering any underlying issues
Developing a treatment plan in partnership with the client
Closing sessions
The instructor supervises throughout the session, and intervenes when necessary to ensure the therapist is attuned to the client. Student observers witness the therapeutic process and will review the session afterward in group supervision where they provide feedback, highlighting when the therapist was successful, where difficulties arose, and areas that require conscious attention to deepen or improve the therapeutic experience. The debriefing will support integration of the elements of the therapeutic process. Students will be directed to review their videotape, and appropriate reading materials relevant to the issues that arose will be recommended.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Integrate the theories of human psychological functioning and development.
Work within a framework based upon an established psychotherapy theories.
Identify Transference and Counter-Transference, and their role in the therapy session
Integrate awareness of self in professional role and take any corrective measures required
Integrate knowledge of human and cultural diversity as it arises in the therapy room.
Maintain professional boundaries
Establish and maintain a therapeutic alliance.
Apply safe and effective use of self.
Use appropriate and clear communication.
Design a treatment plan in partnership with the client
Comply with legal and CRPO code of ethics.
Know when ethical issues arise and where to access support in taking action.
Identify when and how to refer clients appropriately.
Conduct an effective closure process to end a course of therapy appropriately.
Learning Activity: In Class Supervision
The student therapist is asked to begin supervision sessions by reflecting on his or her own experience of the work. This is an opportunity to share their observations of the therapeutic process and any aspects they found to be significant, challenging or note-worthy of discussion.
The self-reflection supports the development of a lifelong self-awareness while in sessions. It facilitates the therapist’s ability to clearly describe what happened in the session, further integrating the theory and concepts from the required texts, and is a useful skill for record keeping and documenting client work afterwards.
This is a time to highlight what the therapist noticed in the client, the presented issues, observable character structures, and the chosen direction for the session. It provides an opportunity for the student therapist and the class to gauge the accuracy of the experience and understanding of the client’s issues.
Discussion of character structure defenses or relational dynamics present in the session helps facilitate deeper awareness of subconscious material. Instructors will discuss the therapeutic process and point out what worked and any areas of difficulty, offering suggestions for possible ways to work through, or other possible directions the work could have gone. Issues of transference and counter-transference are discussed in detail in order to ensure that the work is truly client-centered.
Supervision also helps highlight any student therapist blind spots, projections, personal biases that may skew the session, and helps develop the self-awareness required for maintaining professionalism, and highlight any personal issues the student therapist needs to process with their personal therapist.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Integrate the theories of human psychological functioning and development.
Work within a framework based upon established psychotherapeutic theories.
Integrate awareness of self through exploration of transference and counter-transference.
Integrate knowledge and acceptance of human and cultural diversity in relation to psychotherapy practice.
Apply safe and effective use of self in the therapeutic relationship, including personal therapy to process any counter-transference that arises.
Use effective psychotherapeutic verbal and non-verbal communication.
Comply with legal and CRPO code of ethics.
Identify when a question of ethics arises that needs addressing
Obtain clinical supervision & consultation when necessary
Learning Activity: Group Exercises
These exercises are designed to develop the essential skills needed to become an effective client-centered therapist. These skills include verbal and non-verbal communications that effectively convey empathy, compassion, authenticity and respect. Developing deeper understanding of an individual’s unique and diverse experiences opens an essential trust that bridges any cultural differences as well as affirming the client’s current psychological state. Group exercises focus on client attunement, active listening, reflecting upon client’s experiences, confirming clear understanding of client’s emotional state through mirroring, and responding appropriately.
Students learn how to prepare the groundwork with the above skills so they can establish the trust required to guide clients towards deeper self-connection and awareness. This work encourages students to convey genuine curiosity and openness toward the client, taking a non-judgmental stance, thereby building a strong therapeutic alliance. Exercises are designed to build and reinforce students’ ability to encourage clients’ exploration of deep emotions and freedom of expression through establishing appropriate boundaries and creating a safe and supportive therapeutic container.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Integrate theories of human psychological functioning, development, and character structures
Work within a framework based upon established psychotherapeutic theories.
Integrate awareness of self within the professional role through exploration of transference and counter-transference
Integrate knowledge and non-judgmental acceptance of human and cultural diversity.
Use effective and appropriate communication to support the client emotional state
Establish a strong therapeutic alliance
Learning Activity: In class discussion of methodology and literature.
The course is based on an adult learning model, and as such, students are expected to read independently and attend class prepared to discuss the theory and principles of the integrated methods taught in the three modules, based on the texts and journals on the required reading list. (See attached, Appendix I). Discussions focus on the intersection of different theories of therapeutic work including contributions to the field by a number of respected experts and clinicians in the field of client-centered therapy, and the somatic therapies of bioenergetics theory and energy psychology.
Material covers:
The anatomy of an emotion, how to validate, explore, support and help move the client through to release
Creating safety with appropriate boundaries
Use of clear, concise and empathetic language.
Building the therapeutic alliance based on respect, compassion, trust, openness and reliability.
Practice based on CRPO code of ethics
Use of verbal and non-verbal communication to convey compassion and a genuine interest and curiosity of the client’s perspective.
Encouraging the client's sense of agency in sessions and their position of control within the client-centered model, working with power dynamics inherent in therapy.
Working with diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds and understanding differences in order to practice mindfully and respectfully
In-class discussions and reading materials showcase the core belief that clients are the expert on their own experiences and with the guidance and expertise of therapists they can discover and uncover the path to their own healing.
Understanding client's goals, strengths and deficits.
Building internal resources and supporting clients' needs required to progress to a positive therapeutic outcome through the partnered development of a treatment plan
Seeking supervision when needed.
Knowing the limits of this work and when referral to outside experts such as psychiatrists for diagnosis or medication is required and creating an appropriate circle of care to ensure that safety and wellbeing are at the forefront of this work.
Accurate note taking, ethics around privacy and confidentiality and professional responsibilities as it applies to the scope of this work.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Integrate theories of human psychological functioning and development.
Integrate knowledge of comparative psychotherapy relevant to the client-centered practice.
Integrate knowledge of human and cultural diversity relevant to psychotherapy practice.
Access to a range of relevant theories and philosophies within professional literature.
Access and study of relevant research findings to inform clinical practice.
Course requirements
Attendance in Practicum work:
The IHC training is highly experiential, based on the theory that we learn by doing and practicing. Therefore, students are required to attend regular practice therapy sessions. For this exercise, they meet in pairs to conduct a session in the role as therapist and then with a different student to participate in sessions as a client. These sessions are considered to be real sessions, and the ethics around privacy, confidentiality, note taking, and treatment plans are expected to be upheld instilling safe professional habits for therapy from the very beginning. The difference to a paid session with an outside client is student clients are encouraged to give feedback on the session to the therapist immediately following the work and highlight areas that were positive and therapeutic, as well times where the student therapist was not attuned to the client.
Experiencing both roles helps students integrate awareness around therapeutic process and offers a more insightful and mindful approach to practicing therapy. Practicum partners change three times per year to allow sufficient clinical time to deepen the work and practice procedures such as openings and closings. With permission from the student client, student therapists seek supervision for therapeutic work within the classroom setting so all trainees benefit from the learning. Any sensitive material that the student client does not want revealed to the class will be taken up by the student therapist in a private supervision with a trainer in order to maintain confidentiality, and ensure the student therapist is receiving solid support.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Integrate theories of human psychological functioning and character development
Uphold the ethics around confidentiality, privacy, consent, note-taking and treatment plans
Integrate awareness of self in relation to professional role through candid client feedback
Integrate knowledge of human and cultural diversity in relation to psychotherapy practice.
Engage in psychotherapy with clients and maintain professional boundaries.
Establish a therapeutic alliance, and form a partnership for a treatment plan
Apply safe and effective use of self in the therapeutic relationship.
Conduct an effective closure process to end a course of therapy appropriately.
Attendance in Personal Psychotherapy:
Students must seek regular personal therapy with a registered Psychotherapist. Working with a graduate from IHC is strongly encouraged to help students further integrate the teachings and modalities.
Learning outcomes and acquired competencies:
Focuses a therapeutic lens on personal barriers, neuroses, beliefs, and judgments that can adversely colour the therapeutic effect when working with clients
Maintain self-care and level of health necessary for responsible therapy as a practice of safe and effective use of self.