The Therapeutic Self: Presence, Countertransference, and the Inner Life of the Clinician

A yearlong intensive on the clinician’s use of self, relational attunement, and the intersection of psychology and embodiment in therapeutic practice.

Course Description

The Therapeutic Self is a yearlong exploration of the clinician as instrument: the living medium through which therapeutic connection, attunement, and transformation unfold. While much of psychotherapy training emphasizes theory and technique, this course focuses on the human being behind the interventions: the therapist’s perceptions, defenses, emotions, and embodied presence as essential sites of awareness and growth.

Drawing from psychodynamic, humanistic, and interpersonal traditions, learners will study countertransference as a vital compass, revealing hidden dimensions of both the client’s experience, and the therapist’s own. The course explores how unconscious processes, attachment patterns, and physiological regulation shape the therapist’s responsiveness in session, and how awareness of these dynamics can deepen both clinical precision and empathy.

Participants will also engage in intensive reflective practice, examining their internal landscapes, triggers, and blind spots with honesty and curiosity. Through rich theoretical presentations, supervision-style discussions, experiential exercises, and personal process work, students learn to use their own nervous systems, relational patterns, and emotional responses as sources of data and instruments of healing.

Major topics include:

  • The evolution of countertransference theory and its modern relational applications.

  • The therapist’s nervous system as a tool for regulation, attunement, and repair.

  • Shame, projection, and enactment in the therapeutic relationship.

  • Authenticity, authority, and boundaries in the therapist’s use of self.

  • The cultivation of reflective function, presence, and containment.

By year’s end, learners will have developed a mature and nuanced understanding of themselves as clinicians; able to navigate the interplay of empathy and differentiation, insight and embodiment, self-awareness and spontaneity.

The Nitty Gritty

Dates: TBD! We’re on a brief break, but will soon return! Sign up for our mailing list to be notified when all our registrations open!

Why you should take this course

This course is for clinicians who understand that the most powerful therapeutic tool they have is themselves. Whether you’re an early-career therapist seeking to ground your practice in authenticity, or a seasoned clinician looking to reawaken curiosity and depth, The Therapeutic Self offers a rare opportunity to study the inner life of therapy with both rigor and humanity.

You should consider this class if you want to:

  • Reconnect with your sense of presence and curiosity in the therapy room

  • Deepen your understanding of transference, countertransference, and relational enactments

  • Strengthen your capacity for attunement and self-regulation

  • Explore how your history, attachment patterns, and nervous system shape your therapeutic stance

  • Transform moments of reactivity, shame, or fatigue into insight and growth

  • Engage with a community of clinicians equally committed to reflection, authenticity, and professional evolution

The Therapeutic Self is not just a theoretical study, it’s an embodied practice of becoming the kind of therapist you most want to be: grounded, attuned, self-aware, and alive in the work.

Next Steps for Signing Up or Learning More

Enrollment in The Therapeutic Self begins with a brief connection process designed to ensure the course is the right fit for your professional goals and stage of development.

  1. Complete the Contact
    Fill out the inquiry form below with your professional background and learning goals

  2. Schedule a Call
    After submitting your form, you’ll be invited to schedule a short call with a member of our faculty. This conversation helps us get to know your background, answer questions, and ensure that the course’s depth and focus align with your intentions for learning.

  3. Confirm Enrollment
    Once accepted, you’ll receive a registration link, course calendar, course plan, and information about payment options and preparatory readings.

Note: Because of the reflective and experiential nature of this course, enrollment is intentionally limited to maintain a small-group learning environment. Early application is encouraged.

FAQs

Who is this Class For?

This course is designed for licensed and pre-licensed clinicians (including therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, and allied professionals) who are ready to engage deeply with their own internal process and the relational dimensions of clinical work.
It’s particularly well suited to those who are:

  • Seeking to strengthen their reflective capacity and emotional attunement.

  • Interested in countertransference and the therapist’s use of self.

  • Feeling professionally stagnant or disconnected and wanting to reengage meaningfully with the heart of the work.

  • Drawn to integrative, experiential learning rather than passive instruction.

How much of a time commitment is this?

The course includes 111 classroom hours. You can expect to spend two hours of outside-of-class time for each classroom our. We understand the realities of busy clinical life, and if you’re unable to complete the full workload, you’re welcome to audit the course - attending class sessions and participating in discussions without submitting papers or graded work. However, we still recommend keeping up with class readings. If you have questions about whether this works for you - reach out! We’re happy to talk through it with you!

Will this course count toward supervision or consultation hours?

This program focuses on theoretical, reflective, and experiential learning - it is not supervision in the regulatory sense.
While we often discuss case material as examples, and will talk about your personal process, these discussions are designed for conceptual exploration rather than formal case oversight. Please check with your licensing body if you are hoping to apply the hours toward supervision requirements.

How much does this course cost?

The full tuition for The Therapeutic Self is $2,000 USD for the yearlong intensive.

We recognize that clinicians come from a wide range of financial and professional contexts, and we want this training to remain accessible to those who are committed to the work. To that end, we offer a sliding-scale structure and a limited number of scholarships each year.

Our goal is simple: to make this program sustainable for our faculty while keeping it reachable for clinicians at different life and career stages. Some participants pay the full rate; others pay less based on income, professional setting, or life circumstances. If cost is a barrier, we encourage you to reach out — we’ll do our best to find a way to make it work.

Payment plans are also available. Most participants spread tuition across the program’s duration.

We believe that deep professional learning should never be out of reach due to financial constraints. If you’re drawn to the course, please fill out the contact form and we’ll be happy to talk through options, including scholarships and flexible payment schedules.

What is the class size?

Enrollment is intentionally limited to maintain intimacy and depth of learning.
We typically accept 12–15 participants per cohort to allow for meaningful dialogue, personal feedback, and individualized attention.

What happens after the course?

Graduates of The Therapeutic Self often describe the experience as career-changing - not just in their skillset, but in their relationship to the work itself.
You’ll receive a certificate of completion, CEU documentation, and (more importantly), a deepened capacity for presence, reflection, and attunement that will continue to shape your clinical practice for years to come.

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