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Continuing Education

The clinic is pleased to announce its 2024 continuing education program for community-based professionals. Description of each Institute and registration forms come after the calendar section.

Additional institutes/workshops will be posted as we determine availability.

EFT levels 1, 2, 3 and Couples will now be hosted through the Greenberg Institute of EFT. Please click here to see their offerings.

2024 Training Calendar**

DatesTypes of Training Institute
April 5, 2024 Using Motivational Interviewing and Deliberate Practice for Identifying & Managing Resistance (Videoconference Format)
May 9 & 10, 2024Cultivating Therapeutic Presence: Boosting Your Foundation for a Strong Alliance and Effective Therapy (Videoconference Format)
June 4-7, 2024Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (Videoconference Format)
July 23-25, 2024Emotion Focused Family Therapy Training (Videoconference Format)
October 22 to 25, 2024 EFT Complex Trauma (In Person)

Coming Soon!

ADOS Advanced 1 Day Workshop - Fall 2024

ADOS-2 - Winter 2025

To be notified of any of our upcoming trainings/workshops, please email yupc@yorku.ca with your email address.

** York University Psychology Clinic reserves the right to cancel any registration at its sole discretion, in which case a full refund will be provided.

Deliberate practice is a new emerging method for psychotherapy training that is based on the science of expertise. It involves repeated practice with expert feedback (and this is possible in a group setting). And the method of deliberate practice in this workshop is combined with the target of helping clinicians learn to accurately identify and then practice using MI to respond effectively to critical process markers, such as ambivalence and resistance. There is a new focus of training emerging that centers on learning to develop process skills for identifying and effectively responding to process markers that are empirically supported as predicting later outcomes (Westra & Di Bartolomeo, in press, American Psychologist). That is, most clinicians receive training in theoretical models but not training in process expertise or process sensitivity - recognizing process markers in real time that are capable of giving you feedback about how well the therapy is going. Such feedback in real time allows you to hone your skills and learn to adjust when it can make a difference in improving the process and therefore the client’s outcome. This is a one day virtual session that runs from 9:00am - 4:30pm EST.

Session Description

Fee: $300.00 CDN ($250 CDN for full-time graduate students and York faculty/staff, $225 for York University graduate students)

Trainer: Dr. Henny Westra

Registration Form Motivational Interviewing

Therapeutic presence (TP) and self-compassion (SC) are essential factors in effective therapeutic and clinical relationships. Therapeutic presence is a way of being that optimizes the doing and techniques of therapy. Growing research is demonstrating therapeutic presence as a common factor to a strong therapeutic alliance and outcome. Presence provides clients with a sense of safety, allowing them to be seen, heard, understood, and “feel felt,” while also strengthening the therapeutic relationship so they can engage in effective therapeutic work. TP invites therapists to balance presence and compassion within themselves and with clients, ensuring they remain centered and effective even in the face of difficult emotions. This type of relationship helps regulate clients' emotions and supports their movement towards emotional health and neurophysiological integration. Practicing TP also sustains clinicians' vitality, connection, and effectiveness.  Self-compassion is also a key resource for clinicians, allowing them to work through the challenges and barriers to being fully present and attuned. Research shows that SC is strongly associated with therapists’ emotional well-being and balance, and more fulfilling relationships. Together, therapeutic presence and self-compassion are powerful resources for counsellors to maintain emotional balance in the midst of challenging clinical work, to enjoy their work and their clients more fully, and to prevent caregiver fatigue and burn-out

In this training you will:

  • Explore an empirically validated model of therapeutic presence along with core presence practices
  • Discover the neurophysiological mechanisms of therapeutic presence
  • Learn practices and skills for attuning in the moment with clients
  • Practice self-compassion techniques to sustain emotional connection with clients and work through the barriers to presence
  • Apply presence and self-compassion skills for self-care and to prevent and alleviate burnout
  • Receive take home practices for clients, students, trainees and for yourself

May 9 & 10 - 9:00am - 12:30pm EST

Session Description

Fee: $300.00 CDN ($250 CDN for full-time graduate students and York faculty/staff, $225 for York University graduate students)

Trainer: Dr. Shari Geller

Registration Form Therapeutic Presence

The ADI-R is a semi-structured, standardized measure of communication, social interaction, play, and restricted and repetitive behaviours synonymous with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is widely considered a ‘gold standard’ measure for gathering important developmental and behavioural information for assessment and diagnosis of ASD. Developed by some of the foremost researchers and clinicians, the ADI-R provides a highly accurate evaluation of current and past behaviour in individuals from 12 months of age to adulthood, from individuals who are nonverbal to individuals who are verbally fluent. By completing the standardized interview with an informed caregiver, you can obtain information that informs diagnosis, treatment planning, and educational placement.

Through completion of this introductory course, you will:

  • Learn how to administer the semi-structured clinical interview.
  • Learn how to code the specific items within the measure.
  • Observe administration and coding of the measure.
  • Obtain experience with administration that will support your future use of measure as you work towards independent clinical use.
  • Learn the differences between clinical and research use of the ADI-R.

Session Description

Fee: $999.00 CDN ($899 CDN for full-time graduate students and York faculty/staff)

Trainer: Dr. Adam McCrimmon

Registration Form ADI-R

The essence of EFFT is to afford caregivers a role in supporting their loved one’s well-being, treatment and/or recovery, regardless of their age, level of motivation or involvement in formal treatment themselves. The clinician’s role is to support parents and caregivers to increase their involvement in three domains including: 1. behavior coaching, 2. emotion coaching and in the use of 3. therapeutic apologies, if relevant. A fourth module involves supporting caregivers to identify, understand, and transform “emotion blocks” that can lead to therapy-interfering attitudes or behaviors in caregivers. A similar module will be introduced to identify and transform clinician blocks.

Dr. Stillar will introduce EFFT theory and skills, engaging participants using didactic and experiential learning, including skills and techniques that can be integrated into existing treatment models for those clients & families who do not respond to standard care. Videos will also be shared for demonstration purposes.

Session Description

Fee: $900.00 CDN

Trainer: Dr. Amanda Stillar

Registration Form EFFT

This four-day training is geared toward practicing professionals with a basic knowledge of Emotion-Focused Therapy (e.g., EFT Level One). It includes material on the nature of complex trauma and the central role of narrative and emotional processes in the development of disturbance, the EFTT treatment model and how EFTT addresses central features of disturbance. Training also includes numerous videotaped examples illustrating EFTT treatment principles, and supervised peer-skills practice. Practice will focus on the general principles of EFT specifically tailored to the needs of this client group over the phases of EFTT. This includes training in interventions for cultivating and maintaining a safe and empathic therapeutic relationship; for evoking and processing trauma feelings and memories; for reducing fear, avoidance, and shame; for resolving attachment injuries with specific perpetrators through expressions of anger and sadness; and alternatives to chair-work for clients who are unable or unwilling to engage in these evocative procedures. This four-day training will provide training and guided practice to develop and enhance participants’ mastery in utilizing the experiential skills of the Emotion-Focused approach to therapy. The purpose is to:

  1. Develop core and advanced skills and techniques to build self-efficacy with recognizing, exploring, and utilizing emotion, emotion markers, and emotional processes.
  2. Develop and expand emotion-focused chair skills to enhance motivation-to-change and facilitate transformation.

Skills will be broken down into micro-skills to facilitate learning and mastery. This training places a strong emphasis on experiential learning and will be highly focused on practice change at all levels of experience.

Trainer: Dr. Sandra Paivio

Fee: $1500.00 CDN

Registration form for EFTT

When cancellations are made more than 14 days prior to the workshop date, you have a choice: receive a refund (less $50.00 administration charge) or a credit for the full amount (less $20.00) to any future York University Psychology Clinic (YUPC) workshop.

If cancellation is received fewer than 14 days prior to the workshop date you will receive a credit (less $50.00 administration charge) to any future YUPC workshop.

We regret that a refund/credit cannot be offered if your cancellation is not received at least one full business day prior to the day of the workshop. Alternatively, a colleague may attend in your place at no extra cost. Please notify us in advance of the name of the person attending.

The 3 & 4 day Institutes requires a $250.00 non-refundable deposit. These non-refundable deposits are not transferable unless we are able to fill the vacancy created by the change in plans. Please note, that if registration payment is transferred it is only transferable once.

When cancellations are made 28 days prior to the workshop date, you have a choice: receive a refund (less the $250.00 non-refundable deposit)or a credit towards a future Institute.

We regret that a refund/credit cannot be offered if your cancellation is received with fewer than 28 days notice prior to the workshop date.