Nov 23, 2020
Grad Programs Moving Online
Curt and Katie chat about the quick move to online learning when the pandemic hit. We talk about the challenges with virtual platforms – what has worked and what has not. We look at the decisions related to starting or continuing therapist education at this time. We also talk about the opportunities that have been gained and ideas for students and professors on how to more effectively approach online graduate programs.
It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.
In this episode we talk about:
- Graduate programs for therapists moving online during the pandemic
- The education one applied for is vastly different from what you’re getting right now
- The rapid shift to online education and lack of deliberate choices to shift how to teach
- Synchronous and asynchronous elements of education
- The requirement for faculty to learn and utilize technology effectively
- A lack of interaction due to polite students keeping their mics off
- The spoke and wheel conversations that impact how learning happens
- The lack of guidance on how to create truly effective online education
- Navigating time on screens
- Role plays translating into learning telehealth, rather than in-person therapy
- The lack of interaction with the material, more passive learning
- Developing clinical efficacy for telehealth
- The uncertainty of the efficacy of clinical work in the newer space of telehealth
- The impact on discussions social justice, racial and cultural identity, due to the ability to opt out of the conversation in online education
- The importance of figuring out how people learn and how it applies to the online space
- Should people delay or pause education?
- What the impacts on the workforce might be
- Opportunities within the online learning space, especially when the technology is well used
- Theoretical versus practical base
- The need to have more deliberate and direct conversations to create connections that may have happened organically
- The adjustments and planning that may improve the situation
- Different factors that impact each student’s and each professor’s ability to engage
- Looking at expectations, support, and needed infrastructure
- What students can do to better access education during this time
- Developing personal relationships with professors
- Putting together options to increase connection and interaction with peers
- Seeking career mentorship and synchronous conversations
- Moving from venting and commiserating to advocacy within the system
- The ability to make changes, be nimble, and put forward a collective voice
Our Generous Sponsors:
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GreenOak Accounting
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Resources mentioned:
We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below might be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!
Blog post: Online Therapy is Here to Stay
Relevant Episodes:
Building Hope for the Next Generation of Therapists
Connect with us!
Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group
Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2021
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Who we are:
Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com
Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com
A Quick Note:
Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.
Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.
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Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/