Join the AEDP® Experiential Assistant Learning Community
Become an Experiential Assistant and Deepen Your AEDP Practice
Shape the future of transformative therapy while growing your own AEDP skills.
If you’ve taken Immersion—or especially Essential Skills—you know how vital Experiential Assistants (EAs) are to AEDP’s unique learning experience. Assisting is not only transformative for participants but also for the EAs themselves, offering a powerful way to refine and deepen AEDP skills.
We invite Essential Skills graduates who have begun supervision to join the Experiential Assistant Learning Community (EALC). Before assisting—always in an Immersion course—you’ll receive training through live sessions and on-demand resources. Afterward, you may be invited to assist in Essential Skills.
Why Become an EA?
- Deepen Your AEDP Skills – Assistants attend courses free of charge, gaining new insights as they engage with faculty and clinical videos.
- Join a Supportive Community – Connect with fellow Assistants and Lead Assistants in daily debriefs.
- Advance Your Certification – Assisting sharpens your ability to articulate AEDP concepts, boosting confidence and expertise.
- Access Training & Practice – Participate in ongoing learning and expand your professional network.
Each course you assist brings added benefits, further enriching your AEDP journey.
Hallmarks of being an assistant
Strengthen your mastery of AEDP techniques through hands-on experience and direct mentorship from Lead Assistants and faculty. Build meaningful professional connections within the AEDP community while contributing to the growth of fellow therapists. Cultivate teaching skills by creating supportive learning environments that deepen your own clinical expertise. Gain exposure to diverse faculty teaching styles and approaches, expanding and enriching your therapeutic toolkit.
Experiential Assistant FAQs
To qualify, you must be a licensed Mental Health Professional legally practicing in your state, province, or country, and demonstrate a commitment to the AEDP Institute community and AEDP as a therapeutic approach.
To Assist in Immersion
You must have completed AEDP Immersion and Essential Skills (ES1). You should have some AEDP Supervision or some Advanced Skills Modules
Alternatively, if you have a recommendation from a Supervisor, Faculty member, or Experiential Assistant in your ES1 experiential group, let us know—you may qualify to assist directly.
To Assist in Essential Skills (ES1) Assistant
Meet all Immersion Assistant requirements.
Additionally, you must have assisted in AEDP Immersion.
To Assist in Advanced Skills (ASM) Assistant
Meet all ES1 Assistant requirements.
Additionally, you must have assisted in 10 ES1 modules and received a recommendation from your supervisor.
Not sure if you meet the criteria or want to explore assisting before committing? Consider shadowing an assistant at an upcoming Immersion. For more information, email Penny Gallagly at Penny.G@aedpinstitute.org
All EALC MEMBERS: EAs must Assist at least once per year – at least 1 Immersion or at least 1 Skills module every 12 months – to retain their EALC membership
- free EA 101 training, plus
- free quarterly Experiential Assistant Practice and Community Building sessions, plus
- special EALC discussion email group
IMMERSION ASSISTANTS: After assisting at one Immersion, you will receive all of the above on an ongoing basis, plus
+ Plus 1 free year of AEDP Institute Membership including a professional directory listing, membership in the clinical discussion Listserv, free access to Transformance Talks webinars and discounts on AEDP Courses, Seminars and On Demand trainings.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS ASSISTANTS (1 – 4 modules): After assisting in 1 – 4 Essential Skills, you will receive whatever you are eligible for above, plus
+ Plus 1 free On Demand seminar per module assisted (click here to view)
To claim your free on demand seminar(s), email admin@aedpinstitute.org with your choices.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS ASSISTANTS – all 5 modules of the same course: After assisting in all 5 modules of the same Essential Skills course, you will receive whatever you are eligible for above, plus
+ Plus free participation in 1 Institute-sponsored live online seminar (upon request)
To claim your benefits and select a seminar, email admin@aedpinstitute.org with your choice.
ADVANCED SKILLS ASSISTANTS: After assisting in 3+ Advanced Skills Courses you will receive whatever you are eligible for above plus
+ Plus One free ASM course (click here to view available modules)
To claim your benefits, email admin@aedpinstitute.org with your choices.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS + ADVANCED SKILLS (COMBINATION) ASSISTANTS: After assisting in 10 ES Modules or 1 full ES1 + 5 Advanced Skills Modules, you will receive whatever you are eligible for above plus
+ Plus Credit toward AEDP Certification
To claim your benefits, email admin@aedpinstitute.org with your choices.
If you would like to participate in the EALC program you must complete an application (see button below).
Note, for course invitations, the Institute prioritizes a) diversity of all kinds – including AEDP level, and b) EAs who haven’t assisted recently.
Only those who have submitted a completed online application to the Institute can be considered for EA positions. Once received the Institute will notify applicants of acceptance / reasons for not being accepted
The Institute will let applicants know which courses: IMM and/or ES1 and/or ES2 for which they are currently eligible to Assist.
Each new EALC member will be added to a special EA only discussion group where members can discuss all things EA related and where the Institute can easily communicate with EAs as a group (under construction, stay tuned!)
Each EALC member will be added to the list of people to be invited to assist in upcoming courses.
EAs must accept at least 1 offer per year to assist: at least 1 Immersion or at least 1 Skills module every 12 months to be in the program
Ready to make a difference?
Join our community of dedicated AEDP practitioners and shape the future of transformative therapy.
Attend course specific EA meetings (usually scheduled just before, during, or after the training, during lunch, or both).
Follow the ethical guidelines / ethos of AEDP Institute during the training as well as during out of training contact with students.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries and communication channels and support the curriculum and approach of the training.
Develop a safe, regulated, supportive environment that will facilitate students’ learning, track interpersonal and group interactions.
Abide by AEDP’s Institute’s Dual Relationship Policy