AEDP™ Training Levels & Guidelines for AEDP Therapist Certification


AEDP TRAINING LEVELS DEFINED

Level 1: completed AEDP Immersion

Level 2: completed AEDP Immersion and Essential Skills course (5 modules)**

Level 3: completed AEDP Immersion and Essential Skills course and either option A or option B below:

  • Option A): AEDP Advanced Skills course (5 modules) and one Supervision Option from the list below
  • Option B) Two Supervision Options from the list below (or one Supervision Option doubled). 

Supervision Options:

  • Core Training: 1 yr / 5 modules;  you are required to present video for a minimum of five hours of supervision
  • 30 hours* Group Supervision:  you are required to present video for a minimum of five hours of supervision
  • 15 hours* Individual Supervision:  you are required to present video for a minimum of five hours of supervision

* If you would like to combine individual and group supervision hours, contact Carolyn Fitzgerald, AEDP Certification Coordinator, at carolyn.f@aedpinstitute.org 

* If a Faculty Member or other Certified Supervisor is present during supervision by a Supervisor in Training, the hours count towards AEDP Certification. Otherwise, the hours do not count towards certification until and unless the Supervisor in Training becomes certified, at which time the supervision hours are retroactively counted.

To explore exceptions to the above AEDP Level requirements and for therapists who work in agency settings or other settings where video is prohibited, contact Carolyn. 

** Starting supervision while taking Essential Skills is recommended.


THERAPIST GUIDELINES FOR AEDP CERTIFICATION

Upon attaining AEDP Level 3, consult with your AEDP Certified Supervisor about your readiness to start the certification process. 

Part l. Certification Process and Package Requirements
Part ll. Guidelines for Selection of Clinical Video Recordings
Part lll Guidelines and Format for Microanalysis
Part IV. Review Process by AEDP Faculty and Certified Supervisor

Part I. Certification Process and Package Requirements

Certification Process Requirements:

  1. You are a Level 3 AEDP Therapist. 
  2. You have been in supervision with at least 2 different AEDP Certified Supervisors or Faculty.
  3. You now complete a minimum of 10 hours of individual supervision preparing your Certification Package with a ‘Certification Supervisor;’ this can be one of the AEDP supervisors you have already worked with or you may choose someone new.
  4. You have a letter of recommendation from 1 or more supervisors, including 1 from your Certification Supervisor who must affirm that your package is complete and ready to be reviewed; recommendation letter(s) to be emailed to Carolyn.f@aedpinstitute.org.
  5. You submit your Certification Package!

Certification Package Requirements:

  1. A copy of your state license -or the local equivalent to ‘state license’ in your region/country
  2. A Completed AEDP Level form- email Carolyn for the form.
  3. Two video recordings of two different clinical sessions (see ‘selection of videos’ in Part II).
  4. Transcripts, in English, of each of the two video recordings.
  5. A microanalysis of each video recording, annotating the AEDP principles and interventions applied in the psychotherapy sessions (see format for microanalysis in part III).
  6. Descriptive paragraphs of each of the two clients whose video recordings are included and their treatment processes.

Exceptions:

The AEDP Institute has a deep commitment to supporting members of our community who can demonstrate their readiness to be AEDP Certified but may have challenges meeting particular certification process or package requirements. To learn about possible exceptions, please reach out to Carolyn Fitzgerald, AEDP Certification Coordinator, at carolyn.f@aedpinstitute.org

Part ll. Guidelines for Selection of Clinical Video Recordings

The submission of two examples of clinical work from two different patients demonstrating the integration of AEDP theory with your clinical practice is a critical step in the AEDP certification process. For therapists who work in agency settings or other settings where video is prohibited, please contact Carolyn: carolyn.f@aedpinstitute.org 

Your Video Recordings:  

When clinical session videos are in a language other than English make sure transcripts ​are not only in English but also include timestamps so reviewers can follow the transcript while watching the tapes. 

Two clinical session recordings from two different clients 
– Each session video is 25-40 minutes in length with no more than 2 edits. 
– Each video represents an opportunity for you to demonstrate your competency in applying clinical skills using AEDP interventions. 

  1. The first clinical sample shows work with a new patient; it is from an early session (session 1 to 4).
  2. The second clinical sample shows work from either the middle or ending phase of an AEDP treatment with a different patient.

These 2 clinical examples show the therapist guiding the client through all 4 states of the AEDP transformational process: e.g., in tape 1, movement from state 1 to state 2; and, in tape 2, movement from state 3 to state 4.

– Reminder: to protect yourself and your clients, be sure that you have written consent for sharing all videos with supervisors.

Part III. Guidelines and Format for Microanalysis

In your Certification Package you will include microanalysis of the two clinical session video recordings you have submitted. The goals of microanalysis are both to provide reviewers with theoretical support for the specific intervention strategies demonstrated in your clinical work, and to provide you with a successful and satisfying learning experience that affirms and enhances your self-reflection.

  1. Include at the beginning of each case a paragraph or two outlining the pertinent psychosocial history and any other information including early clinical observations/ assessments, to orient reviewers to the client and treatment so far. 
  2. Accompany your videotapes with microanalysis annotations that describe how you apply AEDP theory to your corresponding interventions.

Some narrative may be included in the microanalysis as you explicate the process of intervening and integrating theory into your work.

In your annotations, demonstrate a capacity for self-supervision; this may include detailing self-awareness, self-regulation and interventions you would have liked to have made / not made (i.e. please comment on interventions you, in retrospect, wish you had made that might have been a better track to follow.)

Format of the microanalysis can be done in one of two ways:

Format 1): Therapist and patient verbal communications are in regular print. Non-verbal communication/body language is in italics and in parenthesis. Therapist comments on the process, the theory, the interventions are [in bold in brackets.] Below is an example:

Th: If instead of doing the “so what” with a joke, or “that’s life,” [urging patient to relinquish defense]

Pt: Uh huh

Th: If you let yourself stay with this feeling (slowing down, sobering ), the sense of emptiness, this inner sense of (deep sigh, grave tone of voice )… having to work so hard to keep something away. [affective resonance]

Pt: Yeah… (also slowing down and sobering ) it’s tiring. [deepening experience]

Th: It’s very exhausting (amplified exhausted intonation )… Mmmmmm…. [amplifying affective experience] I mean right now it seems to me like we’re sort of approaching this from the outside because it’s a scary place to be [empathic identification of fear]. Pt: Yeah, it is…mmm… I don’t know… Sometimes I wonder, is this it? Is this what life is about? It feels empty… (pained tone ) [deepening of despair]

Or…….

Format 2): Use a grid in which you put the content on the left side and the commentary about the interventions, theory and process on the right side.

See example below (you may want to look at the transcripts in the AEDP 2.0 Book for other examples):

Part IV. Review Process by AEDP Faculty and Certified Supervisor

  1. The review process will begin once the Certification Supervisor emails their letter of recommendation to Carolyn Fitzgerald at Carolyn.f@aedpinstitute.org. This letter may include the candidate’s clinical journey as well as the candidate’s and the clients’ developmental journeys; for example: ‘the client had moved significantly emotionally, even if a large wave of emotion is not present.’
  2. Carolyn will provide you with a link to a HIPAA compliant Dropbox folder which you will use to upload all the contents of your certification package.
  • Two reviewers will be confirmed, one faculty member and one certified supervisor if possible, and the review process will begin. This process can take up to 10 weeks.
  • There is a $300 fee for certification, you will be sent an invoice once your reviewers are confirmed (for scholarship availability please reach out to Carolyn).

download the certification guidelines pdf here

download the reviewer worksheet here

Click to learn more about Supervision