Join the AEDP® Experiential Assistant Learning Community
Become an EA: Grow Your AEDP® Skills While Shaping the Future of Transformative Therapy
As an Experiential Assistant (EA), you’ll strengthen your AEDP® skills through hands-on experience, mentorship, and exposure to diverse teaching styles. Assisting not only supports the learning of others—it’s a powerful way to expand your toolkit, build meaningful connections, and sharpen your clinical and teaching expertise.
- Deepen Your AEDP® Skills – Attend courses free of charge and gain new insights through faculty guidance and clinical video review.
- Join a Supportive Community – Connect with fellow Assistants and Lead Assistants in daily debriefs.
- Advance Toward Certification – Strengthen your ability to articulate AEDP concepts, building confidence and expertise.
- Access Ongoing Training – Continue growing while expanding your professional network.
If you’ve completed Immersion—or especially Essential Skills—you already know how essential EAs are to AEDP’s unique learning environment. The experience is transformative for participants and for EAs themselves. We invite Essential Skills graduates who have begun supervision to join the Experiential Assistant Learning Community (EALC). Before assisting—always beginning with an Immersion—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?
Each course you assist enriches your AEDP journey—deepening your skills, broadening your community, and helping shape the next generation of AEDP therapists.
Our AEDP Experiential Assistants
Click here to see a list of our Experiential Assistants
EALC Overview
To become part of the Experiential Assistant Learning Community (EALC), you must be a licensed Mental Health Professional, legally practicing in your state, province, or country, and demonstrate a commitment to both AEDP and the AEDP Institute community.
To Assist in Immersion
- Completion of AEDP Immersion and Essential Skills (ES1) required.
- Some AEDP Supervision or Advanced Skills Module (ASM) experience preferred.
- Alternatively, a recommendation from a Supervisor, Faculty member, or an Experiential Assistant from your ES1 experiential group may qualify you to assist directly.
To Assist in Essential Skills (ES1)
- Meet all Immersion Assistant requirements.
- Must have previously assisted in an AEDP Immersion course.
To Assist in Advanced Skills (ASM)
- Meet all ES1 Assistant requirements.
- Must have assisted in 10 ES1 modules.
- Must receive a recommendation from your supervisor.
💡 Not sure if you qualify—or want to explore assisting before fully committing?
You’re welcome to shadow an Assistant at an upcoming Immersion. For more information, reach out to Penny Gallagly.
Membership Requirements
- Active Participation: Assist at least once per year (one Immersion course or one Skills module every 12 months) to maintain active EALC membership.
- Training: All members receive EALC 101 training.
Member Benefits
- Exclusive Access to a dedicated EALC discussion email group.
- Free Quarterly EA Practice & Community Sessions
2026 Schedule | All Trainings are Fridays, 12:00–2:00 PM EST
- January 16: Dr. Allison Brownlee — Topic TBD
- March 20: H. Jacquie Perman, Ph.D. — Slowing Down, Co-regulating Anxiety/Fears
- June 12: Simone Levey — Topic TBD
- July 10: Danny Yeung — Slowing Down, Co-regulating Anxiety/Fears
- October 16: Dale Trimble — Shame
Additional Benefits by Level
Immersion Assistants– All the above, plus:
1 free year of AEDP Institute Membership, including all member benefits, including a premium Directory listing, access to the AEDP Clinical
Listserv, Free access to Transformance Talks and Clinicians Corner
Essential Skills (ES) Assistants: All the above, plus:
After all 5 modules of the same course: 1 free live online seminar ($250 value or course credit)
After 4 ES modules: +1 free On Demand seminar per module assisted
(Email Marilia to claim your benefits)
To participate in the EALC program, you must complete an online application (see button below). Only applicants with a completed application will be considered for EA positions, and you will be notified of acceptance or reasons for non-acceptance. Accepted applicants will be informed of which courses they are eligible to assist—Immersion, ES1, and/or ES2. New EALC members are added to a special EA-only discussion group for communication and collaboration (coming soon) and will be included in the list of EAs invited to assist in upcoming courses. To remain in the program, EAs must accept at least one offer per year, either 1 Immersion or 1 Skills module every 12 months.
Attend course-specific EA meetings, typically scheduled before, during, or after training sessions, sometimes over lunch. Uphold the ethical guidelines and ethos of the AEDP® Institute both during training and in any contact with students outside of class. Maintain professional boundaries and communication while supporting the curriculum and approach of the training. Assist in creating a safe, regulated, and supportive environment that fosters student learning and monitors group and interpersonal dynamics. Always adhere to the AEDP® Institute’s Dual Relationship Policy.
News & Spotlights
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AEDP Institute Now Approved by ASWB!
We’re pleased to announce that AEDP Institute has been approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Social workers can again earn
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New Volume: Journal Transformance
We’re delighted to announce the release of Transformance Journal, Volume 14, featuring powerful and deeply moving explorations of AEDP’s global reach and cultural resonance. This issue highlights how AEDP is being lived, practiced, and integrated across diverse contexts around the world — from Brazil to Sweden, Korea, China, and beyond.
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Julia Jalalat is now a certified AEDP Therapist!!!
I had the good fortune of being Julia’s Certification supervisor working closely with her on the transcriptions of her work with her clients. Our discussions were lively and informative and educative for me as well as for Julia. Her ability to invite me fully into the sessions and feel the work with her was very…