Reflections on Goodbyes and New Beginnings
It is October, the month that heralds a change of seasons, and for me, a shift from endings to new beginnings. As the Academic Director of The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago, we have just completed the final in-person three-day residency of our yearlong certificate program. This marks the time to say goodbye to our graduates, a group of dedicated, licensed therapists who took a risk to become learners again.
Throughout this year of deep immersion into cutting-edge theory and case discussions, everyone was required to bring their own cases for review, which needless to say requires a great deal of exposure and vulnerability. During these weekly case consultations participants not only share their expertise, but they also reveal their struggles around particular clinical challenges. This kind of transparency requires a level of courage and an environment of safety for people to take those types of risks. When we are successful, invariably the result is an increase in closeness between group members.
We are now going into the eighth year of our program. At the end of this program year, as a way of bringing closure to our experience, we asked students – how has your time in this program made you a better therapist than you were one year ago?
As I and other faculty members listened to student responses, we were all filled with a sense of gratitude and awe. I watched the glow on their faces as they said things like,
“I feel a sense of permission to slow down and listen more carefully, rather than trying to fix a problem.”
“I feel a sense of lightness that comes from being more confident, almost like I have wings. I don’t feel that imposter syndrome anymore.”
“I may not always know what to say next, but I know enough to pause and trust that my client and I will figure things out together.”
“I don’t feel so alone in this work because I’ve had the support of this community in an environment of safety for a whole year. And I realize how important that continued support is moving forward in my career.”
“You all created such a sense of safety that it was OK to show our vulnerability as we struggled to learn new material. I was scared at the beginning, but I’m left feeling such gratitude.”
Hearing these words is enough to bring anyone to tears. As I looked out over that sea of therapists who were about to venture back into their clinical practices, I had an overwhelming sense of pride in our faculty, conviction in our training approach, and renewed hope that depth therapy had a chance to survive in spite of insurance company pressures for a quick fix. As faculty, we knew that the students’ feedback had affirmed that we had created something powerful together. Over the years we had held firm in our structure because we knew both from experience and student feedback, that one-shot continuing education programs don’t do much to advance a clinician’s levels of proficiency. In order for therapists to make a meaningful jump shift in their growth, they need enough time to experience deep immersion into training programs that give them enough repetition and practice to internalize and master something more comprehensive and complex than technique-driven approaches.
Although I often feel powerless to influence much of what’s going on in the world—the political divide in this country, the lack of urgency around climate change, the multiple, simultaneous wars around the globe—what we had created in our little corner of the world at Loyola University was not insignificant. It held weight, substance, and integrity. It was a model for growth in connection in a pretty disconnected world.
Sixteen individuals from all over the U.S. are taking their learning back into their communities. I began to visualize the ripple effect, almost like seeing a large wave forming in the middle of the ocean.
Now, this evening, we begin another class, another year. I look out into this new sea of faces and I think to myself, this might just be how the force of a great tsunami begins to build.
Learn more about The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago.
