Now you can help your students walk into their first session with confidence! They'll hear from new therapists what it's like to begin clinical work, which will answer troublesome questions, anxieties and provide for fruitful group discussion.

Students training to be therapists often don't know what to expect going into their first sessions with clients. This can ignite a quickly growing list of fears inside their heads: What if my client doesn't like me? What if I come off as inexperienced? What if I don't know what to say? Likewise, seasoned therapists all remember the first time they met with a client - the anxiety and self-doubt were palpable.

In this video, you'll hear from several therapists that have just made it through their first internships. Specifically, you'll learn about:

*How it felt to meet with a client for the first time: what they were worried about before the session, what it was like in the room, and how it felt afterwards
*What was particularly helpful during their first internship
*What challenges they faced and how they overcame them
*How they developed their clinical confidence
*What advice they received that was most helpful during this challenging year in their career
*And how it feels now to be a therapist compared to when they first began

With English Subtitles for hearing-impaired viewers.

REVIEWS

"This is an engaging, professionally-done video, giving practical and experience-near advice for beginning therapists-in-training. It demystifies the ordinary fears, exhilarations, and challenges as one begins to practice psychotherapy in trainee and internship settings. It is most appropriate for students in graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology, and includes a helpful Instructor's Manual to orient classroom discussion."
Kenneth Bradford, PhD - Adjunct Professor, Graduate School for Holistic Studies, John F. Kennedy University

"The students interviewed in this engaging video candidly voice some of the key concerns of novice clinicians and share some of the ways they have effectively addressed them. It is guaranteed to stimulate student discussion and authentic exploration of the fears, crises of confidence, and challenges associated with first clinical experiences. In short, an inspiring video that is an excellent resource for students and faculty supervisors."
J. Fraser Pierson, PhD - Professor of Psychology Southern Oregon University

"This training video is useful in so many ways. The trainees are both articulate and down-to-earth, and are able to normalize the anxiety of beginning to see clients from a variety of perspectives. Even more essential, the students model self-reflectiveness and an appropriate level of self-disclosure. Supervisors of beginning students are sure to appreciate both the content of this video, and the process of healthy and compassionate self-examination that it promotes. Unlike many training videos, I liked the length, the quality, and the educational value of this video. We will use the video with all of our beginning students."
Shelly Smith-Acuna, PhD - Director of PsyD Program, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, University of Denver

ABOUT ERIK SWEEN, PsyD
Erik Sween is a psychologist, educator, and filmmaker. He has worked in a variety of settings including private practice, community mental health, college counseling, and family medicine over the past 20 years, and has trained interns and student therapists in over 10 different programs. His areas of interests include strength-based therapies, resilience, and insiders' perspectives. He has worked for Outward Bound and presented workshops on narrative therapy. Currently, he maintains a private practice in Boulder, Colorado and teaches at the University of Denver.