SELF IN PRACTICE™
Clinical Education for the developing therapist
Culturally responsive. Trauma-informed. Liberation-centered.
Earn your certificate and credits.
About SELF IN PRACTICE™
SELF IN PRACTICE™ is a clinical training and workforce development initiative designed to support the transition from graduate education to clinical practice, especially for early-to-mid career therapists seeking deeper insight into how you approach clinical work. Through university partnerships, supervised internship placements, continuing education programs, and clinical development training, the Institute prepares therapists to deliver culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and liberation-centered care while navigating the clinical, operational, and systemic realities that shape access to mental health services.
Courses are inclusively priced to support access to continuing education, with proceeds going to the Liberation-Based Therapy Mental Health Fund.
Liberation-Based Therapy LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0861.
How It Works
STEP 1
Watch
Stream the training modules on your own time.
STEP 2
Evaluation Form
Complete an evaluation form to confirm learning.
STEP 3
Certificate and Credits
Earn your CE certificate and credits after completion.
Available Courses
Clinical education designed to deepen your practice, expand your perspective, and support your continued development as a therapist
Get access to our virtual CEU workshop, Decoding the DSM: A Critical Look at the DSM and Liberated-Oriented Alternatives. Join us for a practical, discussion-based training on the DSM’s limits and strengths-based, trauma-informed alternatives you can use in practice. NY licensed social workers can earn 2 CEU credits and receive a certificate of completion after submitting the evaluation.
INSTRUCTOR:
Sara Eldridge, LCSW (she/her)
ACCESS:
1 year from date of purchase
CE CREDITS:
2 CE Credits for NY licensed Social Workers
Course Description
This self-paced course invites clinicians to take a critical and practical look at the DSM, including how diagnosis can support treatment planning while also carrying limitations, bias, and the risk of reducing clients to pathology. Through a liberation-based lens, participants will explore how to use diagnostic tools with more care, context, and clinical humility.
What You’ll Learn
Participants will explore:
Describe the historical evolution and socio-political influences of the DSM.
Identify limitations of DSM-based diagnosis, including its cultural biases and lack of context.
Apply strengths-based, trauma-informed, and culturally humbled principles to diagnostic formulation and treatment planning.
Reflect on the impact of clinician countertransference and identity in the use of diagnosis.
Engage clients in collaborative meaning-making around their experiences of distress and diagnosis.
Who This Course is For
This course is designed for social workers, therapists, and mental health professionals who want to think more critically about diagnosis while still meeting clinical, ethical, and documentation requirements.
Meet the Instructor
Sara Eldridge, LCSW (she/her), has served as Case Consultation Group Facilitator at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, where she previously completed a two-year integrated trauma training program and worked as a staff trauma therapist. She holds a Master of Social Work with Honors from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and brings over a decade of experience in trauma-informed care, domestic violence counseling, and clinical training. Her practice integrates psychodynamic, IFS, sensorimotor, and EMDR modalities. Sara has presented internationally on the intersection of domestic violence, disability, and trauma.
Get access to our self-paced CEU course, Where’d You Go? Exploring Dissociation and Countertransference in Psychotherapy. Join us for a practical, discussion-based training that explores dissociation, relational dynamics, and grounded, liberation-based responses for clinical practice. NY licensed social workers can earn 3 CE contact hours and receive a certificate of completion after submitting the evaluation.
INSTRUCTOR:
Dagem Lemma, LCSW (he/him)
ACCESS:
1 year from date of purchase
CE CREDITS:
3 CE Credits for NY licensed Social Workers
Course Description
This self-paced course will provide an in-depth look at the “dissociative spectrum” and explore therapeutic strategies for recognizing and working with dissociation in clients. Through two case examples, participants will analyze instances of mutual dissociation in couples and transferential relationships. The course aims to illustrate key patterns, therapeutic interventions, and potential cycles that sustain dissociation in clinical practice. Guided by a liberation-based and holistic framework, participants will engage in interactive discussion and case analysis, learning to effectively respond to dissociative presentations and manage their own countertransference.
What You’ll Learn
Define and identify the range of dissociative phenomena along a spectrum from normative to pathological.
Recognize signs of dissociative coping in individuals and couples, with an understanding of mutual dissociation in relational dynamics.
Describe how countertransference impacts therapeutic interventions with dissociative clients.
Apply a liberation-based approach to foster grounded and holistic care in their work with dissociative experiences.
Participants will explore:
Who This Course is For
This course is designed for clinicians working with trauma, complex trauma, relational wounds, dissociation, emotional overwhelm, and clients whose protective responses may be misunderstood or pathologized.
Meet the Instructor
Dagem Lemma, LCSW (he/him), received his Masters in Social Work from New York University. He has worked at NY Health and Hospitals and Visiting Nurse Services before devoting time to individual and group psychotherapy at LBT. His specialties are men's issues and immigrant concerns.
Learning Through SELF IN PRACTICE™
Liberation-Centered
Courses grounded in anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive frameworks.
Flexible & Self-Paced
Start anytime, watch from anywhere, and complete at the pace that fits your life.
NYSED Approved
Approved provider of continuing education for NY licensed social workers (#SW-0861).
Clinically Practical
Learn frameworks and tools you can bring directly into your work with clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Once you complete the training and required evaluation, you will receive your certificate of completion and applicable continuing education credits.
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You’ll have access for 1 year (365 days) from the date of purchase.
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Yes. Liberation-Based Therapy LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0861).
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Yes. Courses are streamed online and work on phones, tablets, and computers, so you can learn from anywhere.
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No. Courses are fully self-paced. You can pause, return, and pick up where you left off any time during your access window.
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For help with access, certificates, or course questions, email training@liberationbasedtherapy.com.