
Psychotherapy Essentials: Core Science for Lucid Practice--The Course
• Feel confident because you know what's going on underneath
• Make changes happen rather than waiting for them
• Free yourself from constraints of "branded" therapies
• Give patients the flexible and authentic approach they crave
In 10 interactive sessions you will gain a framework that helps you get more from your didactics and your patient sessions. My favorite supervisor said, "Mix it up with the patient!" You can do that when you are grounded in what is going on and what to do next.
Jeffery Smith MD
What will you say when patients ask if you do therapy?
- Do you want to be a good therapist but training isn't adequate?
- Is your learning focused on one technique that doesn't "fit all?"
- Are you confused because explanations are incompatible?
Our mission is to help therapists go beyond the limits of single-brand therapies by integrating 21st Century knowledge of change processes.
We have discounted the price to make this opportunity accessible for trainees with limited time and funds.
Join Now
Residents and Fellows in Psychiatry
$59
One Time Introductory Price
- 10 Interactive Group Learning Sessions with Dr. Smith
- Value in excess of $1500
- One hour classes, Sundays at Noon Eastern (subject to group consenus).
- Certificate with attendance 75% or more
- Recordings will be available for missed sessions.
Do you want to:
- Be skilled at recognizing and supporting fundamental change processes?
- Avoid limiting yourself to a single brand of therapy but make use of techniques learned from any orientation or therapy?
- Learn the common infrastructure of all therapies and match technique to specific processes?
- Experience ten one-hour interactive sessions with Dr. Smith and the team to make contemporary science practical, regardless of orientation?

"Learning psychotherapy is so much easier when you understand the underlying processes. And you'll be a better therapist, too!"

Dr Jeffery Smith, an internationally recognized leader, has dedicated his career to helping therapists apply contemporary science to daily practice, regardless of orientation.
- Leader of the American Psychiatric Association Psychotherapy Caucus
- Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College
- President Elect of the international Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration
- Author of the uniquely "nondenominational" textbook, Psychotherapy a Practical Guide (Springer, 2017)
- Author of TIFT, Tuesday is for Therapists, the newsletter and blog from HowTherapyWorks.com.
- HowTherapyWorks Podcast: in interview format with Amelie Southwood, LMHC, follows the textbook chapter by chapter.
- Practicing in Scarsdale, New York in English and French.

Here is what leaders in the field have said about Dr. Smith’s textbook, Psychotherapy: a Practical Guide.
“It is remarkable how much Jeffery Smith packs into a small, readable volume. Covering a wide range of theoretical perspectives and clinical challenges, Smith lays out clearly and in detail how he works and offers a valuable integrative understanding of the essential elements in good clinical work. An important contribution to the field.”
Paul Wachtel, PhD, Author of Therapeutic Communication: What to say when
“A thoughtful, integrative guide to psychotherapy from a wise and seasoned psychiatrist. Jeffery Smith demonstrates charity to all therapies that work and malice only toward the rigid and ineffective. His emphasis on entrenched dysfunctional patterns and affect avoidance will prove useful to practitioners of all professions and persuasions.”
John C. Norcross, PhD, Distinguished Professor, University of Scranton & SUNY Upstate Medical University, co-editor of Handbook of Psychotherapy Integration.
Course Milestones: You will be ready to--
- 1. Master the healing moment.
- Learn how to support Step 1 and Step 2 of the Healing Moment under varying conditions.
- 2. Formulate the target problem and path to change.
- Understand how the wide variety of Entrenched Maladaptive Patterns start out as ways to avoid limbic emotions and how to plan for change.
- 3. Navigate through and around obstacles to healing and growth.
- Factors like safety, trust, and problem behaviors need to be taken into account.
- 4. Explore how foundational processes relate to existing therapies.
- We will look at how different therapies make use of the same few mechanisms.
Some questions answered
If these don't answer your questions, please use the contact form or email me personally at [email protected]
But I'm not a psychiatrist trainee!
How will I find time for one more activity?
After training I won't be allowed to do therapy
Will my learning style be addressed?
Questions we haven't thought of
Join Now
Residents and Fellows in Psychiatry Only
$59
One Time Introductory Price
- 10 Interactive Group Learning Sessions with Dr. Smith
- Value in excess of $1500
- One hour classes, Sundays at Noon Eastern (subject to group consenus).
- Certificate with attendance 75% or more
- Recordings will be available for missed sessions.
Disclaimers
From my own experience and that of many practitioners, this type of course will give the learner a firm basis in knowledge, but becoming a great therapist also requires supervised practice. Our long range goal is to offer credentialing to experienced therapists who demonstrate mastery of this material and want to be listed as providing supervision compatible with the Affect Avoidance Model.
In addition, I have hesitated to say that access is "lifetime" because I can't know the future. I hope Howtherapyworks.com and this course continue to grow and develop for a very long time.