The Integration of Theory and Practice in Cultural Context

• A two-year program for mental health professionals who are interested in deepening their clinical work and expanding their ability to link intuitive interventions to a theoretical base.
• Perfect for clinicians who wish to consolidate their continuing education by way of a cohesive curriculum.
• 60 continuing education units per year.

Course of Study
Based on the core curriculum of our long-standing and highly successful doctoral program in clinical social work
Year One: Fundamental Psychodynamic Theories and Methods of Treatment
Year Two:  Attachment, Neurobiology, and Relational Theories and Methods of Treatment.
Learning takes place in scholarly and supportive case-focused seminars, integrating theory with case material brought to the seminar by group members. Cultural factors are continually interwoven in discussions of theory development and its applicability to particular patients or clients. The two-year sequence rotates to permit the admission of new students each fall of the two-year cycle.

Faculty
Judith Kay Nelson, MSW, PhD, North    --      Judith R. Schore, MSW, PhD, South
Drs. Nelson and Schore are members of the Core Faculty of The Sanville Institute with many years of teaching the integration of psychodynamic theory and practice. They have extensive teaching backgrounds in attachment theory and research and contemporary psychoanalytic theories as well as traditional psychoanalytic Drive Theory, Ego Psychology, Object Relations Theory, and Self Psychology. Both have published and presented throughout the United States and internationally. (See more on faculty background and publications on our Faculty and Alumni pages.) Qualified analysts and scholars on the faculty, who serve in the professional academic community, will participate in the seminars as consultants and guest lecturers on topics related to their specific areas of knowledge and expertise.
 
Assignments
Certificate students will complete reading and writing assignments and contribute to seminar discussions by presenting case examples (individual, group, organizational, or supervisory) from their agency or private practice settings. Written assignments (one short case-based paper each trimester) will include the integration of theory and practice and socio-cultural influences and impacts on the therapeutic process.

REQUIREMENTS
Attendance: The Certificate requires two years of participation in a seminar that meets five times per trimester in four-hour blocks at approximately three-week intervals.

Northern California (Berkeley): Five Friday meetings per trimester, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm.
Southern California(Northridge): Fridays as above or Saturday-Sundays by group consensus.

Supervision: There is no supervision requirement for completion of the certificate. However, participation in the intense case-focused discussions within the Colloquium meetings is a requirement.

Admission Process
Admission is open to qualified mental health professionals who have a master’s degree and are licensed or license-eligible.
Call or email the office for an application form and mail completed application with $50 non-refundable application fee to the Institute by the first week of September.

Non-Matriculated Status
Students who wish to attend and audit the Seminars in the Certificate Program will be admitted each trimester on a space-available basis. Tuition is the same, but no application process is necessary and no written assignments need be completed. Should a non-matriculated student apply to the doctoral program or the certificate program at a subsequent time, credit will be awarded on an individual basis depending on work completed and pending assessment by the faculty (certificate program) or the education committee (doctoral program).

Advanced Standing in PhD Program
Certificate graduates who elect to apply and are granted admission to the doctoral program receive one year of colloquium credit toward the degree requirements. Additional course credit may be awarded for theoretical and case conceptualization papers written during the certificate program in discussion with the doctoral program mentor. Certificate students who choose to apply to the doctoral program prior to completion of the two years will be awarded credit for trimesters attended at the discretion of the educational committee.