Holistic Psychotherapy Training
“No mud, no lotus” - Thich Nhat Hanh
UPDATE: The 2025 course is now full!
We had 57 applications for 30 spots within 2 weeks of opening the course.
If there is continued interest, we may offer the course again in 2026 (enrollment opening July/August 2025).
You can express your interest, join the mailing list, and get notified when applications are next open here:
Please make sure you have read and understand all the information on this page, before submitting your information.
Good therapists are born, not made.
There are qualities that good therapists posess - a commitment to service, the desire to be truly helpful, curiosity about the human condition and a depth of compassion that cannot be taught.
The purpose of this training is to cultivate, develop and empower the therapist in you. To bring forth what is already there.
What does holistic mean?
It means that we bring together the most cutting-edge insights from neuroscience, biochemistry and somatic psychotherapy, with the time-tested wisdom of Buddhist psychology and nature-based wisdom traditions.
This training is truly multi-dimensional. Because humans are.
What will I learn?
There are three elements to the training: Head, Heart and Hand.
HEAD - Theory and Insight
In this section we lay the theoretical groundwork. How do we define mental and emotional wellness? Too many approaches focus slavishly on trauma and pathology. So what is true, deep health?
Starting with first principles we build a framework for clear thinking.
We also look at the most up-to-date ideas on anxiety, depression, addiction, trauma, PTSD, anger management, relationship counselling, bereavement, grief and OCD.
We study the autism/psychosis spectrum and the gifts and challenges presented by the glorious neuro-diversity of our species.
And we emerge with practical tools for helping our clients know themselves more deeply, so that they can better understand and overcome their challenges.
HEART - Compassion and Capacity
Here we cultivate the internal qualities that form the basis of holistic psychotherapy. All the science and information in the world is useless if it is not coupled with a depth of awareness, focus, compassion and presence that enables us, as therapists, to be with whatever our client is bringing to the session, and still maintain our composure - our own solid centre.
How do we practice this stable, unshakeable and yet compassionate regard?
How do we respond to our own triggers, biases and traumas when they emerge in a session?
This is where we have to do our homework. Practising the change we seek to help others obtain.
Using simple awareness; mindfulness and breath, along with body-centred (somatic, interoceptive) practices we deepen our sense of inner safety, of self-compassion. Healing and releasing so as to expand our capacity to meet the wounds of others, without being overwhelmed by our own.
HAND - the Art and Craft of guiding therapy
This is where we embed our learnings and growth, exploring the craft of holistic psychotherapy.
How do we structure the flow of a session?
When do we interrupt or challenge our clients? And when do we simply listen?
How can we use language to skilfully and subtly introduce new possibilities? To reframe past experiences in a new light?
How can we become more aware of our client’s language and use their own imagery and metaphors to initiate meaningful therapeutic shifts?
We study language, story and metaphor at a deep level. Combining it with awareness of body language, voice intonation (ours and our client’s) so that even over video and phone sessions we are able to listen between the words, calibrating our instinct and intuition, responding with the kind of congruence that facilitates safety, trust and the courage to embrace transformation.
Using the ARISES approach to unpack the essential elements of any holistic psychotherapy session, we will learn how to structure the pace and flow of our sessions so as to make each one a work of art. A beautiful dance of presence, acceptance; meaningful growth and genuine healing.
What is the investment?
Psychology and psychotherapy has long suffered from an inadequacy complex, trying to seem more scientific. So the study of psychology becomes enmired with statistics and experimental design, and psychotherapy training becomes an academic discipline with huge reading lists and essay writing, over years of study (and tens of thousands of dollars).
Our perspective is that although science is wonderful and useful, the art and craft of psychotherapy becomes stilted and dry when attempted by academicians.
And although mass, randomised clinical trials can tell us a lot about huge populations and averages, they may not necessarily reveal much that is useful about the person in front of you.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying, we want to offer psychotherapy training that takes essays and statistics to a minimum.
Focusing instead on the actual interpersonal craft of powerful, evidence-based therapy and the practical tools that can help people in distress, quickly and effectively.
This streamlining means that where other courses may take three or four years, ours takes 1 year.
Rather than tens of thousands of dollars, ours is far less.
Early Bird: $4699 (full payment before September 1st 2024)
Standard: $4999 (payment due prior to the commencement of the course March 2025)
There are a great many humans doing amazing work in the world, who need these skills; this training.
It’s time to make them more widely available. To do away with the academic and financial gatekeeping which is a barrier to many excellent future therapists.
The World Needs You
By some estimates, as much as 40% of young people are experiencing mental health challenges. The National Survey of Mental Health conducted in 2021 found that one in four young people reported seeking mental health support from a health professional, but more than a third said they did not receive the counselling they needed.
More than two in five Australians adults have experienced a mental health condition at some point in their lives. One in five was experiencing a mental health disorder at the time of the study.
This is the unheralded pandemic, and it pre-dates COVID. It is infecting and overwhelming the hearts and minds of humans around the world, as well as in our own communities, families and ourselves.
We need more bodhisattvas to face this challenge - the battle for the heart to heal and the mind to see clearly.
If you’re feeling called to this work or you’re already doing this work and want to level-up your skills and capacity, then we would love to see you on the training.
We look forward to walking with you as you begin a new chapter in your journey.
with much love and many blessings,
Lee and Hana xxx
Important Information and FAQ - Please Read
Time commitment
Along with the eight online modules and two intensives, students are required to undertake (and document) 1-2 hours of practice and study per week for the duration of the training.
Pre-requisites:
1) The RBR Foundations training course is a pre-requisite.
You can access this recorded training via the Connection Culture app (for iOS and Android)
2) The new 30 day journey Tending the Garden of the Heart (a self-care and emotional healing program delivered to you daily by email) is now also a pre-requisite.
More info and sign up here:
This is a chance for you to start the inner work that will continue during the HP training.
It is also a practical introduction to many of the therapeutic principles and practices we will be learning in the HP training.
The Holistic Psychotherapy Training will begin in 2025.
The five-day intensives at the middle and end of the training are in-person.
The 8 modules in between are online via Zoom. These will be held on weekends, Saturday and Sunday, 9am - 4pm.
The pathway to becoming a certified Holistic Psychotherapist:
2025
Module 1 - Fundamentals 1 - Intro to Effective Therapy - March 8-9
Module 2 - Fundamentals 2 - ARISES model - March 22-23
Module 3 - Fundamentals 3 - Storytelling and Narrative Therapy - May 10-11
Module 4 - Fundamentals 4 - Body-centred and Somatic Therapy - June 7-8
In-Person Intensive 1 - June 25-29 - Ninderry, Sunshine Coast, QLD
Module 5 - Anxiety/Depression inc Self-Harm & Suicide - July 26-27
Module 6 - Addictions, Anger and Grief Counselling - Aug 9-10
Module 7 - Couples Counselling - Aug 30-31
Module 8 - Archetypes/Practice Clinic - October 25-26
In-Person Intensive 2 - November 5-9 - Ninderry, Sunshine Coast, QLD
On successful completion of the training you will be a Certified Psychotherapist (and Certified Rapport Based Relating coach), eligible for Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance via AON Allied Health.
Certification vs Accreditation
Please note: Certification is not the same as accreditation.
Certification means you have successfully completed a training and are ready to practice, according to your training.
Accreditation means the student has met the requirements of a regulatory body.
This training is not accredited (ie affiliated to a regulatory body ACA or PACFA).
Accreditation is not necessary to practice privately as a self-employed psychotherapist in Australia. But some employers may require it.
Each employer is different - some may accept experience in lieu of accreditation. Potential applicants should do their own research regarding future employment.
This training is primarily for those wanting to work in private practice; or for those whose work already requires them to be an ‘accidental counsellor’, and who want to upskill to more fully meet the needs of those they serve - eg teacher, mentor, carer, bodyworker, coach, yoga teacher, social worker, youth worker, community leader etc
Assessment
Alongside ongoing assessment via practice sessions throughout the course, the final assessment is the submission of two recorded 60min therapy sessions with a real client, to demonstrate the ability to provide safe and effective therapy in accordance with your training.