Passing your National Licensing Exam
Getting licensed can open up incredible opportunities, but the exam can seem daunting. Our podcasts make passing more achievable and even fun. Dr Hutchinson and Stacy’s energy and passion for this content will get you motivated and confident.
We break things down in understandable ways - no stuffiness or complexity and focus on the critical parts you need so your valuable study time counts. You’ll come away feeling like, “I can do this!” Whether it’s nailing down diagnoses, theoretical approaches, or applying ethics in challenging situations, we help you get into a licensed mindset. Knowledge domains we cover in these podcasts include:
Professional Practice and Ethics
Intake, Assessment, & Diagnosis
Areas of Clinical Focus
Treatment Planning
Counseling Skills and Interventions
Core Counseling Attributes
And, of course, the DSM-5-TR.
If you listen, you might surprise yourself at how much you absorb and enjoy it along the way. Take that first step – you’ll gain confidence and valuable skills and feel confident getting ready for your licensing exam!
Passing your National Licensing Exam
Symbolic Experiential Family Therapy
Dive into the transformative world of symbolic experiential therapy, a dynamic approach to family therapy founded by Carl Whitaker that might just revolutionize your therapeutic practice. Unlike conventional methods that prioritize rational problem-solving, this innovative approach embraces authentic encounters, emotional expression, and the power of metaphor to create meaningful change within family systems.
What makes symbolic experiential therapy stand apart? It's the therapist's willingness to be present—not as a distant expert, but as an active participant who models emotional honesty and disrupts rigid patterns. We explore how family problems are often maintained by inflexibility and emotional suppression, and how this approach taps into the emotional and symbolic underpinnings of relational dynamics to catalyze transformation.
The podcast walks you through the fluid phases of this therapeutic model, from establishing authentic connections with families to externalizing problems, challenging the status quo, and fostering emotional honesty. You'll discover practical examples of how to use symbolism effectively—like exploring what it means when a client describes their spouse as a "brick wall"—and learn key techniques including unpredictable questioning, storytelling, and dramatic enactment. Whether you're preparing for your licensure exam or seeking to enhance your therapeutic toolkit, this episode provides essential insights into an approach that values spontaneity over protocol and emotional experience over analysis. Listen now to master the art of symbolic experiential therapy and help families discover new possibilities for connection and growth.
If you need to study for your national licensing exam, try the free samplers at: LicensureExams
This podcast is not associated with the NBCC, AMFTRB, ASW, ANCC, NASP, NAADAC, CCMC, NCPG, CRCC, or any state or governmental agency responsible for licensure.
This engaging podcast wouldn't be possible without Eric at Licensure Exams and we're thrilled to have him as our speaker today. Thanks, stacey, and welcome to another Licensure Exams podcast. It's a joy to have you join us on this fantastic journey to pass your licensure exam. Today we're going to explore symbolic experimental therapy, its techniques and what you need to know about how it's employed in therapy.
Eric Twachtman:Symbolic experiential therapy is a dynamic and innovative approach to family therapy that emphasizes authentic encounters, emotional expression and the use of metaphor and symbolism to create meaningful change within a family system. Founded by Carl Whitaker, this model emphasizes the importance of your own presence, emotional honesty and willingness to engage with the family system as an active participant rather than a distant expert. It's less about intervening with strict techniques and more about fostering emotional experiences that disrupt rigid patterns and promote growth. At its core, symbolic experiential therapy is grounded in the belief that family problems are maintained by a lack of flexibility, emotional suppression and an overemphasis on rational problem solving. Instead of focusing solely on logic and problem identification, you aim to tap into the emotional and symbolic layers underpinning a client's relational dynamics. The experience of therapy itself is viewed as a symbolic journey, one where your own authenticity and spontaneity can catalyze transformation within the family. To use symbolic experiential therapy effectively, begin by establishing yourself as both an engaged participant and a respectful challenger Within the family system. You prioritize building an alliance with the entire family, entering sessions with openness, humor and creativity. You seek to disrupt typical patterns, inviting family members to experiment with new ways of relating and fostering an environment where suppressed feelings can emerge safely.
Eric Twachtman:The steps or phases of symbolic experiential therapy are not rigidly defined as the model values, spontaneity and responsiveness. However, for the purposes of structure, especially when preparing for exams, it's helpful to understand several core phases or elements that are present throughout the process. The first phase involves engaging the family and establishing a secure therapeutic context. At this point, you focus on joining with the family, creating rapport and demonstrating your willingness to encounter their world authentically. For example, you might use humor or share personal reactions to break the ice, signaling that therapy isn't just another formal meeting. Next, you help the family externalize and clarify the presenting problem, while also inviting exploration of underlying emotions, metaphors and symbols. You might notice that a client describes a spouse as a brick wall and, rather than analyze the statement, you playfully explore what it's like to live with that wall. In doing so, you bring subconscious metaphors to the surface, making unspoken dynamics visible.
Eric Twachtman:Another key phase involves disrupting the status quo. You introduce interventions that challenge the family's habitual roles and communication patterns, perhaps through unpredictable questions, storytelling, paradox or even dramatic enactment. For instance, if a family repeatedly blames a single member for all issues, you may amplify this blame in the session so its dysfunction becomes obvious, encouraging the family to recognize and abandon this pattern. Throughout therapy, you model emotional honesty and encourage family members to experiment with more flexible, effective communication. You invite risk-taking, iteration and creative expression. If a client fears expressing anger, you validate and even dramatize that feeling, showing that there is space for all emotions within the family system. The growth phase focuses on helping the family recognize new possibilities and accept a broader range of lived experiences. You'll witness shifts as family members become less defensive, more open and capable of greater intimacy. The process concludes when the family demonstrates increased adaptability, authentic emotional expression and a willingness to approach future challenges with creativity.
Eric Twachtman:Here are some key points for your licensing exam Remember that knowing that symbolic experiential therapy is systemic, meaning you attend to interactions in process, not just individuals. The approaches experiential and symbolic emotion, metaphor and direct experiencing are vital tools as you lead, you model authenticity, create a context for emotional risk and challenge the family's rigidity. The focus is on process over content, and personal engagement takes precedence over protocol. In summary, as you use symbolic experiential therapy, remember to approach the family with genuine presence, lean into metaphor and symbol and catalyze change through emotional experience rather than advice or analysis. Well, that's all you need to know about symbolic experiential therapy. Thanks for joining me today. Keep studying and remember it's in there, thank you.
