Grad Programs Moving Online
Curt and Katie chat about the quick move to online learning when the pandemic hit. We talk about the challenges with virtual platforms – what has worked and what has not. We look at the decisions related to starting or continuing therapist education at this time. We also talk about the opportunities that have been gained and ideas for students and professors on how to more effectively approach online graduate programs.
It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.
In this episode we talk about:
Graduate programs for therapists moving online during the pandemic
The education one applied for is vastly different from what you’re getting right now
The rapid shift to online education and lack of deliberate choices to shift how to teach
Synchronous and asynchronous elements of education
The requirement for faculty to learn and utilize technology effectively
A lack of interaction due to polite students keeping their mics off
The spoke and wheel conversations that impact how learning happens
The lack of guidance on how to create truly effective online education
Navigating time on screens
Role plays translating into learning telehealth, rather than in-person therapy
The lack of interaction with the material, more passive learning
Developing clinical efficacy for telehealth
The uncertainty of the efficacy of clinical work in the newer space of telehealth
The impact on discussions social justice, racial and cultural identity, due to the ability to opt out of the conversation in online education
The importance of figuring out how people learn and how it applies to the online space
Should people delay or pause education?
What the impacts on the workforce might be
Opportunities within the online learning space, especially when the technology is well used
Theoretical versus practical base
The need to have more deliberate and direct conversations to create connections that may have happened organically
The adjustments and planning that may improve the situation
Different factors that impact each student’s and each professor’s ability to engage
Looking at expectations, support, and needed infrastructure
What students can do to better access education during this time
Developing personal relationships with professors
Putting together options to increase connection and interaction with peers
Seeking career mentorship and synchronous conversations
Moving from venting and commiserating to advocacy within the system
The ability to make changes, be nimble, and put forward a collective voice
