Always a student

Hi friends,

One of my favorite quotes is from American cinematographer, Conrad Hall who said, “You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.”

I think I’m drawn to this quote because I’ve always been a bit obsessed with learning, particularly as it pertains to my own growth and development.

When I was in grad school, I had a 45-minute commute home on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and I can remember hopping in my car, calling Warren, and telling him everything I had learned in class on my drive home.

Even though grad school was tough, I absolutely loved the energy that came with learning. I could feel my world expanding as I learned about theories of human behavior, the history of psychotherapy, family systems, and interpersonal communication.

When I graduated, I vividly remember thinking to myself, “How can I make sure I’m always creating space for my own growth and learning, now that I’m no longer ‘required’ to study?”

Books, podcasts, and sessions with my therapist have been the main ways that I’ve engaged in my own personal and professional development over the last few years. I’m especially drawn to podcasts because they are such a quick way to listen and learn on a run or a drive.

One thing I’ve noticed in recent years is that my required continuing education hours aren’t top of my list for how I grow and learn. This seems odd to me because the entire point of continuing education is to promote the growth and development of clinicians. It feels a bit frustrating that I turn to books or podcasts to learn, while viewing CE’s as a “box that needs to get checked.”

I think this is because, for me, finding really great CE trainings that are engaging, relevant, and affordable feels cumbersome and fragmented. I’m often left scrambling to find trainings that are both affordable and interesting.

I wonder if I’m alone in this. Do you also experience difficulty finding quality continuing education opportunities?

At Motivo, we are beginning to dip our toe into the world of continuing education.  We’ve hosted several CE events that feature some of our incredible Motivo supervisors in the last few months. And we have recently brought on Dr. Carla Smith, LCSW, LMFT to serve as Motivo’s Director of Continuing Education. We are currently in the process of obtaining approval from the major continuing education accreditation bodies, and we’ll be launching a CE product in August of 2022 – just a few months from now. 

You can learn more about our CE product here, but if this already sounds right up your alley, feel free to add your name to our waitlist right here. Joining the waitlist means you’ll be the first to know when our CE offering launches.