Certification in Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Certification in Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) ensures mastery and competence in applying and customizing PE for clients you are serving. You will receive one-on-one feedback on your sessions from an expert PE therapist and consultant, which allows you to deepen your understanding of PE and how it applies to your practice.
Certification includes completion of up to two cases of PE with clients you are seeing with individual and group consultation with the PE Consultant. The full procedure is detailed below.
Certification is limited to licensed therapists or therapists under supervision of a licensed professional* who have completed a CTSA-sponsored 4-day Intensive Workshop in PE.
- Please check registration availability here if you have not completed this workshop but would like to do so with CPT.
- If you completed the PE workshop elsewhere, submit a certificate of completion to transform@umn.edu. Only those who have completed a 24-hour, CTSA-approved Prolonged Exposure workshop will be approved to enroll in certification activities outlined below.
*Therapists under supervision of another licensed professional must continue to receive direct supervision from another licensed professional. PE consultation is considered additional, expert consultation. Your direct supervisor must approve of your participation in the PE certification procedures prior to your enrollment and be willing to continue to provide direct supervision.
Please read these instructions and expectations for participation carefully and thoroughly prior to enrolling. The Center for Practice Transformation will not issue any refunds for failure to understand or comply with these processes. The PE Consultant has discretion to remove a participant from the certification process if they believe the individual is unprepared or unable to complete the process outlined here in the time allotted. If participants are deemed ineligible or removed, they are welcome to complete PE Certification in the future should their circumstances change and they are able to meet the required circumstances.
PE Certification Procedure:
To achieve PE Therapist Certification, participants agree to:
- Complete a minimum of two (2) completed PE cases, composed of a minimum of eight (8) sessions per case, with one-to-one consultation within six (6) months. The second case may begin after completion of the first although some overlap is acceptable if the PE consultant and therapist deem appropriate. In rare cases, when more than 24 PE consultation sessions are required for certification as a PE therapist, or if certification isn’t complete by the end of the 6 months, further sessions may be procured. These services will be rendered at $150 per hour.
- The PE Consultant will recommend the therapist for certification as a Certified PE Therapist through the Center for Treatment at the University of Minnesota, and Study of Anxiety Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania, where PE was created by Dr. Edna Foa, upon successful completion of two (2) cases of PE (Note that “successful completion” of a case is at the discretion of the consultant and requires a minimum of eight (8) sessions of PE. At times, a third PE case may be recommended to ensure mastery of skills.).
- Complete pre-PE consultation Calls for each proposed client. Identify client(s) with PTSD you believe are candidates for PE. Pre-PE consultation includes discussion of symptoms and appropriateness of the client(s) for PE and for being a training case, how to prepare for the first PE sessions, and discussing the procedures of video- and audiotaping.
- All PE sessions must be video AND audio recorded. Video sessions are reviewed by the PE consultant; audio recordings of sessions are created as part of PE treatment for the client’s use. The therapist must obtain signed informed consent from the client to video record according to their agency or private practice policy. The PE consultant will review video recordings of sessions for each case prior to the next session.
- The PE consultant must approve the appropriateness of a patient for PE consultation before the therapist starts PE with a patient.
- Complete one-on-one PE consultation by telephone/Zoom before beginning the next session. The PE Consultant will review your PE session video. PE consultation includes review of the session, feedback from the PE Consultant, time for questions, and preparation for the next session.
- Participate in Six (6) two-hour Group PE Consultation sessions. Group PE consultation, conducted via Zoom allows certification participants to ask questions of the PE Consultant and elicit and provide feedback to other members of their certification cohort.
Benefits of PE Certification:
- Receive a “PE Therapist” certificate signed by Edna Foa, Ph.D., the developer of PE therapy
- Competence and mastery of conducting PE therapy and the ability to respond more effectively to nuance of the therapeutic process
- Weekly feedback on the application of the PE protocol intended to increase your confidence and successful treatment for clients with all types of trauma
- Expert consultation on stuck points and problems that may arise during therapy with under engagement, over engagement, relapse, increased suicidality, etc.
- Experience first-hand the nuances of PE, and how to customize the treatment to your specific client
PE Certification Procedure:
To achieve PE Therapist Certification, participants agree to:
- Complete a minimum of two (2) completed PE cases, composed of a minimum of eight (8) sessions per case, with one-to-one consultation within six (6) months. The second case may begin after completion of the first although some overlap is acceptable if the PE consultant and therapist deem appropriate. In rare cases, when more than 24 PE consultation sessions are required for certification as a PE therapist, or if certification isn’t complete by the end of the 6 months, further sessions may be procured. These services will be rendered at $150 per hour.
- The PE Consultant will recommend the therapist for certification as a Certified PE Therapist through the Center for Treatment at the University of Minnesota, and Study of Anxiety Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania, where PE was created by Dr. Edna Foa, upon successful completion of two (2) cases of PE (Note that “successful completion” of a case is at the discretion of the consultant and requires a minimum of eight (8) sessions of PE. At times, a third PE case may be recommended to ensure mastery of skills.).
- Complete pre-PE consultation Calls for each proposed client. Identify client(s) with PTSD you believe are candidates for PE. Pre-PE consultation includes discussion of symptoms and appropriateness of the client(s) for PE and for being a training case, how to prepare for the first PE sessions, and discussing the procedures of video- and audiotaping.
- All PE sessions must be video AND audio recorded. Video sessions are reviewed by the PE consultant; audio recordings of sessions are created as part of PE treatment for the client’s use. The therapist must obtain signed informed consent from the client to video record according to their agency or private practice policy. The PE consultant will review video recordings of sessions for each case prior to the next session.
- The PE consultant must approve the appropriateness of a patient for PE consultation before the therapist starts PE with a patient.
- Complete one-on-one PE consultation by telephone/Zoom before beginning the next session. The PE Consultant will review your PE session video. PE consultation includes review of the session, feedback from the PE Consultant, time for questions, and preparation for the next session.
- Participate in Six (6) two-hour Group PE Consultation sessions. Group PE consultation, conducted via Zoom allows certification participants to ask questions of the PE Consultant and elicit and provide feedback to other members of their certification cohort.
Benefits of PE Certification:
- Receive a “PE Therapist” certificate signed by Edna Foa, Ph.D., the developer of PE therapy
- Competence and mastery of conducting PE therapy and the ability to respond more effectively to nuance of the therapeutic process
- Weekly feedback on the application of the PE protocol intended to increase your confidence and successful treatment for clients with all types of trauma
- Expert consultation on stuck points and problems that may arise during therapy with under engagement, over engagement, relapse, increased suicidality, etc.
- Experience first-hand the nuances of PE, and how to customize the treatment to your specific client