How does the course work?
Our Cedarsong Way Forest School therapist track is an 50 hour online course offered twice a year that includes self-directed work, three general group zoom calls, and six group intensives with our teachers.
This training includes instruction, mentorship, study, reflection and practice in the following areas:
- Understanding Integrated Movement Therapy as a foundational practice for Forest School based therapy
- Language development and pathology
- Behavioral challenges and interventions
- Writing goals and objectives
- Developing school specific assessment
- Writing SOAP notes
- Natural environment as a therapeutic tool
- Managing physical differences and disabilities
- Autism spectrum disorders and diagnostic criteria
- Nervous system regulation
- Brain functioning and skills
The course consists of three general calls and six intensives. Each call lasts two hours.
The general calls are opportunities to check in, ask questions, let us know how you are doing, and to share about you!
The intensives are sessions where we are reviewing specific material that you have been assigned, usually in the form of videos to watch with associated questions to respond to, or assignments to complete based on the video.
The videos begin with an overview of the difference between “therapy” and “therapeutic” as well as an introduction to Integrated Movement Therapy, the therapy framework we will be using as a baseline for the training.
Subsequent videos include nervous system function and regulation, understanding autism spectrum disorders, forest bathing, language fundamentals and basics of emotional development, considerations for kids with physical differences, and behavioral interventions and strategies.
There is also extensive information and practice on creating goals and objectives, documentation, and creating personalized applications for individual schools.
The training also covers marketing and promotion, talking to parents and other professionals and writing an indiviualized scope of practice.
Each student will leave the training with a portfolio that includes their scope of practice, personalized SOAP notes, a variety of goals and objectives from which to draw, and an application that is specific to the school.
Upon completion of the training, each student will receive a certificate as a Cedarsong Way Forest School Therapist, and will have the skills to not only include and enhance the skills of children with a variety of disabilities, diagnoses and challenges, but to also better meet the everyday challenges of all the children in the school.
There is no other training like this one. You will come away from this training with the confidence and desire to invite, celebrate and support all kinds of kids in your forest school program.