Using Experiential Therapy with Telehealth

Description

In a virtual world where clients can feel distant, how do you create the safety, depth, and connection needed for true healing? Experiential therapy offers a way forward—inviting clients to feel, embody, and transform rather than just talk.

Telehealth has expanded access to care, but it also challenges clinicians to adapt. This course shows you how to bring action-oriented, experiential methods into virtual sessions, ensuring your clients don’t just process their struggles—they experience real breakthroughs.

Taught by seasoned clinicians Sheila Maitland, LCMHCS, CSAT and Amber Tolbert, LCSW, LISW-CP, this course draws on decades of practice in trauma treatment, family systems, experiential modalities, and clinical supervision. Both instructors have built thriving practices and trained countless clinicians in making therapy more embodied, relational, and effective—even online.

Their approach blends clinical rigor with practical tools you can use immediately. You’ll learn how to set safety and boundaries as the foundation, integrate creative experiential enactments, and adapt techniques like psychodrama, sociometry, and transactional analysis for individual, couples, and group therapy in telehealth settings.

Topics include: creating psychological safety and trust online, structuring groups for deeper connection, using sociometry and role play to bypass defenses, blending top-down and bottom-up approaches, adapting experiential therapy for trauma, codependency, and relational work, and applying techniques across individual, family, and group telehealth sessions.

Key Takeaways:

• Screen effectively for group work: Gain clarity on how to assess clients for readiness and suitability.

• Create authentic safety: Learn practical strategies to establish trust, commitment, and protective guidelines in virtual therapy.

• Apply experiential tools across contexts: Discover action-oriented interventions that work with individuals, couples, and groups.

Why this course?

• Expand your toolkit: Go beyond talk therapy with proven experiential methods adapted for telehealth.

• Learn from experts who live this work: Sheila and Amber don’t just teach experiential therapy—they embody it in their practices, training, and lives.

• Meet the stakes of today’s practice: Clients are isolated, anxious, and yearning for deeper connection—this course equips you to meet them where they are.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how to assess a client for participation in group

• List traits to identify when screening a client

• Describe how to create safety and commitment in a group

• Identify specific action-oriented experiential therapy enactments that are effective in individual, couples, and group therapy

In a time when clinicians are being asked to do more with less, this training helps you rediscover the creative, embodied heart of therapy—even through a screen.

Enroll in this course today to bring deeper safety, connection, and transformation into your telehealth sessions.

Format and Access

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Instruction consists of 1.5 hours of video instruction and a post-test.

Course Details

Availability: 

From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.

Who Should Attend: 

This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.

Teaching Methods: 

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.

How to Attend: 

Course access and completion instructions.

Instructors and Disclosures

Instructors

About Sheila Maitland, LCMHCS, CSAT

Sheila has been working with individuals, couples, groups and families for more than 20 years. She owns a group practice Relationshipenrichmentcenter.com that relies heavily on family systems theory and experiential therapy. This means that a client won’t be asked to do anything that she and her staff haven’t done themselves. Sheila also facilitates workshops for couples and families through SteppingIntoWholeness.com.  

Sheila also works with professionals providing training, continuing education and clinical supervision in North Carolina.  She obtained her “S” in 2013 and enjoys teaching, facilitating and guiding therapists in developing into their full potential, and full licensure. She provides both individual and group supervision for LCMHCAs which typically takes 2-3 years. She trains professionals, provisionally licensed and fully licensed therapists in treating trauma.

Sheila has been a consulting therapist, supervisor, & trainer for the Experiential Training Institute with the nationally recognized Onsite Workshops, and has enjoyed being a part of their organization throughout her career. She is also a Certified Daring Way Facilitator which means she’s certified in Brene Brown’s work and leads groups dealing with shame, resilience, and worthiness.

Sheila’s group practice is in Matthews, NC. Sheila enjoys a rich marriage and family life with her husband, son and Golden Retriever. You can find Sheila here.

About Amber Tolbert, LCSW, LISW-CP

Amber graduated from the University of South Carolina with dual Master degrees in Social Work and Public Health. She is a clinical supervisor and is dually licensed in South Carolina and North Carolina as a Licensed Independent Social Worker in Clinical Practice. Her experience over the past 14 years has taken her to many different mental health settings and she has experience with all ages.

Amber owns a holistic multi state group practice, “The Healing Collective”. She leads a team of 7 trauma specialists, 3 support staff, and a transformation coach in virtually supporting all of North and South Carolina through traditional and non-traditional therapeutic services.

Amber lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina with her husband, Chad of 10 years and their two boys, Cooper (7yo) and Finn (4yo), as well as their 3 dogs (Shelby, Charlie, and Piper), 1 fish (Ryan), and 2 Guinea Pigs (Blippi & Waffles). You can find Amber here.

Disclosure Statement: 

The instructor for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.

CE Hours

Credit Hours:

This course consists of 1.5 continuing education hours of credit.

Counselors:

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No, 6693.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors. #MHC-0048.

Marriage and Family Therapists: 

Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations.  You can check with your board to determine if your licensing board would accept this course.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0135, effective May 8, 2025.

Social Workers:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2024 – 05/02/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.5 clinical continuing education credits.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers #SW-0435.

Addiction Professionals:

This course has been approved by Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #193104, Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is responsible for all aspects of the programming.

Psychologists:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0128.

Art Therapists: 

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Creative Arts Therapists #CAT-0093.

Other Professionals:

This course qualifies for 90 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations.  Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

This is a non-interactive, self-study course.

Accommodations and Policies

Close Captioning is available for live webinars and recorded video presentations.

You can click on the following links to view our policies:

• Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities.
• Cancellation Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Support Options
• Disclosure Statement