7 Hours / 7 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Becoming a Transformational Therapist: Introducing Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) is presented by Jonathan Peretz, PsyD.

Rooted in the short-term psychodynamic tradition but informed by contemporary attachment theory, affective neuroscience, somatic approaches, and transformational studies, Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) seeks to help clients traverse difficult emotional and relational experiences to release blocked energy and regain resources. Through lectures, clinical videos, and experiential exercises, participants learn the basic elements of AEDP’s transformational approach and develop a clear understanding of the affective and relational change mechanisms at the heart of this contemporary model.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe how clients recognize and relinquish longstanding patterns of emotional avoidance
  • 2 Describe the Triangle of Experience and AEDP’s “Four States and Three States Transformations” clinical map to conceptualize and guide treatment
  • 3 Describe the effective receptive experience and the client’s sense of feeling felt, seen, and cared about to reduce shame and repair damage to the self
  • 4 Describe nine change mechanisms inherent in AEDP
  • 5 Describe four specific ways to modify AEDP for use with clients whose cultural backgrounds favor emotional restraint

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for mental health and allied professionals who wish to deepen their knowledge and skills in psychodynamic, experiential, and emotion-focused therapies, with a focus on attachment-informed and transformational approaches.

  • Experience Level

    This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at the beginner level who are new to Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) and its foundational concepts.

  • Practice Setting

    • Private practice offices specializing in psychotherapy
    • Community mental health centers
    • Outpatient clinics within hospitals or healthcare systems
    • University or college counseling centers
    • Group practices with a focus on attachment-informed or experiential therapies
    • Nonprofit organizations providing mental health services
    • Family therapy or marriage counseling centers
    • Integrated behavioral health settings within primary care clinics

Presented By

Jonathan Peretz, PsyD, Associate Professor, Associate Department Chair (Psychology), Director of the Master of Science Program

Dr. Jonathan Peretz earned his Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) in January 2001. Since that time, he has worked on the staff of university counseling services at Livingston College of Rutgers University, University of California at Davis, and the University of California at Berkeley. He has also taught graduate students at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium, and Palo Alto University’s Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Palo Alto University and maintains a private practice in San Francisco where he works with adults and adolescents. His clinical interests include contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy, culture and diversity in practice, social psychology, psychotherapeutic change mechanisms, mindfulness, memory reconsolidation in psychotherapy, and clinical supervision.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Jonathan Peretz, PsyD

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Basic elements of the AEDP transformational approach

  • Develop clear understanding of affective and relational change

  • Specific ways to modify AEDP

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).



Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE 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-0356 and 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-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.