Live Online

Pivot Points: Mastering Professional and Life Transitions

· May 5, 2026 ·

This event is currently full. However, we invite interested participants to join the event waitlist. Please add to cart and check out to be added to the waitlist.

Pivot Points: Mastering Professional and Life Transitions, is a series of monthly 90-minute interactive Zoom sessions with the aim to explore personal and professional transformations. Facilitated by Drs. Amy Rutstein-Riley and Diane Richard-Allerdyce, this series creates space and opportunity to dive deeply into the transformative power of peer and relational mentoring and to engage co-learning, self-exploration, and testing new ideas about your next life or career change. Together we’ll explore new professional interests and develop strategies for pivoting to the next professional stage or sector of practice. Inspired by requests for mentorship on such issues from students and alums, this series invites you to explore topics that may include transitions and leadership identity, forging a new professional path, resilience, self-understanding, and reinvention, among others, to be determined collaboratively with the group participants.

Dates:
May 7th
June 4th
June 25th

All PhD in Leadership and Change (PhDLC), Doctor of Education in Educational and Professional Practice (EdD), and PhD in Environmental Studies (PhDES) alumni are encouraged to participate, with the understanding that a shared commitment to continuous participation is crucial for the peer-mentorship model. The group will be capped at 20, ensuring a focused and engaging experience for all participants.

We listened to the alumni that answered the Fall 2025 Alumni Survey and their request for more engagement opportunities and professional support. As a result, registration for this virtual gathering is complimentary. In lieu of a fee, we ask that you consider making a gift to the Antioch University Scholarship Fund. Your contribution directly supports the student scholarships and social justice initiatives we will be discussing. By choosing to give, you aren’t just attending an event; you are investing in the mission that brings us together.
Please contact Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Leslee Creighton ([email protected]), with questions.

Instructors

Amy Rutstein-Riley

Amy Rutstein-Riley, PhD, MPH is a highly collaborative leader, seasoned educator, and interdisciplinary scholar. Her current research activities focus on Women’s Leadership in Higher Education, Trauma-informed Leadership, and girls’ and emerging adult women’s development. Prior to joining the Graduate School of Leadership and Change, for the past eighteen years, she has served in a number of roles at Lesley University, including Director of the PhD Specialization in Adult Learning and Development, Dean of the Faculty, Chair of the PhD in Education Studies, Dean of the Graduate School of Education, and, most recently, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs. As an Associate Professor of Sociology, Amy taught undergraduate and graduate courses in a wide range of topics, including Health Care and Society; Race, Class, and Gender; Interdisciplinary Inquiry; Qualitative Research Methods; Body Image; and Ways of Knowing. In the Graduate School of Education, Amy taught courses in qualitative research, adult learning and development, and dissertation seminars. She has mentored many students on the path to completing their PhDs. Her own academic training includes an MPH in Public Health, Epidemiology, and Social and Behavioral Sciences from Boston University’s School of Public Health, and a PhD in Educational Studies, with a specialization in Sociology and Women’s Health, from Lesley University.

Diane Richard-Allerdyce

Diane Richard-Allerdyce, PhD, comes to Antioch University from the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Studies at Union Institute & University, where she taught from 2008 through 2023 and served as Associate Dean and Chair of Humanities & Culture. In 2001, Diane co-founded the Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts & Social Justice, a Florida charter school serving mostly immigrant students from the Caribbean, and served as its Chief Academic Officer for twenty-one years, until its closing in 2022. She also developed and directed Teaching by Heart, a teacher-training program in Haiti, where she traveled frequently from 2009 through 2019. Diane was trained as a poetry therapy facilitator through the National Association for Poetry Therapy, for which she is a past president as well as a longtime member. She is an anti-bias facilitator within the Anti-Defamation League’s “A World of Difference” program. Diane is the author of a scholarly book on the writer Anaïs Nin (Northern Illinois University Press, 1998), as well as several scholarly articles and chapters, most recently on the intersection of psychoanalytical theory with somaesthetic philosophy. Her creative publications, in addition to several individual poems, include a chapbook, Whatever It Is I Was Giving Up (Pudding House, 2007), and a collection of poetry and prose, House of Aching Beauty (EditionsPerleDesAntilles, 2012). Her story “The Gift” appeared in the North American Review (Fall 2019: 304.4): 43-50). (It was inspired, in part, by Wallace Stegner’s “Goin’ to Town”; an interview about her creative process appears at https://northamericanreview.org/open-space/conversation-diane-allerdyce-discusses-her-story-gift-her-partner-rory-spearing ). Her short story “Kochma” appeared in Stories that Need to be Told 2022: A TulipTree Anthology; it was also first-place winner in the UK-based National Association of Writers and Groups (NAWG)’s 2022 Open Competition for Fiction and was republished with permission in The Write Path 2022, NAWG’s Anthology of Award-Winning Writing. Diane lives in Boynton Beach, Florida, with her husband, Rory. She loves teaching yoga, playing the French horn, hosting writing groups, and visiting her kids and grandkids in Asheville, North Carolina, and Sunnyside, New York.

When the Screen Isn’t Enough: Crisis Response in Digital Clinical Supervision

· April 27, 2026 ·

As telehealth and hybrid care models continue to expand, clinical supervisors are increasingly responsible for guiding supervisees through high-risk client situations without being physically present. Crisis moments such as suicidality, threats of harm, or acute psychological decompensation expose the limitations of digital supervision and require supervisors to adapt quickly, think systemically, and respond with both clinical and ethical precision.

This training equips counseling supervisors to navigating crisis response within digital supervision contexts. Participants will explore how distance, technology, and role boundaries impact real-time decision-making, risk assessment, and intervention. Emphasis is placed on actionable strategies, including structured crisis response frameworks, real-time supervision techniques, and ethical considerations related to liability, documentation, and jurisdiction. Through applied case examples, attendees will strengthen their ability to support supervisees effectively during high-stakes clinical moments even when the screen creates distance.

Learning Goals

Analyze how digital supervision environments alter risk assessment, communication, and intervention during client crisis situations.
Apply a structured crisis response framework to guide supervisees through high-risk clinical scenarios in telehealth settings.
Integrate ethical and legal considerations into digital supervision practices, including documentation, emergency planning, and supervisor liability.

Instructor

Dr. Ali Corey

Dr. Ali Corey is a counselor educator, clinician, and leadership consultant with extensive experience in training mental health
professionals and organizational leaders. She holds a doctorate in counseling and serves as a graduate professor, where she teaches
research, clinical practice, and leadership development in counselor education programs. Her professional focus lies at the intersection of trauma-informed care, organizational leadership, and equity-driven practices.

Dr. Corey has worked with educational institutions, clinical training programs, and community mental health organizations to foster trauma-informed leadership approaches that strengthen organizational culture, reduce burnout, and enhance client outcomes. Her scholarship and teaching emphasize strengths-based, relational leadership practices that integrate both clinical knowledge and
evidence-based leadership theory.

Participants in her sessions benefit from her ability to bridge clinical insight with practical leadership strategies, ensuring that complex research is translated into actionable skills for real-world application. With her combined background as a clinician, educator, and leadership trainer, Dr. Corey provides an engaging, research-informed, and practice-oriented perspective on what it means to lead
mental health organizations through a trauma-informed lens.

Dreams, Duty, and Decisions: Counseling Military Spouses on Self Care

· April 23, 2026 ·

Military spouses often carry invisible burdens—balancing caregiving, relocation, and constant adaptation while quietly setting aside their own goals and identity needs. For clinicians, supporting these clients requires a nuanced understanding of how chronic role strain, shifting family systems, and identity disruption intersect to produce burnout.

This 90-minute professional development session equips counselors with tools to identify the psychosocial stressors most common among military spouses, evaluate existing interventions for effectiveness, and design practical, individualized action plans that foster resilience and self-redefinition. Through case-based discussion and reflection, participants will deepen their capacity to help clients reclaim agency, reframe purpose, and integrate self-care into the rhythms of military life.

Learning Goals

Identify common psychosocial stressors and role expectations that contribute to burnout and identity disruption in military spouses.
Evaluate the effectiveness of existing clinical approaches for supporting military spouses experiencing burnout or identity loss.
Design a brief clinical action plan incorporating at least one intervention to reduce burnout and promote resilience in a military spouse client case.

Instructor

Cecily Moore

LPC-MHSP, LMHC

Dr. Moore is very excited to be a part of the AUNE counseling department. Currently, Dr. Moore lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, with her spouse and two children. Dr. Moore is a military spouse and owns an online counseling practice working with Black professional mothers.

Dr. Moore specializes in addressing the SBW narrative, depression, career-related stressors, career trauma, and perinatal mental health concerns. Dr. Moore is trained in EMDR, play therapy, solution-focused therapy, and perinatal mental health treatment protocols. Dr. Moore loves to read and considers herself a lifelong learner.

Introduction to Internal Family Systems (IFS): Experiential Parts Work and Clinical Application

· April 20, 2026 ·

This workshop introduces Internal Family Systems (IFS) as both an experiential and clinically applicable framework for understanding and working with the human psyche.

Grounded in the core principles of the IFS Institute model, participants will learn how the mind naturally organizes into parts, how Self-energy functions as an internal leader, and how protective and vulnerable parts interact within an internal system.

The training is designed to bridge conceptual understanding with lived experience. Participants will engage in a guided parts-mapping process to explore their own internal system, followed by structured instruction on how to apply IFS-informed interventions in clinical practice.

This course emphasizes accessibility, relational presence, and practical integration, allowing clinicians to embody the work rather than solely understand it intellectually. The material is relevant for both those new to IFS and practitioners seeking to deepen their experiential and clinical application of the model.

Learning Goals

Participants will be able to identify and describe at least three core components of the IFS model, including parts, Self-energy, and protective roles.
Participants will be able to construct a basic parts map of their own internal system, identifying at least two protective parts and one vulnerable part.
Participants will be able to differentiate between Self-led presence and parts-led reactivity in clinical interactions.
Participants will be able to demonstrate at least two IFS-informed interventions for working with protective parts in a clinical setting.

Instructor

Joseph Bielling

LPCA, Certified Level 3 IFS Therapist

Trauma-informed therapist & educator integrating IFS, somatics, and Self-leadership IFS Level 3 • LPC-Associate • Author

As a Certified Level 3 Internal Family Systems (IFS) Practitioner and Licensed Professional Counseling Associate, my passion lies in empowering individuals to understand the intricacies of their minds, unlocking their full potential. My journey has been profoundly shaped by the transformative power of combining psychedelics and IFS, healing deep trauma where traditional therapy often falls short. Since 2007, I have been an entrepreneur dedicated to wellness and mental health. I own a wellness center and a coaching business, and I hold a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. My career has been defined by creating cooperative opportunities, assisting wellness practitioners in running their businesses, and helping individuals heal from past wounds. My mission is to help people understand how their minds actually work so they can reach their potential with confidence, courage, and compassion. My dedication to personal growth and the IFS therapy model began in 2016. This approach has had a profound impact on my life, allowing me to resolve and heal trauma that traditional therapy couldn’t touch. IFS helped me realize that I am not a broken or damaged person, but rather a whole individual capable of profound self-understanding and growth. In my coaching and counseling roles, I bring my personal growth experience, passion for helping others, and skills in active listening and compassion to the forefront. I am committed to guiding my clients on their journeys to self-discovery and healing, leveraging my expertise to make a lasting impact on their lives. I am excited to connect with individuals and organizations who share my dedication to mental health and personal growth. Let’s connect and explore how we can work together to create a healthier, more compassionate world.

Psychedelics in Recovery: Ethics, Integration, and Practice

· March 16, 2026 ·

As clinical interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy continues to expand, mental health professionals are increasingly encountering questions related to safety, ethics, and clinical fit—particularly for clients engaged in abstinence-based recovery models such as the 12 Steps. This continuing education workshop provides an educational overview of psychedelic-assisted approaches as they relate to trauma, depression, and existential distress, with specific attention to recovery-oriented contexts.

The workshop emphasizes ethical considerations, contraindications, and culturally responsive clinical decision-making when working with individuals in recovery. Participants will examine how emerging therapeutic conversations intersect with established recovery values, and how clinicians can engage these topics with care, curiosity, and professional integrity.

Through didactic presentation, case-based discussion, and guided dialogue, participants will gain conceptual frameworks for assessment, ethical engagement, and integration support. This program is designed for licensed mental health professionals seeking to expand their understanding of this evolving field while maintaining clear professional boundaries and respect for recovery culture. The content is educational in nature and does not provide instruction in the administration of psychedelic substances.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is designed for licensed mental health professionals, including counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, psychologists, and other behavioral health providers seeking continuing education related to ethics, emerging clinical issues, and culturally responsive practice.

Instructional Methods
– Didactic presentation
– Case-based examples
– Guided discussion and reflective dialogue

Learning Goals

Upon completion of this 3 CE hour program, participants will be able to:

1. Identify at least three ethical considerations and three contraindications relevant to working with clients in recovery who report psychedelic-related experiences.

2. Describe at least two evidence-informed mechanisms by which psychedelic experiences may support healing from trauma and existential distress.

3. Differentiate between at least two integration approaches compatible with 12-step and abstinence-based recovery frameworks.

Instructor

Ritch Colbert

Ritch brings a multidisciplinary background spanning spiritual care, recovery-oriented practice, and public-facing professional education. Prior to work in Spiritual Care and Psychedelic Medicine, Ritch held a decades-long career in the television industry, regularly presenting to large audiences of broadcasters and industry leaders. In addition, he has served for over thirty years in public-facing leadership roles as a board member of diverse organizations.

With over four decades of continuous recovery, Ritch brings extensive lived experience within recovery communities and is frequently invited to speak at large meetings and conventions nationwide. This experience informs an ethical, values-based approach to conversations at the intersection of recovery and emerging therapeutic practices.

Ritch’s clinical foundation includes chaplaincy and spiritual direction, with extensive clinical pastoral experience in hospital, palliative, and hospice settings, offering a compassionate understanding of trauma, grief, and existential suffering. Graduate training in Spiritual Psychology, along with certification from the Center of Psychedelic Therapy & Research, supports an evidence-informed and integrative approach grounded in ethical care and cultural humility.

Trained as a Level I and II Reiki practitioner, Ritch brings a gentle, body-centered awareness to his holistic care practice. Music is his contemplative art form; as a composer and musician, he creates ambient and neo-classical soundscapes designed to support reflection, healing, and altered states.

An alumnus of Antioch University at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, Ritch maintains strong professional connections with Antioch-trained clinicians serving recovery-oriented populations. This workshop reflects a commitment to bridging clinical practice, lived experience, and ethical inquiry in service of responsible professional learning.