Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals

Trauma, sexuality, relationships, neurodivergence, and the somatic and altered-state work that ties them together. Proudly queer, trans, and neurodiversity-affirming, with roots in the kink and non-monogamous communities.

Get updates from Expansive Education about upcoming classes for helping professionals.

Expand Your Expertise

You know the profound impact of your work. You’re there for your clients through their toughest times, helping them navigate the complexities of life and relationships. But when it comes to working with gender, sexuality, and relationship diverse clients, the foundation laid by a single graduate course in human sexuality often feels insufficient.

Imagine the difference you could make with specialized training in this crucial area. Investing in continuing education tailored to the needs of LGBTQ+, nonmonogamous, and kinky clients equips you with the nuanced understanding and skills to support these communities more effectively.

Why Invest in Specialized Training?

  1. Deepen Your Knowledge: While your initial education provided a broad overview, specialized courses delve into the intricacies of gender diversity, sexual orientations, and nontraditional relationship structures. This deeper understanding fosters empathy and reduces the risk of inadvertently reinforcing biases.

  2. Build Trust with Your Clients: Clients seeking therapy for issues related to their gender, sexuality, or relationship structure need to feel seen and understood. Demonstrating your commitment to ongoing education in these areas shows them you are a safe and knowledgeable ally.

  3. Expand Your Practice: As awareness and acceptance of diverse identities grow, so does the demand for therapists skilled in these areas. By enhancing your expertise, you position yourself as a go-to professional for clients seeking informed and empathetic support.

  4. Stay Current with Best Practices: The fields of gender, sexuality, and relationship diversity are continually evolving. Continuing education ensures you remain up-to-date with the latest research, therapeutic approaches, and community needs.

  5. Enhance Your Professional Satisfaction: There’s a unique fulfillment in being able to competently and confidently support clients who may have previously struggled to find understanding therapists. This advanced knowledge allows you to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

Take the Next Step

Consider enrolling in a continuing education program focused on working with gender, sexuality, and relationship diverse clients. Your investment in this training is an investment in your clients’ well-being and your professional growth.

By choosing to expand your expertise, you’re not just enhancing your practice; you’re affirming your commitment to providing inclusive, compassionate, and informed care. Let’s work together to ensure every client feels understood, respected, and supported.

Feedback from our students

"I highly recommend these trainings. They are very informative, put on by people with knowledge and lived experience, and are just overall great." - Adam Baldowski, LMHC

"There was so much that was useful - the general overview of different types of kink, the concept of processing trauma through sex, the many ways of practicing consent."

"As a leader in my local kink community I feel like this was very helpful for my role and will definitely be helpful in my career later."

"It was incredible. I honestly felt myself spacing out because the content was SO personal and applicable to my own life and trauma that I need some time to process it. A lot of huge realizations for me personally." - Jesse Lyon, LMHC

Upcoming Live Events

  • Oct 16 at 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM UTC

Perimenopause in the Therapy Room: Hormones, Mood, and Relationships (IN PERSON)

  • Winter Park
  • $40

Perimenopause changes how your clients think, feel, and connect, and most of it lands in your office looking like burnout, anxiety, or a relationship coming apart. Join Dr. Mariah Plociniak, LMFT for a 90 minute lunch and learn on what’s happening physiologically, how to tell it apart from a psychosocial stress response, and how to work with it in individual and couples sessions.

  • Sep 25 at 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM UTC

The Synergy of Healing: An Integrative Experience for Helpers and Healers

  • Zoom
  • $50 or 2 monthly payments of $25
  • 90-day access

You know the person who keeps telling the same story — different appointment, same pattern, nothing underneath it actually shifting. This workshop introduces a whole-person wellness model: physical, mental, energetic, relational, and other interconnected realms that are available to explore when the usual approach just isn’t working. Built for clinicians, healers, and helping professionals of every kind.

  • Nov 6 at 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM UTC

Trauma Work with Kink-Involved Clients

  • Zoom
  • $50 or 2 monthly payments of $25
  • 90-day access

This two-hour training is for trauma clinicians who want to work well with kink-involved clients: trauma responses vs. altered states, consensual power exchange vs. an abusive relationship, and what to say when a client tells you something new. Some familiarity with kink is helpful but no prior experience is required. A glossary of terms and resource list are provided.

Self-Paced Courses

Understanding Diverse Sexuality

  • $75

Understanding Kink And BDSM

  • Course
  • 90-day access

In this 3-hour exploration we will examine definitions and delight alike, looking into the array of interests our clients might have and how we can support them wherever they might be in their journey. These interests can include bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, masochism, fetishes, voyeurism... and so much more.

  • $65

Understanding Age Play and Adult Babies: An Introduction for Helping Professionals

  • Course
  • 90-day access

In this course, we will explore the intricacies of age-based roleplaying, also known as ageplay. This practice involves consenting adults engaging in personas that do not align with their chronological age. We will examine how misunderstandings can lead to these individuals being mischaracterized or perceived of as dangerous by professionals, and how to approach such clients with security and understanding.

  • $65

Understanding Power Exchange and Dominant/submissive Relationships: An Introduction for Helping Professionals

  • Course
  • 90-day access

In this course we will learn common terms used to describe Dominant/submissive and leader/follower relationship systems and structures. Using the Contextualized Power Model, we will break down the array of relationship shapes that get called “authority transfer” or “power exchange,” as well as noting where power imbalances in culture can affect these relationships.

Foundations of Private Practice

  • Free

Introduction to Cyber Security in Private Practice - Presented by Creative Cyber Management, LLC

  • Bundle

This series, presented by Burton Maben of Creative Cyber Management, LLC, teaches therapists in private practice to better understand their cybersecurity needs. We cover HIPAA compliance considerations, the use of AI, and other special topics, to help you understand your tech, increase compliance, and reduce risk. Signing up for this bundle (free) will give you access to all classes in the series.

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