Distinctive Learning
At Distinctive Learning, our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge and skills that will propel their careers. Our Distinctive Learning faculty members are dedicated to the continued growth of counseling professionals in our community and are excited that you’re taking the next step in your learning journey with us!
Click Here to Register for Our Monthly Distinctive Play Workshop Wednesday
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Click Here to Register for Our Monthly Distinctive Play Workshop Wednesday 〰️
Distinctive Learning Courses
Child-Centered Play Therapy 101: A Deep Dive into the work of Garry Landreth
Save the Dates: Feb. 22nd, March 29th, April 26th, and May 31st, 2025
24 APT Approved CEs/LPC CEUs
SPACE IS LIMITED TO 16 PARTICIPANTS
Early Registration for each session is $165, after 2/15, 3/1, 4/1, and 5/1 each session is $180
ALL 24 CEs for $650 (a $70 total savings!) if registered for all 4 before 2/22
Deep dive into the work of Garry Landreth with Julie Thigpen, MA, LPC-S, RPT-S, EMDR Trained, and Elizabeth Barrientes, MS, LPC-S, RPT, Sandtray Certified, EMDR Trained. Details for each session are available by clicking here!
Julie Thigpen is approved by the Association for Play Therapy to offer continuing education specific to play therapy and maintains responsibility for the program.
How to Help Clients Follow Their Head Without Losing Their Hearts
3 LPC CEUs - $150 fee
April 11th, 2025 9am to 12pm
Join us in exploring the five bonding forces that contribute to connection and closeness through the Relationship Attachment Model (R.A.M.). Identify how you can help your clients "Avoid Marrying a Jerk/Jerkette" by recognizing warning signs in difficult relationships. Enjoy an interactive workshop with easily accessible tools you can take with you and offer your clients to understand past relationships and build insights ito current relationships. Participants of this P.I.C.K. (Premarital, Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge) Program Workshop will leave with the ability to help their clients identify warning signs of difficult partners, introduce and practice using R.A.M (Relationship Attachment Model), and explore trust and committment through the P.I.C.K. Program. This workshop is presented by Vanessa Fawn Colburn, MS, LPC-S, Certified Sandtray Therapist a Certified P.I.C.K. Instructor.
The Baby Blues: Expanding our View of Maternal Mental Health and Wellness
2 LPC CEUs - $150 fee (includes lunch)
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 11am to 1pm
During May’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness we want to see beyond the Blues to support the vibrancy of motherhood. This two-hour lunch and learn will provide education, small group activities, and techniques you can use to enhance mental wellness in your clients. Participants will gain an increased understanding of perinatal depression by identifying signs and symptoms, learn about maternal mental health treatment options including specific area resources and how they may benefit patients, and explore counselor’s self-care and burnout reduction skills to assist them in being more present with their patients and efficiently identify patient needs.
This workshop is presented by Vanessa Fawn Colburn, MS, LPC-S, Certified Sandtray Therapist.
The Dynamic Relationship Between Burnout & Compassion
2 LPC/LPC-S CEUs - $75 fee
May 30th, 2025 11am to 2pm
This workshop will help participants understand the elements of burnout and mindful self-compassion. We will address how first responders manage responsibilities and how to create a work-life balance, symptoms of stress and burnout can occur. Together, we will explore the three elements of burnout, and the three elements of Mindful Self-Compassion through a culturally responsive framework. We will expand participants' tool kit for self-care as we reduce self-criticism and increase self-kindness to generate internal and community resiliency. This workshop is presented by Vanessa Fawn Colburn, MS, LPC-S, Certified Sandtray Therapist and Dr. Jinnelle V. Powell, PhD, LPC-S.
Demystifying the Remediation Process in Supervision
3 LPC-S Ethics CEUs - $150 fee
June 7, 2025 11am to 2pm
Hybrid Training - Limited to 15 in-person participants
In this session, participants will have an opportunity to calm remediation fears while ensuring they remain attentive to gatekeeping, an integral part of the role of a supervisor. Attendees will be introduced to various Relational Cultural-Theory (RCT) concepts that positively impact the supervisory relationship. Participants will also explore the remediation process, through an RCT framework, while gaining insights regarding the relationship between remediation and gatekeeping, the value of informed consent in supervision, inherent power dynamics, professional dispositions, and counselor impairment. Participants will leave empowered with the tools and skills to successfully, compassionately, and ethically remediate current and future supervisees.
This workshop is presented by Dr. Jinnelle V. Powell, PhD, LPC-S.
Burnout Bootcamp!
6 LPC CEUs - $180 fee
July 25th, 2025 9am to 3pm
Calling all worn and weary counselors! Join us for a day of connecting to ourselves, our purpose and our struggles. Together we will learn about Self-Compassion practices, completing stress responses and exploring play personalities to help move through a burnout cycle.
This workshop is presented by Vanessa Fawn Colburn, MS, LPC-S, Certified Sandtray Therapist.
Supervisor Refresher Training
6 LPC-S CEUs - $325 fee
Friday, November 14, 2025 - 9am - 3pm
In this session, participants will learn how to use the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACES) in supervision to promote trauma-informed supervision practices. Participants will understand how to engage in evaluating the supervisee through a developmental lens. Participants will also have an opportunity to use and apply Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development to the supervision process. Participants will gain an understanding of unique ethical issues in supervision with a special focus on navigating the world of private practice. Attendees will additionally learn how to navigate the professionalism and professional identity of the supervisee through this training.
This workshop is presented by Vanessa Fawn Colburn, MS, LPC-S, Certified Sandtray Therapist and Dr. Jinnelle V. Powell, PhD, LPC-S.
Distinctive Play Workshop Wednesday
LPC and APT CE’s Available and Vary Per Workshop
Julie Thigpen is approved by the Association for Play Therapy to offer continuing education specific to play therapy and maintains responsibility for the program
All cancellation and refund requests for Continuing Education Programs must be made in writing within 12 days of the CE program event. Every effort will be made to achieve resolution, including, but not limited to, substitution of course purchased, credit provided for future courses or refund of fees.
Level 1-Level 4 68 CEUs - $1800 fee
Vanessa Fawn Colburn is the developer of this program. Fawn developed this program with you in mind, seeking flexible humility, a growth mindset, and encouragement to connect to your own North Star in the vastness of Sandtray experiences.
Sandtray Compass Program 2026
Reach out to learning@distinctivecounseling.com for information regarding the 2026 Cohort!