Creating Pathways: Dr. Amy Marschall on Neurodiversity and CE Innovations & Navigating the APA Approval Maze
Exploring Content Creation, Continuing Education, APA CEU approval, Cosponsorship and Neurodiversity with Dr. Amy Marschall
In this episode of the Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals podcast, host Natasha Moharter chats with Dr. Amy Marschall, a licensed psychologist and CEU provider. Dr. Marschall shares her journey in the field, her transition to telehealth, and the motivation behind creating her own CEU courses. She delves into the challenges and benefits of providing continuing education and navigating the APA approval process, the importance of neurodiversity affirming care, and her upcoming certification program for mental health professionals. Dr. Marschall also highlights her various books and children's resources, and offers valuable insights for aspiring CEU providers.
00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome
00:25 Guest Introduction: Dr. Amy Marschall
01:46 Dr. Marschall's Journey into CEU Provision
02:31 Developing Telehealth Resources for Children
03:18 Creating Continuing Education Content
04:47 Navigating APA Sponsorship
07:41 Challenges and Rewards of CEU Provision
10:12 Neurodiversity Affirming Mental Health Care
14:14 Certification and Education Initiatives
17:35 Tips for Aspiring CEU Providers
21:17 Live vs. Asynchronous Training
27:14 Marketing and Visibility
35:23 International Practice and Cultural Competence
39:23 Final Thoughts and Resources
Transcript
Welcome to the continuing education for mental
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:health professionals podcast.
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:Today, we are hosting another CEU
provider spotlight conversation.
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:This is where we learn more
about CEU providers in our
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:community and their journeys.
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:My name is Natasha Moharter and I'm a
licensed counselor and OCD specialist.
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:I run the Facebook group CE for
mental health professionals.
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:And if you're a mental health
professional, we'd love to
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:have you join us in that space.
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:I am so excited because we are joined
today by our very special guest, Dr.
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:Amy Marschall.
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:Amy earned her doctoral degree in clinical
psychology from the University of Hartford
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:in West Hartford, Connecticut in 2015.
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:She has been a licensed psychologist
since:
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:practice, Resiliency Mental Health
(RMH Therapy), where she provides
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:therapy primarily to children and
adolescents as well as psychological
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:evaluations and ADHD assessments.
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:Her clinical specializations
include trauma informed care,
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:neurodiversity affirming care, rural
mental health and telemental health.
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:In addition to her practice
in the United States, Dr.
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:Marschall is a registered
psychologist in New Zealand.
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:Amy also provides continuing
education through PESI and the
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:Telehealth Certification Institute.
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:And she creates continuing
education courses through Resiliency
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:Mental Health's APA sponsorship.
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:Additionally, she writes educational
mental health materials for
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:Dot Dash Meredith and Spring
Health, and she is the resident
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:neurodiversity expert with Grayce.
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:Dr.
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:Marschall is the author of several
books, including clinical texts,
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:children's books, and a guided journal.
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:In her spare time, Amy enjoys
reading, making jewelry, and
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:spending time with her cats.
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:She is licensed to practice
psychology in Florida, Montana, New
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:York, North Dakota, South Carolina,
South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
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:She is also a PSYPACT provider.
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:Welcome, Dr.
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:Marschall.
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:It is such a pleasure
to have you here today.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Glad to be here.
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:Natasha Moharter: Can you share a
little bit about your background
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:and what got you interested in
becoming a creator and CEU provider?
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah.
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:So, basically my experience
providing continuing education
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:started with PESI, in 2020 when
lockdowns and everything happened.
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:I'm in a number of Facebook groups
for providers who work with children.
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:I found with the transition to online
because of COVID and everything.
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:I was pretty quickly building a
new toolbox for myself of here's
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:all the things that I can do
in my sessions with these kids.
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:I found that everybody in these Facebook
groups was like freaking out because
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:they're saying, how do I do play therapy?
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:How do I do a play based intervention?
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:How do I do a game online?
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:What do I do for all of this?
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:I've been in South Dakota since
:
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:So I had been doing a little
bit of telehealth with children.
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:Just because, you know, there are parts
of my state where it's a three hour
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:drive each way to the closest therapist.
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:So I was working to develop kid friendly
telehealth options at that time because,
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:these kids and their families just
don't have the resources to be driving
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:six hours, once a week for therapy.
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:So when we went online, I
already had a few things that
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:I was doing pretty regularly.
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:And I was finding that developing more
things was coming pretty easily and
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:everybody else was kind of panicking.
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:So that's when I started my blog, which
was initially just a list of stuff that
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:I was doing with kids over telehealth.
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:And then I thought, well,
you know, it'd be good to get
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:continuing education in this.
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:And so I reached out to PESI and
I said, you all don't seem to have
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:anything for telehealth with kids.
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:You know, maybe you should, and I
guess no one else had pitched that
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:to them because they gave me the,
they were like, yes, we'll have
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:you, we'll have you develop this.
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:So I've worked with them on a few
different continuing ed projects.
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:I've got another on autistic
burnout in December.
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:And, basically, I found that, you
know, I can make a lot of great content
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:with them, but it is very, drawn out.
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:So the process, you know, you
pitch your course, they assess it,
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:they determine like they do their
market research and all of that.
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:And it takes a very long time for
them to say, okay, yes, this is
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:something that we're going to produce.
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:And I am not a patient person.
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:So I just, looked up, how do I
just make CEs just like by myself?
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:And I found out that APA will
let any organization apply.
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:They don't approve every applicant,
but anybody can apply and say,
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:I would like to provide CEs.
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:As a sponsor for the American
Psychological Association.
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:I just applied for my own sponsorship
so that I could make my own stuff and
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:not have to wait on anybody, basically.
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:Natasha Moharter: And so with the APA
sponsorship, is it for psychologists only?
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: So, APA requires
that any continuing education
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:that's APA sponsored has to have
psychologists involved in the creation.
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:So you would need a psychologist
kind of somewhere on your team.
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:But, you know, it's not, you have to
be a psychologist to provide APA CEs.
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:I contract with a few people, a
counselor, one social worker, I think,
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:who essentially, they have the expertise
in the things that they want to present
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:on, they just don't have the Doc.
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:Natasha Moharter: That is so helpful.
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:And so you do provide co-sponsorship.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah, so basically
if someone has a course that's
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:appropriate for psychologists, I can
provide a review of their course, and
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:essentially kind of go through all
their training material, and determine
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:if it's appropriate for psychologists.
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:And then APA is very particular
and has some very specific
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:boxes that they need checked.
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:So I go through and I make sure
you're checking all those boxes.
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:And if yes, then I can say, your course
is approved for APA continuing education,
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:because I'm approved to approve you.
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:Natasha Moharter: And what a great
opportunity, especially like you said,
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:because APA has a lot of hoops that
you have to jump through and you being
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:a psychologist you've gone through the
process, you know, the requirements,
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:you know what they're asking.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah, and it's very,
their process is also very expensive.
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:What I found as well is that they don't
have prices listed on the site, but
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:they'll say like, this is how much it
costs to apply, but they don't tell
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:you that that's not the only cost.
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:So I applied and I paid to apply.
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:I also, hired someone who has
done the application before
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:to review all of my materials.
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:I compensated her, which I guess
is not an essential expense.
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:I could have just submitted it on
my own and hoped that they took it,
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:but they typically for, well, they
did this to me and I'm told that
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:they kind of do this for everybody.
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:They said, you have some stuff here that
looks like it could be okay, but we need
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:more information to make a decision.
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:I received that notification
and I had to pay to see their
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:feedback on my application.
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:And then after I fixed the application,
I had to pay for the resubmission.
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:And then they did approve me
of course, because otherwise we
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:wouldn't be having this conversation.
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:And then I had to pay a fee
to activate my approval.
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:Natasha Moharter: Oh my gosh.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Um, And then they said
the approval is good for two years, but at
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:the end of the first year, I had to submit
an annual report of what I've been up to.
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:It's not a reapplication.
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:It's kind of just the heads up,
but there's also a fee that goes
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:with submitting your annual report.
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:So it's kind of just, it's
fees all the way down.
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:I said this on my initial application
but one of my intentions with applying is
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:that continuing ed gets so expensive and I
would love to have to provide low cost CEs
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:I'd love to have options that are free.
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:And I'm like, okay, but I still have to
make up all these fees, not to mention
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:that, you know, I do put money into
creating the courses, like primarily
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:the ones I create, I'm the speaker.
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:So I don't necessarily like I get
the money when the course sells.
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:I don't have to pay someone a speaker fee.
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:But, I pay a professional human to
caption everything so that it's not
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:AI generated and it's more accurate.
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:Zoom has the closed captions, but the
auto generated ones are not always
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:the most accurate so I like when I
can hire a real person to go back
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:through and get everything right.
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:I am not at a point with my revenue
streams to hire a live interpreter,
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:but I can hire someone to take
their time afterwards and just
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:get to it when they get to it.
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:And, there's accessibility things
that cost money that are important, I
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:think, if you're going to be offering,
if you're going to be doing this, you
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:need to be like making it accessible.
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:Accessibility matters,
and that's a priority.
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:Honestly, I mean, I want more
people to be able to offer CEs.
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:And also my other motivation with the
partnerships was, well, if we cut some
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:kind of a deal and that's another revenue
stream, then I can make some stuff
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:free because I've made back my fees.
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:Natasha Moharter: I think you
bring up such an important point
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:because when we have resource
it funds what we can do, right?
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:Psychologically when people
are struggling financially it
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:really zaps your creativity.
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:So why can't we be paid
for the work that we do?
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:And creating kind of different additional
income streams to be able to do that.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: I care
about a lot of things.
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:One of the things I care about is
living inside, and that costs money.
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:Natasha Moharter: Go figure!
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:And the lights?
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:You know?
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: The Wi Fi that we're
using to have this conversation, you know,
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:I can call Xcel Energy and be like, do you
know how many people I helped last month?
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:And they're going to say, that's nice.
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:Natasha Moharter: Yeah.
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:Where's our money?
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:So another question, what has been
your favorite part of this journey?
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: I really like that.
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:I'm able to focus on things like topics
that are important to me without having
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:to get anybody else's green light on it.
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:One of my areas of expertise is
neurodiversity affirming mental
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:health care, which is a newer thing
for anybody to be talking about.
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:Basically recognizing that, the
traditional medical model, not saying
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:that there's no place for the medical
model of things, but this assumption
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:that if you're neurodivergent, then
you're a problem that we need to fix.
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:And, you know, you're a burden to the
people around you and your brain is
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:inherently bad and wrong, and we need
to fix it versus figuring out what
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:your needs are and supporting them.
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:You know, there's emerging research
that shows that that does more harm
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:than good, if you can believe it.
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:I've been really wanting to develop more
in that space of, because I've noticed
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:that a lot of providers are trying to take
this more seriously, which is fantastic,
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:but they don't know where to start.
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:I have, encountered a number of
situations where someone's like,
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:yes, we're neurodiversity affirming.
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:And I'll say, well, what
do you think that means?
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:And essentially, it boils down
to they've heard that certain
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:communities like that term.
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:So they put it on their
marketing materials.
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:And I'm like, that's not, you
know, you can't just do that.
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:That's like me saying that I'm
certified in EMDR when I'm not like,
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:you can't just, you can't just say
stuff as a marketing buzzword, you've
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:got to actually be committed to it.
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:So I was like, I'm going to create
content that teaches you what this means.
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:How to go about doing it and like truly
being committed to it versus just,
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:oh, this is what I'm supposed to be
saying is important to me right now.
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:Natasha Moharter: Right, the buzz, just
because it's a buzzword doesn't mean that
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:we need to be plastering it everywhere if
we're not actually embracing that, right?
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: I mean, speaking of
being neuro affirming, like, I mean,
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:I'm not saying neuro, you know, I don't
fall into that toxic positivity trap
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:of like neurodivergence is secretly
a superpower and it's not like that,
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:but you know, I am autistic and ADHD.
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:And part of why I, you know, when
you're reading off the stuff I'm
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:doing right now, I'm like, Oh,
that's kind of a long list, isn't it?
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:That's why like I've got the hyper focus
and there, there are positives to that.
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:And there is a strength based
approach to be taken there.
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:And, you know, I'm not, I'm not
saying that I'm not disabled.
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:Just yesterday, my husband did the
grocery shopping instead of me because
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:I had an overstimulation moment and
he was like, what food do we need?
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:And I was like, I can't
remember any foods.
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:Like that exists.
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:Natasha Moharter: So, and you're
providing information for therapists
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:to help people like you, right?
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:Yeah.
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:That is so neat.
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:And so it sounds like a lot of
it comes from kind of personal
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:experiences and interest as well.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: I think there's
a lot of, I mean, there's a need
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:in any area to be like, centering
the lived experience voices.
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:And I do say in every single one of my
presentations and every single one of
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:my publications, I'm like, if you're
listening to me to learn about autism
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:from an autistic person, that's awesome.
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:But if I'm the only autistic
person you're listening to,
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:then you're not doing it right.
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:Because, you know, I'm a voice, but
I'm definitely not the only voice
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:people should be listening to, but
also part of why my focus is on that
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:is because I can tell you what it's
like to be a business owner with ADHD
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:because I am a business owner with ADHD.
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:Natasha Moharter: A
successful business owner.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah,
I'd like to think so.
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:And I mean, part of that is though,
because the supports that I need
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:are provided in my personal life.
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:If we meet the needs and we support people
and not that you have to be a business
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:owner for your life to have value but
if that's a goal you have for yourself.
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:It certainly can be possible when
the right support is in place.
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:Natasha Moharter: So
cool and so encouraging.
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:Like you're talking about, there's
so many other aspects to this.
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:We don't just have to show up in
the therapy realm and be providers.
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:Business owners, we can be
therapists and clinicians.
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:And I think the other thing that
I, really appreciated from what you
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:just shared was that it's important
to listen to other people as well.
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:There's so much room for all of us to be
here and to share wisdom and expertise.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: There's never going
to be one person who's the ultimate
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:voice on everything, and I can have my
corner and everybody else can have theirs
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:as well I want to create a program for
people who want to be neurodiversity
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:affirming, where you can get a
certification if you complete certain
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:education and consultation, checkpoints
essentially, show showing that you're
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:truly committed to it and showing that
you've truly learned about these concepts.
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:I'm hiring a couple of other
autistic speakers to create the
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:content so that it's not just me.
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:I'm giving the option that I'm like,
not you have to take these specific
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:courses, but you have to get education
on this list of topics, and I've created
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:courses on each of these topics, but
if you want to take that course on this
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:topic, as long as it meets the criteria,
you don't have to buy any courses from
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:me in order to seek the certification.
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:I am going to have an application fee
for the certification itself, just
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:because I've got to go through all the
materials, but I'm trying to keep it,
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:you know, as accessible as possible.
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:Natasha Moharter: You are
creating a certification process.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah.
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:Tentatively the name is, Certified
Neurodiversity Affirming Mental Health
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:Professional, and then specifically
for the autistic community.
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:So, want people to learn about
introductory information on what it
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:means to be neurodiversity affirming,
what that means, why it matters,
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:information specifically clinical
skills from a neurodiversity affirming
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:lens with the autistic community.
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:And that can be, you know, if you
do therapy, it can be specific to
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:kids, specific to adults, specific
to, diagnostic assessment, kind
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:of whatever your niche is there.
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:Education on the link of autism
and trauma because existing in
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:a world that is not designed for
you inherently causes some stress.
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:Then, you know, some, education on,
autism and gender because it's not a
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:hundred percent, but autistic community
is more likely to be trans or non binary,
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:um, as well as continuing education
specifically on autistic experiences.
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:Like cultural competence with autistic
experiences and racial competence
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:with autistic experiences because a
lot of the neurodiversity affirming
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:voices do come from white people.
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:I'm paying someone else to speak to
that who is more qualified in that
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:domain than me but I feel like it's,
you know, if I'm going to throw out a
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:certification program and ignore that
piece, then like, what am I doing?
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:The impact of misdiagnosis and
then about um, autistics are
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:at higher risk for suicide.
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:So like that risk assessment piece,
there's higher risk for suicide and
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:there's the inherent systemic trauma
of involuntary hospitalization.
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:So there's nuance there that needs
to be addressed at all angles.
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:So yeah, that's kind of the rundown
of topics that'll be covered.
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:And I'm sure I'm not perfect about, I
mean, I know I'm not perfect about it, but
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:you can make efforts, you know, there's
a difference between trying and not
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:trying, and we can at least make efforts.
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:Natasha Moharter: So important to
remember that we don't have to be perfect.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah.
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:And that's another reason why I'm like,
look, if you don't like anything that
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:I have to offer, but you like the idea
of this certification, you don't have
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:to take a single course from me or
from someone I've paid to make content.
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:You can fully go external.
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:As long as it's truly
affirming courses, then fine.
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:Natasha Moharter: Do you have any
tips or advice for somebody kind
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:of exploring their content ideas?
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah, I started
off creating content because people
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:were saying, where can I learn
more about this specific topic?
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:And I was having trouble finding
exactly what I was looking for.
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:It's kind of like, with authors, they tell
you, write the book that you want to read.
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:I was like, I'm going to create the course
that I wanted to take, but couldn't find.
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:Everything from there has been,
I want a course on what it means
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:to be neurodiversity affirming.
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:I want a course on autism and trauma.
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:Like I'm just going to create
stuff that is what I wish existed.
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:You know, I wish there was a way.
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:For people to get certified and show
their true commitment to this approach
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:to treatment versus just being able to
slap a word on your marketing material.
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:Technically, you can call
anything certification.
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:You can just be like, yes, I'm certified.
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:But you can also say, okay,
what makes a good certification?
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:And I also like the outline that I just
ran by, that I kind of shared, I did hire
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:a consult again, someone who's developed
certification programs in the past.
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:And I was like, here's what I want to do.
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:If I called this a certification,
is that legitimate?
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:And if not, what would I need to
change about it to be legitimate in
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:calling it a certification to kind
of, again, get that external feedback.
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:Okay, like you're not just, you
know, cause there are organizations
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:that will just be like, now you're
"certified" after like eight hours.
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:And it's like, I mean, technically that
word is not regulated and you can say
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:that but like it should be like licensure.
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:You can't just say you're licensed.
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:We should have something
similar for certification maybe.
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:Natasha Moharter: Something else that's
standing out to me is that you're talking
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:about not reinventing the wheel, right?
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:You're using your creativity.
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:You're identifying the problems
that you want to solve.
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:And you're also saying, okay,
now who else is in the community?
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:What are other resources out
there that I can utilize so
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:I can keep my momentum going.
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:I'm not reinventing the wheel.
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:That's going to save me
a lot of time, right?
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:Time is our most valuable resource.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: So like, when
we go into practice and they're
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:like, find your niche, find your
scope, continuing ed is similar.
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:Like, what do you know about, what are
you qualified to tell other people about.
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:Nobody's going to be qualified to
speak on absolutely everything.
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:I'll regularly just kind of,
Put out a blast and be like,
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:what should I talk about next?
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:And someone will mention something.
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:And I'm like, I'm not even kind of
qualified to talk about that, I hope
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:you find what you're looking for.
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:Maybe if you're saying it because you
have expertise on it, you can create it.
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:Natasha Moharter: The other thing
that stands out too is that,
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:representation again matters and
our voice and the way that we say
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:it might resonate with somebody and
might not resonate with somebody else.
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:And I know there are various authors
that I read and, somebody else that
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:I've read maybe has said the same exact
stuff, but they didn't resonate with me.
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:This person over here did.
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:And so again, getting our voice out there,
you don't have to be an expert, right?
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:You can be a contributor, you
can get your stuff out there.
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:And you don't have to know
everything about everything.
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:And it's okay to say, I'll get back
to you and I will do some research.
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:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah, I read somewhere.
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:There's this show to tell the truth
where there's three people who are all
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:claiming to be one specific person.
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:You have to guess who's lying.
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:I was reading something that was
like, you can always tell who's
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:the real expert because ask them a
technical question and the expert at
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:some point will say, I don't know.
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:The liars will make something up to
be like, I definitely know everything
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:about this, but the real expert is
the one who's willing to be like,
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:actually, that's not something
that I have at the top of my brain.
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:I can look it up though.
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:I know where to find it.
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:Natasha Moharter: So question
is there a difference between
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:live and asynchronous training?
383
:Dr. Amy Marschall: So APA has two tracks.
384
:There was a discount if
you signed up for both.
385
:So I just got both.
386
:There's live and then
there's home studies.
387
:As the names suggest, the live courses
are done live and the home studies are
388
:done at your own pace, your own time.
389
:I've primarily done home studies just
because I found that it's again for
390
:me, I like home studies because I
can pause and I can go back and I can
391
:break down a one day training into
like an hour a day for a week and get
392
:through all the content, which is great
because we are all incredibly busy.
393
:Having ADHD, there are times that
I'll listen to something and suddenly
394
:be like, Oh, hey, I have been
zoning out for the last 15 minutes.
395
:And with a home study, I can just
hop back 15 minutes on the video
396
:and still get that information.
397
:I do a lot of videos, but, it
doesn't have to just be videos.
398
:You can do written modules, you
can do other ways of learning.
399
:And that's the cool
thing about home studies.
400
:A live webinar kind of has to be me
talking, but a home study can have
401
:components and actually like my I mean my
home studies all have video because I like
402
:to relay information I like to hit record
and then just kind of talk for a while.
403
:Um, I've called it
monetizing my info dumps.
404
:But a lot of my home studies have
follow up homework assignments.
405
:So like, um, like I have a home study
on diagnosing autism in adults and it's
406
:three CEs, but I believe my lecture
is closer to two hours because part
407
:of the CE is I provide my template
for how I write those reports.
408
:And I say now that
you've watched the video.
409
:Review these templates, spend this
amount of time reviewing the templates,
410
:and then spend this amount of time
creating your own template, and
411
:then pull it into your own practice.
412
:So, I don't have to talk for three hours
to have it be three CEs, but it has
413
:to be three hours on the participant's
end and then they not only have the
414
:knowledge, but they come out of the
course with here's how I want my
415
:reports to look and I can make my report
writing time more efficient because
416
:I have made my templates ready to go.
417
:Natasha Moharter: You're giving people
the information and then it's like you can
418
:literally take this and go implement it.
419
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Which is, by the way,
that's one thing that APA really likes.
420
:They want you to say what is someone
taking this course, what are they
421
:going to be able to do the second
that certificate is in their hands?
422
:What are they going to be able to
do because they took the course
423
:and sometimes they get I'll be
honest, they get particular in
424
:ways that are sometimes pedantic.
425
:But the, you know, one of the things is
like your outcome objective can't be,
426
:I'm going to understand this concept.
427
:Your objective has to be, what am I
going to do with that information?
428
:Like, I'm going to be able to
take this concept and craft a
429
:treatment plan from that lens.
430
:I'm going to understand this concept
and have five actionable things that
431
:I could do in a session because of
my understanding of this concept.
432
:Cause that's the difference between
continuing ed and just kind of
433
:learning about a topic because you're
interested in it is being able to
434
:say like, here's how this information
is like informing my career.
435
:Natasha Moharter: Absolutely.
436
:I think it's such a helpful
framework especially when you're
437
:starting to develop the courses.
438
:One of my experiences in creating
content was I wanted to throw
439
:everything in there because I was
like, they need to know everything.
440
:Am I really doing a good job?
441
:I did a training.
442
:It was an hour long training on
OCD and I threw in so much info.
443
:The responses that I got
were, this was great.
444
:And it was a little bit like
drinking from a fire hose.
445
:And I think we need more info on this.
446
:And I was like, oh, I only needed
to bring like two of those concepts.
447
:Dr. Amy Marschall: And another thing
too, is that, typically, well, I
448
:don't know about NBCC and the other
approval processes because I've
449
:only done APA, but the standard is
everything has to be appropriate
450
:for someone who's post licensure.
451
:So I can't come in and be like,
here's what a therapy session,
452
:like it has to be material that's
relevant to the people I'm marketing
453
:the course for, but there's levels.
454
:So you can say this is introductory,
intermediate, or advanced.
455
:So like I have a course on what it
means to be neurodiversity affirming
456
:as a mental health professional.
457
:And that one is marketed as an
introductory level course to this concept.
458
:And then I have a course on neurodiversity
affirming, autism evaluations.
459
:If you don't know what it means to be
neurodiversity affirming, you should take
460
:this course first, or another course like
this first and then come back because I'm
461
:not going to sit here and review all of
the philosophy behind this because you're
462
:here to learn how to take that knowledge
and implement it in this setting.
463
:If you want me to talk for an hour
and you want it to be intro level,
464
:then I'll get into here's what the DSM
says and here's what that looks like.
465
:And here's what a level is and here's
how to use that label in a way that's
466
:going to be helpful rather than harmful.
467
:But if you're like, okay, we'd like these
to be people who already understand what
468
:this topic is and they want to elevate
things that they're already doing, then
469
:I'm like, all right, I'll start up here.
470
:Natasha Moharter: You don't have to
throw in all the information, you
471
:can really conceptualize, okay, this
is for intro, this is for moderately
472
:advanced, and then we have advanced.
473
:Dr. Amy Marschall: For OCD, if
it's an intro and it's like, okay,
474
:you're a mental health provider.
475
:You obviously know what OCD is, but
you maybe don't have any experience
476
:treating it versus this is for
people who specialize in OCD, who
477
:want to get more advanced concepts.
478
:The amount that you explain what OCD
is and how prevalent it is and how to
479
:diagnose it like there's things you can
skip over if you're like everybody in
480
:this room already specializes in OCD.
481
:Natasha Moharter: Absolutely.
482
:So that brings us to marketing
and kind of niching down.
483
:And I think when we talk about
who are we advertising this to?
484
:Is it an intro level?
485
:Is it more advanced?
486
:And we know that all the business gurus
say, you have to know your market.
487
:You have to know your population.
488
:What are their problems
that they need solved?
489
:And how do you, create that solution
and that bridge from where they're
490
:at to where they want to be.
491
:Dr. Amy Marschall: So there's kind of,
and I think this was me, the way that
492
:I was interpreting the information,
because they're like, find a problem,
493
:and offer a solution and I'm like,
Oh, you want me to tell you the
494
:problems in the mental health field?
495
:All right, I've got a list.
496
:But then I started offering solutions
to problems that like maybe other people
497
:weren't seeing as a priority to solve.
498
:I'm like, well, it's, it's a problem
that historically the field of
499
:psychology has offered treatment
options for autism that objectively
500
:there's research to show that this
treatment increases their risk for PTSD.
501
:In what world is it acceptable and ethical
for me to recommend that my client do
502
:something that is likely to increase the
risk that they're going to be traumatized.
503
:That's not okay.
504
:So I start speaking about that and a
lot of people are like No, and it's
505
:like, what do you mean no, and so my,
the problem is that I try to market
506
:to the problems as I see them, and
then other people don't agree with me.
507
:One of the books I wrote is on ethical
and legal clinical documentation
508
:with children and adolescents.
509
:A few people that I've talked
about it with were like, a lot of
510
:people just don't bother keeping
good records like they don't really
511
:care to write good progress notes.
512
:It's a problem because we're supposed
to write and keep good documentation.
513
:But when you're marketing a book of,
hey, we're supposed to be doing this
514
:do you want to do it better to someone
who's like no I'm just not going to
515
:bother to do it at all they're still
not going to buy your book, they're
516
:still not going to attend your course.
517
:Finding the problems that other people
are also willing to work on, and also
518
:like being able to market things in a
way where you're explaining to people
519
:why this is an issue, even if they
maybe didn't recognize it as an issue
520
:before you brought it up to them.
521
:Natasha Moharter: Absolutely.
522
:And there's so many things that
are vying for our attention, right?
523
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah well I
think you have to like I do have
524
:a feedback form that everyone
has the opportunity to fill out.
525
:And I have a contact form on my
website specifically for people who
526
:have taken my courses for questions
or comments that they want to send me.
527
:Natasha Moharter: Whenever you're
putting stuff out there into the
528
:world, people can have opinions, right?
529
:They don't, nobody, not
everybody is going to agree.
530
:I think that it can be vulnerable to
put our work out there or to teach
531
:something and in some of my eval
forms, you know, the majority is good.
532
:And then sometimes people just
have like, oh, you didn't do this.
533
:And you're like, Oh, I didn't
know that that was important.
534
:Okay.
535
:That's, that's good to know.
536
:Ouch.
537
:A little bit.
538
:And okay, moving on.
539
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Some of what I teach
is here's an intervention that some
540
:of my clients have found helpful and
another provider is going to be like,
541
:I would never do that in my sessions.
542
:That's fine.
543
:Clients who take to their style better
than mine still need providers to go to.
544
:I don't have time to see everybody and
I'm not the right fit for all the clients.
545
:I've gotten feedback that my
courses speak on social justice too
546
:much, but I'm like, diagnosis is
political, psychology is political.
547
:If you don't want to hear it in your
CEs, then go to another provider.
548
:Natasha Moharter: There you go.
549
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Well, now I'm going
to talk about social justice even harder.
550
:Like, what does this have
to do with diagnosing ADHD?
551
:And I'm like, well, the
disparities in access to an
552
:accurate diagnosis, first of all.
553
:Ableism, discrimination, stigma,
second of all, like, where
554
:would you like me to begin?
555
:Neurodivergent people have higher
rates of poverty and there's a
556
:genetic link in most neurodivergences.
557
:So you've got kids who are more
likely to have this diagnosis
558
:because of systemic oppression that
their parents have grown up with.
559
:And then you've got the additional
barriers to them getting
560
:the support that they need.
561
:And it perpetuates this cycle.
562
:I'm sorry, you don't see the connection,
but you know, maybe if this isn't
563
:important to you, you shouldn't be
working with a marginalized population.
564
:Natasha Moharter: And you're
bringing that in your content,
565
:you're sharing that knowledge.
566
:I also really appreciate your honesty with
that marketing is kind of a challenge.
567
:I didn't take any marketing or
business courses in my graduate career.
568
:Dr. Amy Marschall: And if anything,
they kind of teach us that marketing's
569
:icky, like, oh, you're a mental health
professional you're here to help people
570
:you're not here to like sell something
and I'm like, well, you know, we didn't
571
:invent capitalism we just live here, and
we have to, first of all, we can't help
572
:anybody if they don't know that we exist.
573
:I have my book coming out next April, The
Neurodiversity Affirming Mental Health
574
:Care What Every Therapist Needs to Know.
575
:And my editor was like, what if instead
of marketing, we called it visibility.
576
:And I was like, I love that, because
577
:Natasha Moharter: That is amazing!
578
:Dr. Amy Marschall: It's not that I'm some
like, sleazy stereotype of the used car
579
:salesman, who's like trying to trick you.
580
:I'm trying to let you know that I
have something that could help you.
581
:But that makes the marketing
difficult because I don't
582
:know how to be like flashy.
583
:And like, you know, I talked with the
marketing department at PESI because
584
:they're like we're putting together
the materials so that people know your
585
:course exists so they can take it,
and they're like how do we make it
586
:flashy and I was like, I don't know.
587
:Why should people take this course
and I'm like, this is, this is good.
588
:It's good.
589
:Natasha Moharter: It's important.
590
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Important topic
like I don't know and they're like
591
:okay but, you know, there are a
lot of courses on important topics.
592
:We need yours to stand out
or no one's going to see it.
593
:And I'm like, yeah.
594
:Natasha Moharter: And sometimes when we
have topics that aren't so flashy or fun,
595
:there's still so much importance to that.
596
:There's still a market for that as well.
597
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Trauma informed
care, flashy, like, hey, we're going
598
:to talk about supporting someone who
survived horrific, grotesque abuse, like.
599
:See you Friday morning.
600
:It's going to be awesome.
601
:Natasha Moharter: Like bring your coffee!
602
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Let's
make it fun and lighthearted.
603
:Like, you know, it's important.
604
:I had my autism and trauma course recently
and I was like, we're going to talk
605
:about how the mental health system has
let this community down and hurt the
606
:people that we're supposed to be helping.
607
:I don't know how to make that
sexy and catchy for a commercial.
608
:I don't know what to
tell you other than that.
609
:It matters.
610
:So that's something that's
been a work in progress for me.
611
:Cause I do have social media presence,
but a lot of my following is like, it's
612
:awesome that you're making these courses.
613
:I'm not a therapist, so I'm
not going to take it, but I'm
614
:glad you're putting it out.
615
:And I'm like, that's great.
616
:And I'm glad that the people I'm here to
help feel that this content is important
617
:for mental health professionals to have.
618
:And also like, how do I get it in front
of the actual mental health professionals?
619
:Natasha Moharter: Like you said, there's
that balance, right, between I don't want
620
:to be salesy, but I do want to be visible.
621
:I think that's another really neat part
of becoming a CEU provider is that you're
622
:not just helping the one therapist, right?
623
:Dr. Amy Marschall: There's only so many
people you or I could see in a given
624
:week doing therapy full time, but if you
create a course that a hundred people
625
:take, you're now by extension helping
every client of those hundred people.
626
:Natasha Moharter: And the other thing
with the home study is you don't
627
:have to have butt in seat hours.
628
:It's like money while you sleep because
they are able to take it whenever
629
:it is a convenience to them not just
Friday mornings at eight or I do
630
:mine on Saturday mornings, which is
a day that typically people are off.
631
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Like, I'm
international, like in New
632
:Zealand, it is, it's about 7am on
Monday in New Zealand right now.
633
:Natasha Moharter: How interesting!
634
:Dr. Amy Marschall: It's hard.
635
:I'm doing some live webinars in
New Zealand in the coming months.
636
:And the times are so like, we're
finding times that, that are my business
637
:hours and their business, but the
overlap is like a three hour window.
638
:Natasha Moharter: What is it like
to be a provider in New Zealand?
639
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah, so that
happened because, I got married
640
:in 2019 and we had our honeymoon.
641
:We went to Wellington and then we
took this guided tour of the North
642
:Island up to Auckland and then we
went to Waiheke Island, which is north
643
:of Auckland there are a couple of,
vineyards there and we did wine tastings.
644
:It was awesome.
645
:While I was there, I met
a woman who runs a clinic.
646
:And so I ended up having an impromptu
job interview, like a normal
647
:thing to do on your honeymoon.
648
:So, I ended up with a job offer in
Auckland, that was offered to me, I
649
:believe it was the 10th of March, 2020.
650
:You're not going to
believe what happens next.
651
:Natasha Moharter: A couple days later.
652
:Dr. Amy Marschall: We're figuring
stuff out and they're like, you
653
:have to go to your doctor and
get an immigration physical.
654
:That's the first thing you have to do.
655
:So they send me the form a week later
and I call my doctor and I'm like,
656
:Hey, I need an immigration physical.
657
:And my doctor said, we just had our first,
confirmed community transmission of COVID.
658
:We're not doing non essential procedures.
659
:Please call us back in two weeks.
660
:And so when they said, call us back
in two weeks, I spent those two
661
:weeks putting together my licensure
application and I sent it in and then
662
:their licensing board closed and their
borders closed for like 18 months.
663
:I guess that's a bust.
664
:And then all of a sudden, one day I
got an email that was like, Hey, you
665
:know, we've processed your application.
666
:When are you getting here?
667
:And I was like, I thought
that wasn't an option anymore.
668
:So I was initially registered non
practicing, but then with telehealth,
669
:I've, I activated my license and I've
just been working remotely, which is cool.
670
:I get to specialize, you know, a
lot of ADHD and autistic people have
671
:a weird relationship with sleep.
672
:So like when I'm scheduling people, I'll
get appointment requests and I'll email
673
:and I'll be like, Do you realize that
you selected an appointment at 3 a.m.?
674
:Like, was there an issue
with the time conversion?
675
:They're like, no, I know that's 3 a.
676
:m.
677
:I'm going to be up anyway.
678
:And I was like, all right.
679
:I've got four time zones in the U
S plus the New Zealand time zone.
680
:I think this is a good thing, but
the New Zealand licensing board takes
681
:cultural competence very seriously.
682
:So they're like, all of your cultural
experiences are remote and I'm like, yes.
683
:Because I am in South Dakota.
684
:And they're like, okay, but
you've got to do some in person.
685
:So we're trying to figure out
when that's going to happen.
686
:Natasha Moharter: Is there anything
else from your perspective that
687
:would be helpful for a CEU provider
that's on this journey that wants
688
:to maybe follow in your footsteps?
689
:Dr. Amy Marschall: You don't have to do
all the things you can decide what things
690
:you really, really want to focus on.
691
:And there's just so many different
options and routes for your business.
692
:You can say, I want to get my own
CE sponsorship, or you can say, I
693
:want to partner with someone else to
sponsor these if you don't want to
694
:be doing the marketing side of things
at all, you can say, I'm going to
695
:apply with this organization and then
they're going to do that piece of it.
696
:And I can just focus on making content.
697
:It's really just kind of what do
you want your energy to go into?
698
:Cause there's a trade off like with
me getting my own sponsorship, it
699
:was because I wanted to choose the
topics that were important to me.
700
:And not have to convince someone else
that those topics were important.
701
:If I were using someone
else's sponsorship, I would
702
:need that buy in from them.
703
:Say what you will about PESI.
704
:They have the biggest
mailing list of anybody.
705
:And if you do a course with them,
people are going to know that it exists,
706
:it's going to get in front of people.
707
:I've had people I have not spoken
to in over a decade emailing me
708
:and they were like, this is you.
709
:Right.
710
:And I'm like, yes.
711
:Natasha Moharter: And
it's effective, right?
712
:If they have the resource, it's like
you said, sometimes that can be the
713
:choice that you make as a CEU provider.
714
:If you don't want to do all of the things.
715
:Before we wrap up,
716
:can you share with us a little bit
more about the trainings that you
717
:have, the certification that's coming
up, your book, and any other of
718
:your amazing resources that would
be helpful for us to know about?
719
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah, sure.
720
:So, on my website, there's the
blog, and I think I'm up to, like,
721
:530 posts or something like that.
722
:And that's all sources
that are freely accessible.
723
:Some of it is for, the general public.
724
:Like I talk about, here's
how health insurance works.
725
:Here's why your therapist might
not want to be in network.
726
:Like, here's how you can argue
with your insurance company to
727
:give you coverage, stuff like that.
728
:But then there is a link on the
website to my courses that I've
729
:done with other organizations.
730
:And then there are 13 courses
that I've created for CEs that are
731
:available, through the website.
732
:I've written quite a few books, there's a
link on the website that has all of them.
733
:But there's, uh, there's a few, you
know, telehealth, Neurodiversity
734
:Affirming Support for Autistic People,
neurodiversity affirming therapy as that
735
:umbrella term, Clinical Documentation
with Children and Adolescents.
736
:I also have three children's books,
one co written with each of my cats.
737
:Slipper the Penguin, which is
about a penguin who thinks she's
738
:bad at being a bird because
she can't fly like her friends.
739
:Then she meets other penguins and
learns that she's good at other things.
740
:She also has a board game that my
illustrator and I just launched
741
:it's a cooperative board game where
you work together to help Slipper,
742
:you know, find her penguin friends.
743
:But my cats, one has diabetes.
744
:He's 14 years old, Armani.
745
:So he has a children's book
about how the vet helped him
746
:feel better when he got sick.
747
:And then Vera, our other cat, was a stray.
748
:And she has a trauma response to a number
of strange things we think it's connected
749
:to the fact that she used to live outside.
750
:Her book is about how she gets scared.
751
:Even though she's safe now, she still
gets scared sometimes because she
752
:knows what it's like to not be safe.
753
:And how we help her when she's feeling
scared, even if it doesn't make sense to
754
:us, why something would be scary for her.
755
:So, you know, trauma,
illness, neurodivergence.
756
:It's kind of checking all the boxes.
757
:Natasha Moharter: And what's so
cool is just the creativity behind
758
:this, and that you don't just have
to provide a live webinar right you
759
:can find your creative aspects and
things that are important to you.
760
:My humble biased opinion, our
pets can be so, so important
761
:and so helpful in this journey.
762
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah.
763
:Oh, my first children's book is Armani
Doesn't Feel Well, and it's because
764
:when he, when he was, well, first of
all, in:
765
:and therapy was online, I had a lot of
kids who didn't want to come to therapy
766
:because I've been in Zoom all day.
767
:I don't want to be in Zoom anymore.
768
:So I trained him to join Zoom
meetings and he would get a treat.
769
:So they would come.
770
:Vera, I tried to train her
to come get treats on Zoom.
771
:She had no interest in being on camera.
772
:And I said, you know what?
773
:Fine.
774
:I respect that you're not
obligated, but Armani would.
775
:And then he was, diagnosed
with diabetes and he has to get
776
:insulin injections twice a day.
777
:So when I work with kids who either
have a medical issue or if they're
778
:taking medication for their mental
health or for ADHD or whatever,
779
:Armani is the example of, you know,
he doesn't always like it either, but
780
:when we go to poke him, he growls,
but he holds still and lets it happen.
781
:Maybe I'm projecting a sentience
onto my cat, but I like to think it's
782
:because he knows I don't enjoy this,
but after you do it, I feel better.
783
:So I would like you to do the thing
that makes me feel better basically.
784
:And I was like, it could
be a children's book.
785
:Natasha Moharter: You really put a lot of
effort and work into your books, into your
786
:content creation, the trainings, right?
787
:Getting your name out there, in
terms of sharing the knowledge
788
:and the wisdom that you have about
topics that are important to you.
789
:And my guess is, even when, content
creation isn't fun, when we're kind
790
:of like, I have to do what, right?
791
:This isn't the part that I signed up for.
792
:Because it matters to you so much, you
can keep going, you can keep pushing.
793
:Dr. Amy Marschall: Yeah.
794
:Natasha Moharter: If people want to
find you where would they reach you?
795
:Dr. Amy Marschall: The main way would be
my website, resiliencymentalhealth.com.
796
:Resiliency with the Y.
797
:I've got my blog on there.
798
:So there's a whole bunch of
resources that are free to access.
799
:And there's a contact form
for continuing education.
800
:Basically, if it's not regarding
an existing course, you can
801
:just write collaboration under
what course it's regarding.
802
:If you're like, I want to get my own
APA sponsorship, but I want a consult
803
:to help with that, I can be that.
804
:If you want to collaborate, and I sponsor
the course you've already created, RMH
805
:education has the courses that I have
created and I'm currently co sponsoring.
806
:So if you need to check
your CE boxes, I have that.
807
:The most common question I get
following someone taking one of
808
:my courses is does such and such
licensing board recognize this?
809
:You would have to ask them.
810
:There are 50 United States,
several US territories also
811
:have their own licensing boards.
812
:And each of those states also has
a psychology board, a social work
813
:board, a counseling board, a marriage
and family therapy board, It is
814
:literally hundreds of licensing boards.
815
:No, I cannot keep track of
each of the requirements.
816
:I have a hard enough time
keeping track of the CE boxes I
817
:have to check for my licenses.
818
:So I know people want to know
and they want to be sure and I 100
819
:percent respect that, but you gotta
ask the board what they'll accept.
820
:If they accept APA then
they'll accept mine.
821
:If you have an ethics requirement, if
they accept under APA standards, then
822
:mine that say ethics, would be accepted,
then it just depends on the board.
823
:Natasha Moharter: Dr.
824
:Amy Marschall, again, thank you
so much for your time and for
825
:your willingness to be here today.
826
:It has just been such an honor to
have this conversation with you.
827
:I know we briefly interacted on the
Facebook group, but this was just
828
:such an honor to get to meet you today
virtually, with the Wi Fi that we pay for.
829
:Dr. Amy Marschall:
Yeah, thank you so much.
830
:It was great to be here and
it's always good to talk about
831
:everything that I'm doing.