UNIVERSITY OF INTEGRATED LEARNING (UIL.org)
The Association for the Whole Person (AIWP.org)
How confident would you feel if your heart, your purpose, and your professional skill sets were all aligned?
Integrative Learning is a unique undertaking; very doable, and very proactive.
It is for those adults who want to deeply root their inner values, beliefs, and experiences into the shape of themselves!
You will never feel bored with your work, or filled with self-doubt, because you have integrated your life events;
those experiential moments that shape and guide your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors!
Want to apply an intellectual rigor and writing inquiry into your degree foundation?
Want to Create an MA or Ph.D in Somatics++ you?
State of the Art Therapy training program is affiliated with the University of Integrated Learning
to support you to engage, design, shape, and walk your path of educational mastery.
The MA or Ph.D is an additional component;
not a requirement of State of the Art Therapy Program.
You must register and contract directly with UIL.
You must have a BA degree from an accredited university to apply.
University of Integrated Learning, (UIL)
is nested under the umbrella of
AIWP(the Association for the Integration of the Whole Person)
Scroll down for the details you need
Support, Effort, and Grace!
UIL was founded by Psychology Professors in California during the burgeoning movement toward experiential learning as a basis for being skilled in the helping profession of therapy.
These professors discovered you cannot actually teach some of the necessary components
of therapy in an academic setting.
Helping others fully demands an integration of one's inner self; and life skills.
One cultivates an ability to stay present in order to meet real people
with real pain, need, and capacity for healing change.
Become an educator/therapist, and do your own deep healing work!
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Start with a "mind-map session with Annie
This in-depth meeting helps you identify and name the threads of personal interest and life experience that you will weave into your degree.
- You will leave this meeting with a mind map that guides your 2 year journey through your internal and external curriculum
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Start Writing!
You practice staying relational with your vision (the map you created with Annie's guidance). Now you start writing; daily, frequently, about those topics and your life experiences and learnings. This writing is deliberately one big document, "no spell check, no editing." The intent is for you to access a different aspect of mind; that non-judgemental place of integration, inquiry, and reflective thought! You can use pre-existing life learning, and utilize current course studies as your curriculum.
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Mentoring/Guidance
Every so often, you send some of your writing to Annie. She will be your Provost for UIL, and she reviews, offers supportive suggestions, and makes sure you get off on the right track for your integrative writing.
In addition, you can choose to meet (4 meetings/year) so you have a felt sense of being seen, and that you can work through the normal self-doubts that emerge when you are taking on a big project, such as your life learning, vision, professional integration.
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Consolidation into Credits
Once you are 3/4 or so along your journey, you begin to group parts of your writing into learning courses. These are the titles/with credit hours you will need to validate your learning, and to graduate. Annie can help you with this process; it is wonderfully satisfying to see your learning take shape.
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Moving through Obstacles
Adult learners are balancing education and real life. You will want a steady pace in your writing, and there will be natural moments of a pause, where life takes over, or you need to meet a family crisis. As you return to your writing, all this becomes also integrated into your written document, via your personal inquiry and reflection. With your Original Map as your vision/motivation and guide, you will find that your soul-self is naturally looking at your life lessons.
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Outcome, graduation
Your writing may become a book. You may design online courses yourself. You may open a private practice, or create a non-profit that benefits your community or the world. You will find that "graduation" is not the outcome, but the step along the way as you embody your life vision.
What are the costs and commitment?
The MA or Ph.D is $3K/semester,
It is 2-year program ($6K/year, $12K total)
(you may take additional time if needed without financial penalty)
Sometimes, life throws you a curve ball! Fortunately, you can have a time extension without being financially penalized.
An extension is not a way to escape the rigor, but to be true to adult life events that occur
alongside your integrative process.
Requests for extension will be a discussion with your mentor,
so that you don't feel shamed or that you are trying to escape the threshold of accomplishment.
you are so worth that investment in building your professional/personal foundation
You will be surprised at how strong and supportive your inner knowing becomes and shows up in your life!
That's what comes from Integrated Learning!
If you have unfinished MA credits through another program, you can use this at UIL.
Annie's journey with UIL... (UIL graduate 2005)
Back in 2000, I was 46 years of age, and worked as Director of Body Psychotherapy for the MA program in Somatic Psychology at Naropa University. I was hired, based on life/teaching experience, and my accredited MA degree (dual degree in Family Systems Therapy and Organizational Development). I loved my teaching, and was at a life-phase of "next steps."
As a "life-long learner," I was deeply involved in studies in Pre and Perinatal psychology, developmental movement, somatics, movement/performance/meditation, tantra, and sacred art.
How would I find time to study all those interests? What would I do with them? Realistically, I knew I would just dabble here and there, and was longing for a more comprehensive focus for my studies.
I didn't want to leave my profession, and I needed to continue working financially. However, I did want to add to my integration and expertise. Could I pursue an advanced degree and continue working?
I explored modular degree doctoral programs. My requirements were these: I wanted to pursue the passions that interested me. I wanted the rigor of reading/research, and experiential research. I did not want to simply take a course that had no interest or purpose for my desires. I did not want to go hugely into debt, especially at my age, in order to get an advanced degree.
I flew to California to visit a repudiated modular program called Saybrook University, and attended a 4 day sampler of course offerings to see if it was a good fit. Class after class, I found myself disappointed. I either already had the depth being taught, or it was not leading down a path that was tailored to my interests.
Fortunately, Zoe Avestrieh, the Director and Colleague at Naropa for the Dance Movement Therapy track, informed me about UIL. I spontaneously reached out to them while there in California, and as luck would have it, UIL founder Mehl Suhd was in the office that day and agreed to meet me.
We had an amazing 2 hour interview where he listened, challenged me, and supported me to consider my soul-self path in service to my academics. It was a rigorous and inspiring interview.
Mehl told me the history of UIL, how it was deliberately a "non-accredited" degree program, so they could maintain the format of writing and personal inquiry at that depth of integrative adult learning.
Mehl explained how the California college accrediting board approached UIL numerous times over several years, asking them to "get accredited!" Fortunately, UIL refused to alter their educative process to fit the format accreditation required. UIL was created for integrative experiential learning with educational rigor, and was sold on that model. The UIL board members held steady, and insisted UIL was not going to adapt to the standard academic model with those extensive costs and structural format.
Hmmm!?? I had some choices to make! Did I really want a non-accredited degree? Was I interested in the process of my own exploration, as much as the outcome of a degree? Did I need validation, or rather my own foundation and knowledge base?
I went for it! I already had an accredited MA, already had my LPC license, and decided to risk the experience. Good news, I loved it!
Also, my degree was fully paid off by the time I graduated. I attended several supplemental courses and trainings, wrote and wrote, and integrated my teaching, my book writing, my conference presenting, and my personal practice inquiries. I wove together an integrative braid; infant development, embodied psychology and neuroscience, human sexuality, somatic practice, and sacred art. I created a degree in Somatic Psychology, with diverse specialties, and ended up with plenty of credits to graduate.
I also thought I was going to flunk! I got discouraged half-way through. Self-doubt kicked in...Why did I ever pursue this type of degree? How was I missing out by not going the "traditional route?" However, self-doubt is apparently a normal part of the UIL learning process, and part of the human journey as well. I found the tenacity to "keep going," and was surprised how easily the credits and course content fell into place once I had my big writing document. I got guidance on how to shape my learning courses into credits and my degree almost shaped itself! And, what I thought would take 2 years, actually took 5 years, due to life circumstances. It was very important, since my teaching salary was not large, that I chose a program where there were no financial penalties for my extension.
The results were well worth the effort. One result was the consolidation of my learning into my next level of writing; I got 3 books out of this time; the ground-breaking texts of Birth's Hidden Legacy Volume 1 and 2, and my (still needing the final edits) Sexuality and the Sacred, which will launch next year.
Now, that's integrated learning! I hope you are inspired to consider UIL in your life future of education, and use my State of the Art Therapy Training as a major component of your course work.
Scroll down to understand how UIL works on paper...
And remember, State of The Art Therapy Training Program, is all about making your work into an art form. Each and every session as a therapist or educator. I have bundled for you my major online training courses and you can join me ON THE LIVE SESSIONS to benefit from my expertise. Plus the in-person hands-on skills, and the mentoring, and practice of application in year 2.
What is the
Association for the Integration of the Whole Person?
What is AIWP?
What purpose does it serve?
AIWP is the tax umbrella that allows UIL to be a non-profit. Prior to therapist regulations in California, there were lay-person therapists. They were known as counselors, or pastoral counselors, or healing professionals. UIL was created under the tax status of an "educative" church, allowing UIL to accept payment from students to continue to support their mission of outreach in helping others.
The focus is on integrative service. Click the blue button below for details.
MA or Ph.D option explained above...
Click the orange button to go to the State of the Art Therapy page and fill out your application. Then be sure to book your call with Annie to see if State of the Art Therapy and the UIL program are a fit for you.
Education is Your Learning Process
Jump in and enjoy who you become as you shape and support your higher learning