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🕒 6–8 Months

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Est. 2016 · Brampton, Ontario
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Nurse Psychotherapist Certificate Student Handbook | Becoming Institute
Student Handbook · 2026 Edition
Nurse Psychotherapist Certificate

Student Handbook for the 12-Month Nurse Psychotherapist Certificate

Everything you need to understand the program structure, expectations, and supports as you move from nurse to psychotherapist-in-formation.

This handbook accompanies the Nurse Psychotherapist Certificate – Specialization in Trauma Recovery and outlines the three-semester progression, academic policies, practicum standards, and regulatory frameworks that guide your learning and practice.

Download Handbook (PDF) Apply to the Program
12 Months Nurse Psychotherapist Certificate – Specialization in Trauma Recovery
3 Semesters Foundations, advanced coursework, and a 1,000-hour practicum
1,737.5 Hours Formal instruction, supervised practice, and directed study
Why this handbook matters

A companion for your formation as a nurse psychotherapist

The handbook is designed to sit beside you throughout the program year. It gives you a clear view of the curriculum, outlines what is expected at each stage, and names the supports available as you move through foundational courses, advanced pre-practicum learning, and supervised clinical practice.

  • Program overview – Understand how all eight courses and three semesters fit together into a cohesive professional formation pathway.
  • Policies and expectations – Review academic standing, attendance, assessment, extensions, and progression requirements in one place.
  • Clinical practicum guidance – Learn how the 1,000-hour practicum is structured, supervised, and evaluated to support safe, accountable psychotherapeutic practice.
  • Regulatory and ethical context – See how the program aligns with nursing, psychotherapy, and ethical standards that govern practice in Ontario.
Program Structure

Three semesters. One cohesive progression.

The curriculum is intentionally sequenced so that students build academic, relational, and clinical competence before entering supervised practice.

Semester 1

Foundations

The foundational phase introduces gateway learning, identity formation, and Ubuntu-informed African and Indigenous ways of knowing that ground psychotherapeutic nursing practice.

  • BEC101 Nurse to Psychotherapist: Foundations for Psychotherapeutic Nursing Practice 36 hours
  • BEC103A/B The Becoming Method®: Foundations of Safe and Effective Use of Self in the Therapeutic Relationship 169.5 hours
  • BEC105 Ubuntu: African & Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being 112 hours
Semester 2

Advanced Coursework

The advanced pre-practicum phase deepens communication, assessment, treatment planning, ethics, cultural accountability, and decolonizing practice before supervised placement begins.

  • BEC301 Authentic Presence and Intuitive Communication in Psychotherapeutic Nursing Practice 112 hours
  • BEC302 Psychotherapeutic Assessment and Treatment Planning — Trauma Practice Models and Holistic Frameworks 112 hours
  • BEC303 Ethics, Cultural Accountability, and Decolonizing Practice in Psychotherapeutic Nursing 112 hours
Semester 3

Clinical Practicum

The practicum phase centers a 1,000-hour supervised psychotherapeutic placement supported through advanced clinical seminar learning and practice-based consolidation.

  • BEC304A/B Advanced Clinical Seminar and Skills Lab with 1,000-Hour Psychotherapeutic Practicum 1,084 total practicum-semester hours
What’s inside

Key sections of the Student Handbook

The handbook brings together program design, academic regulations, and professional standards so that you can make informed decisions and remain grounded in your responsibilities as a psychotherapeutic nursing learner.

  • Program structure and curriculum The three-semester model, course descriptions, hour distributions, and how foundational, advanced, and clinical learning build on one another.
  • Academic and professional expectations Requirements for participation, assessment, academic integrity, professionalism, and readiness to progress between semesters.
  • Practicum standards and supervision Criteria for practicum sites and supervisors, expectations for direct client contact hours, documentation, supervision, and reflective practice.
  • Equity, safety, and wellness Commitments to trauma-informed education, decolonizing practice, accommodations, and learner support resources.

Living document.

The Student Handbook is a living document that may be updated to reflect changes in regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, or institutional policy. When material updates are made, learners will be notified and provided with the revised version.

In all cases, the published handbook works alongside your course syllabi, supervision agreements, and the policies of relevant regulatory bodies to guide your professional formation.

Ready to review?

Download the current Nurse Psychotherapist Certificate Student Handbook

Before you begin — or continue — your training with Becoming Institute, take time to read the handbook in full, make notes, and bring any questions to your admissions call, orientation, or supervisory meetings.

Download Handbook (PDF) Apply to the Program
Questions about the handbook or program expectations? Contact the Institute or bring your questions to admissions and orientation conversations.

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