Becoming a Students
Becoming a Students

THE 6-MONTH PATHWAY

A master’s level curriculum grounded in theory, community, and practice.

A structured, immersive training pathway for nurses advancing into psychotherapeutic and trauma-informed practice.

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Explore curriculum structure, expectations, and learning flow.

Grounded in 3 Pillars of Mastery

The 6-Month Pathway is intentionally designed around three interconnected dimensions of advanced professional learning.

The Becoming Method®—A Theoretical and Integrative Psychotherapeutic Framework

At the core of the 6-Month Pathway is The Becoming Method®, a structured, integrative psychotherapeutic framework developed by Dr. Joan Samuels-Dennis. The method is evidence-informed and theory-grounded, drawing on over two decades of clinical practice, trauma recovery research, intergenerational and epigenetic perspectives, and established psychotherapeutic principles.

Within the curriculum, The Becoming Method® is taught not as a standalone technique, but as an organizing framework through which students learn to integrate theory, clinical reasoning, and therapeutic presence. Its emphasis on truth-telling, conscious forgiveness, reconciliation, and meaning-making provides a coherent theory of change that supports safe, ethical, and reflective psychotherapeutic practice.

Students are intentionally exposed to a broad comparative theoretical base, including the work of multiple psychotherapists and thought leaders whose contributions have shaped contemporary trauma-informed, somatic, relational, and consciousness-based practice. This comparative approach supports students in developing theoretical literacy, critical thinking, and the ability to articulate and situate their practice within established psychotherapeutic traditions.

Next Learning with Community

Learning With Community

A relational philosophy of practice grounded in communal connection

The 6-Month Pathway is founded on a clear philosophical position: healing and learning are inherently relational. We do not train practitioners in isolation or for community—we train practitioners with community, recognizing that knowledge, healing, and professional identity emerge through relationship.

This approach is grounded in a decolonizing perspective that understands trauma as both personal and collective. Disconnection—within the self, between people, and across social and historical contexts—is recognized as one of the most significant disruptors of human wellbeing. Connection, therefore, is not treated as an outcome of practice, but as its primary organizing principle.

The Becoming Institute is informed by the African ethic of Ubuntu—I am because we are—which frames personhood, responsibility, and healing as mutually constituted. Within this worldview, learning is not competitive, extractive, or hierarchical. It is participatory, ethical, and communal.

Community as a Living Learning Environment

Learning with community occurs both within and beyond the classroom.

Within classroom spaces, students engage in:

  • relational dialogue and shared inquiry
  • reflective learning that emphasizes presence and accountability
  • awareness of how one’s words, silence, and positionality affect others

Beyond the classroom, learning extends into:

  • practicum spaces that open directly into community contexts
  • community-based engagement and applied learning
  • projects oriented toward service, restoration, and collective wellbeing

Learning in community prepares practitioners who can practice with presence, humility, and responsibility—recognizing that healing is always relational, and that the restoration of connection is both the work and the way.

Next Learning with Practice

I’ve done therapy before, but nothing compares to The Becoming Method™. Within just one session, I began unraveling core patterns that years of talk therapy never touched. The clarity I’ve gained—and the emotional freedom I now feel—are absolutely life-changing.
AminaToronto
Dr. Joan’s book 490 and Forgive helped me do something I didn’t think was possible: let go of my trauma story with grace. The Becoming Method™ gave me a daily practice to stay grounded in peace, and for the first time, I’m living life without being led by fear or old pain.
MateoVancouver
The Becoming community has been an unexpected gift. It’s a place where we cry, laugh, pray, and grow together. The shared experiences and real conversations have helped me reconnect with myself and others in a way I didn’t know I needed.
PriyaBrampton
Through this method, I identified the exact moments where trauma took root—and I released the energy tied to them. Since then, I’ve felt more emotionally steady and consistently at peace. My nervous system is calmer, and my thoughts are clearer. I’m not just healing—I’m transforming.
ElijahOttawa
Before this program, the fear of abandonment shaped my relationships. Now, it’s gone. I move slower, trust life more, and let go of the need to control everything. There’s a new vibrancy in me—a clarity and self-expression that finally feels like me.
SukiMississauga
I came for emotional healing—but what I didn’t expect was the impact on my physical health. As I moved through the conscious forgiveness process in the Becoming Method™, old physical symptoms began to ease… and many disappeared completely.
ThandoEdmonton
The Becoming Method™ didn't just help me feel better—it helped me become someone new. After just a few weeks, I felt a massive shift in identity. My purpose became clear. I’ve let go of the emotional pain that was blocking me, and I now move through life with confidence, compassion, and direction.
GiuliaMontreal
I was blown away by how powerful and simple the techniques were. The way Dr. Joan teaches made everything easy to implement—yet incredibly deep in effect. This is the only method that helped me get unstuck, stay focused, and feel lighter—almost instantly.
JamalHalifax
This journey reawakened something in me. I revisited my psychology training, rediscovered my passion to serve others, and realized I’m not just healing—I’m becoming the healer I was always meant to be.
AnikaWindsor
When I began the Becoming Method™ in 2022, I knew I wanted to heal—but I didn’t expect to feel this free. The SSP sessions grounded me. The coaching with Dr. Joan reconnected me to my purpose.
HugoSaskatoon
I spent years using NLP and life coaching to manage symptoms—but nothing ever truly stuck. The Becoming Method™ took me deeper. It uncovered the emotional root and helped me release it completely.
AyeshaCalgary
Talk therapy helped me cope. The Becoming Method™ helped me transform. Healing happened organically—without forcing it. It wasn’t just emotional—it was cellular.
NoahKingston
Most therapies treat fragments of the person—this method treats the whole being. Physical, emotional, energetic, spiritual—it all came together in a way that felt holistic and sacred.
LeilaSurrey
What blew me away was the precision. Using muscle testing, my body gave answers that bypassed all my mental noise. Just clear insight, real release, and lasting freedom.
CarlosWinnipeg
I thought I knew healing… until I experienced the Becoming Method™. Every session felt like a shift. The ‘What for?’ technique helped me uncover buried emotional goals—and let them go.
MeiSt. John's
"Before I was referred to Dr. Joan, I was in a state of turmoil. I did not know who I was anymore, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. I felt utterly lost... Since discovering Dr. Joan and her forgiveness journey. My life has completely changed. I am now on the journey to becoming the best version of myself."
Kimone

Learning with Practice

EMBODIED, HOLISTIC, AND COMMUNITY-ROOTED CLINICAL FORMATION

Learning with practice is where the Becoming Institute’s philosophy comes fully alive. The 6-Month Pathway includes a 1,000-hour supervised practicum designed to support deep clinical integration—moving students from understanding psychotherapy conceptually to embodying it with clarity, confidence, and care.

Practice is not delayed until the end of training. It unfolds progressively, intentionally, and relationally.

From Intensive Training → Self Healing → Practice

Self-reflection, Self-healing, and Embodied understanding

The 6-Month Pathway is intentionally designed around one core assumption:
Effective healing practice begins with the practitioner’s own healing.

For this reason, clinical formation within the Becoming Institute does not begin with technique alone. It begins with self-reflection, self-healing, and embodied understanding—recognizing that practitioners can only accompany others through processes they have been willing to meet within themselves.

Students are first introduced to the Becoming Method® through an immersive 3-Day Intensive, where they learn the core therapeutic structure and clinical process. From there, they move into a guided self-healing journey, allowing them to experience—personally and directly—the same stages of healing their future clients will encounter.

This sequence is intentional.

By facing the self first—meeting one’s own fears, patterns, and protective responses—students develop depth, humility, and grounded therapeutic presence. Practice then expands outward in a coherent progression: Self → Others → Community.

A Holistic Understanding of Trauma

The 6-Month Pathway moves beyond fragmented models of care and positions holism as the necessary evolution of psychotherapeutic practice. Students are trained to work with the full human system—body, mind, emotion, spirit, and relational field—recognizing that sustainable healing does not emerge from fragmentation.

Practicing With and For Community

Learning unfolds directly within community. Rather than placing ownership of care solely within institutional systems, our 1000-hour practicum opens its doors to community members seeking trauma-informed healing and recovery support. Students witness how psychotherapy lives in the real world—offering meaningful, accessible care rooted in connection and dignity.

Supported. Demonstrated. Practiced.

Students are supported not only through theory, but through demonstration and repeated supervised practice. They observe. They practice. They reflect. They practice again. Clinical competence develops through presence, repetition, and relational accountability—ensuring that practice emerges with confidence, care, and integrity.

Theory shapes how we think.

Community shapes how we relate.

Practice shapes how we serve.

You’ve now seen how the 6-Month Pathway is structured, how learning unfolds, and how students are supported as they move from theory into practice. The next step is simply deciding whether this model of formation aligns with how you want to learn, heal, and practice.

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