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Welcome to White Pine Institute. On this
page, you will find answers to some basic questions you may have: the
who, where, what and why of the Institute. |
Who?
White Pine Institute is directed by Joel Guarna, PhD, licensed
psychologist in the state of Maine. The Institute is the
educational and training component of his psychology practice,
White
Pine Behavioral Health LLC. Dr. Guarna is the primary
instructor for workshops in this first season of trainings. As the
Institute grows, it will include other psychologists, social workers,
counselors, and healthcare workers who have similar interests and values
regarding practice and training.
Where?
White Pine Institute is centered in Portland, Maine. At the
current time, most of the listed trainings are also in Portland though
future workshops will be held in various locations around Maine and New
England.
What?
White Pine Institute will offer talks and
trainings on a variety of topics in behavioral healthcare.
These trainings will be designed for psychologists, social workers,
counselors, and other healthcare workers. Specific events will range from short talks to full-day or multiple-day
workshops and conferences. The first season of trainings will be built around
workshop topics of personal interest, such as Acceptance & Commitment
Therapy (ACT), and with familiar colleagues and co-presenters.
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Why?
 "Why"
questions are necessarily personal, so I (JG) will address this
directly. In the past, I have been heavily
involved in education and training. This was especially true while
working as a staff psychologist in the Department of Veterans Affairs
Healthcare System in Boston where I had the opportunity to fill multiple
roles besides my role as clinician:
- Clinical Instructor of Psychology
in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
- Member and then Chair of the
Psychology Education Committee at the Brockton VAMC (for
psychology staff)
- Section Leader of the Adult
Psychopathology & Treatment Didactic Series at the Boston
Consortium in Clinical Psychology (for psychology interns)
- Coordinator and Primary
Instructor of a
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Course at the Harvard
South Shore Psychiatric Residency Training Program (for
psychiatry residents)
In the more distant past, I have
also taught and assisted with undergraduate courses in
psychology. However, despite my love of teaching, my
heart is in clinical work. Face-to-face clinical work
remains the focus of my energies and efforts and, as best as
I can predict, will remain so for the duration of my life.
When my career path led away from
Boston to private practice in Maine, I intended to
eventually create an entity to permit me to stay connected
to teaching and training. The Institute is the manifestation
of this intention.
Perhaps a simpler answer to the
"why" question is this: Teaching others is a core
value that imbues my work. I strongly believe that
being a teacher/trainer enriches my work as a therapist and
improves my ability to help others. It is my hope that
participants in my workshops, as well as my therapy clients,
benefit from this.
As White Pine Institute grows,
other training faculty will be added. They will
inevitably have their own answers to the "why" question,
other purposes driving their involvement in teaching.
I imagine that many of these future presenters will have similar values
to those express above. Many will be therapists first, "local
experts" who want to participate in the dissemination of
their knowledge, interests, and skills to other
professionals in their communities.
What about "How?"
Here are a couple of my ideas.
Why do CE events cost so much? |
