Happy New Year, all.

I know that we have moved past January 1, 2021, and my New Year’s message may feel a bit delayed. I realized recently that if I waited for the world to settle enough to have a time-relevant message, I’d never have one, so… here we are. What a great reminder that life happens, not always as we plan it, and if we are fortunate, leaves us with possibilities we hadn’t anticipated.

All that said, here is my message about what you can expect from Beck Institute in 2021.

It is hard to speak to 2021 without giving 2020 its due. A year ago, we were still delivering our workshops in person at our home office in Philadelphia. The BI team was able to see each other every day. “Pandemic” was not a way of life, not even a part of our vocabulary. From then till now, we have transformed along with the rest of you, learned from change, and are now able to respond more quickly as a result of turning many of our more future-based ideas, such as virtual training, into reality.  

Many of you know that as an MSW, I fully embrace being a macro-level social worker. My work has brought me many gifts, as a change agent in many places that tackled bigger than life issues such as economic disparities, social justice and now, with Beck Institute, quality mental health, the thread that runs through them all.

This work, this moment feels truly extraordinary as we are poised to deliver on our mission as never before. Here is what that looks like to us in the New Year:

  • More training opportunities offering a broader array of content areas
  • A different approach to training. We will continue our multi-day courses, but also offer half day and 90-minute learning opportunities at different times for our international trainees
  • Growth and support of our Beck Institute CBT Certification program (more to come)
  • More inventive approaches to Supervision and Consultation
  • A continuing focus on research and the support of evidence-based practice

As a team, we facilitate innovative problem-solving. We understand that while we are the originators, the “Home of CBT,” we cannot operate in isolation: the rising tide of mental health concerns can only be addressed if we problem-solve with others.  We are committed to inclusion of your ideas and suggestions, some of which we are already facilitating. We will be in close communication with you, our community, sharing news of our growth and providing opportunities for new partnerships and impact that will be forces for good.

I invite you to join us as we move forward into the year, and work with us as 2021 unfolds.

In the meantime, please reach out to me with any ideas you have of how we can be helpful. My email is: Lpote@beckinstitute.org.

Be well,

Lisa