Therapeutic MINDFUL PHOTOGRAPHY Program

Upcoming Training Dates

My January training is full, however I will be announcing dates for my next virtual Intro to Within & Without™ program being held in March 2025.  Please consider submitting your application for the March training now, however. This will be followed by an advanced Within & Without™ grief group training in April or early May 2025.

March 2025 10-hr Intro training program for professionals working with grievers.  

10 APA approved CE’s are available for an extra fee.

Where: Virtual Training
When: To be announced soon! However, please consider submitting your application now if you are interested.

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“In a dominant culture so uncomfortable with death, where ancestral mourning rituals are long forgotten, creative practices like the mindful photography and reflection skillfully taught by Jessica Thomas can offer a transformative portal to meaning-making and healing."
-Holly J. Pruett funeral celebrant, death doula, community death educator
"The photography activity we did was especially impactful in terms of the creation of metaphors for a client that the therapist could use, and I see this being a powerful tool. I loved how naturally it happened and saw that even in the short sharing time in the breakout groups, how easy it was to then discuss grief using metaphors."
-Kaeley C. O’Leary Stephenstherapist

Created for

Healthcare professionals and Grief Workers

Such as:

  • counselors
  • death doulas
  • hospice organizations
  • therapists
  • social workers
  • art therapists
  • organization advocates
  • skilled nursing facilities, or
  • volunteers

Who are seeking to integrate a Within & Without™ therapeutic mindful photography program into their work.

Looking for mindful photography as an individual grief group?  Find our more, here Grief Groups | Within & Without™

Mindful Photography Training Overview

Based on Dr. Thomas’s research and extensive experience, you will receive direct training in Within & Without™ therapeutic mindful photography for grief. This training offers in-depth knowledge of therapeutic mindful photography, aesthetic perception, symbolism and photographic equivalent, grief ritual, personal and transpersonal narratives, meaning-making, and the impactful role of aesthetic interventions in the grieving process. 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: 

 You will not only develop an intellectual understanding of the program but also engage in direct experiences through various ways of knowing, such as self-reflection, creative expression, intuition, interpersonal communication, and observation.

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Within & Without™

By The End of this Training You'll Have

  • An overview of therapeutic grief models that emphasis meaning and transformation 
  • In depth theoretical  knowledge on therapeutic  mindful photography 
  • Experiential understanding on how to practice the  Within & Without ™ method
  • An understanding of the role meaning-making can have on the grief process
  • The knowledge on how aesthetic interventions work and how they can support grievers 
  • An understanding of the lived experience of grief through the lens of the Within & Without ™ method
  • An understanding on how to facilitate therapeutic photo elicitation
  • How Within & Without ™ is facilitated both online and in person.
  • An understanding of  the therapeutic impact of integrating nature to support grievers
  • The opportunity to stay connected and share with other professionals utilizing Within & Without™

As an experienced educator and practitioner, I aim to balance structure with intuitive inquiry, valuing all perspectives and demonstrating how to cultivate a safe environment where participants can freely create and express themselves.

Apply to the training

Therapeutic MINDFUL PHOTOGRAPHY Program

Within & Without™ Training Options

Both the intro training and the advanced grief group facilitation training are offered virtually. They can both be applied in your independent practice or within your organization, including with staff, residents, caregivers, and nurses under the supervision of Dr. Thomas.

Intro Training

This introductory training will provide you with the knowledge, experience, and confidence to practice Within & Without™ for your own benefit and to integrate it as a grief support tool in individual sessions. CE's might be offered for an additional fee. This intro training is a pre requisite for the advanced training where you will learn group facilitation.

Advanced Certification Training

This advanced training will focus on how to facilitate Within & Without™ grief groups as a therapeutic tool. This training might offer CE's for an additional fee. After you complete the advanced group facilitation training you will receive a training certificate of completion and an electronic badge as displayed below.

Badge for Completing all trainings

Testimonials for the program

"I am drawn to narrative therapy and understand grieving as a process of meaning-making. Despite my narrative orientation, I was not expecting the photography assignment to be a very meaningful activity for me. I was surprised by what came up in my reflections, there was much more beneath the surface than I realized. I have a new appreciation for pulling in other mediums to aid in the meaning-making process. I love the idea of utilizing practices such as Within & Without with clients as they mirror the creative process of narrative construction.”
- Lily NajmabadiTherapist
"Thank you for your time and energy put into this class. I gained a lot of value and was reminded how one can be effective with therapy through creativity. As an artist one of my major identity struggles has come with my pursuit of my therapist’s license. Who am I now? Am I giving up a part of me? This class illuminated how one can bring all of themselves into this work. The Within & Without exercise was not only cathartic, but it stimulated my thinking and prompted me to reflect and create meaning. When this is paired with a topic such as grief, creativity makes room for empowerment. There is also an honoring of the client being the expert of their own experience. It is their perceptions and conceptualization of symbolism that is valued and ultimately deemed as their truth.”
- Colin Chuteartist, therapist
"The Within & Without practice, developed and introduced by the professor Thomas was not only an unexpectedly illuminating process that fits into my wheelhouse of Arts-Based Research, but is also an intervention that I think holds a lot of potential use in Art Therapy (I may actually use it to do some self-research around climate grief in support of my thesis development.) The dyadic discussion I had with a classmate about this exercise afforded me a rare opportunity to discuss grief with a stranger, an instance that I found very uncomfortable but enriching."
- Audrey ConnorArt Therapist
"I want to own that I was deeply skeptical of the Within & Without practice. I don’t think I’ve experienced anything as powerful and integral to my growth as a therapist and person as I have through these three, mundane photos of my environment. The Within & Without practice and class and doing this work in front of 15 others was also immensely important to this growth as well, especially when it comes to my inevitable work with those who are dying and grieving. I want to offer a space to witness and for witnessing people’s journeys, whether it’s my own, others’ “wretched anxiety,” or mortality. From a deepest space, thank you for offering this space to us."
- Anonymous student
" Talking about grief head-on is more difficult for me. Within & Without practice led to so much more introspection and I felt able to connect more deeply with my grief. In fact, after doing that activity, I felt more connected to my grief than I have for years. I have continued returning to the images in my mind, thinking about those metaphors. I absolutely plan to use this practice with my future clients. It is a beautiful way to connect with one’s grief and be able to go deeper than words."
- Genevieve Stiers Student

Frequently Asked Questions About the Program

No. You do not have to take both. However you will not be permitted to offer Within & Without ™ grief groups without taking both trainings. 

Unlike conventional approaches to photography, mindful photography sees beyond what is “looked” at. The focus is clear seeing and personal resonance. Photography, when practiced mindfully, can facilitate an aesthetic experience wherein one learns to temporarily overcome the subject-and-object dichotomy and disconnection. The process of mindful photography involves the acts of receiving, letting go, and learning to wait. You let go of thinking, judging, self-evaluation, clinging, and rejecting and accepting whatever comes, good or bad. When photography is practiced mindfully, it can be therapeutic and increase awareness and the capacity to create meaning through our experiences.

Trainings will teach you the therapeutic impact of MP through the Within & Without™ therapeutic mindful photography method.

The introduction training is a 10 hr training. Training hours are broken up into one 4hr session on a Saturday morning and a series of three 2hr sessions in the following weeks. 

The advanced group facilitation training is an 6hr training that is split into two 3hr sessions over two Saturday mornings. 

Please complete an application form and Dr. Jessica will be in touch with you to formally register and pay for the training.

The intro training is $500.00. The advanced training is  $500. Student discounts are available upon request.  APA approved CE’s are an additional $75.00

The current trainings are online. In person trainings will be announced later.

APA approved CE’s are available for an  additional fee. 

CE credits for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is sponsoring this program. The SCA is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. SCA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and
LMFT license renewal for programs offered by sponsors of CE who are approved by the American Psychological Association.
• LCSW, LPCC, LEP and LMFTs, and other professionals from outside of California need to
check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept credits from programs
offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
• SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for
licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain their certificate of attendance for 4 years after the course concludes. Nurses outside of California must confirm acceptance with their licensing boards.
•For questions about whether APA CE is valid for you, contact your licensing board directly.

For questions about CE’s for this program, contact Spiritual Competency Academy at [email protected].

For questions about receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact Dr. Jessica Thomas at [email protected].

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