The Michigan Psychodrama Center recently announced that co-founder Patrick T. Barone had passed all his American Board of Examiners (ABE) psychodrama certification exams and was officially a CP, meaning a Certified Practitioner of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. The Michigan Psychodrama Center is now proud to announce that Mr. Barone has also achieved “PAT” status.
Here’s how this all works, and what this all means. The CP is the first level of psychodrama certification. The highest level of practice and certification is the TEP; an acronym for one who is a “Trainer, Educator and Practitioner” of Psychodrama. The intermediate step, between the CP and TEP is the “PAT,” which is an acronym that stands for “Practitioner Applicant for Trainer.”
The Board sets standards for the professional practice of psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy and the certified practitioner of psychodrama CP has been deemed competent in these areas. The CP is expected to only practice within their areas of competence and is not qualified to and therefore cannot offer psychodrama training to anyone.
This is not to say that a CP is not well trained. Quite the contrary, to become a CP an individual must obtain a minimum of 780 hours of psychodrama training, and this training can only be provided by either an individual who has obtained a TEP level of certification from the ABE or a PAT level of certification. Of these 780 hours, up to 160 hours may be acquired from a PAT. This means that TEPs and PATs are trainers of CPs.
Becoming a TEP requires a minimum additional 144 hour of supervised training and is usually a minimum three-year journey. This training and supervision focused on teaching and other basic skills necessary for success as a TEP. With Patrick Barone now a PAT, participants in the workshops of the Michigan Psychodrama Center have the option of receiving CP training hours from one of two PATs; either Dr. Elizabeth Corby or Patrick Barone. Dr. Corby expects to receive her TEP certification in late 2019, while Mr. Barone does not expect to receive TEP certification until late 2022.
In his capacity as a business consultant, Mr. Barone has worked with business owners and executives in businesses of all sizes throughout Michigan.
Additionally, Mr. Barone continues to practice law and is the founding partner and CEO at the Barone Defense Firm.