On-Demand CE Training
ODL 423: Introduction to Self-Meaning Based Therapy (SMBT)
Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure the transferability of CE credit for an asynchronous course. Some state boards may place restrictions regarding the modality of training required for ethics credits to be awarded. If this training indicates ethics credits are available, please verify that your state allows them to be earned through an on-demand course format.
Please note: This on-demand webinar is a replay of a live CE event. The format reflects the original presentation and may include live Q&A, transitions, and intermittent audio/visual fluctuations typical of a live recording.
1 CREDIT HOUR APPROVED FOR:
Social Workers
ASWB ACE – 1 Clinical Continuing Education credit
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work – 1 Contact hour
Psychologists
APA – 1 CE credit
Counselors 1 Contact hour
NBCC ACEP – 1 Contact hour
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 1 Contact hour
Addiction Professionals
NAADAC – This course is not approved for NAADAC Contact hours
Nurses
California Board of Registered Nursing – This course is not approved for Nursing Contact hours
Case Managers
CCMC – This course is not approved for CCMC Contact hours
Created On: 6/22/2026
Target Audience:
This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, and counselors.
Overview:
Many clients leave therapy with greater insight and symptom relief, yet still feel fundamentally unchanged at a deeper level. This introductory training offers a fresh perspective on why that happens and what to do about it.
Self-Meaning Based Therapy® (SMBT) introduces a trauma-informed, neuroscience-grounded approach that shifts the focus from pathology to meaning. Rather than viewing persistent patterns as resistance or dysfunction, SMBT understands them as expressions of a person’s core Self-Meaning – a deeply held, experiential sense of self formed in early relational contexts.
In this 1-hour overview, clinicians will be introduced to the foundational concepts of SMBT and begin to explore how working directly with one’s core Self-Meaning can deepen therapeutic impact across modalities.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:
- Explain why traditional talk therapy may not fully transform one’s core self-experience.
- Identify how one’s core Self-Meaning shows up clinically through emotion, sensation, and relational patterns.
- Examine the depathologizing framework of SMBT and its implications for clinical practice.
- Recognize the relevance of SMBT across client populations, particularly in trauma work.
Presenters:
Dr. Lawrie Ignacio, PsyD
Dr. Lawrie Ignacio is a clinical psychologist, educator, and co-developer of Self-Meaning-Based Therapy® (SMBT) and Intensive Psychodynamic Couple Therapy (IPCT). Her work explores how implicit self-meaning, formed in early life, shapes identity, suffering, and relationships. Based in Honolulu, she teaches and mentors doctoral students while contributing to community care through the co-founding of Hawaiʻi’s first pro-bono virtual mental health clinic. She presents nationally and internationally.
Dr. Graham Taylor, PsyD
Dr. Graham Taylor is a clinical psychologist whose work integrates psychodynamic, humanistic, and trauma-informed approaches with neuroscience. He is co-developer of Self-Meaning-Based Therapy® (SMBT) and Intensive Psychodynamic Couple Therapy (IPCT). His work focuses on how implicit self-meaning organizes emotional and relational life, and how therapy can access these deeper layers. He teaches, consults, and contributes to professional dialogue through writing, speaking, and podcasting.
* Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The developers of SMBT have professional affiliations with Level Education Group and an intellectual and professional interest in the modality. No commercial support was received for this continuing education activity, and no related products or services are being promoted or sold through it. CEU Creations independently reviewed the activity for educational quality, accurate representation of the available evidence, and commercial bias.