Clearly Clinical

What Clearly Clinical is

Clearly Clinical is an online continuing education provider for mental health professionals that delivers its CE courses as podcast episodes. The home page names its audience as social workers, psychologists, therapists, clinical counselors and addiction counselors, and sums up the offer in one line: "Just $130 for unlimited Continuing Ed courses for an entire year!" It is a learner product: a licensed clinician listens to an episode, passes a short test online and receives a CE certificate.

The company describes itself as woman-owned and queer-owned, "founded and run by Elizabeth Irias, LMFT." The About page tells how it started. As a new therapist at a county-contracted facility, Beth Irias took her CE online because she lacked the money and the time off for in-person courses, and found that the really great educational opportunities seemed "reserved for the therapists with big wallets." Her conclusion, in the page's words: "CE shouldn't have to be expensive to be good." The footer copyright runs from 2018 and names Irias Family Therapy, Inc., and the menu lists consulting services and psychotherapy alongside the CE courses.

How a course works

The home page lays out four steps: buy the membership, "Listen to whichever 1-hour Light Up The Couch podcast episode interests you," log in on a computer or phone to complete the post-test and evaluation, and "Receive your CE certificate right to your email." Episodes run between 60 and 65 minutes, and each is eligible for one CE credit hour, except the short "Word From Our Founder" episodes and the free meditation episodes. The FAQ explains the design: one-hour courses are meant to be "mindful of the human attention span," and they can be mixed and matched to reach whatever total a license needs.

The audio can be heard anywhere. The channel is on the public podcast platforms, including YouTube, Apple, Spotify and iHeartRadio, as well as on the site's podcast page and in the course player. To earn credit, a learner then marks the audio section complete in the course player, passes the test and fills in the evaluation. Tests mix true/false and multiple-choice questions, with no more than 10 per credit hour. The pass mark is 80%, and a learner can re-test up to three times. Partial credit is not given, and each course earns one certificate only, even if it is retaken.

Certificates appear in the account's Certificates section as soon as the requirements are met, and they are emailed too. Clearly Clinical keeps them for ten years from completion, and they stay downloadable even after a paid membership lapses. A clinician licensed in several states can email the team to have all licenses printed on a single certificate.

The format has limits the FAQ states plainly. Courses are "pre-recorded, non-interactive audio podcast CE courses," so they do not count toward live or interactive requirements. They are generally audio-only, without PowerPoints; handouts appear in the course player when a presenter supplies them. Computer-generated transcripts are available on request to learners eligible for credit, newer courses carry the transcript as an attachment, and closed captions are available on the YouTube channel.

The courses and presenters

The home page features a run of exclusive interviews offered as free on-demand CE courses: Dr. Donald Meichenbaum on "Resilience in Action: Why Some Bounce Back from Trauma," Dr. Sue Johnson on "Shaping a Secure Sense of Self Using EFIT," Dr. Irvin Yalom on "A Wounded Healer Heals: Dr. Yalom on Life, Loss, and Therapy," Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman on working through past sexual trauma in relationships, and Dr. Joy Harden Bradford on "Creating an Ethical, Impactful Presence Outside the Therapy Room." A panel episode, "The Ideal Progress Note: Myths, Methods, & Best Practices," brings together Dr. Ajita Robinson, Dr. Maelisa McCaffrey, Barbara Griswold, Beth Rontal and Elizabeth Irias. The FAQ says new courses "are added regularly," and members are enrolled in each new course automatically.

According to the FAQ, every course is co-developed by Elizabeth Irias, a licensed marriage and family therapist, Stephen Winston, PhD, a clinical psychologist, and Dolores Gonzalez, a licensed clinical social worker. The About page adds a Continuing Education Board of clinicians and specialists, from a mindfulness facilitator to a healthcare compliance consultant, and the home page says the company highlights expert presenters "from historically-marginalized communities." Presenters, the FAQ says, are "thoroughly vetted," and practitioners who want to present can apply through a Become a Contributor page.

Membership, free courses and group pricing

There is one paid plan. The 1-year membership costs $130, includes every course, and lets a member "earn as many CE credit hours as you'd like for one year from the date of purchase." It does not renew automatically; a member who wants another year signs up and pays again. CE credit hours are sold "via a membership only," not per course.

Free options sit beside it. Creating an account is free and needs only an email address, with no credit card. Courses labeled as free CE courses earn credit at no cost once a learner enrolls and completes them, and every podcast episode can be heard free by anyone who does not need the credit.

Gift and group memberships are arranged by email. The FAQ lists bulk discounts off the standard rate: 20% for groups of five or more ($104 per membership), 25% for groups of ten to nineteen ($97.50) and 30% for twenty or more ($91), with further tiered plans for groups of fifty or more. That makes the membership workable for a clinic or agency paying for its staff's CE. Gift memberships cannot be refunded, and once redeemed they cannot be transferred.

CE approvals

The approvals page lists Clearly Clinical as an approved continuing education provider with:

• the Association of Social Work Boards ACE program, as provider #1741, with an approval period of 3/16/2024-3/16/2027
• the American Psychological Association, to sponsor continuing education for psychologists
• the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, for California LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and LPCCs (CAMFT-CEPA #99380)
• the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP-EI #5-17-274-1125)
• NAADAC, as an Approved Education Provider (#180654)
• the National Board for Certified Counselors, as ACEP #6954
• the New York State Education Department's boards for psychology (#PSY-0177), mental health practitioners (#MHC-0236) and social work (#SW-0680)

The home page says "The vast majority of our courses qualify for CE credit with all of our CE approval organizations," and courses that are not eligible for APA, ASWB or NBCC credit are marked as such. New York psychology licensees cannot receive Law & Ethics credit from Clearly Clinical. The ASWB entry adds that "Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit," and the FAQ warns that some state boards require topic-specific coursework the library may not cover. A Check My State's Requirements page helps a learner match the approvals to a license. The FAQ also notes that Clearly Clinical has no relationship with CE Broker and does not sponsor CE for other companies' presentations.

Support and policies

Support runs through Info@ClearlyClinical.com, which handles certificate corrections, transcripts (allow up to three business days), course references, accommodations and gift orders. Written grievances get a response within 6 business days. The refund policy is strict: "In general, refunds will not be provided," including for learners who do not finish a course or do not pass it. For technical trouble, the FAQ recommends Chrome or Safari and walks through the common course player fixes.

Who it suits

Clearly Clinical suits licensed social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, counselors and addiction professionals who want to earn self-paced CE hours by listening, at a flat yearly price, with approvals that span the national bodies and the California and New York boards. It suits a clinician who wants to try the format first, since the free courses and the free podcast cost nothing, and a clinic buying memberships for a team, thanks to the group discounts.

It suits less well a learner who needs live or interactive hours, which these courses do not provide, or someone who learns better from slides and video than from audio. And because refunds are not given, a buyer should check their own board's acceptance and topic rules on the state requirements page before paying.