Teaching and training in deliberate practice, multicultural therapy and supervision
I train graduate students and practicing therapists through deliberate practice, which means rehearsing specific clinical skills and checking each attempt against set criteria. I am an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and a coauthor of two books on deliberate practice from the American Psychological Association (APA). I am also a licensed psychologist in Washington, and I see adults with chronic pain, migraine and chronic headache by secure video anywhere in the state and, through PSYPACT, in other participating states.
Graduate teaching
I teach graduate students at The Seattle School. Before that I was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Seattle Pacific University and an Acting Assistant Professor in Family Medicine at the University of Washington. The graduate courses I have taught span clinical skills, assessment, therapy models, culture and research:
- Clinical Foundations I and II teach interviewing skills and relational process work.
- The Pre-Practicum Seminar focuses on ethical readiness and vocational formation.
- Psychopathology covers diagnostic systems, mechanisms of distress and integrative case conceptualization.
- Introduction to Assessment covers cognitive and intelligence assessment and integrating the results into a written report.
- Experiential Dynamic Systems Therapies covers Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), the method I lead with in my practice, and Attachment-Based Family Therapy.
- Diversity and Cultural Competence covers systems of oppression, liberation and intercultural clinical practice.
- Research Methods, Statistics and Design provides graduate research instruction.
Deliberate practice and my two books
Deliberate Practice in Multicultural Therapy (APA, 2023) is part of APA's Essentials of Deliberate Practice series, and it trains therapists in multicultural therapy by having them practice how they relate to people of different backgrounds and identities. I adapted one of its exercises, on acknowledging a therapist's limitations, in "The Myth of Monolithic Experience", a 2026 article in Psychotherapy Bulletin from the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (APA Division 29). The article argues for cultural humility and ongoing curiosity when therapist and client share a cultural background, because a therapist who assumes similarity with a client can stop asking questions. It sets out three skills to practice: catching the impulse to presume shared understanding, asking for personal specifics while honoring cultural context, and keeping a stance of not knowing.
The second edition of Mastering the Inner Skills of Psychotherapy (APA, 2026), which I wrote with Tony Rousmaniere, trains the inner skills of psychotherapy, meaning the psychological capacity therapists need to stay present with their clients. The book is built on the idea that therapists become resilient by practicing the skills that expand their psychological capacity. This edition includes recent research on deliberate practice in psychotherapy and new instructions for academic instructors and clinical supervisors to guide their students and trainees.
I have also written a deliberate-practice exercise for my clinical specialty, at the end of "Danger, Not Damage", a 2026 article in Psychotherapy Bulletin on attachment, emotion and persistent pain. In it, clinicians draft replies to patients who describe a physical symptom while keeping their feelings at a distance, and then check each reply for warmth, specificity, staying with the feeling and cultural humility. Other journal articles of mine apply deliberate practice to antiracist psychology and to spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists, and my research page lists them with the rest of my publications.
Supervision and clinical training
I have trained and supervised clinicians in university and medical settings. As Director of Practicum at Seattle Pacific University, I oversaw the competency benchmarks of doctoral trainees and liaised with their community practicum sites and clinical supervisors. As courtesy faculty at the University of Washington, I have supervised psychiatry residents. I have also mentored students in research, and many of my articles and conference presentations list students I advised as coauthors.
Workshops and talks
I give invited presentations on deliberate practice in psychotherapy, rupture and repair in the therapeutic alliance, multicultural therapy, and mental health in the church. VA Puget Sound Health Care, the University of Washington and private practices have invited me to lead clinical workshops on chronic pain, spirituality in clinical practice and clinical supervision.
I have presented on deliberate practice at state, regional and national conferences:
- In 2025 I gave the talk "Deliberate Practice in Psychotherapy: Rethinking How Therapists Learn and Grow" at the Washington State Psychological Association's annual convention in Bellevue.
- In 2023 I presented a panel discussion on deliberate practice for training culturally responsive psychotherapists, with Tony Rousmaniere and students I advised, at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies convention in Seattle.
- In 2022 a colleague and I gave an invited paper on deliberate practice for skill development in counseling and clinical psychology at the Western Psychological Association's Conference on Teaching in Portland, Oregon.
Inviting me to teach or train
I welcome invitations to teach, train and speak from graduate programs, clinical training directors, supervisors and clinical teams. If you would like a workshop, a talk or training built on deliberate practice, get in touch through my contact page and tell me which skills you want your trainees or clinicians to build.
Referring clinicians can also book an expert case consultation, a single 75-minute appointment for a second opinion or case review, listed with its fee on my services and fees page.
If you are looking for therapy for yourself, I see adults by secure video anywhere in Washington and in other PSYPACT states, and in person at my Lynnwood office on Fridays, and the first step is a free discovery call.
References
Harris, J., Jin, J., Hoffman, S., Phan, S., Prout, T. A., Rousmaniere, T., & Vaz, A. (2023). Deliberate practice in multicultural therapy. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000357-000
Jin, J. (2026, July). Danger, not damage: Attachment, emotion, and the somatic language of relational threat. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 61(4). https://societyforpsychotherapy.org/danger-not-damage-attachment-emotion-and-the-somatic-language-of-relational-threat/
Jin, J. (2026, April). The myth of monolithic experience: Navigating intra-cultural assumptions through deliberate practice. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 61(2), 24–27. https://societyforpsychotherapy.org/the-myth-of-monolithic-experience-navigating-intra-cultural-assumptions-through-deliberate-practice/
Rousmaniere, T., & Jin, J. (2026). Mastering the inner skills of psychotherapy: A deliberate practice manual on building psychological capacity (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000482-000