OVERVIEW

Overthinking is not a flaw. It is intelligence without direction, protection without clarity, and preparation without boundaries. In this groundbreaking 2-hour seminar, we introduce a new lens: overthinking is a safety strategy, not a personal failure. It is the brain’s attempt to control what feels uncertain, overwhelming, or unpredictable.

Using the SWEET Institute’s Four Layers of Transformation (Conscious → Pre-Conscious → Unconscious → Existential), you will learn to move from control to curiosity, from spiraling to insight, and from intellectual understanding to embodied practice.

This seminar is designed for clinicians, leaders, staff, and anyone who supports people who tend to overthink, overprepare, overanalyze, or freeze when faced with uncertainty.

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Time: 12-2pm (EST)

Location: Online via Zoom

CEUs: 2

This course is eligible for 2 CEUs for Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists and Psychologists in New York State

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Conscious Layer – The Visible

• Define overthinking and differentiate it from healthy reflection

• Identify three common triggers and patterns that activate spiraling

Pre-Conscious Layer – The Hidden Patterns

• Map the Overthinking Loop (Trigger → Thought → Emotion → Sensation → Behavior → Relief → Cost)

• Explain how overthinking functions as a short-term safety or control behavior

Unconscious Layer – The Deep Scripts

• Identify at least one core belief driving overthinking

• Begin to rewrite outdated scripts using curiosity, self-compassion, and new meaning

Existential Layer – Integration & Identity

• Adopt a stance of curiosity over control—'I can explore, I don’t have to predict'

• Commit to a daily micro-practice to turn overthinking into insight

WHY THIS SEMINAR MATTERS

Overthinking is one of the most common experiences among the people we serve—and among clinicians, leaders, and caregivers themselves. When we move from fear → understanding → curiosity → insight, everything changes.

This seminar gives participants real science, real tools, real transformation.