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Counseling and Social Services

Formerly known as dual diagnosis or dual disorder, co-occurring disorders describe the presence of both mental health and substance use disorders.  This course will explore the definition of terms used, most common substances, mental disorders that co-exist, symptoms, causes, and treatments for co-occurring disorders.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of substance use disorder records were written out of great concern about the potential use of substance use disorder information against individuals, causing individuals with substance use disorders not to seek treatment.

A risk-managed approach to documentation is a best practice to protect both the client and the professional.

This course will explore 42 CFR part 2, HIPAA, and documentation of substance abuse therapy.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that a secondary interest will unduly influence professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest. Common areas where conflicts of interest can occur in mental health and substance abuse treatment include pharmaceuticals, accepting gifts of various kinds, including meals and drug samples that alter treatment behavior, having a financial interest in a medical product company whose products they prescribe, use, or recommend, and self-referrals.

This course will explore these areas and discuss avoiding conflicts of interest.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course reviews the changes to the Florida laws and rules relating to interns and supervisors, discusses various electronic delivery systems for supervision and methods for ensuring confidentiality, and explores supervision’s ethical, legal, and regulatory issues, including documentation or the supervisory sessions. We will explore models of supervision and how cultural issues can affect the supervisory relationship.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Severe anxiety can arise after trauma or injury or under persistent stress or extreme change. This course will explore how to distinguish between everyday worry and an anxiety disorder, signs, symptoms, and risk factors.  We will also discuss treatment approaches and how you can help.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Mental health providers engage with highly confidential health information.  Litigation causes threats to confidentiality that can hinder the therapeutic process, cause potential damage to your client, depending on what you write in the record, and can threaten your practice. This course will provide mental health professionals with a better understanding of legal terms, suggestions for handling requests for confidential information, and guidance with documentation.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will explore the requirements for recognizing and reporting abuse in Kentucky. The course will list who mandated reporters are, when a report is warranted, and how to make the report when it is necessary. We will explore the timeline for reporting and the procedures that must occur. 

It will award 1 continuing education hour.  Please see the board approval box or course approvals.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will explore the Baker Act for involuntary mental illness assessment and treatment.

The term ‘Baker Act’ is formally known as the Mental Health Act of 1971 and is a Florida Statute, but it became the default name for any involuntary hold laws in the United States.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

More than two-thirds of U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical treatments, and more are considering bills to do the same. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research on the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases. Medical marijuana doesn’t always “feel” like a medical treatment or medicine.

This course will explore medical marijuana. We will look at the various ways this treatment is treated differently than other prescribed medications and why. We will also explore how the mental health and addiction fields have changed over the years with issues such as this.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Navigating the requirements of reporting suspected abuse and maltreatment is an important responsibility for everyone, particularly mandated reporters.  This presentation will explore the requirements for reporting child abuse in Pennsylvania. We will look at which professionals are required to report.  We will explore the timeline for reporting and the procedures that must take place.

 

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Children are suffering from an epidemic of child abuse and neglect. The issue is larger than ever in the wake of the quarantines from the COVID-19 pandemic. This course will explore statistics of child abuse in Florida. We will explore the types of abuse and the signs and symptoms associated with each. The course will review the requirements, timeline, and procedures for reporting child abuse. Prevention strategies will be presented.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Navigating the requirements of reporting suspected abuse and maltreatment is an important responsibility for everyone, particularly mandated reporters.  This presentation will explore the requirements for reporting child abuse in West Virginia. We will look at which professionals are required to report.  We will explore the timeline for reporting and the procedures that must take place. 

 

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been the industry standard for diagnosing mental health disorders since 1952.  The fifth revision of the Manual was published in May 2013.  The text revision was published in March 2022.  This course will provide an overview of the organization, changes, and transitions from the previous edition and controversies regarding the changes.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Psychedelic drugs are not new. Scientists at pharmaceutical companies have been studying them since the early 1900s.  Indigenous communities around the world have used psilocybin and other consciousness-changing compounds for healing for thousands of years.  In the last five years, a handful of high-quality, albeit small, studies have suggested tremendous benefits from the psychedelic psilocybin for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This course will explore their history, use, risks, and potential.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one’s attention to the present moment without evaluating whether one’s thoughts and feelings are good or bad. It is a skill developed through meditation or other training.

This course will explore the history and origins of mindfulness, the difference between mindfulness, meditation, and flow, the benefits for the client and therapist, and how it can be used in therapy.

 

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

According to the CDC, half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14 and three-quarters begin by age 24. Many factors may contribute to mental illness, including a history of trauma.

This course will explore emotional and psychological trauma and how these affect individuals over time.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

To develop cultural competence, healthcare professionals need to identify their beliefs and build an awareness of their culture. Cultural awareness makes healthcare providers more open to unfamiliar attitudes, practices, and behaviors. This course will explore how culture and stereotypes play a role in our we see ourselves and our clients.  We will explore how we can shift from cultural competence being about racism, genderism, and ageism, to recognizing and working through our biases and blind spots.   We will examine the implications for counseling theory, research, practice, and training.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, often described as the negative cost of caring. It is sometimes referred to as secondary traumatic stress or burnout.  It is especially relevant to mental health and substance abuse professionals.   Compassion fatigue describes the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of helping others.

This course will explore where this can occur, signs of compassion fatigue, and how to help yourself and others.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

What we put into our bodies has the greatest opportunity to affect our health, well-being, and psychotropic drug disposition. This course will explore how to understand better how what we put in our bodies affects our mental health and the medications taken. This will enable us to help our clients get the most out of their bodies, minds, and medications.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Uncertainty is very much a part of our lives. This course will explore how to address fear and anxiety in the midst of the pandemic, protests, and economic concerns.  This course will explore the difference between productive and non-productive worry, fear, and anxiety.  We will look at self-soothing exercises and therapeutic techniques.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Medical errors comprise the largest issue facing this country with regard to health care. This course was designed to educate those in the health care industry and specifically the mental health field on the magnitude of medical errors, their adverse effects, and methods to analyze errors in an effort to avoid future mishaps.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will review the statistics and prevalence of domestic violence in our society. We will define domestic violence and its various types of abuse.

The course will review the dynamics of violent relationships. Violent relationships follow a predictable cycle of violence. This course will discuss this cycle and review its patterns and screening methods through multiple case studies. The course will delve into special populations and associated risk factors. Upon completing the course, the professional will understand the specific resources available for those in need.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will explore how culture and stereotypes play a role in our we see ourselves and our clients.  We will explore cultural competency through cultural awareness, beliefs, knowledge, and skills.  We will examine the implications for counseling theory, research, practice, and training.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

An assessment is a basis for understanding the client’s presentation and is the beginning of conceptualizing their functioning into a diagnosis. This continuing education course will explore mental status exams, mental health assessments, alcohol and drug assessments, and the DSM V. We will also introduce the learner to a few popular assessment tools.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935 to help alcoholics abstain from the consumption of alcohol and to “stay sober” through the sharing of their experiences with others who have had similar experiences in a protected environment.

The 12 Step, the cornerstone of the program, was developed later to help govern the fellowship and to establish a consistent approach to spiritual and character-building endeavors. 

This course will explore the history and efficacy of the 12-step approach.

This course will award 1 continuing education hour.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Navigating the requirements of reporting suspected abuse and maltreatment is an important responsibility for everyone, particularly mandated reporters. This presentation will explore the requirements for reporting child abuse in California. We will look at which professionals are required to report. We will explore the timeline for reporting and the procedures that must take place.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This workplace violence course provides information on the extent of violence in the workplace, assesses the hazards in different settings, and develops workplace violence prevention plans for individual worksites.

We will explore who is at risk and how violence can be reduced and avoided.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Every day counselors, nurses, psychiatric technicians, and others are called upon to intervene in crisis situations that may become dangerous if not handled properly.

This course will explore the prevention of aggressive behavior and crisis intervention techniques, which can include verbal de-escalation and physical interventions. We will identify the definition of aggression, warning signs of aggressive behavior, strategies to diffuse aggressive situations, crisis intervention techniques, and staff responsibilities after an event.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.  This course will explore this topic, helping employees know what constitutes sexual harassment and what to do as a co-worker or victim.

This course does not offer continuing education for license renewal.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

It is estimated that 60 to 75 percent of adolescents with mental health and/or substance abuse issues have co-occurring disorders.  Commonly documented co-occurring disorders include conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance dependence.

This course will explore the prevalence, warning signs, specific disorders, and treatment options.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

A drug test analyzes a biological sample used to determine the presence of specific substances.  Drug testing is done pre-employment, randomly by employers, after an accident on the job, during probation, by the police, in the prison system, in recovery programs, in hospitals, and by parents.

This course will explore the types of drug tests, what each screen is for, the collection procedure, and the need for consent.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Severe anxiety can arise after trauma or injury, under persistent stress, or extreme change. This course will explore distinguishing between everyday worry and an anxiety disorder, the top five anxiety disorders, signs, symptoms, and risk factors.  We will also discuss treatment approaches.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Anger is a powerful, natural feeling. Everyone feels it at some time, and we have the right to feel that way. It’s what someone does with anger that makes the difference.

As clinicians, we aim to help clients learn effective ways to manage their anger. In this course, we will explore anger and its causes, common approaches to anger, the problems with anger, the positive aspects of anger, and anger management.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Affirmative action is a controversial and often poorly understood policy.  In these courses, we will explore what Affirmative is and outline how it operates in employment settings.  We will consider the major points of controversy. In addition, we detail the contributions of psychologists and other social scientists in helping to demonstrate why affirmative action is needed, how it can have unintended negative consequences, and how affirmative action programs can be most successful.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person suffering from either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life or prevent the condition from worsening. In some cases, it may be the only care someone needs, while in others, it may help them until paramedics arrive or they are taken to the hospital. The best way to prepare for these events is to get official first aid certification, but in addition, or until you are able to do so, this course will offer some basic aid and life-saving steps.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The purpose of the course is to explore and expand on the process of addiction. The course will explore the definition of abuse and addiction, the stages of alcohol and other drug use, the progression of the disease, and treatment options. The course will define specific exercises that can be utilized with clients.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will explore the requirements for reporting child and elder abuse in Florida. The course will list who mandated reporters are, when a report is warranted, and how to make the report when necessary. We will explore the timeline for reporting and the procedures that must occur.

It will award 1 continuing education hour.  Please see the board approval box or course approvals.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The 42 CFR Part 2 regulations serve to protect patient records created by federally assisted programs for the treatment of substance use disorders. Part 2 has been revised to further facilitate better coordination of care in response to the opioid epidemic while maintaining its confidentiality protections against unauthorized disclosure and use. This course will explore these regulations.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The ASAM Criteria, developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, is a widely used and comprehensive set of guidelines for placement, continued stay, and transfer or discharge of addiction patients and those with co-occurring conditions.

This course will give an overview of the criteria, levels of care, and best practices crafted through the use of these guidelines.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Navigating the requirements of reporting suspected abuse and maltreatment is an important responsibility for everyone.  This course will explore the requirements of reporting abuse of both children and vulnerable adults in New Jersey. We will explore the timeline for reporting and the procedures that must take place. 

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Gambling addiction is the uncontrollable continuation of gambling despite the consequences on one’s life. Gambling is addictive because it stimulates the brain’s reward system much like drugs or alcohol can. In fact, gambling addiction is the most common impulse control disorder worldwide.

This course provides a brief introduction to pathological gambling, gambling disorder, and problem gambling as wells as explores signs, symptoms, and treatment modalities.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course meets the requirements for the 3 hour Florida Laws and Rules Update required every third biennium for license renewal. It is not the 8-hour initial licensure course. Please see below for the 8 hour Laws and Rules course.

The course is developed through extrapolating Florida Statutes that pertain to the counseling profession. The course utilizes law, changes in statutes, examples, and case studies.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will explore the myriad of issues relating to setting and maintaining boundaries within the counseling relationship.

– Key Concepts Regarding Dual Relationships with Clients
– Physical Contact and Sexual Relationships with Clients
– Self Disclosure
– Sound Decision Making and Managing Boundaries Set
– Emotional and Dependency Needs
– Professional Distance
– Therapeutic Styles
– Dynamics Which Make Therapy a Potential Setting for Boundary Violations and Exploitation

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will update our current understanding of what HIV and AIDS are and how they are transmitted. The prevalence of the disease and how it attacks the body will be explained. Current information on the transmission, as well as the correction of several common myths,  will be taught. The importance of testing and diagnosis is ever-increasing with the significant progress being made regarding the treatment of HIV.

We will explore confidentiality and legal protection for the HIV-infected person.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Treatment Centers struggle with clients wanting to leave Against Medical Advice (AMA) yet research shows that long-term recovery is frequently tied to the length of stay. This course will explore:

Who is most likely to leave against medical advice.
Why do individuals leave against medical advice?
What are the dangers of leaving against medical advice?
What can be done to prevent people from leaving against medical advice?

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Recovery housing is a service delivery modality that simultaneously addresses the social support and housing needs of those in recovery from substance use disorders. The needs of the resident can go beyond the treatment of the addiction itself.  Staff needs to be ready to address the community setting, medical or dental issues that could come up, and the needs of the resident’s mental health, as so frequently dual issues, are occurring.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Hazardous materials include explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons, and radioactive materials. Emergencies can happen during production, storage, transportation, use, or disposal. Everyone is at risk when chemicals are used unsafely or released in harmful amounts.  This is why learning how to safely use and dispose of hazardous materials and respond if an accident occurs is important.

This course will explore how to store and handle hazardous materials and how to handle exposure and disposal.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Successful counseling with members of various minority groups, including ethnic background, age, sex, sexual orientation, and disability groups, requires education and self-reflection. There are implications for counseling theory, research, practice, and training. This course will explore the various special populations and what those in the counseling field should consider offering cultural pluralism and sensitivity.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will explore how we define shyness from feeling and behavioral aspects. We will look at the various theories for causation and treatment. We will also look at how shyness is influenced by gender, age, and culture.

We will explore research and the treatments most frequently used.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories.  This course will provide an introduction to this technique.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The purpose of the course is to enhance the reader’s understanding of denial and to relate stages of denial to the corresponding stages of the disease of addiction. Denial and addiction must be treated concurrently if successful treatment is to be achieved. The course will define specific exercises that can be utilized with clients.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

The primary purpose of mental health and substance use treatment must be the therapeutic care and treatment of individuals who are suffering from mental health and addiction issues. It must never be the financial or personal gain of the practitioner or facility. Those suffering are inevitably vulnerable.

This course will explore both fraud and waste. We will also look at strategies to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of resources. We will explore how you can be a part of the solution.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Telemental health has grown in popularity over the last decade as a way for therapists to offer their services via an online or a virtual setting through live interactive video conferencing.

This course will explore the definition of telemental health, the benefits, and drawbacks for this service method, the appropriate screening of clients for telemental health services as well as the ethical codes involved. We will touch on reimbursement issues.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Addicts, more than anyone, know that what is put in the body alters health, mood, and abilities.  The same holds if the substance is alcohol, other drugs, or food.  Nutrition plays an important part in overall health and recovery from substance abuse.

This course will explore the connection between nutrition and drugs, how substance abuse disrupts nutrition, the nutritional side effects of detox, what nutrients can benefit recovery, and food as an addiction.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

This course will update the learner on the status of current research, prevention and what we have come to understand about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. We will also explore the most current statistics and revisit the definitions and symptoms.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Women seeking addiction treatment face unique barriers and distinctive issues or sensitivities from their male counterparts. This course will explore the treatment of substance abuse in women, how substance abuse affects relationships, psychological patterns of why women abuse substances, the significance of family history, how substance abuse affects health, codependency, co-occurring disorders, relapse prevention, and social service systems.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a whole-patient approach to treating substance use disorders. Research shows that a combination of medication and behavioral therapies is most successful when treating substance-use disorders. MAT is clinically driven with a focus on individualized patient care.

*This is course does not meet the requirements under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 for physician-required training nor the qualification for a waiver to prescribe and dispense buprenorphine.   This course is intended to educate professionals in the mental health and substance abuse industry on MAT.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

How an organization plans for, responds to, and recovers from issues is critical to the safety of patients and employees.  This course will explore conditions that pose a threat and what should be done.  We will look at security measures and how to prepare them.  The grievance process will also be reviewed.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Motivational interviewing is a client-centered, directive counseling method aimed at enhancing intrinsic motivation that helps people resolve ambivalent feelings and insecurities to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior.

This course will discuss ambivalence and its role in client motivation, overall and specific to substance abuse issues. We will explore the five basic principles of motivational interviewing that can be used to address ambivalence and to facilitate the change process. We will also look at approaches to use with clients in the early stages of treatment.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.

Working in the substance abuse treatment field presents dilemmas relating to personal beliefs, judgments, and values. The history of how society views persons with addictions is fraught with emotions, misconceptions, and biases that have affected the care of drug abusers.

This course will explore the definition of ethics and how it differs from morality and law.  We will look at the terms frequently used, structured processes for solving ethical issues, and potential areas of ethical challenges such as recovering addicts as professionals, e-therapy, and competence.

This course is offered online. Internet connection required.