Upcoming CoursesCANCER ADAPTATION
Young and In Love: Relationship Issues For Young Survivors of Breast Cancer (BRCA) Presents the current psychological theory and empirical evidence relevant to the applied clinical practice among this distinct patient population — young BRCA survivors and their partners. Specific relationship issues relevant to young BRCA survivors and their partners (e.g., sexuality; infertility; communication with young children) are identified. Techniques and skills to improve patient/partner adjustment (e.g., communication facilitation; practice of stress and pain management; revision of the marriage "contract" and "sexual script" are reviewed.
CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY
Harm Reduction: A Comprehensive Response to Substance Related Disorders Alcoholism and drug addiction are major contributing factors in chronic and infectious diseases, hospital emergency room visits, infant mortality rates, violence and crime, and auto fatalities. The damage to the individual, their families, and society at large is immeasurable. Science defines addiction as a chronic disease and yet, for too long we have treated it as a moral failing rather than a public health problem. The use of drugs and alcohol is a complex phenomenon and encompasses a continuum of behaviors from occasional use to chronic addiction, with varying degrees of personal and social harm. Harm reduction is a comprehensive approach to reducing individual and social harms associated with the misuse of drugs and alcohol. Harm reduction begins with prevention, can be integrated into abstinence-based substance abuse treatment, and improves patient retention in order to promote sustained remission. This course presents the basic principles of harm reduction and provides evidenced-based strategies to reduce the harms associated with problematic substance use.
CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS
Stress and Health: Mind - Body Approaches to Disease Prevention and Healing Meditation, yoga and other "mind/body" approaches are more widely turned to today to complement, or as alternative to, western traditional medicine. Such approaches often involve lower costs than standard care and have proven efficacious in the treatment of a variety of diseases (e.g., heart disease, headaches, low-back pain), as well as in the amelioration of treatment-related symptoms (e.g., chemotherapy-related), just to name a few applications. This course summarizes the impact of stress on health and wellness, and presents the current state-of-the-science of mind/body Interventions - including relaxation, meditation, yoga and other energy therapies - as a means to managing stress, preventing disease and promoting health. Research findings from the mind-body literature will be presented and implications for clinical practice will be considered.
What Mental Health Practitioners Need to Know about Near-Death Experiences: Implications for Clinical Practice Near-Death Experience (NDE) represents an altered state of consciousness that has been linked to several neurochemical/neuroanatomic models, including theories that suggest anoxia, hypoxia, ketamine, or increased endorphins are released in a dying brain. Although NDEs are increasingly being reported in critical care settings, most healthcare professionals lack a sufficient knowledge base and associated clinical skills regarding this phenomenon. This course synthesizes 33 years of evidence-based research on NDEs, including its frequency, etiology, DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, assessment strategies, short-term and long-term effects, and associated barriers to and implications for treatment in a clinical setting. Specifically, the key characteristics reported by those experiencing NDEs will be reviewed, with sensitivity to cross-cultural comparisons of etiology and symptoms. Current diagnostic criteria and various biopsychosocial assessments for NDEs are provided; each with a discussion of relevant religious, spiritual, and/or transpersonal issues. Lastly, clinical implications for treatment are addressed along with important barriers to treatment that can occur when co-morbid Axis I or Axis II DSM-IV-TR disorders exist. ETHICSThe Patient, Their Doctors, Their Family, and You: The Ethical Role of the Care Provider Reviews the law on confidentiality, privilege, duty to warn, health care proxies, advance directives, and required releases, and how these issues are affected by the data on familial communication, the possibility of genetically transmitted disease/obligate carriers, and how this knowledge will affect standards of ethical practice. Provides a thorough discussion of issues regarding withholding vs. withdrawal of care, terminal sedation, and euthanasia. NEUROPSYCHOLOGYBehavior Management Options Following Traumatic Brain Injury There are a wide variety of behavioral “syndromes” that can occur after traumatic injury to the brain (TBI). Depending on the location and extent of brain injury, treatment for these disorders can vary widely from minimal intervention to intensive residential treatment. Many other factors contribute to the behaviorally disabling effects of TBI including pre-injury attributes of the injured person, access to proper neuro-behavioral services after injury, medication management, and long term support services. This course reviews the underlying neuro-pathology of TBI-related behavior disorders, the basic tenants of behavior therapy and it’s application in the treatment of TBI. In addition, state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic options for persons who experience significant neuro-behavioral syndromes after TBI will be presented.
Psychopharmacology and Traumatic Brain Injury: Innovations and Treatment Options Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects approximately 1.5 million persons per year in the United States. When a person sustains a TBI, particularly a severe TBI, the recovery and rehabilitation process can last months and years, and sometimes is incomplete. Medications that were initially developed to help persons with other neurological disorders (e.g. stroke, Parkinsons Disease, dementia) have proven helpful for persons with TBI. That said, many medicines prescribed for persons with TBI can have deleterious side effects and, in some circumstances, can impede the recovery process. This course will present the neuropathology of TBI and the concept of "rational pharmacology” in this context. In addition, a review of emerging treatment options for persons with TBI with a focus on psychopharmacological interventions will be discussed.
PEDIATRIC BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Understanding, Diagnosing & Treating Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS and other ASDs With 1 out of every 150 children now being diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), health professionals will increasingly come into contact with these children or parents of children with an ASD. Moreover, health professionals will need to stay informed regarding new advances in understanding the etiology, presentation of, assessment and treatment options for those diagnosed with these disorders. This course will provide an overview of the suspected causes of ASDs. Diagnostic considerations and methods of assessment with be presented. Common biomedical and behavioral treatment recommendations will be reviewed along with the educational needs and rights of these children.
Cultural Competency in Pediatric Psychology: Issues & Clinical Applications The recent trend in medicine has been to advocate for the need for culturaly compenent care, however it is rare to see work that specifically outlines what it means to be culturally competent and how to integrate that into one's clinical work. Moreover, cross-cultural studies have typically addressed work with individuals and adults, with minimal attention being given to the domain of pediatric psychology. Within the contexts of child development, family psychology and health psychology, this course will provide a definition of cultural competency and an overview of how culture influences health beliefs, practices, communication and subsequently, patient care. Various models that provide guidelines, assessment strategies and interventions for use in the pediatric health setting will be presented.
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