Upcoming Courses

 

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

Imagery in Medicine and Psychology The concept of imagery and its medicinal uses date back to the origins of Western Medicine (e.g., Asclepius, Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Galen) and psychology. However, with the advent of Behaviorism in American psychology, the study of imagery declined significantly, but began to re-emerge in the 1960’s. This resurgence in Imagery’s popularity and use continues to grow among health-related disciplines (i.e., researchers, clinicians) and across disease models. This course discusses Imagery as (1) a phenomenon or process in its various forms, and (2) as a vital element in numerous therapeutic techniques – whose labels may or may not contain the term “imagery” (e.g., guided imagery, hypnosis, and meditation). Imagery-related techniques, the differences between them, their utilization in health care and any supporting efficacy research will be presented. Theories about the relationship of imagery to physiological change, healing and the immune system will also be discussed.

Practice of Positive Psychology: Theory and Application in Behavioral Medicine Positive psychology is a relatively recent scientific enterprise with the central objective of understanding and facilitating happiness and subjective well being and studying predictive factors that influence such states. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the various constructs associated with positive psychology along with their underlying background and theory. The assessment of positive emotions, character strengths, and meaning will be presented. The application of these constructs at the subjective, individual, and group level will be addressed and the rationale for why positive psychology interventions are efficacious in medical/health care settings will be examined.

Promoting  Sexual Health Among Young Adults: Getting Past the Stigmas of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Even today, sexual health remains a sensitive, personal, and relatively taboo topic to address, for both patients and health professionals. Not surprisingly, many social stigmas and misinformation have evolved around this topic, perpetuating a climate of confusion and, at times, anxiety. Most importantly, these barriers can impede the effective dissemination of important information regarding "risky" health-related behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly among sexually active teens and young adults. Mental health professionals can play a vital role in facilitating communication, suppressing stigmas, disseminating accurate information, and promoting realistic expectations and behaviors regarding sexual health- among this at-risk group.  To this end, this course reviews the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and stigmas associated with STIs (e.g., HIV, Herpes Simplex Virus [HSV], Human Papilloma Virus [HPV], Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Trichomoniasis) among sexually active youth and their psychosocial repercussions. Ways to demystify and debunk associated myths and replace them with accurate health-related expectations and goals are addressed.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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.