Upcoming Courses

 

Asthma Boot Camp Patients with asthma are increasing in number, and will more than likely be encountered by most mental health professionals at some point in their professional practice. Having a basic understanding of asthma will help the health care professional to assist this population of patients in managing their current and future health. Basic epidemiology will be provided to form an understanding of who is most at risk for this problem and how it develops. A description of the gross anatomy of the pulmonary system and a more detailed look at airway constriction (bronchospasm) will enable a fuller understanding of the disease process of asthma. Frontline pharmacological management will be discussed to facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to treatment future. Lastly, since issues of non-compliance with prescribed medical regimes are an inherent part of the disease management process of asthma, these issues will be discussed in detail, along with strategies to facilitate compliance. 

 

Psychosocial Aspects of Asthma Management Psychosocial factors are a vital, but oftentimes overlooked, element in asthma management. This course will help participants understand how the pathophysiology of asthma can be influenced by psychosocial factors. In particular, this course will discuss SES and environmental exposures that significantly impact asthma disease management. Current intervention strategies are reviewed to facilitate the formulation of environment-specific interventions for use with asthmatic patients. Specific information related to the non-compliance component of asthmatic disease is discussed and integrated into the psychosocial focus, and ways to effectively increase compliance in this population are addressed.

 

 

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

CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS

Anger Management: Applications to Healthcare Anger is an affective state with both positive and negative properties. One of the most common emotions involved in detracting from a high quality of life and psychological well-being, pervasive anger has also been associated with a number of deleterious health-related problems including hypertension, cardiac disease, and stroke. Despite its prevalence, clinicians are frequently presented with anger-management issues disguised as substance abuse, depression, and fatigue. In addition, the clinical presentation of anger management problems is frequently masked by gender-specific linguistic usage such as “hurt feelings” and “disappointment.” Taken together, even the most skilled of healthcare professionals may benefit from some guidance in navigating their way through the “anger maze” when helping patients to achieve enhanced mental and physical health. This course will sensitize health professionals to the prevalence of anger-management difficulties and its psychological and physical sequelae in their patients. In addition, strategies to identify, assess, and treat unmanaged anger will be discussed.

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Core Mechanisms of Action and the Role Mindfulness Plays using these Skills For decades, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has been an empirically supported clinical intervention that has been effective in the treatment of various psychological, as well as medical, illnesses. Designed as a time-limited, focused therapy that addresses problems in the present – the here and now -- CBT treatment sessions are highly-structured and therapists are typically very active and engaged within session, often linking information from the previous session to the next and reviewing activities/homework the patient may have competed between sessions. The major techniques of CBT include the use of psychoeducation, identification and monitoring of negative automatic thoughts, challenging cognitive biases, and the application of imaginal and situational exposures to situations to overcome anxiety/avoidance.  Not surprisingly, CBT has been widely used in the medical context as it is an ideal intervention to facilitate coping among patients facing health-related distress in association medical procedures/treatments, health-related lifestyle changes, or chronic disease management across the disease continuum – just to name a few.  Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), created by psychologist Marsha M. Linehan, was developed from the basics of CBT and weds the change techniques of CBT with acceptance strategies from Zen practice, such as mindfulness. Mindfulness can be described as a way of directing one’s attention and intentionally focusing on the present experience in a nonjudgmental and accepting way.  Other DBT treatment components include instruction in distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Like CBT strategies, DBT strategies are intended to be practiced by patients in their everyday lives, however, DBT techniques are often beneficial when thoughts cannot be restructured or challenged using CBT. Although, DBT was originally developed to treat chronic suicidality and self-injurious behavior, more recently it has been successfully adapted to treat mood disorders and its potential applications to health psychology and behavioral are numerous. Specifically, when combined with the use of CBT strategies, DBT-related skills and techniques such as mindfulness practice may enable patients to identify and regulate their maladaptive thoughts, feelings and emotions which may, in turn, enhance their ability to cope with the moment-by-moment demands and challenges that their illness presents, as well as improve their overall quality of life. Thus, together these interventions have the potential to directly and indirectly improve psychological and physical well-being.

 

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.
 

Medical Masquerade: Psychological Disorders and Medical Illnesses Mental health professionals and allied healthcare workers are often focused on alleviating a patient's presenting  symptoms without the benefit of true coordination of care among a team of health professionals. As such, there are times when hidden, yet central, medical illnesses and medication side effects which mimic psychological disorders can go undetected and untreated.  To facilitate a more informed diagnostic process and targeted intervention this course will discuss medical Illnesses and their associated medication side effects that can "masquerade" as psychological  disorders at points along the disease continuum such as endocrine disorders, cancer, pulmonary ailments, cerebral/neurologic dysfunction, cardiovascular disorders, sleep disorders, immune system conditions, metabolic disorders, tumors, hematologic disorders, vitamin/mineral disorders, and infections.  Participants will gain greater insight into these disorders and some of the distinct characteristics which may provide clues to an underlying medical illness and /or to side effects of associated medications, expected or unusual, that may present in your practice as a perceived psychological disorder.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment and Intervention Strategies for the Primary Care Behavioral Health Professional Across the country, and even internationally, behavioral health providers are integrating into primary care clinics to help them better address the many behaviorally-based health problems the clinics encounter. Transitioning to primary care, however, is not easy for most behavioral health professionals, who must learn to adapt to a very different care culture and mission. This course will provide those interested in primary care with the tools needed for effective primary care work. The course starts with an overview of the basic theoretical model for primary care work, and then segues into key clinical strategies. Course participants will learn how to conduct a brief functional assessment and utilize tools and measures designed for use in primary care. They will also learn which clinical interventions are utilized in primary care, and what to document in a primary care chart note. Group visit strategies, including those involving the primary care provider, will also be detailed. Whether new or experienced in primary care, or merely curious about this new field, participants will undoubtedly find much of interest in this course.

 

Managing Chronic Pain in the Primary Care Clinic  One of the most commonly encountered, and resource-consuming, behaviorally-based problems in the primary care context is chronic pain. Owing to insufficient training and a lack of time, primary care providers often have great difficulty helping patients with chronic pain, especially those being treated with narcotic pain medications. Narcotic medications are frequently used, yet they pose many risks and challenges. Given this backdrop, there is much a behavioral health provider can contribute to the care of patients with chronic pain in primary care. This course first describes the challenges of treating chronic pain in primary care and introduces participants to the issues and controversies surrounding the use of narcotic pain medications. It then details the many ways a behavioral health provider in primary care can help with treating and managing these patients, including behavioral strategies to use in individual and group visits, and ways to influence a clinic’s care delivery system. Those working in primary care as well as those interested in chronic pain more generally will find this course informative and unique.

 

Primary Care Behavioral Health: The Basics for a New Model of Healthcare  Primary care is fast emerging as an area of tremendous opportunity for behavioral health professionals. Patients regularly present to primary care providers for treatment of the entire spectrum of psychiatric and substance abuse disorders, while at the same time these problems are often undetected in many primary care patients. A tremendous variety of other behaviorally-based problems are also common in primary care, such as chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes), stress- and lifestyle-related health problems (e.g., chronic pain, insomnia), sub-threshold problems (e.g., parenting questions, bereavement), and preventive care needs (e.g., smoking cessation). Unfortunately, treatment outcomes for behaviorally-based problems in primary care are often unimpressive, owing to the generally insufficient training and time given to primary care providers for such problems. In response to the clear need for more behavioral health help in primary care, many clinics are bringing behavioral health professionals on to the primary care team. Yet, primary care is a very different world from specialty mental health, and there is often not a clear understanding by either the primary care clinic or the behavioral health professional of how to make this new partnership successful. This course will help behavioral health professionals understand how to succeed in the world of primary care. Beginners will find clear, practical advice on the topics they most need to know about to get started, such as how to structure a service and get off to a robust start. Those with experience in primary care will gain ideas for growing their service and evaluating their progress to ensure they are meeting the clinic’s needs. And those merely interested in the topic will likely find much that surprises them about this exciting new growth area for behavioral health professionals.