Roughly one-third of combat veterans battle some form of mental health condition with the most notable being posttraumatic stress disorder. This course is designed to present practitioners with a review of effective treatments for PTSD and related conditions in combat veterans.  In addition to PTSD, related disorders such as nightmares, insomnia, and depression will be reviewed.  Although there are effective treatments available for these conditions, many clinicians are unaware of the theory and science related to these interventions.  Moreover, unless the clinician has served in the military or worked with military or veteran clients in the past, the importance of military culture on treatment outcomes for these conditions will not be fully appreciated.  This seminar will help you become a more effective clinician for your veteran clients.

This course satisfies your cultural diversity requirement.

The Arab/ Middle Eastern community constitutes a culturally rich and diverse ethnic group; however, in contrast to other ethnic groups in the United States, this group has received little attention in the literature.   This seminar will provide a brief description of Arab populations with regard to ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.  It will also explore the impact of actual and perceived experiences of discrimination and prejudice on Arab client mental health.  Finally, this seminar will present recommendations for culturally sensitive treatment interventions for clinicians who wish to work with this population.

Working with a diverse ethnic population requires clinicians who can appreciate unique differences in culture as well as psychopathology arising from experiences of stigma and oppression. Further, it is imperative that individuals from underrepresented groups be equitably represented in mental care settings and research studies. Equitable representation is needed to ensure that research findings are generalizable to all populations.  Cultural, economic, and logistic barriers can deter people from disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups from seeking treatment or participating in mental health research, and can also deter clinicians from including them. This presentation describes steps mental health clinicians can take to increase inclusion of people in minoritized groups. Important strategies include formal training in cultural differences, development of multi-cultural awareness, diversification of treatment teams, community outreach, professional networking, targeted advertising, a comfortable environment, and ongoing review of efforts. Also included is an overview of research abuses against vulnerable populations which has eroded trust between communities of color and the medical establishment.  Dr. Williams will speak to these issues based on the research literature, her work starting mental health clinics throughout the US, and her experience as a principal investigator in studies recruiting hard-to-reach racialized participants for mental health studies. This course is for anyone seeking to recruit more diverse individuals, implement inclusive research studies, attend to cultural considerations in the process of interventions, and/or incorporate critical ethical principles into clinical procedures.

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

Religion and spirituality are important dimensions of most individuals’ lives. Yet, many mental health clinicians do not receive education and training focused on how to address these issues, when appropriate, with their clients. This webinar provides information on the roles of spirituality and religion in many clients’ lives, how to address our own biases about them and how our own beliefs may impact how we view and address them, how to appropriately assess each client’s treatment needs to include religious and spiritual issues and concerns, and how to tap into clients’ beliefs, practices, and faith communities as sources of strength that may enhance the professional services we provide. Ethics issues, challenges, and dilemmas are addressed, and an ethical decision-making model is shared and clinical examples are provided and discussed to illustrate its application. Recommendations for ethical and clinically effective practice are provided. 

Roughly one-third of combat veterans battle some form of mental health condition with the most notable being posttraumatic stress disorder. This course is designed to present practitioners with a review of effective treatments for PTSD and related conditions in combat veterans.  In addition to PTSD, related disorders such as nightmares, insomnia, and depression will be reviewed.  Although there are effective treatments available for these conditions, many clinicians are unaware of the theory and science related to these interventions.  Moreover, unless the clinician has served in the military or worked with military or veteran clients in the past, the importance of military culture on treatment outcomes for these conditions will not be fully appreciated.  This seminar will help you become a more effective clinician for your veteran clients.