“The instructor clearly has a high level of expertise, presented the material in a well organized, comprehensive, and detailed manner, and maintained my interest throughout.”-Jay F., Psychologist, New Jersey
One in seven people over the age of 70 experiences dementia and another 22% demonstrate symptoms of cognitive decline that falls short of dementia. Those who escape the symptoms of dementia may spend a substantial portion of retirement years caring for a friend or family member with cognitive impairment. The rise of the baby boomer generation is expected bring unprecedented rates of cognitive syndromes like Alzheimer’s disease, yet most mental health professionals have no formal training to work with this vulnerable population. This workshop provides a clinical approach to understanding and assessing these syndromes.
“The presentation was exceptionally useful in the provision of practical suggestions grounded in dynamic conceptualization. The instructor seemed seasoned in real world experience and this enhanced the context in which she provided research and conceptual information. This presentation will allow me to enhance the specificity and utility of recommendations I make for managing self-harm in high risk and incarcerated children and adolescents.”-Lara H., Psychologist, Texas
Nonsuicidal self-injury is more common than we think. Almost every mental health clinician has come across some form of nonsuicidal self-injury in their careers, and the behavior is on the rise among adolescents and young adults. Yet, rarely do education programs cover anything about nonsuicidal self-injury within their programs, even though it is important for mental health clinicians to be aware of what this behavior is, how to assess it, how it is related yet different from suicidal behavior, and how to intervene and work with clients who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury. This seminar will help you understand what nonsuicidal self-injury is, factors to consider when assessing and working with clients, ethical considerations in treatment and breaching confidentiality, and methods of treatment that have been shown to be effective.
The incidence of youth suicide requires that schools and communities collaborate and increase suicide prevention efforts and that they be prepared to respond if a suicide occurs in order to reduce suicide contagion. This presentation will help school and community mental health personnel increase their understanding of the most common factors in youth suicide. Participants will learn effective strategies to prevent youth suicide and lessons from the aftermath of numerous suicides.
Traumatized adolescents and young adults struggle with self-regulation. They are dysregulated across systems--neurologically, cognitively, physically, emotionally, behaviorally, socially, and spiritually. Anxious and vigilant, and unable to trust themselves or caregivers, they may experience even loving relationships as confusing and frightening. But to learn self-soothing, they must first be able to rely upon others and discover the comfort of co-regulation. They benefit from relationships with adults that provide them with the psychological (and physical) sense of stability and containment they cannot supply themselves.
To work effectively with these youth it’s crucial for adults to first foster their own capacity for self-awareness and self-regulation. It’s not easy, especially when our young clients’ extreme reactions—ranging from angry arousal to frozen shutting down—can trigger our own sense of helplessness, failure, dissociation, and rejection. In this webinar, you will learn about Developmental-Relational Therapy (DRT), an attachment-based model of trauma treatment. You will learn and practice mindful, empathic strategies that help teens feel more secure, connected, present, and regulated. You’ll discover how to get unhooked from old enactments by exploring:
Specific adolescent attachment styles that interact with or trigger our own
The React, Reflect, and Respond approach to corrective relational experience
Four M’s—mirroring, mentalizing, mindfulness, and modulation—to increase connection and mood regulatio
How to use moment-to-moment attunement—including strategies of validation, unflinching empathy, strategic self-disclosure, and the compassionate sharing of adult feelings and opinions-—to bring traumatized youth back into relationships with themselves and with you.
“Dr. Satir was
excellent. She kept my interest and is obviously very knowledgeable and
experienced. I learned a lot about how to deal with eating disorders.”-Richard
H., Psychologist, Colorado
This training will offer the opportunity to learn
about the diagnosis, assessment, theory, and treatment of eating, weight and
shape disorders. While working with clients with eating disorders (EDs) can
present unique challenges, we will explore the perception/stigma that these
clients are notoriously difficult to treat. We will focus on the importance of
integrative treatments, and the role of behavioral, symptom focused techniques
in addition to psychodynamic approaches that explore underlying
characterological and developmental issues. This training will also consider
potential challenges clinicians may face when working with clients with eating
disorders and how to cope with feelings that may arise when working with this
population.
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.
This course satisfies your cultural diversity requirement.
Treating Arab/Middle Eastern populations in the United States has recently become of interest within the field of clinical psychology because of increased immigration of these groups over the last decade. Many Arabs have immigrated to benefit from financial and occupational opportunities; however, others have left their countries of origin in the pursuit of greater freedom and to flee from persecution. Arab sexual minorities are among these groups. This seminar will provide a brief description of Arab populations with regard to ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. It will also explore the experiences of Arabs with same-sex attractions and the impact of familial, cultural, and religious values on the expression of sexuality and identity. Finally,recommendations will be presented to assist clinicians who seek to increase cultural competence working with this unique population.
When we joined the ranks of helping professionals, one of the last things that probably crossed our minds was what, if any, risk we would face in our careers. Would our forensic patient who had killed their parents ever corner us in a room and try to assault us? Would our inpatient teenager ever cyber-stalk us online? Would our outpatient client ever try to kill us in our office? Daunting questions to think about; however, these are the very questions that we should be addressing while also helping our client population in need. This course looks back over the past decades to review where mental health treatment has come and what about those shifts may contribute to our vulnerability in our professions; it helps identify the vulnerabilities we should be addressing; and it offers suggestions of actions we can take to protect our work, our clients, our livelihood, and our lives. In addition to receiving the training and education we need to make us the best helping professionals we can be, we also need training such as this to help protect ourselves from any harm that could come in the course of our work.
One of the biggest challenges in trauma recovery is managing both when clients get emotionally overwhelmed and when clients numb out and shut down. Learning how to pace therapy and navigate clients’ emotional window of tolerance are key foundations of successful trauma treatment. In this webinar, Dr. Fatter will review the impact of traumatic stress on the brain in tangible ways to help clinicians better conceptualize how trauma alters the body’s arousal system. Dr. Fatter will discuss in detail symptoms of hyperarousal, hypoarousal and calm states of our autonomic nervous system based on Polyvagal Theory. This will help clinicians know signs of what state clients are in and help clinicians be able to educate clients about their nervous system. We will address one of the most important aspects of the therapeutic relationship based on what we know about the traumatized brain. A phase-oriented treatment approach will be presented so clinicians learn an evidence-based structure for pacing the intensity of trauma treatment. In addition, we will explore four research-informed adjunctive therapies to help clients maintain stabilization and regulate arousal.
Do you know the possible effect in Court of expert testimony based on poorly validated procedures? People may be sentenced to death. In similar ways, mental health professionals may be found negligent for failure to see that someone fits the psychological profile of intended victims, despite the fact that there is no science behind psychological profiling. The use and similar misuses of expert testimony will be highlighted in the webinar, along with practical suggestions for avoiding these pitfalls and making sure one’s testimony is based on well-validated theories.
“I was extremely impressed with the presentation from start
to finish. I liked the inclusion of videos/visuals to enhance the presentation.
Finally, I was extremely appreciative of the follow-up resources as well. I
learned a great deal and all of the techniques would arguably enhance anyone's
therapy practice in some way.”-Kristin K., Professional Counselor, Massachusetts
Although the field of clinical psychology has traditionally aimed
to “fix what’s wrong,” the newer sub-field of positive psychology instead helps
us to “build what’s strong.” In this seminar, attendees will learn about the
nature of happiness, and discover research-backed methods from positive
psychology to help lastingly increase happiness both in ourselves and in our
clients. We’ll explore what it means to be happy, why happiness is so
important, and why it can often feel so hard to come by. We’ll then discuss 7
research-based principles for lasting well-being, drawing from positive
psychology, mindfulness-based approaches, and cutting-edge neuroscience. In
addition, we will introduce and put into practice dozens of evidence-based
tools and techniques that can easily be implemented into clinical practice.
Through lecture, clinical vignettes, and hands-on practice, you’ll learn skills
that can transform your clinical work.
“Excellent; exceeded
my expectations. The instructor (Scott Hannan) was very impressive. He clearly
had a very deep knowledge of the topic and also knew how to answer broad
questions very succinctly but thoroughly. I'm amazed he was able to talk for 6
hrs straight in an engaging way, while being very responsive to different
questions throughout the seminar, while also sticking exactly to the expected
time. Bravo!.”-Teresa A. Psychologist, Maryland
Obsessive compulsive
disorder can be associated with extreme levels of distress and severe
impairment in one’s life. Proper diagnosis and treatment formulation is
essential in assisting those with this disabling condition. Although most
people are familiar with typical symptoms including washing and checking,
many may not have an understanding of other presentations of OCD, such as
scrupulosity, harm obsessions, and sexual obsessions. Fortunately, the
gold standard treatment exposure and response prevention can be utilized
to treat the various presentations of OCD. In this seminar, Dr.
Hannan will review the various presentations of OCD and train
attendees in making an accurate diagnosis of OCD. In addition to
learning about the various presentations of OCD, attendees will learn to
assess the severity of OCD. Dr. Hannan will explain the rationale
of using exposure and ritual prevention and discuss how to conceptualize cases
of OCD, along with creating an exposure hierarchy. Exposure therapy will
be introduced through both didactics and video demonstration. Special
cases of OCD, including comorbid conditions and adaptations needed to
treat children, will be addressed.