All Webinars

This dynamic 3-hour seminar provides mental health professionals with essential tools to support families in conflict—whether couples are married, divorcing, or never married. Drawing on decades of clinical, mediation, and non-adversarial divorce experience, Dr. Zimmerman blends real-world strategies with clinical insight to help attendees become more effective in high-conflict family situations. Participants will gain exposure to a range of alternative dispute resolution models, learn about the effects of conflict on children, and receive actionable guidance on managing professional stress in this demanding field.

This dynamic 3-hour seminar provides mental health professionals with essential tools to support families in conflict—whether couples are married, divorcing, or never married. Drawing on decades of clinical, mediation, and non-adversarial divorce experience, Dr. Zimmerman blends real-world strategies with clinical insight to help attendees become more effective in high-conflict family situations. Participants will gain exposure to a range of alternative dispute resolution models, learn about the effects of conflict on children, and receive actionable guidance on managing professional stress in this demanding field.

“I was very impressed. The presentation was clear, informative and definitely added to my knowledge base.”-Mary H., Psychologist, New Jersey

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are considered to be among the most debilitating and distressing mental health conditions. Despite impacting approximately 3% of the population, many clinicians lack the training and resources to recognize and best work with this vulnerable group of people, leaving many with psychosis isolated, stigmatized, and without help. Nonetheless, growing evidence suggests that, with tailored early intervention, many people with psychosis can recover from illness and lead a life of their choosing in the community. This seminar will familiarize you with psychosis, emphasizing the early phases of illness. It will then demonstrate strategies for reducing stigma, increasing empathy, and facilitating early identification. I will share screening tools and briefly touch on treatment strategies, as well as provide clinical resources for comprehensive specialty care.

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are considered to be among the most debilitating and distressing mental health conditions. Despite impacting approximately 3% of the population, many clinicians lack the training and resources to recognize and best work with this vulnerable group of people, leaving many with psychosis isolated, stigmatized, and without help. Nonetheless, growing evidence suggests that, with tailored early intervention, many people with psychosis can recover from illness and lead a life of their choosing in the community. This seminar will familiarize you with psychosis, emphasizing the early phases of illness. It will then demonstrate strategies for reducing stigma, increasing empathy, and facilitating early identification. I will share screening tools and briefly touch on treatment strategies, as well as provide clinical resources for comprehensive specialty care.

“I was very impressed. The presentation was clear, informative and definitely added to my knowledge base.”-Mary H., Psychologist, New Jersey

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are considered to be among the most debilitating and distressing mental health conditions. Despite impacting approximately 3% of the population, many clinicians lack the training and resources to recognize and best work with this vulnerable group of people, leaving many with psychosis isolated, stigmatized, and without help. Nonetheless, growing evidence suggests that, with tailored early intervention, many people with psychosis can recover from illness and lead a life of their choosing in the community. This seminar will familiarize you with psychosis, emphasizing the early phases of illness. It will then demonstrate strategies for reducing stigma, increasing empathy, and facilitating early identification. I will share screening tools and briefly touch on treatment strategies, as well as provide clinical resources for comprehensive specialty care.

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are considered to be among the most debilitating and distressing mental health conditions. Despite impacting approximately 3% of the population, many clinicians lack the training and resources to recognize and best work with this vulnerable group of people, leaving many with psychosis isolated, stigmatized, and without help. Nonetheless, growing evidence suggests that, with tailored early intervention, many people with psychosis can recover from illness and lead a life of their choosing in the community. This seminar will familiarize you with psychosis, emphasizing the early phases of illness. It will then demonstrate strategies for reducing stigma, increasing empathy, and facilitating early identification. I will share screening tools and briefly touch on treatment strategies, as well as provide clinical resources for comprehensive specialty care.

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.

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.

“I really enjoyed the expertise of the presenter. He had so much useful knowledge to share. The case studies really went deeper into my personal knowledge and helped me to process and analyze situations differently.”-Kristie C., Social Worker, New York

It is essential that that schools and communities know the incidence of school violence and be up to date on the best safety and prevention practices. This presentation will review numerous state and national initiatives that have focused on school safety and the recommendations from a variety of foundations started by parents who lost their in tragic school shootings. Many school shooters died by suicide and this presentation will outline the major theory of murder suicide. The presenter has a wealth of practical experience responding to school crises and participants, whether they are parents, school personnel or community members will learn many lessons from school tragedies and practical strategies to prevent future school violence.

“I really enjoyed the expertise of the presenter. He had so much useful knowledge to share. The case studies really went deeper into my personal knowledge and helped me to process and analyze situations differently.”-Kristie C., Social Worker, New York

It is essential that that schools and communities know the incidence of school violence and be up to date on the best safety and prevention practices. This presentation will review numerous state and national initiatives that have focused on school safety and the recommendations from a variety of foundations started by parents who lost their in tragic school shootings. Many school shooters died by suicide and this presentation will outline the major theory of murder suicide. The presenter has a wealth of practical experience responding to school crises and participants, whether they are parents, school personnel or community members will learn many lessons from school tragedies and practical strategies to prevent future school violence.

The relationship between trauma and addiction is becoming increasingly well established in the literature. This is no surprise, as clinicians working “in the trenches” know all too well that people with unresolved trauma and emotional wounds often turn to substances as a way to “numb out,” forget, or otherwise self-medicate to regulate their emotions. Conversely, people with addictive behavior disorders may drive while impaired, gravitate towards toxic relationships, go to dangerous places to get their substance of choice, or engage in many other behaviours that increase their risk of being traumatized and their vulnerability factors for developing PTSD or other trauma and stress related disorders.  It is also known that when cooccurrence is involved, this presents clinicians with a more complicated course of treatment and less favorable treatment outcomes that when clients present with only one or the other.
 

The good news is, there is hope! While neuroscience has taught us much about this phenomenon in recent years, evidence-based Cognitively based treatments are still being shown to  be at least as effective as many “newer” approaches, and in some circles seem to have almost gotten lost in the shuffle. 

Recent protocols have attempted to incorporate PE (prolonged exposure) and other cognitive behavioral treatments with substance use disorder treatments. While further research is needed in this area, the mandate for integration of treatments when dealing with this population seems integral to obtain more favorable outcomes for individuals with these complex conceptualizations.
 

Leave this full-day online training let by international CBT expert Jeff Riggenbach, PhD, with an improved understanding of the neuroscience of trauma, a integrated approach to treating PTSD and addictions, and armed with a plethora of evidence-based, yet practical new tools to equip and empower this group to find levels of recovery that have previously been eluding them!

This course will satisfy your ethics requirement.

"I loved that self-care was partnered with ethics! Great topic and the presentation was interesting, well-paced, unhurried yet didn't belabor points. Clearly the instructor is very comfortable with the topic and presents well."-Barbara B., Professional Counselor, Washington

Working as a mental health professional can be challenging, demanding and stressful. With some clients, it can be traumatizing to the clinician. Self-care, the promotion of wellness, and the prevention of burnout are essential for every mental health professional in order to maintain our competence and clinical effectiveness. The ethical obligation to do so is addressed, ways to assess our own individual self-care needs and effectiveness, and specific strategies for the effective practice of self-care are presented. Important issues such as personal and professional challenges, vulnerabilities, and blind spots are addressed. The limitations of self-monitoring and self-assessment are reviewed and recommendations for proactively and effectively addressing these challenges are presented. A realistic approach to ongoing self-care and the promotion of wellness is presented that each mental health clinician can integrate into their daily lives, for their own benefit, and for the benefit of their clients.

This course qualifies as an ethics course.

“The information presented in this course will be very helpful with my documentation of psychotherapy and enlightened me about potential risk and legal issues. The presentation was clear and he gave real life examples to illustrate what he was saying. I learned the difference between a supoena and a court order, and specifically what goes into effective documentation of psychotherapy notes."-Claire H., Social Worker, Vermont

This webinar explains the goals and potential benefits of effective clinical documentation as well as the ethical and legal requirements for doing so. Documentation is addressed from a clinical and risk management perspective. Specific recommendations are made for how to document the clinical services provided in a competent and effective manner. Additionally, common pitfalls to avoid are addressed. How to store and maintain records is addressed for both paper and electronic records. Precautions to take to protect and preserve records are described in detail along with how and when to dispose of them. Guidance is provided for following HIPAA and other laws and regulations relevant to documentation and record keeping. Participants in this webinar will receive practical guidance that can be integrated into daily practice to document more effectively, to better achieve the goals of thoughtfully created treatment records, and to meet and exceed professional standards and practice guidelines relevant to documentation and record keeping.

This course qualifies as an ethics course.

“The information was well organized and presented in a clear, interesting manner. It gave me a good opportunity to think about how many different ways I inevitably disclose information about myself to clients; it's not possible to avoid this but I must ensure what I disclose is beneficial to the client.”-Cynthia L., Social Worker, Arkansas

Boundaries and multiple relationships are common occurrences for mental health clinicians. Yet, they may at times be challenging, confusing, and even overwhelming for those who may not know how to effectively manage boundaries and how to determine which multiple relationships are acceptable or appropriate. Taking a rigid and avoidant approach typically can be just as harmful as an overly loose approach. Participants in this webinar will learn a rational, practical, and reality-based approach for addressing and managing boundaries and multiple relationships in clinical practice. The role of a decision-making process and consideration of multiple relevant issues will be addressed and their use in clinical practice will be demonstrated. Clinical examples will be presented and discussed to illustrate the points being made. Participants will learn specific skills and strategies to integrate into their clinical practices on a daily basis.