Continuing Education Course Catalog

Successful treatment of addictive disorders typically includes various elements and processes that the effective practitioner needs to not only know about, but also to know how best to invoke those treatment elements in a manner that will be the best fit for each individual service recipient. Additionally, there are time-tested, evidence-based therapies with proven positive outcomes that practitioners would benefit from knowing about, either for direct provision or for the purposes of informing referrals. This set of sessions will focus on these learning targets, as well as equipping participants with the professional ethics knowledge and perspectives necessary for working with substance-involved populations.

As behavioral healthcare service delivery has become increasingly concerned with effective treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, integrated care models, and dual-diagnosis-informed interventions have emerged and become well- established. The more recent acknowledgement of the importance of further integration with physical healthcare treatment services is also highly pertinent to successful and sustainable treatment of substance-involved populations. This set of learning sessions will focus on addictions treatment with individuals having complex and comorbid circumstances and conditions, including mental health, physical health, criminal justice, and trauma issues.

This is a 2-hour self-paced online webinar discussing the use of DBT skills during CBT for Chronic Pain. The CBT-CP in this webinar is based on the Veterans Affairs Hospital developed CBT-CP. The manual can be found free online at: https://www.va.gov/PAINMANAGEMENT/docs/CBT-CP_Therapist_Manual.pdf#

CBT-CP has been found to be effective for decreasing catastrophizing, pain interference, pain intensity, and depression scores. Although CBT-CP is an evidence-based treatment, there are times in which a clinician and client may feel stuck. Thus, this presentation discussed Dialectical Behavior Therapy strategies that may be usefully employed during the course of CBT-CP.

Dementia is the second most prevalent mental disorder affecting older adults, the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and is present in one-third of older adults at the time of death. In order to understand and to respond effectively to the needs of our clients, clinicians must appreciate the complex interactions of disease pathology, individual strengths, environmental conditions, informal supports, formal resources, and societal influences. The purpose of this self-paced certificate program is to prepare clinical practitioners for advanced practice with clients and families affected by dementia.

The Online Certificate in Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design (DIAD) is designed for social workers and other professionals who are interested in developing skills and sharpening their lens related to disability inclusion, and who strive to make their practice more accessible to and relevant for people with disabilities. The program faculty includes scholars, activists, and others working on the frontlines of disability inclusion and accessibility. Participants will learn about pertinent policy issues affecting people with disabilities, anti-ableist language and practices, accessible interpersonal clinical practice skills, disability inclusive community organizing skills, how to create inclusive management structures and organizational policies, among other topics. Participants will also receive training on American Disability Act (ADA) guidelines, understand the limitations of ADA standards, and gain the knowledge and skills to evaluate and assess built environments and institutional policies for ADA compliance and beyond.

The Certificate in Political Social Work is designed for all social workers, regardless of area of primary practice, to fulfill their ethical obligation to engage in social and political action. Participants of this certificate program will learn how politics impacts the lives of those that they serve on both a micro and macro level, practice skills for advocating to policymakers, gain tools to empower clients to become politically engaged, and explore opportunities for running for office.

Foundations of Political Social Work: This module will include the historical and current role of social workers in the political process as well as knowledge that is core to political social work practice. Topics include: emerging political social work research and theory, political justice, ethics in political social work, and foundational skills in communicating political information.

Tools for Political Social Work: This module will cover skills and strategies that social workers can apply to their current practice as well as tools to enhance their political engagement. Topics include: identifying and combating fake news, advocacy and activism, and running campaigns.

Special Knowledge Areas for Political Social Work: This module covers important topic areas social workers should be familiar with when engaging in political social work practice, including organized labor and immigration. This module is intended to be responsive to emerging political topics relevant to social work.

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental illness affecting roughly 26 million people, equating to 1% of the global population. Psychosis is experienced within schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders in addition to several other disorders, often framed as being 'psychotic features.' Since the majority of mental health services in the US are delivered by social workers, it is important for clinicians to be prepared for work with clients including the need for interventions tailored to the experience of psychosis. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis is a cognitive and behavioral approach tailored for individuals experiencing psychosis and is an effective and valuable evidence-based intervention to use in practice.

This webinar will discuss an overview of psychosis and its prevalence, a brief overview of CBT theory and basics, a central focus on intervention using CBT for psychosis, and the use of 2 clinical cases.

Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States and worldwide. Nearly 50% of individuals who end life by suicide see a primary care provider within a month of death, yet suicide risk assessment and treatment is consistently difficult in practice. With the majority of mental health services in the US being delivered by social workers, it is imperative that knowledge and skills are in place for our work with clients with the ultimate goal being to prevent premature suicidal death. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for suicide prevention is an evidence-based intervention is a valuable and effective approach to use in practice for individuals experiencing suicidal ideation and/or whom have made an attempt.

This webinar will discuss suicide as public health issue in the US, suicide risk assessment, a brief overview of CBT theory and basics, and a central focus on intervention using CBT for suicide prevention.