Aging Course 4G - Treatment of Cognitive and Behavioral Functioning for Aging Adults

$28.00 - [Want to watch the Aging COURSE DEMO? Click here]. This 4 Credit-Hour course presents a STRUCTURED SKILLS-BASED TREATMENT APPROACH to assessing and treating specific functional difficulties of the elderly, in various settings. The assessment and treatment interventions taught in this course address COGNITIVE CONFUSION AND IMPAIRMENT in aging individuals (which at times may mimic dementia) - oftentimes appearing concurrent with serious AFFECTIVE conditions (such as DEPRESSION with or without agitation) and BEHAVIORAL difficulties (such as angry or explosive behavior, aggression, refusal to perform essential activities, and other behaviors which may lead to inpatient care if not stabilized).

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS in this age group is crucial and oftentimes more difficult than with the non-elderly client population. The clinical picture presented by such clients is oftentimes confusing and misleading, i.e., what “looks like Alzheimer’s” isn’t always Alzheimer’s disease, and isn’t always a case of organically based dementia which can be unresponsive to non-medical treatment interventions.

In the non-Alzheimer’s client, what we frequently see is cognitive confusion and behavioral abnormality following medical trauma including strokes and major surgery, loss of health or home or independence, and other such disruptive events. These functional difficulties are oftentimes complicated by depression and anxiety, and perhaps by difficulty in communicating basic wants and needs. These issues may lead to withdrawal from the environment and from social interaction, which can mimic organically based dementia.

Oftentimes we must “back into a diagnosis” . . . interacting with the individual in the treatment environment for a period of time that exceeds that normally required with non-elderly clients, and then formulate a differential diagnosis based on our experiences with the individual.

Perhaps more than with any other age group, ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS with the elderly is a DYNAMIC process. We must observe changes in affect and functional response to treatment interventions for a period of time that extends beyond a formal “intake evaluation”. How best to approach these non-Alzheimer's AGING issues, therapeutically, in a variety of settings? That’s the focus of this course.

Details: The course presents a STRUCTURED SKILLS-BASED APPROACH to assessing, treating, and documenting cognitive and behavioral difficulties of the elderly, in various settings. We present information that will allow you to effectively ASSESS and PRIORITIZE the cognitive and behavioral issues at hand, and to develop creative INTERVENTIONS that work!

We may find our aging clients in an outpatient clinic, residing in nursing facilities or participating in Day Care Centers operated by churches or private individuals – or simply living at home with adult children or other relatives.

More details: The interventions are particularly helpful with COGNITIVE confusion or impairment and BEHAVIORAL difficulties associated with any one of a number of precipitating factors – e.g., a mild stroke resulting in cognitive disturbance (with sensory-motor issues, perhaps receptive or expressive aphasia, mental confusion, etc) .... or cognitive confusion resulting from grief, loss, dislocation, etc. (e.g., a move to a nursing home, the loss of one’s personal home and possessions, death of a spouse, loss of independence, etc.).

Such elderly individuals oftentimes present with agitated or angry behavior, along with confusion. Such behavior is oftentimes accompanied by depressed and anxious emotionality, which can mimic dementia. How best to approach these issues therapeutically? And how best to resurrect cognitive skills which have fallen into disuse or impaired due to a stroke or situational trauma? That’s the focus of this course.

More details: The interventions we describe can be employed in multiple settings, including mental health clinics, professionally operated church day care programs for aging individuals with mental health issues, nursing homes – and at home with family, under professional supervision.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THIS COURSE:

1. Obtain an Overview of Cognitive and Behavioral (Functional) Deficits of the non-Alzheimer’s Geriatric Population.

2. Learn Specific Techniques for Reconnecting and Reinforcing Cognitive Processes

3. :Awareness of Behavioral Management Techniques Tailored To The Geriatric Patient.

4. Know How to Design and Implement Individualized Treatment Plans for Cognitively and Behaviorally Impaired Geriatric Mental Health Consumers.

5. Effective Documentation of Such Treatment

Ethics 4D - When Insurance and State Contracts Are Paying the Bill – The Ethics of Treatment Documentation and Other Ethical Dilemmas in Today’s World.

$28.00 - Four (4) Credit Hour Ethics CEUs for Professional Counselors, MFTs, Social Workers, Substance Abuse Counselors, and other behavioral health practitioners in ALMOST EVERY STATE.

Ethics 4D is a fast-paced SLIDESHOW with content that's easy to understand and never boring - regarding the ETHICAL DILEMMAS (and PRESSURES) encountered on a daily basis by those whose clients' fees are paid by insurance, managed care, or closely monitored state or local contracts.

Ethics 4D contains the same core material as the 3 credit-hour Ethics Course 3D, except that 4D includes additional material regarding these ethical issues. [Want to watch a short Ethics COURSE DEMO, with material from Ethics 4D and 3D? Click here.]

The first part of the course is a close-up view of that sticky issue ... what to write (and not write) in a client's treatment record, from an ETHICS perspective, in this new era of tightly controlled health care. How much do you divulge about your assessment of the client's diagnosis, his prognosis, his functional status, and his response to treatment? What's ETHICAL - when the payor is demanding details? What's NECESSARY?

In Ethics 4D we ALSO take a look at such ethical questions as the contract manager's focus upon YOUR effectiveness in the treatment process - i.e., is your approach to treatment effective (or not)? Is such scrutiny legitimate and ethical, or is it an invasion of your (and your client's) privacy? And is it ethical to provide the requested information? And .... does this emphasis upon YOUR EFFECTIVENESS have anything to do with your own ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY, as required by your license standards? ?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Understand the ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL impact of CARE MANAGEMENT upon WHO gets treatment, WHAT treatments they may receive, and HOW MUCH of each treatment is allowed.

2. Identify the new ETHICAL ISSUES faced by providers as a function of this new approach to authorization - i.e., JUSTIFYING and DELIVERING treatment services to our clients within this environment, and DOCUMENTING the ASSESSMENT, DIAGNOSIS, and RESPONSE TO TREATMENT.

3. Learn HOW we can ETHICALLY accommodate these new treatment and documentation requirements, while simultaneously meeting the requirements of our Provider Agreements.

4. Identify additional ETHICAL DILEMMAS encountered in treatment of mental health and substance abuse clients, including the ethics of the Quality Management - Treatment Effectiveness scrutiny which HMOs and other such contract managers place upon the work we do. Is it ETHICAL activity, or is it invasive?

Ethics 3D - When Insurance and State Contracts Are Paying the Bill – The Ethics of Treatment Documentation in Today’s World.

$24.00 - Three (3) Credit Hour Ethics CEUs for Professional Counselors, MFTs, Social Workers, Substance Abuse Counselors, and other behavioral health practitioners in ALMOST EVERY STATE.

Ethics 3D is a fast-paced SLIDESHOW with content that's easy to understand and never boring - regarding the ETHICAL DILEMMAS (and PRESSURES) encountered on a daily basis by those whose clients' fees are paid by insurance, managed care, or closely monitored state or local contracts.

NOTE: Ethics 3D contains the same core material as the 4 credit-hour Ethics Course 4D, except that 4D includes additional material regarding these ethical issues. [Want to watch a short Ethics COURSE DEMO, with material from Ethics 4D and 3D? Click here.]

This course is a close-up view of that sticky issue ... what to write (and not write) in a client's treatment record, from an ETHICS perspective, in this new era of tightly controlled health care. How much do you divulge about your ASSESSMENT of the client's DIAGNOSIS(ES), his prognosis, his functional status, and his response to treatment? What's ETHICAL - when the payor is demanding details? What's NECESSARY?

Is such scrutiny legitimate and ethical, or is it an invasion of your (and your client's) privacy? And is it ethical to provide the requested information? Do your own licensure standards SUPPORT - or OVERRULE - this type of documentation of a client's treatment information?

SUMMARY OF GOALS:

1. Understand the ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL impact of CARE MANAGEMENT upon WHO gets treatment, WHAT treatments they may receive, and HOW MUCH of each treatment is allowed.

2. Identify the ETHICAL ISSUES faced by providers due to this new approach to authorization - in both the delivery of treatment services AND in the DOCUMENTATION of the ASSESSMENT, DIAGNOSIS, and TREATMENT RESPONSE.

3. Learn how we can ETHICALLY accommodate these new treatment and documentation requirements, while simultaneously meeting the requirements of our Provider Agreements.

Course 3C - Beyond the Yellow Legal Pad! Biopsychosocial and Risk Assessment of CD and MH Minors [Even Under the TEXAS' TRAG!]

$24.00 - [3 Credit Hours] THIS IS A PDF DOCUMENT which can be viewed with Adobe Reader or any other pdf reader program. Move 'beyond the yellow legal pad' when assessing and diagnosing children and adolescents with CD-SA and Mental Health issues. This course presents a structured, 1-2-3 approach to Mental Health and Substance Abuse (AOD) Assessment of minor clients - emphasizing and demonstrating the features of assessment which facilitate a CORRECT DIAGNOSIS and APPROPRIATE TREATMENT PLANNING. It comes with a FREE DOWNLOADABLE ASSESSMENT FORMAT! Includes critical assessment and diagnostic ERRORS to avoid which can result in legal complications and professional liability issues.

Also includes a structured approach to RISK ASSESSMENT of a child or adolescent - including a short, easy-to-use FREE downloadable Risk Assessment Form. Protect yourself from legal vulnerability and critical incidents when working with clients who present a potential for harm to self or others.

And, for you TEXAS professionals, the course and the assessment content FULLY SUPPORT YOUR TEXAS' TDHS TRAG and UA requests for children and adolescents. Be documented beyond question in that child's chart!
Get FREE Downloadable Forms which you can tailor to your own needs if you have software to modify pdf documents. NOTE: This course is a PDF DOCUMENT (Acrobat Reader) - not a slide show like our other courses.

FlexiCourse 5A - Welcome to Care Management! a.k.a., 'Do They REALLY Need Treatment?'

Course 3B - The Big Transition in the AOD Field: Assessment and Documentation of ‘Need for Treatment’ and 'Treatment Interventions' - How They've Changed!

$23.00 - [3 CREDIT HOURS] In most states, it's goodbye to flexible addiction Block Grants and other 'open access' State contracts! This course addresses the 'nitty gritty' of the major CHANGES in TRADITIONAL SA-CD PROGRAMS, TREATMENTS, DOCUMENTATION, AND PHILOSOPHY, due to the new health care environment. Applies to single AOD diagnosis and to Dual MH-AOD diagnoses.

Offers a bird's eye view of how ASSESSMENT of the client's NEED FOR TREATMENT - and HOW we DELIVER and DOCUMENT the treatment - have CHANGED under Managed Care ..... and how to constructively adapt when it's ethically possible.

SUMMARY: This course includes material on the following:

1. the BACKGROUND of why treatment approach and documentation of need for treatment have changed so significantly in the AOD field.

2. understanding how managed care contractors (such as HMOs, BHOs, MCOs, state operated plans, and commercial insurance companies) THINK about WHO needs treatment and WHAT kind of treatment they need ..... in other words, what are the new criteria for establishing the need for treatment, and how can we accommodate to it?

3. the role that treatment DOCUMENTATION plays in obtaining and maintaining treatment authorization and funding for our clients .... for example, the four KEY CONCEPTS in authorization and documentation of treatment.

4. how to design AOD treatment programs and treatment plans within the new managed care environment, which will be approved and will get the OUTCOME results that insurance carriers and state programs are looking for.


Course 3B presents some specialized treatment scenarios which can be discussed with an MCO or other care manager (State or local, etc.) which can provide effective treatment of recidivistic addiction clients, under a 'Care Management' system.

Also provides an understanding of HOW the MCOs make those controversial treatment DECISIONS for substance abusing and chemically dependent individuals - and HOW TO ASK for 'WHAT' from the MCO's care manager, to maximize your chances of getting what your clients need.

We also present clear 1-2-3 guidance on how to DOCUMENT both your assessment and the treatment you deliver under a Care Managed system - and an introduction to RECOUPMENT of funds already paid to you (which typically occurs due to inadequate DOCUMENTATION in client records). The course explains how to AUDIT your own professional documentation, so that it fits in well with the new CARE MANAGEMENT or Utilization Review (UR) process.

Some material in this course is included in MiniCourses 1B and 1C and elsewhere, but this course does it from the AOD perspective.

Course 3F - Reducing Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children

$20.00 - [3 Credit Hours] THIS COURSE IS A PDF DOCUMENT which is viewed using Adobe Reader or any other pdf document viewer program. It's accessed FREE by clicking an internet link to the National Center for Children In Poverty [Columbia University] website. If you wish to earn 3 CE CREDITS and an instantly downloaded CE Certificate after you read this well-documented material, you may do so by paying the $20 fee and taking and passing an ONLINE QUIZ here on our website. There is no limit to the number of times you can attempt to pass the quiz. You may view and print a COPY of the online quiz now, without charge, and use it as a guide as you read the study materials.

This informative paper on Maternal Depression in low income families was developed by Jane Knitzer, EdD, Suzanne Theberge, MPH, and Kay Johnson, MPH, MEd. NCCP is a nonpartisan, public interest research organization. The paper is jointly published by Project Thrive and NCCP.

As described by the publishers of this internet-accessible paper, the research studies and model programs which are reviewed here, focus upon Maternal Depression as a significant risk factor affecting the well-being and school readiness of young children in LOW INCOME FAMILIES. Low-income mothers of young children experience particularly high levels of depression, often in combination with other risk factors. The impact on their children is well documented. ETHNIC AND CULTURAL factors are important elements and must be included in program design.

This paper provides an overview of why it is so important to address maternal depression as a central part of the effort to ensure that ALL young children enter school ready to succeed.

As seen in the introduction to the document, it highlights the following, which are the focus and goals of this course::

Focus and Goals: 1. Review the research-based knowledge about the impact of maternal depression on young children, particularly infants and toddlers, and the prevalence of maternal depression among different ethnic and economic groups.

2. Review examples of community and treatment strategies designed to be sensitive to ethnic and cultural biases of Caucasian, Latino, and African American adult and teen women …. with goals to reduce maternal depression and prevent negative cognitive, social emotional and behavioral impacts upon their young children

3. Identify the key cultural barriers to women of differing ethnicities who are seeking help for maternal depression

4. Know the approaches to promote healthy early child development and school readiness vis-à-vis Maternal Depression prevention and treatment

5. Review model programs to address community, cultural, and ethnic barriers, and thereby to craft more appropriate intervention responses.

Note: This course contains a link to study material available on the internet, rather than study guides on this web site. You may STUDY THIS COURSE and the quiz AT NO CHARGE. When you have studied the material and reviewed the quiz, you can come back to this site to take the quiz ONLINE and instantly receive your course completion certificate! For more information on this course - and to see a PREVIEW of the online quiz - click the '+' symbols, below:

Maternal Depression and Child Course 3F - Guide 1

This 3-credit hour course is a pdf document accessed FREE by an open-access internet link to the National Center for Children In Poverty [Columbia University] website. If you wish to earn CE CREDIT and a CE Certificate for reading this well documented material, you may do so by taking a quiz on our website. NOTE: YOU NEED TO HAVE ADOBE READER 8 or 9 or ANOTHER PDF READER on your computer to view this document over the internet. This paper presents an extensive description of MODEL COMMUNITY and THERAPEUTIC PROGRAMS in multiple ethnic communities, as well as some key research studies related to prevalence, outcomes, and BEST PRACTICES. The GOALS of this Continuing Education activity are (a) understanding the IMPACT of maternal depression on young children, particularly infants and toddlers in low-income families, (b) COMMUNITY PATHWAYS TO REDUCTION of maternal depression and prevention of related cognitive, social emotional and behavioral damage to youth which affect their well-being and school readiness, (c) awareness of the prevalence of maternal depression among different ETHNIC GROUPS, and the effective community and treatment strategies designed to be sensitive to ethnicity and cultural biases of Caucasian, Latino, and African American adult and teen women, (d) Identification of the key CULTURAL BARRIERS to women of differing ethnicities who are seeking help for maternal depression, and (e) a review of MODEL PROGRAMS to address community, cultural, and ethnic barriers, and thereby to craft more appropriate intervention responses, and (f) awareness of noteworthy COMMUNITY AND PROGRAMMATIC STRATEGIES to identify and reduce maternal depression and the associated problems in young children., and (g) recognition of the BARRIERS to effective community implementation. The paper also provides a superior BIBLIOGRAPHY of position papers and research studies of this subject, should the CE participant wish to follow up with more information and study. Click here to view this study material. Click here to view and print the quiz you will take for this material.

Course 2C - Intro to Professional & Clinical Issues in Managed Care - Necessary Shifts in Program Design and Treatment Approach

$17.50 - [2 Credit Hours] For Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Treatment Providers. Some of this course's material overlaps 2B material (related to managed care goals, how managed care companies THINK, and how we have to change what we write in treatment records) . . . but then the course moves ahead to include professional, clinical, and programmatic CHANGES in store for professionals who are working under a Managed Care Provider Agreement. Are you interested in this material, but want more credits than this course offers? Some of this material appears in MiniCourse 3A (3 credit hours total), and in FlexiCourse 5A (5 credit hours), and FlexiCourse 10A (10 credit hours).

Course 2B - 'They're Coming to Audit WHEN?' - a.k.a, 'What Can Go WRONG in That Chart?'

$17.50 - [2 CREDIT HOURS] Want to pass that TREATMENT RECORD AUDIT? Want to avoid RECOUPMENT of claims payments already paid to you, when the MCO calls for a client's record, or their auditors show up at your door? Here's how! This fast-paced slide show clearly describes 'what's DIFFERENT' about how we must DOCUMENT TREATMENT in MH and CD/AOD client records today, under the new behavioral health contracts. And we give you useful and do-able tips on how to audit your own records - so that you are ready BEFORE the MCO or State auditor arrives. Also provides a clear explanation about HOW managed care contract administrators make pre-authorization decisions to approve or deny your requests for treatment . . . and WHAT you must write in the client's chart to support that authorization.

Course 3A - Managed Care - Is There Anything GOOD About It? a.k.a., 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Providing Treatment Under Managed Care - The Perils and The Good Stuff.'

$23.00 - [3 CREDIT HOURS] All of the material in 1B and 1C is included, and then we expand on the clinical opportunities and perils for providers. We attempt to put to rest the question, 'So Is there really anything GOOD about Managed Care for Mental Health and Chemical Dependency professionals?' Oh yes indeed, there is!

We take a look at what programmatic contract and treatment opportunities to pursue (and which to avoid) when you work with an HMO or other managed care administrator - what types of treatment fit with a managed care system - and how innovative, non-traditional treatment services (especially for children and adults with major mental illness) can be provided under the new managed care models for difficult high-risk clients.

The final lesson in this course focuses upon the clinical details of how Care Management departments make treatment decisions which impact your clients' recovery process, and how providers can accommodate to this shift in clinical emphasis.

NOTE: Part of the material in this course is very similar to Course 2B, and is also similar to some of the material found in MODULE 201 of FlexiCourses 4A, 5A, and 10A. Thus, if you purchase 4A, 5A, 10A, or 2B - and then decide to also purchase 3A - please do so only with this understanding.