The course that is being presented this week in our face-to-face Substance Abuse Counselor Training at PAHA is “Clinical Screening and Assessment for the Addictions Professional: Mental Status Examination, Screening and Evaluation Tools”. This is a 6-hour course that is also available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of disorders of children and adolescents with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Introduction to Clinical Screening and Assessments
2. Clinical interviewing
3. Eliciting Substance Abuse History
4. Screening Instruments and Standardized Interviews
5. Diagnosing Substance Use Disorders
6. History of Substance Use Disorder: Psychiatric, Medical, Family, & Social
7. Physical and Mental Status Examinations
8. Biological Markers and Drug Toxicology Screening
9. Breath Alcohol Test (Breathalyzer)
10. Urine Drug Screen
11. Serum Drug Screen & Alternative Specimen Tests
12. Employment Testing
13. Levels of Assessment and Care

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The course that is being presented this week in our face-to-face Substance Abuse Counselor Training at PAHA is part of our DSM-IV TR for the Addictions Professional Series: “Disorders of Children and Adolescents”. This is a 6-hour course that is also available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of disorders of children and adolescents with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Introduction to Disorders of Children and Adolescents
2. Pervasive Developmental Disorders including Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Rett’s Disorder, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
3. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD)
4. Ritalin and Adderall Misuse
5. Disruptive Behavioral Disorders including Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder
6. Bullying
7. Youth Violence
8. Adolescent Substance Use
9. Childhood Anxiety Disorders
10. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
11. Child and Adolescent Mood Disorders
12. Tourette’s Disorder
13. Adjustment Disorders
14. Intervention & Assessment

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The course that is being presented this week in our face-to-face Substance Abuse Counselor Training at PAHA is part of our DSM-IV TR for the Addictions Professional Series: “Personality Disorders and Eating Disorders”. This is a 6-hour course that is also available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of personality disorders and eating disorders with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Personality Disorders
2. DSM-IV TR Criteria for Personality Disorders
3. Cluster A Disorders including Paranoid Personality Disorder, Schizoid Personality Disorder, and Schizotypal Personality Disorder
4. Cluster B Disorders including Antisocial Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder
5. Cluster C Disorders including Avoidant Personality Disorder, Dependent Personality Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
6. Planning, Outcome criteria, & Intervention for Personality Disorders
7. Eating disorders
8. DSM-IV TR Criteria for Eating Disorders
9. Anorexia Nervosa
10. Bulimia Nervosa
11. Binge Eating Disorder
12. Planning, Outcome criteria, & Intervention for Anorexia Nervosa
13. Planning, Outcome criteria, & Intervention for Bulimia Nervosa

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The course that is being presented this week in our face-to-face Substance Abuse Counselor Training at PAHA is part of our DSM-IV TR for the Addictions Professional Series: “Aging and Disorders of the Elderly”. This is a 6-hour course that is also available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of aging and disorders of the elderly with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Introduction to Aging and Ageism
2. Community-Based Settings
3. Restraints
4. Pain and Older Adults
5. Pain Management
6. Death and Dying
7. HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis among the Elderly
8. Depression and Suicide among the Elderly
9. Depression versus Dementia
10. Cognitive Disorders
11. Delirium
12. Dementia
13. Alzheimer’s Disease
14. Psychopharmacology: Cognitive Impairment
15. Older Adults and Substance Use Disorders
16. Alcohol Use and Aging
17. Pharmacology of Alcohol and Aging
18. Adverse Effects of Excessive Alcohol Use among Older Adults
19. Medical Signs suggesting Problem Drinking among Older Adults
20. DSM-IV TR Criteria for Substance Abuse and Dependence
21. Intervention with Alcohol Use Disorders in Older Adults
22. Education on Alcohol and Medications for Older Adults

To enroll in this course on-line please visithttp://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The new addictions course available on-line at PAHA is “Case Management for the Addictions Professional“. This is a 6-hour course that is available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of case management with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Overview of Case Management
2. Case Management Principles
3. Case Management with Special Populations including Minority Clients, Clients with HIV Infection and AIDS, Clients with Coexisting Mental Illness, Homeless Clients, Women with Substance Abuse Problems, Adolescent Substance Abusers, Clients in Criminal Justice Settings, Clients with Physical Disabilities, Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, and Bisexual Clients, Case Management in Rural Areas
4. Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes for Case Management
5. Service Coordination

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The course that is being presented this week in our face-to-face Substance Abuse Counselor Training at PAHA is part of our DSM-IV TR for the Addictions Professional Series: “Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders“. This is a 6-hour course that is also available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Introduction to Schizophrenia including History
2. Social, Biological, and Stress-related Risk Factors
3. Types of Schizophrenia
4. Positive and Negative Symptoms
5. Premorbid and Prodromal Signs
6. Assessment of Specific Symptoms
7. DSM-IV TR Criteria for Schizophrenia including Paranoid, Disorganized, Catatonic, and Undifferentiated Types
8. DSM-IV TR Criteria for Other Psychotic Disorders
9. Self-Assessment, Outcome Criteria, Planning and Intervention
10. Antipsychotic Medications
11. Extrapyramidal Symptoms
12. Communication
13. Patient Behavior including paranoia and abnormal motor behavior
14. Evaluation

To enroll in this course on-line please visithttp://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at:http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The new addictions course available on-line at PAHA is “Client, Family and Community Education for the Addictions Professional“. This is a 6-hour course that is available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of Client, Family and Community Education with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Creating Community Ownership
2. Community Education Guidelines
3. Youth Educational Themes and Messages
4. Using Multiple Channels and Formats
5. Health Communication Process
6. Cultural Competence
7. Guidelines for Community Education Messages
8. Clear and Mixed Messages
   
9. Preparing Easy-to-Read Materials

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The new addictions course that is available on-line this week at PAHA is “Understanding Violence and Self-Harm“. This is a 6-hour course that is available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of violence and self-harm with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Overview of Violence including the Neurobiology of Anger and Aggression
2. Domestic Violence
3. Domestic Violence and Alcohol and Drug Use
4. Victims of Domestic Abuse including Children
5. Safety, Barriers, and Motivating Factors to leaving Violent Relationships
6. Victimization and Substance Use
7. Child Abuse
8. Crisis Assessment and Intervention
9. Suicide including Youth and Elderly Suicide
10. Survivors of Suicide

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

The course that is being presented this week in our face-to-face Substance Abuse Counselor Training at PAHA is part of our DSM-IV TR for the Addictions Professional Series: “Mood Disorders“. This is a 6-hour course that is also available at our on-line training center anytime at http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com which covers the topic of Mood Disorders with a specific substance abuse focus for Nurses, Counselors, and other Health Professionals.

Here are the topics covered in this course:

1. Introduction to Depression
2. Major Depressive Disorder
3. Dysthymia
4. Assessment of Depressive Disorders
5. Intervention for Depressive Disorders including Psychopharmacology
6. Substance-Induced Mood Disorder
7. Bipoloar Disorder
8. Mania, Mixed Episode, and Hypomanic Episode
9. Rapid cycling
10. Cyclothymic Disorder
11. Assessment, Outcome and Intervention of Bipolar Disorders

To enroll in this course on-line please visit http://substanceabusecounselortraining.com. For more information about our face-to-face courses, please see our schedule at: http://addictionsprofessional.com/csac-certification/our-schedule

A young man is walking on a sea shore.

Ahead of him he sees a very old man picking up something in the sand and throwing it into the ocean.

“What are you doing?’ he asks.

The old man replies, “I am throwing this starfish into the sea so that it can live.

If I don’t do this, it will die on the sand.”

The young man laughs. “There are hundreds of beaches and millions of starfish in the world! Do you think that by throwing a couple of them into the sea it will make a difference?

The old man listens, then in silence picks up another starfish and throws it into the sea.

“It makes a difference to THAT STARFISH” and then he keeps on doing his work.