ADHD & Domestic Violence Awareness Month Specials

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Gina Ulery

25% Off ADHD & Domestic Violence CE

To help promote awareness and education of ADHD and Domestic Violence, we are featuring all of our ADHD and Domestic Violence online CE courses at 25% off during October:

ADHD is a non-discriminatory disorder affecting people of every age, gender, IQ, and religious and socioeconomic background. Do you know what appropriate treatment is? Are you up-to-date on what kind of help is available? A lot has changed in the last 20 and even in just the last five years. Click here for ADHD resources.

Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. While there are so many good causes, rarely will you find an issue that impacts 1 in 4 women. It is likely that someone in your neighborhood, office, or extended family is in danger right now. Click here to learn how you can help to raise awareness and end violence.

These online courses provides instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. Successful completion of the online CE test (80% required to pass, 3 chances to take) and course evaluation are required to earn a certificate of completion. You can print the test (download test from My Courses tab of your account after purchasing) and mark your answers on while reading the course document. Then submit online when ready to receive credit.

Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists; the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP #5590); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB Provider #1046, ACE Program); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA Provider #3159); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDRProvider #PR001); the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE1625); theFlorida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy (#BAP346), Psychology & School Psychology (#50-1635), Dietetics & Nutrition (#50-1635), and Occupational Therapy Practice (#34); the Illinois DPR for Social Work (#159-00531); the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board (#RCST100501); the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs (#193); and the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists (#114) and State Board of Social Worker Examiners (#5678).

The Crucial Role of Alcohol Awareness Month

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Gina Ulery

By Deann Jepson, MS

For 25 years, April has been recognized as Alcohol Awareness Month. So how does this campaign continue to be of value after all of these years?

Alcohol misuse and abuse still have a tremendous impact on our country today. As prom and graduation season are beginning to unfold, April is also a key month in which to highlight the dangers of underage drinking, as well as increase public awareness and understanding about alcohol.

Consider these facts:

In 2010, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes – one every 51 minutes (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2012).
Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for America’s young people, more than tobacco or illicit drugs, and underage alcohol use alone costs the nation an estimated $62 billion annually (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., 2012).
More than 14 million people in this country are currently living with what can be defined as an addiction to alcohol.
Each year, more than 100,000 people die as a result of alcohol-related issues.
Every year, more than 13,000 people die as a result of liver disease related to alcoholism (rehabinfo, 2012).

As indicated by these statistics, alcohol is still creating a widespread problem of serious personal, physical, social and economic consequences. Yet, at the same time, there are many misconceptions about alcohol use, abuse and alcoholism today. One common misconception is that alcoholics lack willpower, and they could quit if they really wanted to stop drinking. This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Unfortunately, misinformation, as well as stigma, is often perpetuated through peers, media, family and individual experimentation.

What is important to know and be aware of is that changes occur within the mind and body when alcohol is consumed, regardless of the amount. Therefore, even when drinking in moderation, there can be subsequent consequences (National Institutes of Health). Even small amounts of alcohol consumed during pregnancy or combined with certain medications may result in significant adverse consequences and therefore is considered risky drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2003).

The craving a person with alcoholism feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. A person addicted to alcohol will continue to drink despite serious family, health or legal problems. Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning it lasts a person’s lifetime, usually follows a predictable course and has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person’s genes and by his or her lifestyle (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2012).

Alcoholism can be treated. Alcoholism treatment programs use both counseling and medications to help a person stop drinking. Treatment has helped many people stop drinking and rebuild their lives (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2012).

Sadly, there are some who perpetuate the belief that alcoholism is not a disease and pure speculation. (Baldwin Research Institute, 2010).

The disease of alcoholism and the consequences of alcohol abuse can be deadly. Alcohol Awareness Month provides a focused opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of alcoholism, its causes, effective treatment and recovery. It is an opportunity to decrease stigma and misunderstandings in order to dismantle the barriers to treatment and recovery, and thus, make seeking help more readily available to those who suffer from this disease. This is the value of Alcohol Awareness Month.

Source: http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/alcohol/commentary-the-crucial-role-of-alcohol-awareness-month

Related Online Continuing Education Courses:

Go Green for Earth Week!

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Gina Ulery

“If one person takes one course online rather than traveling to a conference, he or she can achieve savings in energy, fuel costs, greenhouse gasses, paper and ink waste associated with printed reading and registration materials, water usage for hotel stays, waste from disposable food service products, and landfill disposal of used exhibition hall materials,” says Leo Christie, PhD, CEO of Professional Development Resources. “Multiply this times 100 or 1,000, and the environmental impact is enormous. Best of all, this is one place where environmental responsibility and user convenience intersect. Everybody wins.”

In celebration of Earth Week 2011, Professional Development Resources is contributing to the Billion Acts of Green movement by spotlighting the environmental benefits of a green education and offering special pricing on a number of its online courses. We invite our customers to join in by taking courses online instead of traveling to seminars and downloading and viewing on screen instead of consuming paper goods. Downloading is 90% more Earth-friendly than shipping packaged courses. If downloading our courses seems daunting, don’t worry! We’ve got the information and instructions to take you through downloading, completing and earning credit for courses:

Online Courses give you instant access to course reading materials and CE test (nothing is mailed). Course fee includes the downloadable reading materials (PDF document) and CE test (HTML format). Click here for more info!

The following online courses are being offered at 50% off regular price in honor of Earth Week:

Alcohol and Intimate Partner Violence | 2-Hour Online Course | Reg $24 | Go Green Promotion $12! | This course, which was developed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), is focused on the definitions, profiles, detection and treatment of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is associated with alcohol abuse. It explores the complex relationship between alcohol and intimate partner violence for both victims and perpetrators, addressing various models that attempt to explain this relationship. The course describes the signs of alcohol-related intimate partner violence and a number of techniques for assessing and intervening with individuals who might be affected by or engaging in alcohol-related intimate partner violence. Appendices include the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), a danger assessment protocol, and a beginning dialogue for an interviewing technique that clinicians can use to initiate a discussion about alcohol and IPV. NIAAA | 2005 | 24 pages | Course #20-23

Diagnosing ADHD in Adults | 3-Hour Online Course | Reg $42 | Go Green Promotion $21! | This course will describe the unique ways in which the symptoms of ADHD manifest in adults, including the distinction between attention deficit and attention regulation. It also includes a discussion about the difficulties of accurately diagnosing ADHD in adults and the reasons the disorder is simultaneously over- and under-diagnosed. The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD – as they apply to adult functioning – are placed into a context of the actual “soft signs” that can help clinicians identify areas of functional weakness for clients with ADHD. The author lists and details the components of a comprehensive diagnostic interview and emphasizes the value of collateral sources of historical information needed to establish an accurate diagnosis. Various formal assessment instruments are described, along with commentary about their utility in the diagnosis of adult ADHD. Finally, there is a section on the important area of comorbid conditions like depression and anxiety that frequently obscure and/or accompany ADHD. 2007 | 32 pages | 20 posttest questions | Course #30-38

Dysphagia: Guide to Establishing a Restorative Mealtime Program | 2-Hour Online Course | Reg $28 | Go Green Promotion $14! | This course will enable therapists in long-term care or post-acute rehabilitation facilities to present staff training that offers strategies and techniques for implementing a Restorative Mealtime Program for the purpose of making dining safe and enjoyable, increasing resident independence at mealtimes, and managing decreases in ability as disease processes progress. Also included are descriptions of dysphagic indicators, lists of aspiration precautions, methods for ascertaining needed levels of assistance, case studies, and a method for monitoring adherence to swallow safety standards. The author includes useful forms, checklists, and diagrams with limited permission for course participants to reproduce handouts for their own use in daily practice. Course #20-26 | 2010 | 34 pages | 20 posttest questions

PTSD – What is It? | 1-Hour Online Course | Reg $12 | Go Green Promotion $6! | This course provides an overview of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It describes the diagnostic criteria, prevalence of PTSD in veteran and civilian samples, comorbid conditions, longitudinal course, and risk factors. Empirically validated treatment options are briefly discussed. The course is based on one of a series of activities from the Department of Veterans Affairs – National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD 101 curriculum. PTSD 101 is a web-based curriculum of diverse topics focusing on issues related to combat stress/PTSD. This course consists of the speaker’s original lecture and selected slides transcribed verbatim without editorial modifications. 2007 | 16 pages | 15 posttest questions | Course #10-24

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