Tag Archives: Florida

Florida Counselors, Social Workers & MFTs – License Renewal & CE Information

Posted on by

By Gina Ulery

Florida-licensed Mental Health Counselors, Clinical Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MFTs) have an upcoming license renewal deadline of March 31, 2015.

Online Continuing Education30 hours of continuing education (CE) are required to renew, including:

2 hours Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health is required each renewal
3 hours Ethics & Boundaries in Psychotherapy is required each renewal
2 hours Domestic Violence is required every third renewal
3 hours Florida Laws and Rules is required every third renewal

Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP #5590); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB #1046, ACE Program); and the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (#BAP346) to offer continuing education courses to counselors, social workers and MFTs and is CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within 1 week of completion).

Florida-licensed counselors, social workers and MFTs can earn all 30 hours required for renewal through online courses available @ www.pdresources.org.

 

Florida OT License Renewal Due 2/28/15

Posted on by

By Gina Ulery

Florida-licensed Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) have an upcoming license renewal deadline of February 28, 2015.

26 hours of continuing education (CE) are required to renew, including:

2 hours Preventing Medical Errors (required each renewal)
2 hours Florida Occupational Therapy Laws & Rules (required each renewal)
1 hour HIV/AIDS (required for the first renewal only)

Automatically Reports to CE BrokerProfessional Development Resources is an American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) approved provider of continuing education (#3159). The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the Florida Board of OT Practice (#34) and is CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within 1 week of completion).

We report to CE Broker for you (so you don’t have to report any courses you complete with PDR). We report every Thursday, but are also reporting on Mondays through your renewal so you won’t be held up because of us.

Our courses are considered “home study” by the Florida OT Board. You are allowed to earn up to 12 hours per renewal through our courses.

Online Continuing Education Course Sale

Posted on by

By Professional Development Resources

Save on online continuing education (CE/CEU) courses when they’re on sale! New monthly specials are available now @ www.pdresources.org.

Online CE Course Sale

Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the California Board of Behavioral Sciences; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; and by the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners.

Common and Not-So-Common Ethical Considerations

Posted on by

Course excerpt from Ethics & Boundaries in Psychotherapy

In the everyday practice of psychotherapy, professional therapists may regularly expect to encounter a number of ethical dilemmas, some of them commonplace and routine, others more exotic and challenging. Among the challenges that have come about more recently are the ethics and boundary issue that accompany the use of social media. Psychotherapists probably make numerous ethical decisions every day, frequently without any awareness they are doing so. With years of experience, such decisions may become reflexive responses, requiring little – if any – deliberation.

Examples of these “garden variety” ethical issues may be questions like these:

  • You want to present your client with the opportunity to give informed consent for the treatment you are about to deliver. How do you assure that you include all of the relevant issues, and that the client understands and is competent to give such consent?
  • A grateful client brings you a gift. Do you accept it and thank her, do you explain that you do not accept gifts from clients, or do you choose some other ethical course of action?
  • You encounter a client in a social situation. In consideration of his right to privacy and confidentiality, do you approach him in a friendly manner or do you wait for him to take (or not take) the initiative?
  • You receive an invitation on your professional LinkedIn page from a current client who has googled you and wishes to communicate via this medium. Does a digital connection constitute an inappropriate multiple relationship?
  • You find that the husband in a couple you have been treating in marital therapy is the new minister in your church. Do you find another church, discontinue therapy with the couple, or consider some other course of action?
  • You have a client who is moving out of the state, and she asks you to continue treating her via Skype sessions until she can connect with a new therapist. What are the ethical ramifications of engaging in teletherapy?
  • A client tells you in a therapy session that another therapist in town has become socially involved with your client’s friend, whom that therapist was recently treating. Do you report this activity to the state licensing board, confront the other therapist, or choose some other course of action?

Of course, even the most mundane situations can quickly become highly complex ethical dilemmas that demand considerable thought and possibly even consultation with a peer or supervisor. For example, the issue of gift-giving can represent an emotionally charged transference transaction, requiring the therapist to respond with great sensitivity. In negotiating such a complex interchange, the therapist may have to walk a thin line between maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and acknowledging important transference issues.

Ethics & Boundaries in PsychotherapyIssues that come up infrequently, are highly complex or unusual, those the therapist has rarely or never encountered before, and those that pose ethical dilemmas may require some thought, research, consultation, or all three of these. The “Patriot Act” scenario introduced above may fall into this category. It is an example of a novel situation that throws complex contradictions into a boundary issue that may have been more straightforward before the introduction of this piece of legislation. Not only is it novel, but it is also likely to arouse conflicting values in the therapist. How does one simultaneously 1) observe the letter and spirit of the law, 2) protect the client’s right to privacy and confidentiality, 3) fulfill the ethical obligation of informing the client when demands have been made for private records, 4) conform to the ethical standards set forth by his or her profession’s code of ethics, and 5) satisfy personal values and boundaries?

Other issues that may pose more complex boundary challenges are situations in which there either is no clear ethical solution or in which there are multiple paths available to the therapist, all of which contain some ethical complications. Here is one example:

You have been seeing a married couple for relationship therapy for several months. They decide to divorce, and both request to continue to see you individually. You have a good therapeutic relationship with both of them, and both are in significant distress. Can you see them both without encountering boundary issues that might compromise the individual best interests of each; do you choose one or the other; or do you decline to treat either one of them?

In this scenario, if the available courses of action include seeing both, neither, or only one of the partners, all of these seem to involve some possible hazards and ethical questions. If you provide individual sessions to both partners, can you offer the kind of unequivocal support each deserves when there are adversarial issues to be resolved? Can you offer genuine impartiality when you are aware of the details of both partners’ agendas? On the other hand, if you choose to continue treating one or the other, or decline to treat either, aren’t there potential issues of abandonment?

Ethics & Boundaries in Psychotherapy is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course intended to give psychotherapists the tools they need to resolve the common and not-so-common ethical and boundary issues and dilemmas that they may expect to encounter in their everyday professional practice in the 21st century. Among the topics discussed are definitions of boundaries; resolving conflicts between ethics and the law; boundary crossings vs. boundary violations; multiple relationships; sexual misconduct; privacy and confidentiality in the age of HIPAA and the Patriot Act; ethics issues with dangerous clients; boundary issues in clinical supervision; ethics and cultural competency; ethical boundaries in use of social media; ethical practice in teletherapy; fees and financial relationships; and a 17-step model for ethical decision making. * This course satisfies the ethics & boundaries requirement for license renewal of Florida counselors, social workers & MFTs. Course #30-77 | 2015 | 40 pages | 21 posttest questions

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 #1046, ACE Program); the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE1625); the Florida Boards of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (#BAP346) and Psychology & School Psychology (#50-1635); 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).

 

Improper Diagnosis is a Medical Error

Posted on by

Course excerpt from Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health

Preventing Medical ErrorsClearly, the failure to arrive at an accurate diagnosis – or diagnoses, in many cases – can be a leading cause of error in behavioral health care. According to the introductory section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), “Reliable diagnoses are essential for guiding treatment recommendations, identifying prevalence rates for mental health service planning, identifying patient groups for clinical and basic research, and documenting important public health information such as morbidity and mortality rates” (p. 5).

While DSM-5 is the latest effort on the part of the American Psychiatric Association, using it is not a simple matter. The introductory section of DSM-5 (p. 5) goes on to state: “Clinical training and experience are needed to use DSM in determining a diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria identify symptoms, behaviors, cognitive functions, personality traits, physical signs, syndrome combinations, and durations that require clinical expertise to differentiate from normal life variation and transient responses to stress.”

To make matters even more complex, DSM-5 recognizes that the latest formulations of mental disorders now conceptualize “many, if not most, disorders on a spectrum with closely related disorders that have shared symptoms, shared genetic and environmental risk factors, and possibly shared neural substrates… In short, we have come to recognize that the boundaries between disorders are more porous than originally perceived” (p. 6).

Porous boundaries? One example of this is the DSM-5 category autism spectrum disorder, formerly split into the DSM-IV categories of autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. DSM-5 instructs that individuals formerly diagnosed with one of those DSM-IV categories should now be given the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. There is one residual category that can be used for individuals who have “marked deficits in social communication, but whose symptoms do but otherwise meet criteria for autism spectrum disorder” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 51). That category is social (pragmatic) communication disorder.

The point here is that the failure to make an accurate diagnosis can be a significant source of error in mental health practice. Diagnosis is challenging on its own, but as time goes on and diagnostic conceptualizations change, clinicians have to engage in perpetual study and training or risk falling behind. Risk areas include inadequate familiarity with contemporary diagnostic science, failure to detect the presence of multiple pathologies, and insufficient cultural competence in caring for culturally diverse patients and families. All of these areas can be addressed by training, experience, and clinical supervision.

Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health is a 2-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course intended to increase clinicians’ awareness of the many types of errors that can occur within mental health practice, how such errors damage clients, and numerous ways they can be prevented. Its emphasis is on areas within mental health practice that carry the potential for “medical” errors. Examples include improper diagnosis; breaches of privacy and confidentiality; mandatory reporting requirements; managing dangerous clients; boundary violations and sexual misconduct; the informed consent process; and clinical and cultural competency. There are major new sections on psychotherapy in the digital age, including the use of social networking systems, the practice of teletherapy, and the challenges of maintaining and transmitting electronic records. *This course satisfies the medical errors requirement for license renewal of Florida mental health professionals. Course #21-03 | 2015 | 28 pages | 14 posttest questions

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 California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE1625); the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy (#BAP346), Psychology & School Psychology (#50-1635); 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).

 

Communication with Elders – New ASHA CEU Course

Posted on by

By Laura More, MSW, LCSW; Edie Deane-Watson, MS, CCC-A, CCM

Communication with Elders is a new 2-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course approved for ASHA CEUs that provides an overview of aging changes that affect communication, dysfunctional communication habits to avoid, and strategies for appropriate communication with elders.

Communication with EldersWith the increasing number of older people in the United States, it is vital for healthcare professionals to communicate effectively and respectfully with elders. Effective, appropriate communication with elders is important for many reasons. For speech-language pathologists and audiologists, communication is the foundation of service delivery. Communication is required for assessment of the person prior to treatment. Symptoms are, after all, subjective and must be reported by the person to the clinician. Effective communication also contributes to health literacy; the person’s understanding of her condition, treatment options, and the treatment plan to be followed. A person cannot comply with a treatment program unless the program is communicated clearly enough for the person to understand it. The more effective the communication, the more effective treatment will be – and the more cost effective. Communication also helps the clinician understand the whole person: the emotional, social, and financial realities that affect response to treatment and ability to comply. This course provides an overview of aging changes that affect communication, dysfunctional communication habits to avoid, and strategies for appropriate communication with elders. Course #20-95 | 2015 | 26 pages | 15 posttest questions

This online course 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.

Click here to enroll.

Professional Development Resources is approved by the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA #AAUM) to provide continuing education activities in speech-language pathology and audiology. We will report to ASHA for you if you select yes to ASHA reporting in your account profile. Please note that the completion date that appears on ASHA transcripts is the last day of the quarter, regardless of when the course was completed. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and is CE Broker compliant (courses are reported within one week of completion)

Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health

Posted on by

By Leo Christie, PhD; Catherine Christie, PhD and Susan Mitchell, PhD

Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health is a 2-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that satisfies the medical errors requirement of Florida mental health professionals.

Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral HealthWhen the Florida administrative code first mandated that licensees’ biennial continuing education requirement was to include two hours of training on the prevention of medical errors, there was a considerable amount of grumbling on the part of many licensees in the mental health field. The general sense of it was that – since we do not practice medicine – what is the relevance to our practice? The level of discontent was further amplified by the content requirement proposed by several of the Florida boards, which required specific topics to be included, topics that seemed to be more relevant to medical practice than psychotherapy practice.

Eventually, the courses offered by some accredited providers began to be more closely tailored to the needs of professionals who attend their clients’ psychological and emotional needs rather than to their medical needs. Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health was written to include all of the elements that are required for an approved medical errors course while including topics and case examples that will resonate with both novice and seasoned mental health professionals. While it remains a required course for Florida licensees and satisfies their biennial requirement, it is also intended to be of clinical interest to psychotherapists in other states who wish to increase their awareness of the ways in which clients can be harmed and the many strategies for avoiding such undesirable outcomes. Its emphasis is on areas within mental health practice that carry the potential for “medical” errors. Examples include improper diagnosis; breaches of privacy and confidentiality; mandatory reporting requirements; managing dangerous clients; boundary violations and sexual misconduct; the informed consent process; and clinical and cultural competency. There are major new sections on psychotherapy in the digital age, including the use of social networking systems, the practice of teletherapy, and the challenges of maintaining and transmitting electronic records. *This course satisfies the medical errors requirement for license renewal of Florida mental health professionals. Course #21-03 | 2015 | 28 pages | 14 posttest questions

This online course 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) to mark your answers on it while reading the course document. Then submit online when ready to receive credit.

CE Information:

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 California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE1625); the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy (#BAP346), Psychology & School Psychology (#50-1635); 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).

Related Articles:

Florida OT Laws & Rules

Posted on by

By Leo Christie, PhD

Florida Occupational Therapy Laws & Rules is a 2-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that meets the license renewal requirement of Florida Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs).

Florida OT Laws & RulesThis course addresses the Florida Laws and Rules contained in the Florida Occupational Therapy Practice Act and the Florida Occupational Therapy Rules. The purposes of this course are to (1) provide the opportunity for a comprehensive reading of the two documents listed above, (2) ensure that Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants in the State of Florida are fully aware of the laws and rules governing the license under which they are practicing, and (3) fulfill the requirement that Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants in Florida complete each biennial renewal period two hours of continuing education relating to the Practice of Occupational Therapy. Course #21-01 | 2015 | 37 pages | 18 posttest questions

–
This online course 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) to mark your answers on it while reading the course document. Then submit online when ready to receive credit.

Professional Development Resources is an AOTA Approved Provider of continuing education (#3159). OT Content Focus – Professional Issues: Legal, Legislative, Regulatory, & Reimbursement Issues. This program is offered for 0.2 CEU’s. The assignment of AOTA CEU’s does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the Florida Board of OT Practice (#34) and is CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within 1 week of completion).

Florida-licensed occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) have an upcoming license renewal deadline of February 28, 2015.

CE Required: 26 hours every 2 years, of which:
2 hours Preventing Medical Errors is required each renewal
2 hours Florida Occupational Therapy Laws & Rules is required each renewal
1 hour HIV/AIDS is required for the first renewal only
Online CE Allowed: 12 hours (home study)
License Expiration: 2/28, odd years
National Accreditation Accepted: AOTA

Related Course:

Ethics & Boundaries in Psychotherapy – New CE Course

Posted on by

By Leo Christie, PhD

Ethics & Boundaries in PsychotherapyEthics & Boundaries in Psychotherapy is a new online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that is intended to give psychotherapists the tools they need to resolve the common and not-so-common ethical and boundary issues and dilemmas that they may expect to encounter in their everyday professional practice in the 21st century. Among the topics discussed are definitions of boundaries; resolving conflicts between ethics and the law; boundary crossings vs. boundary violations; multiple relationships; sexual misconduct; privacy and confidentiality in the age of HIPAA and the Patriot Act; ethics issues with dangerous clients; boundary issues in clinical supervision; ethics and cultural competency; ethical boundaries in use of social media; ethical practice in teletherapy; fees and financial relationships; and a 17-step model for ethical decision making. Course #30-77 | 2015 | 40 pages | 21 posttest questions

* This course satisfies the ethics & boundaries requirement for license renewal of Florida counselors, social workers & MFTs.

CE Credit: 3 Hours
Target Audience: Psychologists | Counselors | Social Workers | Marriage & Family Therapists
Learning Level: Intermediate
Course Type: Online

This online course 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.

CE Information:

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 #1046, ACE Program); the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE1625); the Florida Boards of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (#BAP346) and Psychology & School Psychology (#50-1635); 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).

About the Author:

Leo Christie, PhD, LMFT, is a Florida-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy from Florida State University. Past President of the Florida Council on Family Relations, Dr. Christie is currently CEO of Professional Development Resources, a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to deliver continuing education credit courses to healthcare professionals throughout the United States. He has more than 20 years experience in private practice with a specialty in child behavior disorders and as an instructor for over 500 live continuing education seminars for healthcare professionals.