Anxiety disorders are now recognized as the most common emotional disorder in the U.S. as well as in 16 out of 17 countries surveyed by the World Health Organization. The soaring trend towards anxiety has been accelerated by stress and threats, such as terrorism, natural disasters, economic recession, school shootings, pandemic illness, and divisive politics. These threats to children’s security, which also include divorce, bullying, and violence in the media has produced a “shell shocked” generation suffering from anxiety in many cases. Our challenge is to recognize anxiety in children and help them cope.

In this webinar, participants will grasp how anxiety develops in children and adolescents, and acquire practical treatment strategies that can be applied immediately in their professional work. Seven key anxiety disorders will be addressed: separation anxiety disorder, panic disorder, overanxious disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Emphasis will be on integrative psychotherapeutic interventions involving insight-oriented, cognitive-behavioral, mind-body, solution-oriented and family systems approaches.

This training is worth six (6) continuing education hours.

An application for 6 continuing education hours has been made to the Maine Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors.

Objectives of the Training:

• Explain how anxiety develops in children and adolescents using the “three ingredients” blueprint
• Distinguish between “normal” and “abnormal” anxiety
• Identify the personality traits and cognitive style of anxious children
• Describe the key features of six child/adolescent anxiety disorders
• Apply effective interventions for each of six child/adolescent anxiety disorders

Agenda for the Day:

Morning I: Nature and Causes of Anxiety 8:30-10:15

• Why, how and when anxiety develops in children
• Three ingredients in all anxiety disorders (temperament, personality style, stress)
• The “anxiety personality”—assets and liabilities
• Foundation skills for managing stress and anxiety

Break 10:15-10:30

Morning II: Treatment Strategies 10:30-12:00

• Separation Anxiety Disorder: graduated exposure, helping parents let go
• Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia: “Floating Technique”

Lunch 12:00-1:00

Afternoon I: Treatment Strategies 1:00-2:15

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: interventions for replacing worry with positive cognition
• Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders: types of obsessions, purpose of compulsions, exposure and response prevention (ERP)

Break 2:15-2:30

• Afternoon II: Treatment Strategies 2:30-4:00
• Social Phobia: self-esteem causes and interventions, group therapy
• Specific Phobias: Using virtual reality in exposure therapy
• Trauma- and Stressor-related Disorder: ACE studies, treatment goals and methodologies

About the presenter:

Dr. Paul Foxman is Founder and Director of the Vermont Center for Anxiety Care, a private outpatient practice in Burlington, Vermont. He has over 40 years of professional experience in a variety of settings, including hospitals, community mental health centers, graduate schools in psychology, and private practice. Dr. Foxman is the author of Dancing With Fear (1996) and The Worried Child (2004), the Clinician’s Guide to Anxiety Disorders in Kids and Teens (2017), as well as other publications on the topic of anxiety including a co-authored casebook, Conquering Panic and Anxiety Disorders (2003). His most recent book is Traumas and Triumphs (2022).

Dr. Foxman’s education includes Yale University (B.A. in Psychology), Vanderbilt University (Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology), pre-doctoral internships at the Department of Psychiatry at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco and the Kennedy Child Study Center in Nashville, and training seminars at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute.

In 1985 Dr. Foxman co-founded the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, Vermont, now flourishing from kindergarten through high school. As a frequent workshop presenter as well as expert on radio and television shows, Dr. Foxman is known for his knowledge and clarity of thought, sense of humor, and engaging speaking style.

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About the Training:

This webinar will provide participants with an overview and in-depth examination of compelling ethical challenges in behavioral health. Dr. Frederic Reamer will explore complex and challenging ethical issues and practical strategies designed to protect clients and practitioners. The webinar will include a series of challenging cases and discuss practical steps professionals can take to manage ethical issues skillfully. Key topics will include boundary issues, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, privileged communication, informed consent, clients’ rights, delivery of services remotely, termination of services, and impaired professionals, among others. Dr. Reamer will discuss relevant ethical standards; national practice standards; and statutes, regulations, and case law. The webinar will focus especially on complex documentation issues. The presenter will make extensive use of case material and provide ample opportunity for audience participation.

This training is worth six (6) contact hours.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify challenging ethical issues and dilemmas in behavioral health
• Apply practical ethical decision-making frameworks and protocols
• Identify ethical issues that pose malpractice and liability risks
• Design strategies to protect clients and practitioners

Agenda for the Day:

• Difficult ethics cases in behavioral health: The anatomy of ethical dilemmas (8:30-9:30 a.m.)
• Compelling ethical challenges: boundary issues, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, privileged communication, informed consent, clients’ rights, delivery of remote services, termination of services, and impaired professionals (9:30-10:15 a.m.)
• Break: 10:15-10:30 a.m.
• Compelling ethical challenges in behavioral health (continued) (10:30 a.m. to noon)
• Lunch (Noon to 1:00 p.m.)
• Risk-management strategies to protect clients and prevent ethics complaints and litigation (1:00-2:30 p.m.)
• Break: 2:30-2:45 p.m.
• Ethical decision-making strategies (decision-making protocols; codes of ethics; ethics literature; ethics committees; practice standards; relevant regulations, statutes, and case law) (2:45-3:40 p.m.)
• Questions/answers (3:40-4:00 p.m.)

***This training has been approved for LADCs and CADCs by the Maine Board of Drug and Alcohol Counselors.***

About the presenter:

Frederic G. Reamer is Professor in the graduate program of the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College, where he has been on the faculty since 1983. His research and teaching have addressed a wide range of human service issues, including mental health, health care, criminal justice, public welfare, and professional ethics. Dr. Reamer received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1978) and has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration (1978-1981), and the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Social Work (1981-1983).

Dr. Reamer has served as Director of the National Juvenile Justice Assessment Center of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1979-1981); as Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor of Rhode Island (1987-1990); and as a Commissioner of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, the state housing finance agency (1987-1995). Dr. Reamer served on the State of Rhode Island Parole Board from 1992 to 2016. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social Work Education (1990-1994). He serves as Associate Editor of the National Association of Social Workers Encyclopedia of Social Work (Oxford University Press and National Association of Social Workers). Since 2012, Dr. Reamer has served as the ethics instructor in the Providence (RI) Police Department Training Academy.

Dr. Reamer has conducted extensive research on professional ethics. He has been involved in national research projects sponsored by The Hastings Center, the Carnegie Corporation, the Haas Foundation, and the Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Healthcare at the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania. He has published 24 books and 175 journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles. His books include:

• Moral Distress and Injury in Human Services: Cases, Causes, and Strategies for Prevention (NASW Press)
• On the Parole Board: Reflections on Crime, Punishment, Redemption, and Justice (Columbia University Press)
• Ethics and Risk Management in Online and Distance Behavioral Health (Cognella Academic Publishing)
• Ethics and Risk Management in Online and Distance Social Work (Cognella Academic Publishing)
• Risk Management in Social Work: Preventing Professional Malpractice, Liability, and Disciplinary Action (Columbia University Press)
• Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services (Columbia University Press)
• Heinous Crime: Cases, Causes, and Consequences (Columbia University Press)
• The Social Work Ethics Casebook: Cases and Commentary (NASW Press)
• A Guide to Essential Human Services (NASW Press)
• Criminal Lessons: Case Studies and Commentary on Crime and Justice (Columbia University Press)
• Social Work Values and Ethics (Columbia University Press)
• Tangled Relationships: Managing Boundary Issues in the Human Services (Columbia University Press)
• Ethical Standards in Social Work: A Review of the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW Press)
• The Social Work Ethics Audit: A Risk Management Tool (NASW Press)
• Ethics Education in Social Work (Council on Social Work Education)
• The Foundations of Social Work Knowledge (Columbia University Press; editor and contributor)
• Social Work Malpractice and Liability (Columbia University Press)
• Social Work Research and Evaluation Skills (Columbia University Press)
• The Philosophical Foundations of Social Work (Columbia University Press)
• AIDS and Ethics (Columbia University Press; editor and contributor)
• Ethical Dilemmas in Social Service (Columbia University Press)
• Rehabilitating Juvenile Justice (Columbia University Press; co-author, Charles H. Shireman)
• The Teaching of Social Work Ethics (The Hastings Center; co-author, Marcia Abramson).
• Finding Help for Struggling Teens: A Guide for Parents and the Professionals Who Work with Them (NASW Press; co-author, Deborah H. Siegel)
• Teens in Crisis: How the Industry Serving Struggling Teens Helps and Hurts Our Kids (Columbia University Press; co-author, Deborah H. Siegel)

Dr. Reamer is also the author of chapters on professional ethics in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, Encyclopedia of Bioethics, Encyclopedia of Global Ethics, Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development, Encyclopedia of Higher Education, and Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion. He has been an essayist on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition (“This I Believe” series), a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, and a guest on various radio and television broadcasts. From 2007 to 2021 Dr. Reamer served as host and producer of the National Public Radio series This I Believe—New England, broadcast weekly. He is featured in the podcast series Trapped in Treatment produced by Paris Hilton, Warner Brothers, and iHeart Media; Yahoo News national series Unfiltered; and as a commentator in the video documentaries America’s Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil and Rampage: Killing without Reason. He is also a featured expert on the PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) series This Emotional Life.

Dr. Reamer has lectured extensively nationally and internationally (including India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Djibouti, Bahrain, Indonesia, Diego Garcia, Spain, Romania, Poland, Greece, and Canada) on the subjects of professional ethics and professional malpractice and liability. He has served as an adjunct professor and visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Tulane University, Simmons University, Smith College, University of Oklahoma, and Augsburg University. Dr. Reamer chaired the national task force that wrote the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and served on the code revision task force. He chaired the international commission sponsored by the Association of Social Work Boards to develop Model Regulatory Standards for Technology and Social Work Practice. Dr. Reamer also chaired the national task force sponsored jointly by the National Association of Social Workers, Association of Social Work Boards, Council on Social Work Education, and Clinical Social Work Association to develop Technology Standards in Social Work Practice. He has served as an expert witness and consultant in 130 court and licensing board cases addressing professional ethics.

Dr. Reamer received the “Distinguished Contributions to Social Work Education” award from the Council on Social Work Education (1995); Presidential Award from the National Association of Social Workers (1997); Richard Lodge Prize from Adelphi University for “outstanding contributions to the development of social work theory” (2005); Edith Abbott Award from the University of Chicago for “distinguished service to society and outstanding contributions at the local, national or international levels” (2005); Neil J. Houston, Jr. Memorial Award for “dedicated service and citizen contribution toward the criminal justice profession and the public interest” (2009); International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award from the National Association of Social Workers for significantly advancing “the public image of social work” (2012); Excellence in Ethics Award from the National Association of Social Workers (2015); and inaugural Contributor Award from the Association of Social Work Boards (2019). In 2016 Dr. Reamer was named a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers for his “commitment and dedication to the social work profession and to the improvement of social and human conditions at the local, state, national, and international levels.”

Register here for the Tuesday, November 10 session!
Register here for the Wednesday, November 30 session!

About the Training:

This highly interactive six-hour training will review best practices for working with clients who have addictions as well as comorbid psychiatric disorders. The presenter and participants will explore various treatments and treatment issues for clients with addictions and mental health disorders. In addition, participants will learn skills to manage their own reactions to clients who present challenging behavior patterns. Case examples, surveys and group discussion will be used to illustrate key points.

This training is worth six (6) contact hours.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify major diagnoses and diagnostic categories of addictions.

2. Discuss treatment approaches to addiction and psychological disorders.

3. Categorize ethical issues that emerge in working with clients with co-morbid addiction and mental health issues.

4. Increase empathy and personal ability to manage countertransference in dealing with clients who present challenging interpersonal behaviors.

Agenda for the Day:

9:00-10:30:

Empathy/sympathy/pity/compassion

Countertransference

Self-care

Neuroscience and addiction

Stages of Change

10:30-10:45: Break

10:45-12:15:

Assessment

Evidence-based treatment Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)

Case #1

12:15-1:00: Lunch on your own

1:00-2:30:

Treatment dilemmas

Who is the client?

Documentation

“Manipulation”/Triangulation

Communication/Collaboration

Scope of practice/expertise

Case #2

2:30-2:45: Break

2:45-4:00:

Ethical issues

Telehealth

Case #3

4:00- 4:15: Discussion/Question/Wrap-up

About the presenter:

John M. O’Brien, Ph.D. ACC, NBC-HWC earned his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University in 1996. Since 1998, he has been in private practice in Portland, Maine, providing psychotherapy and consultation services with specialties in addition, trauma, grief and LGBTQ+ clients. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine at Augusta, teaching courses in psychology and addictions. He served as president of the Maine Psychological Association and is currently co-chair of Continuing Education for the APA Society of Consulting Psychologists.

John is an ICF ACC Certified Coach and NBHWC Certified Health and Wellness Coach. He coaches leaders in a variety of fields, including business, health care and the law.

In his spare time, John enjoys motorcycling, skiing, biking and furthering his ability in German.

Register here for the Friday, September 16 session!
Register here for the Friday, September 30 session!