Continuing Medical Education for Physicians

According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 29 million people 12 years and older had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). AUD is a chronic disease with significant medical, psychological and social consequences. Each year more than 178,000 deaths are attributed to excessive alcohol intake.

Psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and suicide co-occur more often than not. Mental health clinicians are in a unique position to identify those who are at risk or have excessive drinking behaviors and offer them evidence-based treatments.

This 1-hour online training will review screening and assessment tools for AUD, patient engagement and harm reduction approaches, and behavioral therapies and medication treatments for AUD.

This 1-hour online training will provide information on the rationale for psychotropic prescribing in the pediatric population and will review general clinical principles, assessment, stigma as it relates to pediatric psychotropic prescribing, adherence to medications, and a review of specific medication groups targeting disorders and /or symptoms, including a review of side effects.

The Motivational Interviewing approach has been researched extensively in diverse settings, including primary care, mental health, addictions, education, and facilities under the Department of Corrections. Continuously evolving MI strategies have necessitated ongoing education for all types of healthcare workers.

This 1.5 hour online course will discuss the epidemiology of eating disorders (EDO), including: prevalence and risk factors; diagnostic criteria and sub-types of EDOs; specialized levels of care for EDO; evidence-based therapeutic and psychopharmacologic treatments for EDO; and information regarding prognosis, monitoring, and relapse/remission for patients across the lifespan with EDO.

People presenting for evaluation of a psychiatric crisis are at risk for significant medical issues that can arise related to their underlying psychiatric condition. Mental health clinicians need to be familiar with some common presentations and the high-risk medical conditions across the lifespan. This training will consist of 3 modules

Children and adults with autism and those with Intellectual and developmental disabilities are at higher risk of having comorbid psychiatric disorders than individuals in the general population. Yet, many behavioral health providers feel ill equipped to care for these populations largely due to lack of training and exposure. Stigma can also affect the willingness of institutions and clinicians to provide psychiatric care to people with ASD and those with IDD at all levels of care. Access to inpatient care varies widely across institutions. There is a dearth of specialists and services to support those with ASD/IDD and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Most therapists trained in ASD/IDD or in mental health have little knowledge of or training in each other’s fields. In fact, most child psychiatry trainees see less than 5 outpatients and 10 inpatients with ASD/IDD per year during their 2 years of training. This limited clinical exposure and experience has had important implications regarding families having ready access to services manned by professionals equipped to meet the needs of people with ASD/IDD and comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Training Description: This 1-hour online training will review the prevalence, detection, diagnosis and management of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). More complicated mental health illnesses such as postpartum psychosis will also be discussed. This overview of perinatal mental health will be supported with clinical scenarios and pearls throughout the presentation.

This 3-hour training will discuss how the changing drug supply and risk for overdose has changed for adolescents and young adults since the start of the opioid epidemic. Participants will learn about the unique considerations for providing care for youth at risk for overdose, including those with opioid use disorder. Evidence for initiation and ongoing treatment with pharmacologic treatment, including buprenorphine, will be provided and participants will review practical considerations for implementing opioid use disorder treatment for youth.

This 5-hour training consists of 3 parts:

Part 1: This 1.5-hour section will focus on the foundational principles and importance of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria in substance use disorder treatment (SUD). The training is aimed at healthcare professionals, addiction counselors, and behavioral health workers and will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the ASAM Criteria, including its six dimensions, levels of care, and its application in SUD and/or co-occurring mental health treatment.

Part 2: This 2-hour section provides clinicians working with adolescents in community, healthcare and school settings know that young people experiencing substance use challenges need more than just treatment—they need understanding, connection, and developmentally appropriate care. This session will break down the Adolescent ASAM Criteria as a tool for assessing risk and matching youth to the right level of care. We’ll explore how the six ASAM dimensions apply in real-world settings, focusing on trauma-informed care, family engagement, and harm reduction strategies.

Part 3: This 1.5-hour section provides healthcare and behavioral health professionals with a foundational understanding of the ASAM Criteria and its application in substance use and co-occurring mental health treatment. Participants will review the six dimensions and levels of care, along with federal confidentiality regulations (42 CFR Part 2 and HIPAA) that guide ethical and compliant care coordination.

This 2-hour online training provides a general overview of the concept of trauma and specific impacted domains of development. The training illustrates several areas of development, with specific examples on how trauma affects: Attachment, Behavioral Control, Biology, Cognitions, Dissociation, Emotional Regulation, and Sense of Self. Examples and case vignettes will be utilized to describe how trauma looks developmentally. Strategies to address trauma reactions will be provided. 

This 2.5-hour training will focus on harm reduction, defined as a set of principles and practices aimed at reducing the impacts of substance use on those who are actively using. Practically, it also gives clinicians a set of strategies to use to connect, engage and support individuals who are not currently interested in stopping their use, which can often lead to frustration and disconnection in treatment where abstinence is the expectation. By broadening our “lens” as to what we can do to support people who are using to include this range of interventions, we can create new opportunities for safety, hope and even change in the work that we do. 

This 2-hour training will explore the problem of vaping, both from the public health perspective as well as individual challenges for students who vape. Strategies for intervention at both tier one and tier three levels will be discussed, including a more in-depth look at motivational interviewing interventions. It will also discuss ways to introduce public health campaigns around vaping into the school environment.

This 4-hour course will provide attendees with information on Child-Development and the Adolescent Brain including the basics of children’s brain architecture, how to support brain development, adolescent thinking and behavior, impacts of trauma, and how to use brain science when interacting with young people.

This 1.5-hour course will provide an overview of screening, diagnosis, and the latest evidence-based treatment approaches to Opioid Use Disorder in the era of Fentanyl.