1. Sign up securely online.
2. Read the articles via online links.
3. Submit online evaluation & post-test.
4. Print your certificate.
The course material is in pdf format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have it click here for free download.
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
There has been a movement in our society at large of disconnection from the extended family, from long-term friendships, from lifetime careers, and even from community and neighborhood. As a result, we have experienced less attachment and greater capacity for boundary violation and amoral behavior. The statistics for child abuse and sexual assault are alarming and, as a result, there has been a much more pervasive experience of trauma by individuals, as well as within local and global communities. The increase in terrorism and the continued insertion of troops into foreign wars has caused a widespread experience of trauma and, subsequently, the diagnosis of PTSD has escalated exponentially. But what if the experience by so many in our culture is not something to pathologize, but to appreciate and to alter how we cope with the disintegration of our intimate and extended communities? Given the evidence, what is PTSD really? Throughout the last hundred years, how clinicians have applied the diagnosis of PTSD has evolved significantly: it was initially used to describe purely combat-related sequelae, then became a more generalized account of the impacts of trauma experienced in "every day" situations (e.g., domestic violence, muggings, workplace harassment), and is now an expansive depiction of how all of us are affected by the terrorism in our time. But what about the future of PTSD? There are indications that in the DSM V, Criterion A, will either no longer exist, or be drastically reworded, enhancing the likelihood that the use of the diagnosis will become more pervasive and common than ever! What will PTSD really be when that happens?
This PTSD course is one of the most comprehensive explorations of this diagnostic category and the treatment available for the symptoms of PTSD. Through the review of 58 online articles by groundbreakers in the movement (such as Dan Siegel and Francine Shapiro) to understand and treat PTSD, you will not only gain expansive knowledge about the diagnosis and its etiology, but will also learn about the most effective psychotherapeutic and integrative strategies to manage this disorder, as well as the medications currently in use to treat the symptoms of PTSD. The course provides foundational information from Attachment Theory and Interpersonal Neurobiology, as well as creative treatments and therapies such as EMDR. Further, you will be exposed to criticism and debate regarding the use of the label itself and can come to your own conclusions about whether or not PTSD is a useful diagnostic expression, or whether the symptoms that comprise and describe PTSD might simply be a natural response to the increasing traumatic nature of our lives in today's world.
Educational Objectives:
This course will teach psychotherapists to
Define and describe the diagnosis of PTSD
Discern between PTSD and other alternative diagnoses
Summarize the neurobiological bases of traumatic reaction
Identify the most common traditional interventions utilized for the treatment of PTSD
Review common critiques of the PTSD diagnosis
Course Syllabus:
Definitions and Descriptions of PTSD as a Diagnostic Category
DSM Criteria
Experience (direct or vicarious) of an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others
Response to trauma incorporates intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
Intrusive recollection of the event following its occurrence
Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness
Persistent symptoms of increasing arousal
Duration of symptoms for at least one month
Significant impact to functional capacity
History of the Diagnosis
1800s: Combat "Exhaustion", "Railway Spine", and "Railway Hysteria"
1900s: "Soldier's Heart", "The Effort Syndrome", "Shell Shock", and "Combat Fatigue"
1952: "Stress Response Syndrome"
1980: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a subcategory of Anxiety Disorders
1994: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a subcategory of Stress Response, within the Anxiety Disorders category
Gaining a Comprehensive Understanding of the Mechanisms of PTSD
Neurobiological foundations of secure attachment and resilience to traumatic experience
The impact of attachment relationships on brain development
Brain development and memories
The development of "self" through human relationships
Attachment and the developing mind
The role of emotion
Interpersonal communication and the development of "Mindsight"
Complexity, coherent narratives, and neural integration
Unresolved states, disorganized attachment, and impairments to integration
Disorganized Attachment, dissociation, and impact of traumatic experience
Characteristics of Disorganized Infant Behavior
Genetic factors in the prediction of disorganization
The role of trauma in Disorganized Attachment
Psychophysiology of disorganized attachment
Disorganized attachment classification and neurological impairment
Etiology of Dissociation
Genetic vs. Environmental causes of dissociation
Characteristics of Dissociative Behavior in Children
Assessment of Dissociation
The role of Dissociation in Psychopathology and Disorganized attachment
Implications of Disorganized Attachment in Infancy
Attachment and Dissociation in Adulthood
Caregiving and disorganized attachment
Intergenerational Effects of Trauma
Characteristics of the Parental Behaviors of Parents with PTSD
Disorganized Infants
Broad-based Impacts of Stress and Trauma on the Development of PTSD
Reduced sense of safety and security
Revised perception of the world as predictable
Experience of emotions such as anger, frustration, helplessness, fear, and a desire for revenge
Development of ASD, PTSD, anxiety, depression, nightmares, insomnia, simple phobias, problems with social interaction, and substance use/abuse/addiction
Eventual resilience
Clinical Treatment of PTSD
CISD
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
