ADD/ADHD CEUs… A Thinking About Tomorrow Game

Posted on March 1, 2013 by onlineceucredit.com

Have an ADD client?  Here’s a tool that may help.

In this ADHD/ADD game, the adult and child together picture the next day and how they will feel in certain situations—happy and excited or angry or fearful and anxious—and how other people might feel. The child is the talker, and you are the Socratic teacher raising the issue. If the child needs help, use a little vignette from your own childhood: “I remember when I was a child, I used to get angry when . . . “The most important goal of this game is to help the child become a poet of his feelings with animation and body language and tone, as well as in words. We want to help the child with ADD/ADHD recognize the feelings at a preverbal level, which will help him avoid putting negative feelings into action. “Thinking About Tomorrow” helps the child anticipate feelings and think of ways to deal with a particular situation other than acting out. This is especially difficult for children with attentional difficulties and self-regulation.

If you need continuing education credits for your social work, psychology, MFT, or counseling license renewal go to ADD CEU continuing education courses

Greenspan M.D., Stanley I., Greenspan, Jacob. Overcoming ADHD. Merloyd Lawrence Book by Da Capo Press. 2009. p.76
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Making the choice between Social Work Continuing Education CEU courses

Posted on February 18, 2013 by onlineceucredit.com

If you are working as a social worker, it’s obvious that you cannot overlook the requirements specified by your state licensing board, especially when seeking renewal to continue practicing. Interestingly, most of the state boards, except for a few exceptions like the ones in Colorado and New York, have specific requirements, which must be met under all circumstances. Usually, these requirements pertain to continuing education hours; for instance, Massachusetts, the state with the highest number of social workers (22,012), requires all Licensed Social Work Associates (LSWAs) practicing within the state to complete 10 Social Work Continuing Education CEU hours.

Other states may not have whopping tallies, but they do have their own requirements. In fact, even states such as Indiana and Maryland, which house merely 5,805 and 6,115 social workers respectively, have clearly specified the number of CEU hours required by the state boards. Here, it is worth mentioning that irrespective of what the requirements are, you can complete the number of hours with exemplary ease. For this, you can really use some Social Work Continuing Education CEU courses. However, with numerous courses easily available these days, you may find it a challenge to choose between them.

Things that can help

To begin with, you need to ensure that the course you go for meets all the requirements of the state board that would be renewing your license; else, taking the course is unlikely to serve any purpose. Nevertheless, some of the other things that may come in handy when making the choice are:

  • Medium of learning: When considering CEU courses, you can either attend classes by going to an institute in person, or learn in the comfort of your home as per your convenience. Especially if you have a hectic schedule, it makes more sense to go for the latter.
  • Course content: Whether you are a social worker or a counselor, or for that matter even a marriage & family therapist, you cannot expect to see an improvement in the way you have been handling your clients if the courses you take do not provide you with useable information. Therefore, it is important that you take a closer look at the content, find out if there are some case study examples or not, and then make the pick.

 

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How to Cope With Bipolar Disorder

Posted on February 15, 2013 by onlineceucredit.com

Bipolar disorder produces drastic mood changes that range from mania to depression. Without treatment, these mood swings can cause serious problems in several areas of your life, including your personal relationships and your job. Since this condition is a long-term one, it’s important to find effective ways to cope with it.

Take Medications Regularly
Some medications can help prevent the mood swings that occur with bipolar disorder. Others help treat the depression or anxiety associated with this condition. No matter which types of medication you’re taking, make sure you take them as instructed. Skipping them when you’re feeling alright can lead to relapses. If the medications you’re taking are causing unpleasant side effects, talk to your doctor about trying different types or adjusting your current dose.

Work With a Therapist
A therapist can help you learn how to deal with bipolar disorder in a healthy way. One of the most common types of therapy for people with this condition is cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. This type of therapy also helps you discover what triggers episodes of depression or mania so you can work on avoiding them. You can also attend group therapy if you prefer being around others who share your concerns. Family therapy is a good option for making sure your loved ones are involved in helping you cope with this disorder.

Turn to Others for Support
Discuss your feelings about having bipolar disorder with family members or friends who you can count on to be supportive. They might not fully understand what you’re going through, but being able to talk to other people about your condition can help you feel less anxious about it. You can also join a local or online support group to meet other people who are dealing with the same problems as you. In addition to being able to connect with others who understand how you’re feeling, you might also learn about other coping techniques that you can use.

Stay Away From Alcohol and Drugs
Avoid drinking and using recreational drugs since this type risk-taking behavior can get out of control when you’re in a manic cycle. You might also start relying too heavily on these substances to cope with cycles of depression. If you already have a drug or drinking problem, seek professional help instead of trying to quit on your own. Putting yourself under that much pressure can make you feel more anxious or depressed.

Get Enough Sleep
Making sure you get the right amount of sleep is an important part of controlling your moods. Getting too little or too much sleep can tip that balance and trigger an episode of mania or depression. Stick to a regular sleep schedule as much as possible by going to bed and getting up at the same time each day. Exercising on a daily basis can also tire you out and help you sleep better. If you have insomnia or any other sleep problems, discuss treatment options with your doctor.

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Advice on Teaching Social Skills to People With Autism

Posted on December 21, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com

People with autism have a hard time interacting with others. They often avoid eye contact and resist being touched. Although some people with this developmental disorder prefer spending time alone, it’s still important to try to teach them basic social skills so they can learn to communicate better with other people.

Modeling Behavior
You can help people with autism learn social skills by modeling the behaviors you’re trying to teach them. Have a role-playing session in which you guide them through a common social situation. Once you’ve walked them through it, let them try to respond appropriately on their own if possible. You might have to help them out by prompting them if they have trouble responding correctly. Make sure you keep these sessions positive and upbeat even if you start feeling frustrated at having to practice multiple times and repeat things.

Social Scripts
Write up social scripts that people with autism can use as a helpful guide when learning how to act in social situations. Keep the scripts short and easy to understand. Don’t use abstract wording or implied meanings. People with autism generally have an easier time with concrete language. Ideas for social scripts include starting a conversation and discussing their condition with others if they are comfortable doing so. When the people you’re working with become better at acting out these situations without relying on the scripts, you can stop using them.

Use Visual Representations
People with autism usually tend to be visual thinkers. You can help them learn social skills by using pictures or drawings that depict the way they should act in certain situations. You can also try using other types of visual imagery to show them how to behave. Younger children might learn a few social skills by watching carefully crafted puppet shows. Older children and adults can benefit from working with computer-based models that are designed to teach social skills.

Practice in Natural Settings
No matter which techniques you use for helping people with autism develop social skills, you should make sure that they have several opportunities to practice in natural settings. Learning from a script or through role-playing is very helpful, but they need to be able to use these skills in the outside world. Having them practice in a variety of settings can help them become more comfortable with social interactions in general. Don’t force them to practice, though, if they start feeling agitated or upset in a certain setting. This can lead them to form a negative association with being active in social situations. Try having them practice again when they’re calmer.

Join Social Groups
Group settings are an effective way to teach social skills to people with autism. These social groups provide a safe environment for them to work on improving the way they interact with others. Social group activities can help autistic individuals learn how to see things from other people’s perspectives and how to recognize certain emotions. They can also learn concepts such as sharing and cooperation.

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Aspergers: Developing Social Skills

Posted on November 16, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com

Children with Aspergers syndrome need extra help developing social skills. This condition makes it very challenging for children to interact with other people. They have difficulty understanding normal social cues and communicating effectively. Parents can help their children learn social skills by practicing a few techniques.

Role-play at Home
Role-playing is a good way to teach children with Aspergers how to act in social settings. Parents can guide their children through conversations and show them the appropriate ways to act in certain situations. Children with Aspergers have trouble in particular with making small talk and smoothly changing from one topic to another during the normal course of a conversation. Parents should also show their children acceptable ways to talk to others since children with Aspergers are prone to talking obsessively about one topic without realizing that the other person has lost interest.

Encourage Socialization
Although children with Aspergers have a lot of trouble learning social skills, having them work at it gradually but consistently can help them make progress. Parents should have their children play with others who are around the same age. For the best results, regular socialization should be started at an early age so that children will have a better understanding of social skills by the time they start school. This also gives them plenty of opportunities to practice using the skills they’ve learned. Parents should supervise these play sessions closely in order to step in and correct their children’s behavior when needed.

Teach Verbal and Nonverbal Cues
Children with Aspergers usually fail to notice nonverbal signs that other people use in social settings. They typically don’t realize when other people have become bored with the current topic of discussion. They also need to be taught verbal cues that most people take for granted. Many children with Aspergers don’t understand sarcasm so they tend to take humorous or joking comments seriously. Since this type of misunderstanding can make them anxious or lead to inappropriate responses on their part, it’s important to help them learn to recognize verbal cues.

Use Pictures
Parents can help their children with Aspergers learn how to act properly in social situations by showing them drawings or books that illustrate these concepts. Visual imagery can help them understand things like sharing, which might be difficult to explain verbally. Using pictures can also be a less intimidating way for children with Aspergers to learn social skills. Instead of being put on the spot by having to interact with other children, studying pictures and listening to their parents’ explanation of them gives them a calm and safe environment to process what they’re learning.

Minimize Anxiety
In order to make it easier for children with Aspergers to learn social skills, parents should do what they can to reduce their child’s anxiety. Children with this condition do better when their daily lives are structured.

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How to Deal With Anxiety

Posted on October 12, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com

Anxiety can be a minor nuisance or a debilitating condition that prevents you from being able to enjoy life. Being anxious on a regular basis can also take a toll on you physically and lead to frequent or chronic illnesses. If you’re having trouble handling anxiety, knowing a few ways to fight it can be a big help.

Pace Yourself
Although you’re probably eager to get rid of your anxious feelings, don’t try to do too much at once. Taking on too big of a challenge when it comes to dealing with anxiety can lead to major setbacks. Instead, set reasonable goals for yourself. Tackle each stressful situation individually as you go about your day. Choose a few coping techniques to try during these situations. Don’t let yourself dwell on a situation once the anxiety passes.

Learn to Breathe
Relaxation is an effective way to handle anxiety. You can practice breathing to help calm you down. There are several techniques to choose from, but the most basic one involves being consciously aware of each breath you take as you inhale and exhale. This helps draw your focus toward calming yourself instead of allowing your anxious feelings to take control. You can also try other forms of relaxation such as meditation or yoga.

Practice Having a Positive Outlook
Staying focused on positive thoughts can have a big impact on your anxiety levels. Since anxious feelings thrive on negative thoughts, practice turning these thoughts into more optimistic ones. This takes a lot of effort and patience if you’re used to having a gloomy and pessimistic outlook on life. You’ll need to try it on a regular basis in order for you to successfully adopt a better view of yourself and the world around you. When you start having a negative thought, stop it in its tracks and replace it with a more cheerful one.

Focus on Solutions
Dwelling on problems instead of actively trying to solve them can make anxiety worse. It can make you feel trapped and frustrated. If you can change a situation to make it less likely to trigger anxiety, work toward doing that. For example, if your financial situation makes you feel stressed, take a closer look at it and come up with solutions. You might decide to take on a part-time job or sell some of your possessions in order to have enough money to cover your bills. You should also keep in mind that there might be problems that you can’t do anything about. If you’re worried about whether or not you impressed a new client at work or passed a test in school, you’ll have to wait and see. Worrying about it in the meantime won’t solve anything, and it will make you feel more anxious.

Put Things in Perspective
Taking a step back to look at a certain situation or life in general helps you put things in perspective. Ask yourself if your present situation will matter a month from now or five years from now. This helps you look at events that happen in a more realistic and objective way, which can help curb anxiety. What you’ll often find is that most of the things that make you anxious don’t really matter in the long run, so they’re not worth worrying about.

 

related course:

http://www.onlineceucredit.com/ceus-online/ax-anxiety/continuing-education.html

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Tips on Anger Management

Posted on September 11, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com

It’s normal to feel angry at times, but the way you handle this natural emotion can be harmful. Lashing out at others or holding your feelings in are destructive ways of dealing with anger. They can have a serious negative impact on you mentally and physically when they become habitual responses. If you’re having a lot of trouble coping with anger, taking steps to manage it is highly important.

Relax
When you feel angry, resist the urge to react as you normally would. Instead, count to 10 to give yourself time to calm down. Take deep breaths before responding to the person who made you angry or taking any other action. This pause allows you to gather your thoughts and relax your body and mind. Doing this can help reduce feelings of anger and weaken the impulse to handle it in a destructive manner.

Be Assertive, Not Aggressive
Keeping your anger in check doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to disagree with someone or stand up for yourself. You can work on being assertive instead of aggressive. This involves speaking to others tactfully while keeping your emotions under control. Learning how to be assertive gives you a safe and healthy way to deal with your anger. Keep in mind that this skill requires a lot of practice and patience to master.

Change Your Thoughts
You might not be able to control angry thoughts that arise, but you can change them. When certain events trigger angry responses, pay close attention to the thoughts that go through your head. Get into the habit of replacing them with positive or neutral ones. When you’re angry, your thoughts tend to be exaggerated. Try to think about the event that caused your anger in a more realistic, objective way. This helps you keep things in perspective and reduces the chance that the same or similar situation will make you angry in the future.

Find Solutions
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you deal with anger on a regular basis. Instead of reacting in a negative way when certain things trigger your anger, look for solutions. For example, try to minimize the amount of time you interact with a co-worker who frequently tests your patience. Focusing on finding solutions takes the emphasis of off the person or situation that causes you to feel angry and helps you deal it with more constructively.

Let It Go
If you’re dealing with an issue or problem that you can’t control, you might need to just let it go. In order to do this, you’ll need to recognize and accept your own limitations. This way of handling anger can prove to be much more difficult than any others since it requires a considerable amount of self-control. You shouldn’t be ignoring or burying your anger in this case. You’ll need to accept the fact that you can’t deal with the issue or problem and move on.

 

related course:

http://www.onlineceucredit.com/ceus-online/cti-anger-management/continuing-education.html

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Adoption: How to Tell Your Child He or She Is Adopted

Posted on August 15, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com

Adoption : Two young girl learns to read with the help of a mother.Telling your child that he or she is adopted is an important step in your relationship. It’s not an easy thing to do, but there are ways to make this experience a positive one. The way your child reacts will depend on his or her age. Knowing what to expect and how to deal with it beforehand can help make this situation less stressful for you and your child.

Be Prepared
Before telling your child that he or she is adopted, gather as much information as possible about the birth parents. Your child will likely be curious and ask several questions about who his or her birth mother and father are. Having this information available will allow you to satisfy your child’s natural curiosity. If your child is too young to fully understand what it means to be adopted, you should still work on gathering this information. This way, you will be prepared for when your child does begin asking questions.

Start Early
You don’t have to wait until your child reaches a certain age before telling him or her about being adopted. You can introduce the concept of adoption when your child is a toddler or preschooler, even though he or she might not have a firm grasp of what it means. Bringing this topic up at such a young age helps your child adjust to it and helps him or her gradually understand it. Tell your child about the day you brought him or her home for the first time. Show pictures of that day and mention how happy your child made you feel.

Give an Honest Explanation
Be ready to explain who your child’s birth parents are and why they decided to give him or her up for adoption. You can decide how much to tell your child depending on his or her age. Basic details are fine for very young children, but older children might want a more detailed explanation. It’s important to be honest yet tactful. Focus on the positive aspects of your child’s adoption and avoid providing negative details about his or her birth parents. You might need to reassure your child that being put up for adoption wasn’t his or her fault.

Be Reassuring
Young children might become worried that their adoptive parents will decide to find a new home and new parents for them. After losing one set of parents, they might need to be reassured that they will not be losing another. Let your child know that this is his or her permanent home and family.

Encourage Discussion
Children generally begin understanding the concept of adoption by the time they’re 7 or 8 years old. You should expect your child to go through several emotions that are similar to the natural grieving process. At first, your child might refuse to accept that he or she was adopted. This might turn into a feeling of regret or sadness that stems from not knowing his or her birth parents and wondering what life might have been like. Your child might also feel ashamed about being given up for adoption. It’s important to encourage your child to discuss his or her feelings with you. Talking about these feelings will help your child adjust and learn to accept the fact that he or she was adopted.

 

Related course:

http://www.onlineceucredit.com/ceus-online/cpa-adoptive-parent/continuing-education.html

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Techniques to Overcome Addiction

Posted on May 25, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com

Dealing with any type of addiction is a challenging experience. Finding the strength and motivation to overcome it doesn’t have to be difficult though. There are a few ways for you to get the help you need and take steps toward making a full recovery.

If your therapist’s methods aren’t working for you, ask for specific information on how your addiction is physically affecting you at your next session. This approach works very well for people who are used to dealing with concrete facts and figures as part of their job, such as accountants and computer programmers. You might not be aware of just how much damage an addiction can cause to your nervous system, digestive tract and other parts of your body. Knowing exactly what is going on inside you can provide you with the motivation you need to overcome your problem. 

Keeping a log of the physical symptoms you experience is a good way to determine the effects of addiction on your body. You can either write the symptoms down or make a mental note of them. Discuss the log with your therapist at your next appointment.

If you are looking for an alternative to traditional therapy for addiction, approaching the problem from a different angle can make a big difference. Instead of focusing on the addiction, you might benefit from getting some education on a related problem. This can help you see how your addiction can affect your life. For example, learning about cirrhosis if you have an addiction to alcohol can convince you to work toward overcoming your problem. The other component that often goes along with this technique is the emphasis on rewards and compassion instead of trying to force people to take action. Letting people decide on their own to get help for an addiction can be very successful.

Attending an intervention is a good way to get the help you need. Being surrounded by your loved ones can encourage you to listen to their advice and seek treatment. Having your friends and family provide a loving and supportive environment also serves as a reminder of how many people care about you and want to see you get better.

 

Related course:

http://www.onlineceucredit.com/ceus-online/gb-addictions/continuing-education.html

 

 

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How to Overcome Bullying

Posted on May 14, 2012 by onlineceucredit.com


The number of bullying cases seems to be growing in tandem with the popularity of digital social media and mobile phones. However, the solutions to harassment transcend the differences between face-to-face confrontation and electronic confrontation. A bully’s motives are similar regardless of the medium, and therefore a parent or child’s ways of managing the harassment should remain consistent.

Not all bullies are the same, and it is not possible to say that one solution will end all harassments. The key is to determine what type of bully one is facing. Some bullies redirect their own feelings of insecurity by victimizing others that they perceive to be outcasts, but not all bullies feel this way. Some bullies are self-assured and commit acts of harassment for vindictive or malicious reasons. It is important to identify which type of bully one may be facing as their reactions to actions like avoidance or walking away will be very different depending on their personal motives.

For small children, the advice for dealing with bullies should always be to tell an adult. Small children are extremely formative and easily influenced by their emotions and situations. By always encouraging them to tell an adult, parents are ensuring that an opportunity to correct the situation through consultation for both the bully and the victim can occur. For older children, the tell-an-adult solution is less reasonable and may actually worsen some situations although it must be stressed in any case where physical violence is involved. For tweens and teens, it is vitally important that parents give good advice for handling harassment situations in a non-escalating manner.

Parents and children should remember that movies and popular media fictitiously portray manners for dealing with bullying that can actually have disastrous results if applied to actual situations. Humiliating or physically harming a bully is never an appropriate recourse. Instead, victims must take away the psychological reward associated with harassment for the bully.

There is a target reaction that the bully wants, and they will continue to return to the victim as long as the victim continues to supply that reaction.
Teaching children that the power to overcome the torments of a bully is in controlling one’s reaction is important. Deflecting a bully’s comments can be done with simple non-emotional responses that question the integrity of the comment. The object is to diffuse the power of the harassment and not to attack the bully or to engage in physical violence.

 

Related course:

http://www.onlineceucredit.com/ceus-online/ttt-bullying/continuing-education.html

Posted in Bullying, Continuing Education, fear | Tagged | 12 Comments