Staff Perspective: Live Online Training Events at CDP

Staff Perspective: Live Online Training Events at CDP

Recently, I wrote about the efforts that the Center for Deployment Psychology is taking to expand the range and reach of our training. This time we’re going to focus on one of our newest efforts, online versions of our live training programs. We recognize that it’s not possible for the CDP to train all of the providers who would like to attend our events in-person. There’s not enough time, manpower or money for us to travel and bring our presenters and training to all of the locations that would like us to visit. To help deal with this issue, we’ve begun offering live events broadcast online, which providers can access from their own homes or offices.

This greatly amplifies the number of providers who have access to our training. In the past, a provider from a rural community might have to travel hundreds, or even thousands, of miles from home to attend one of our live events. Given the cost and time away from work this entails, it was often unfeasible for these providers to participate in CDP’s events. With our new programs, providers no longer need to worry about the expense or time of traveling to a distant training.

We recently piloted a Cognitive Processing Therapy for Groups training session online via Adobe Connect. It was received very well by the participants, who gave it very high rankings on post-training surveys. The biggest question many people had was “What other training do you offer like this?” So to help fill the need, we’ve added two more live online events to our evidence-based therapies training calendar.

This time around we’re going to be offering two-day sessions in Prolonged Exposure Therapy. Participants will receive all of the same training as our face-to-face events, including interaction with the presenter as well as role-play sessions with fellow participants. Attendees are also eligible to receive 13.5 Continuing Education credits for the two-day workshop. Best of all, as long as participants meet a few requirements, these events are free!

Our next upcoming event is scheduled for 10-11 April via Adobe Connect. Registration for the event is open now and filling fast. If you’re interested in taking part in this session, you should sign up soon. Advanced registration is required to attend. Space in the event is limited and it will reach capacity.  We will also be offering PE training via Second Life 8-9 May. Registration for this event will be opening very soon as well, so keep an eye on our training page.

These events are our first steps in offering live online training, but we’re going to be doing more in the future. We’d like to offer more training subjects and mediums. It’s our mission to provide high-quality training to behavioral health providers to ensure they can offer care to Service members, Veterans, and families. We’re always working on new and more effective ways to accomplish that goal. If you’ve got requests of topics you’d like to see us present or avenues of training we can explore, please let us know!