Training for Civilian Providers

Overview

The Center for Deployment Psychology facilitates behavioral health training for civilian providers in various locations throughout the year.

"Addressing the Psychological Health of Warriors and Their Families" is a one-week course offered up to four to five times per year at various locations across the country, and provides in-depth training on deployment spectrum issues facing our Service members, their families, and the providers themselves.

From time to time, CDP participates in collaborative training events through partnerships with local or regional organizations in order to best suit the needs of a specific group of behavioral health caregivers. Interested individuals or organizations are invited to email the CDP to inquire about other training opportunities.

Suggested Audience:

This course is designed for civilian licensed mental health providers including psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and marriage & family therapists who are actively treating military personnel, veterans, and their families or plan to actively treat this population.

While we recognize that many individuals may be interested in this course, the material is not designed for, and may not be appropriate for, non-professionals and those who are not working with this population. Active Duty mental health providers interested in taking this course should contact the CDP to inquire about other workshops designed specifically for them.

Course Content:

The one-week civilian training course covers topics designed to increase clinical competency for treating Service members with behavioral health problems. Modules presented typically include sessions on military culture and terminology, rates of psychological health issues in the military, deployment risk factors for Service members and families, identification and treatment of suicidal behavior, substance abuse, and evidence-based treatments for depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and sleep disturbance associated with deployment.

Training goals may include:

1. Describe military terminology and operations and examine military culture and values as they relate to military behavioral health
2. Identify several stressors faced by service members and their families before, during, and after deployment
3. Examine assessment, reporting issues, risk and resilience factors associated with deployment-related psychological problems
4. Analyze empirically-validated strategies and psychotherapies for treating depression in military personnel
5. Demonstrate how to assess and manage suicidal behavior in military personnel
6. Identify the rates and types of substance use problems in the military community and illustrate strategies to address them
7. Describe the prevalence of sleep problems experienced by military personnel and examine Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
8. Summarize and apply the skills of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to treat combat-related PTSD
9. Identify the symptoms and rates of blast-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) and outline treatment resources

Location:

One-week and collaborative training courses are mobile events offered several times a year in different parts of the country. Please see the training schedule below for specific locations.

Cost:

There is a registration fee for attending the one-week program. This fee is charged regardless of the number of sessions attended. Participants are responsible for their own travel and expenses.  Costs for collaborative training events are determined on a case by case basis in conjunction with program partners.

Training Schedule:

June 3-7, 2013: Midwest Regional 1-week Civilian Training - Madison, WI

Please direct any questions regarding our 1-week civilian training program to general@deploymentpsych.org.