Military and Veteran-Related Online Courses and Webinars

MILITARY AND VETERAN-RELATED ONLINE COURSES AND WEBINARS

FOR CIVILIAN HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Military Culture:

·  Sponsored by the National Center for PTSD and prepared by Patricia Watson, Ph.D., Dartmouth University, Understanding Military Culture When Treating PTSD is a free online course (1 hour) that provides valuable information to civilian providers when they work with military and veterans’ families. The course is available at:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/military_culture.asp

Learning objectives are (1) to describe military terms and demographics; (2) to discuss stressors in the military; (3) to report programs offered by the Department of Defense (DoD) relevant to combat and operational stress, and (4) to describe implications of military culture for clinicians. One hour of continuing education units (CEUs) is available.

·  Funded by the Uniformed Services University of Health Services, the Center for Deployment Psychology offers an online course (75 minutes) on Military Cultural Competence that can be taken for a fee of $30 can be taken for credit (1.25 CEUs) at Relias Learning’s (formerly known as Essential Learning) website: http://www.cequick.com/Military-Cultural-Competence.aspx. Learning objectives include: (1) to explain the military rank structure and organization and distinguish the primary mission and core values of each branch of service; (2) to describe differences and similarities between Active and Reserve components; (3) to discuss demographic characteristics of Service members; and (4) to recognize general and deployment-related military terms.

·  Developed by Harold Kudler, M.D., and Charlotte Wilmer, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., the Treating the Invisible Wounds of War (TTIWW) series is a collaboration of the Citizen Soldier Support Program, the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) in North Carolina, and the Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VISN 6. Each new training is first taught as a full-day workshop, offered by AHECs throughout the State. Subsequently, the courses are adapted into online courses at a shorter length, and like the workshops, the online courses are free. All courses are available at: http://www.aheconnect.com/citizensoldier/courses.asp.

o  Treating the Invisible Wounds of War (TIWW) series (English and Spanish editions)

Learning objectives are (1) to identify strategies for establishing and maintaining a therapeutic alliance with combat veterans and their families by examining military structure and culture and the combat experience; (2) to examine the current knowledge of trauma and PTSD and how it is unique to military personnel; (3) to identify frames of mental health assessment and treatment options for military personnel; (4) to identify how family relationships are impacted by mobilization, deployment and redeployment; and (5) to identify services available for Veterans and their families, including those provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and TRICARE. Four hours of CEUs are available.

o  TTIWW: A Primary Care Approach

Learning objectives are (1) to identify barriers to receipt of mental health care by returning military service members and veterans; (2) to identify strategies for establishing and maintaining a therapeutic alliance by understanding military culture; (3) to demonstrate the ability to diagnose PTSD and monitor response to treatment; (4) ) to demonstrate the ability to screen for mild TBI using standard psychological tests; (5) to describe the components used in assessment of suicide risk. One hour of CEU is available.

o  TTIWW: Issues of Women Returning from Combat

Learning objectives are (1) to explain the history of women in combat and the scope of the problem; (2) to describe the importance of military culture; (3) to identify psychological issues unique to women returning from combat; (4) to recognize child development issues for women returning from combat; (5) to discuss gender-specific treatments; (6) to describe mental health care resources including TRICARE insurance. Three hours of CEUs are available.

o  TTIWW: Recognizing the Signs of mTBI during Routine Eye Examinations

Learning objectives are (1) to define mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and its impact on vision; (2) to review the pathophysiology of mTBI; (3) to define the role of mTBI on cranial nerves and visual pathway damage resulting in visual problems; (4) to identify the primary tools of optometric assessment; (5) to identify methods of assessing facial and ocular injuries as they relate to mTBI; (6) to outline the effects of vascular compromise that occur in mTBI; (7) to describe health care resources of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and TRICARE. Two hours of CEUs are available.

o  TTIWW: Employee Assistance in the Civilian Workforce

Learning objectives are: (1) to describe military culture and structure, (2) to recognize the potential impact that deployment and reintegration may have on service members and their families, (3) to recognize the potential impact that deployment and reintegration issues may have on a service member transitioning between the military workplace and civilian workplaces, (4) to recognize the issues common to employees with military backgrounds, (5), to identify ways to assist employees and members of management to better understand the impact of deployment on the employee performance in the civilian workplace, and (6) to list various military & Veteran-related resources that are available for referral.

Sleep Disturbances:

·  The Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury offers this 1.5 hour online webinar, Treating Sleep Problems in PTSD and TBI. Participants may download the audio portion as well as the PowerPoint slides for the three presentations. It is unclear whether continuing education credits continue to be available although St. Louis University offered CEUs when the webinar was first offered in February 2012. The purpose of the webinar is to examine sleep disturbances and to discuss promising behavioral and pharmacological treatments for sleep problems associated with PTSD and TBI. For additional information, see http://www.dcoe.health.mil/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2980; for slides, go to http://www.dcoe.health.mil/Content/Navigation/Documents/Treating%20Sleep%20Problems%20in%20PTSD%20and%20TBI.pdf.

·  The Center for Deployment Psychology offers a 2-DVD set (3 hr. 20 min. lecture) developed by William Brim, Psy.D., (Deputy Director of the Center for Deployment Psychology) on the Assessment and Treatment of Sleep Disturbance Associated with Deployment. Three hours of CEUs are available. It is also available as a downloadable podcast or streaming video. . The DVD set costs $75 and is available at: http://www.pesi.com/bookstore/Assessment___Treatment_of_Sleep_Disturbance_Associated_with_Deployment-details.aspx. Learning objectives are (1) to increase knowledge about the prevalence and kinds of sleep problems experienced by military personnel; (2) to review clinical strategies and interventions to assist service members with sleep problems; (3) to provide research to support specific sleep interventions. Three hours of CEUs are available.

·  Sponsored by the National Center for PTSD and prepared by Bruce Capehart, M.D. and Jason DeViva, Ph.D., Sleep Problems, Insomnia, and PTSD is a free online course (1 hour) that provides an overview of the VA/DoD 2010 Clinical Practice Guideline recommendations for managing sleep problems and PTSD. The presenters describe primary sleep disorders and comorbid conditions, as well as a general approach and evidence-based pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy interventions to treat these issues. The course is available at: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/sleep.asp. Learning objectives are (1) to review the 2010 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline recommendations for medical management of insomnia; (2) to identify three comorbid conditions and three primary sleep disorders likely to affect sleep in Veterans with PTSD; (3) to describe the evidence base for three pharmacotherapies and three psychotherapies in the treatment of sleep problems related to PTSD, and (4) to describe a general approach to assessing and treating sleep problems associated with PTSD. Continuing education credits are not yet available.

Combat Stress Injuries:

·  Sponsored by the National Center for PTSD and prepared by William Nash, M.D. (U.S. Navy Medical Corp), Combat Stress Injuries is a free online course (1 hour) that examines the common stressors of operational military deployments, from the merely annoying through the potentially devastating, and places such experiences in their context defined by military cultural values and identity. The normal process of adaptation to stress is described, and it is contrasted with the injuries that can be inflicted on the mind and brain when adaptive capacities are exceeded. The three major mechanisms of stress injury are listed, and the effects of one of them (traumatic stress) are described in detail. The course is available at:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/combat-stress-injuries.asp

Learning objectives are (1) to describe the major stressors of combat and operational military deployments, and of subsequent homecoming; (2) to describe the two main reasons for the gap between relatively frequent adverse stress responses during deployment and relatively mental health diagnosis and treatment after deployment; (3) to describe the three tactics of normal adaptation to stress, and the normal time course for adaptation and re-adaptation; (4) to describe the differences between normal adaptive responses to stress and those that are symptomatic of a stress injury, and list the three common mechanisms of stress injury; and (5) to describe the major components of traumatic stress injuries, and the nature of the biological and psychosocial damage such injuries entail. One hour of CEUs is available.

Trauma-Informed Care:

·  Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and developed by the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center of the Medical College of South Carolina, Trauma-focused Cognitive Based Therapy is a free online course, which is available at: http://tfcbt.musc.edu/. The course modules address the topics of [1] psychoeducation, [2] stress management, [3] affect expression and modulation, [4] cognitive coping, [5] creating the trauma narrative, [6] cognitive processing, [7] behavior management training, and [8] parent-child sessions. Continuing education credit for CPTWeb is awarded on a module-by-module basis; however, all modules (i.e., the entire course) must be completed in order to receive the ten hours of credit. A Certificate of Completion is available for printing once the final evaluation is submitted.

·  The Center for Deployment Psychology offers an interactive online introductory course (75 minutes) on Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD in Veterans and Military Personnel (Course 113), that provides an overview of CPT, an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for PTSD. The course can be taken for credit (1.25 CEUs) for a fee of $30 at Relias Learning’swebsite: http://www.cequick.com/Cognitive-Processing-Therapy-for-PTSD-in-Veterans-Military-Personnel.aspx. Learning objectives are (1) to describe the psychological theories behind CPT; (2) to summarize the empirical evidence for CPT’s effectiveness; and (3) to give an overview of the CPT protocol.

·  The Center for Deployment Psychology offers an interactive online course (75 minutes) that provides an overview of prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy for PTSD in Veterans and Military Personnel. The course can be taken for credit (1.25 CEUs) for a fee of $30 at Relias Learning’swebsite: http://www.cequick.com/Prolonged-Exposure-Therapy-for-PTSD-for-Veterans-and-Military-Service-Personnel.aspx. Learning objectives are (1) to discuss the theoretical underpinnings for PE; (2) to summarize the empirical support for PE; and (3) to describe therapy procedures to include in-vivo and imaginal exposure and explain the general course of the treatment protocol.

·  Sponsored by the National Center for PTSD and prepared by Sheila Rauch, Ph.D. , ABPP (Director of the SeRV-MH Program at the VA Ann Arbor Health Care System), Prolonged Exposure Therapy is a free online course (1 hour) that describes the clinical application of prolonged exposure (PE) and provides a thorough review of research supporting its use for PTSD. The course is available at: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/prolonged_exposure.asp. Learning objectives are (1) to summarize the Veteran's Affairs / Department of Defense (DoD) 2010 Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD; (2) to review the empirical evidence supporting PE; (3) to describe and demonstrate the clinical application of PE. CEU is not yet available.

The Clinical Practice Guideline Management of Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Reaction (2010) is available at:

http://www.healthquality.va.gov/Post_Traumatic_Stress_Disorder_PTSD.asp

Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD):

·  Sponsored by the National Center for PTSD and developed by Paula Schnurr, Ph.D. (Deputy Director of the National Center for PTSD), and Jaimie Gradus, D.Sc., (Epidemiologist, National Center for PTSD), the free online course, Epidemiology of PTSD, is available at:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/epidemiology.asp

Learning objectives are (1) to understand key epidemiologic concepts; (2) to describe factors that influence prevalence estimates in a given sample; and (3) to evaluate prevalence estimates for PTSD in civilian and Veteran populations. Information on CEUs was not provided.

·  The Center for Deployment Psychology offers an interactive online course (90 minutes), Epidemiology of PTSD in Military Personnel and Veterans: Working with Service Members and Veterans with PTSD. The course can be taken for credit (1.5 CEUs) for a fee of $30 at Relias Learning’swebsite: http://www.cequick.com/Epidemiology-of-PTSD-in-Military-Personnel-and-Veterans.aspx. Learning objectives are (1) to describe the prevalence of trauma and PTSD, as well as factors that contribute to the development of PTSD; (2) to recognize types of trauma exposure and emotional reactions for OIF/OEF Veterans; (3) to identify empirically-validated assessment tools and evidence-based treatments for PTSD; and (4) to recognize the stigma and barriers Servicemembers and Veterans face related to seeking care for PTSD.

·  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is part of the Treating the Invisible Wounds of War series (http://www.aheconnect.com/citizensoldier/courses.asp), which is a collaboration of the Citizen Soldier Support Program, the Area Health Education Centers in North Carolina, and the MIRECC. Together with TBI and women Veterans, PTSD is a free 4-hour online course. A description of the course is under Military Culture.

·  The U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System offers a series of courses on PTSD to civilian providers that can be accessed at: http://www.humana-military.com/Learning-Library/online-learning/dod-online-learning.asp

·  The National Center for PTSD offers many free online courses as part of their PTSD 101 series. The entire series is available at: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/course-modules.asp

The basics are taught in the courses included in the PTSD 101 Core Curriculum.

o  What is PTSD?

Developed by Jessica Hamblen, Ph.D., this course provides an overview of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The author outlines the history of the diagnosis and the current DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, which includes a detailed description of each symptom cluster. Prevalence rates, course, comorbidity, and risk factors for both civilian and veteran populations are reported from the National Comorbidity Study and other recent investigations. This course is available at: