553 Understanding the Language of Warriors: Substance Abuse Treatment for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans

Registration Open

The Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) in colaboration with the Brown University Distance Learning Program, is offering a credited, on-line course on substance abuse treatment for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

While substance abuse treatment professionals may understand the cycle of addiction and treatment interventions, unique factors that are associated with survival at war and codes of Military membership can impede progress for the recovering client. This four week course will focus on understanding Military cultural beliefs about the use of alcohol and drugs and how to join the Veteran client in a place of resilient recovery.

Instructor

Dee Lexandra, Ph.D., MSW, Florida LCSW and Certified Addiction Professional, has been actively involved in addiction treatment in Florida for the past 19 years. Recently, over the past four years she has worked primarily as a consultant on the behalf of behavioral health organizations in support of the U.S. Military. The focus of her professional experiences in addiction treatment include: education, training, research, counseling, and consulting. Dr. Lexandra received her Ph.D. in Family Therapy as a result of her study about what the client believed “worked” in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

Course Objectives

• To describe the unique “language” and lifestyles of a U.S. Military Warrior based on their branch of service.
• To explain U.S. Military Warrior experiences of stress and the suppression of feelings as resilient responses to their role as warriors.
• Discuss the historical use of alcohol and drugs to self-medicate in the Military culture.
• Demonstrate how to build a therapeutic alliance with the resilient Veteran by using the “Stages of Change” and MI/MET model of substance abuse treatment in case example role plays.

Course Requirements

This is a four-week course, beginning on June 20, 2011. Requirements are:

• Required on-line reading (one hour per week)
• Completion of pre and post test
• Completion of weekly homework assignments (one hour per week)
• Participation in the weekly course forum
• Completion of an on-line course evaluation

*Please note that there are no real time events associated with this course. Lessons will be posted on the class home page on Tuesday and responses are due the following Monday. With the exception of the first weeks lesson which will be posted Monday with the responses due the following Monday. Assignments can be accessed at the participant’s convenience.

A full refund is available up until June 28, 2011 after which there will be no refunds.

Accreditation

$60.00 Certification

• This four-week course, which begins on June 20, 2011, has been approved by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) for 8 educational credits. It is being provided by the Brown Distance Learning program, which is accredited as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider (#000151).
• This course is approved by the Connecticut Certification Board (CCB) for 8 Category 1 continuing education for Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors (CADC’s). The CCB is an IC&RC affiliate.
• The New York State OASAS does accept distance learning CEUs provided by institutions of higher learning for individuals pursuing or renewing a CASAC, CPP or CPS.

*Combined certificates are available upon request.

Certificates will be mailed within two weeks to participants in the program for its duration who submit all required materials.

Please contact your local certification board to verify reciprocity or acceptance of Brown Distance Learning contact hours.

To participate, you must have:

• An E-mail address and the capacity to retrieve and send E-mail;
• Access to World Wide Web (the following programs provide WWW access: Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Explorer)
• Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher is the preferred browser for Brown DLP online courses
• The ability to navigate the World Wide Web
• A basic understanding of how to use a computer and send and receive email

PLEASE NOTE NETWORK AND COMPUTER TECHNICAL SUPPORT WILL NOT BE PROVIDED.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 20, 2011 or when the course limit is reached.

To register for this course please log into your account or create your account then log into your account and click the Enroll in a New Course link at the bottom of your account page. On the Enrollment page select ‘553 Language of Warriors’ using the pull down menu and click on the enroll button. Having enrolled into the course you will be prompted for payment. You may make your payment online or by regular mail. To view payment information please use the payment policies.

For a list of current Brown University Distance Learning courses, please go to the following site:

https://www.browndlp.org/.

Please Bookmark this site for future references. Course announcements will be made via the Brown University Online Course Announcement Listserve 6-8 weeks prior to the start of each course. If you would like to be subscribed to this list, please contact the Brown DLP at [email protected] or (401) 863-6606.