466 Basic Group Counseling Skills

Registration Open

Brown University Distance Learning Program is offering a credited, on-line course on basic group counseling.

Group therapy is a popular setting for the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. As a result, a counselor will often experience their first and major role as an addiction treatment provider facilitating group therapy. Often the skills needed to conduct a group session are not formally taught within the treatment environment. Rather, professionals will gain their knowledge through practice and experience only. In response, this course will provide basic group counseling skills that apply evidence-based research into real world practice. In particular, skills that address heterogeneous group populations (various stages of their recovery process, age, gender, cultural diversity, sexual orientations, substance use, dual diagnoses, socioeconomic status, education, and support systems) unique to substance abuse treatment will be provided.

In four weekly sessions, this course will use case examples and class assignments that facilitate “role playing” and subjective experiences for insight about becoming a part of the group system rather then the appearance of a “separate” group facilitator. Upon completion of this course, participants will have the counseling skills to “join” individual group members where they are at in their recovery process while utilizing their individual strengths and resources to create a “whole” resilient group.

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

• Knowledge of the basic structure and principles of organizing and�developing a clinical group.
• Identify steps for group cohesiveness.
• Working with the group to establish realistic, achievable goals consistent with achieving and maintaining recovery.
• Facilitate the development of basic and life skills associated with recovery for group members.
• Adapt group counseling strategies to the individual characteristics of the group members, including but not limited to disability, gender, sexual orientation, developmental level, culture, ethnicity, age, and health status while creating a “whole” resilient group.

Course Requirements

This is a four-week course, beginning on February 15, 2010. 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 February 23, 2010 after which there will be no refunds.

Accreditation

$60.00 Certification

• This four-week course, which begins on February 15, 2010, 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 meets the qualifications for 8 hours of continuing education credit for MFCC’s and/or LCSW’s as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (PCE#1917).
• 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.

$100.00 Certification

• This Brown Distance Learning Program workshop is approved by the American Psychological Association for 8 CE’s for psychologists.  The Brown Distance Learning Program maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

*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: February 15, 2010 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 ‘466 Group Counseling’ 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 Monte Bryant, Program Administrator, at Monte Bryant, or (401) 863-6606.