Chemical Dependency and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Registration Open

Brown University Distance Learning Program and The Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England, are offering a credited, on-line course on chemical dependency and post-traumatic stress disorder.

This course will provide an overview of the connection between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Chemical Dependency. Both of the conditions will be discussed as to their diagnostic criteria, presenting symptomatology, biological aspects and predisposing variables. These often co-existing conditions will be presented in models of representation that are easily understood and have direct applicability to treatment delivery for the addiction treatment provider.

Instructor

Michael Torch, MA, LADC, LCS, is an addiction treatment provider with over 25 years experience. He was recognized by the New Hampshire Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor’s Association in 2002 with its “ Life Time Achievement Award”. Currently working in Student Assistance, Outpatient Practice, and Behavioral Health consultation, Michael has been a trainer of alcohol and drug counselors for over 25 years and currently serves on the faculty of Brown University/New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center and the New England School of Addiction Studies, with extensive experience treating chemically dependent adolescents and trauma victims. His professional experience includes practice in public schools, correctional environments, treating law enforcement personnel, inpatient chemical dependency programs outpatient practice and consultant to a First Nation Healing Program. He currently serves as a member of the US Probation Service’s New England Critical Incident Stress Management Team and a Clinical Consultant with the New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center’s Science to Practice initiative. Mr. Torch has served on the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Certification Review Board in New Hampshire for 15 years, is currently a member of the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Peer Review Committee, is a member of the State Advisory Board on Juvenile Justice in New Hampshire, serves as a member of the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Advisory Committee, is Vice Chair of the Northeast Coalition for Juvenile Justice, and serves on the National Addiction Technology Transfer Center, Advisory Board. 

Course Objectives

• Gain an understanding of useful models of Chemical Dependency and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• Gain a better understanding of the developmental nature of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• Examine the biology of trauma including traumatic memory and its impact on trauma symptoms and chemical dependency recovery.
• Discuss the connection between the biology of trauma and the biology of chemical dependency.
• Review a productive treatment protocol and discuss effective treatment interventions.

Course Requirements

This is a four-week course 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.

The total cost of this course is $60.00 the course payment is due by the start date of the course. A full refund is available up until the posting of the second lesson, after which there will be no refunds.

Accredation

This four-week course, 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 eight 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. 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: Netscape, Apple CyberDog, and Microsoft Explorer)
• Internet Explorer 5.0 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: The course start date 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 the course you wish to register for 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.