Healing After Abuse and Neglect - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

In this course, we talk with the late Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family, and the founder and Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development, about how to help children from hard places heal.

*This course was recorded with the late great Dr. Karyn Purvis in 2015. While it does not meet our current sound quality or replacement after 5 year standards, we include this course for those who value the importance of being instructed by Dr. Purvis herself.

This course covers the following topics:

• Why is parenting abused children different from traditional parenting?

• What are the 3 most important things you should do during the first 6 months home with a newly adopted child?

• How can we discipline our children while still remaining connected and create attachment?

• How can we help a child who has tantrums whenever he hears the word “no,” or is told he can’t do something?

• How long should parents stay home (if possible) after adoption?

• How can parents be proactive with children who have experienced abuse and neglect in order to help them and to improve behavior?

• Parenting kids adopted from foster care and internationally can be hard on the marriage and especially when one of the parents is the one getting educated on the type of parenting these kids need and the other one has not “bought into” it yet. How to help both parents get on the same page.

• How should parents handle criticism (implied or direct) about their parenting style when they are trying to follow the empower to connect style?

• What are some practical tools for encouraging attachment?

To register: Creating a Family - HAAN

First Six Months with a Baby Exposed to Opiates - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

What do you need to know about fostering/adopting a child that may have prenatal exposure to opiates?

In this course, we talk with Dr. Robin Gurwitch, a faculty member in the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Child and Family Health. Her research focuses on improving the outcomes and increasing resilience in children who have experienced trauma, including prenatal exposure.

This course covers the following topics:

• List common opioids that a baby can be born dependent on.

• List 3 symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

• Explain 3 techniques for soothing a baby with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

To register: Creating a Family - FSMBEO

Connected Parenting: Understanding TBRI®️ (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

In this course, we interview Lisa and Emmelie  about connected parenting and understanding how to use TBRI®️ with your family.

The next step in understanding Trust-Based Relational Intervention®️ is the new book, The Connected Parent, by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Lisa Qualls, with great assistance from Emmelie Pickett.

This course covers the following learning objectives:

• Understanding the foundations of attachment.

• List ways to implement Trust-Based Relational Intervention®️.

• Understand how to cope with chronic fear in your children.

• Describe how to discipline the TBRI®️ way.

• Understanding how sensory issues can be confused with attachment issues.

To register: Creating a Family - CPUTBRI

Coming to Terms with Infertility Grief Before You Foster or Adopt - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

In this course, we will cover how to move from infertility treatment to adoption and how to say goodbye to the child you were trying so hard to conceive.

The instructor will be Carole LieberWilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has specialized in reproductive medicine, adoption, and family-building options since 1986, and is the co-author of the book, Let’s Talk About Egg Donation. Carole serves on the Advisory Board of the US Donor Conceived Council and is an active American Society of Reproductive Medicine Mental Health Professional Group member. She is also a mom through adoption and egg donation.

This course covers the following topics:

• Explain two differences between genetic parenting and adoptive parenting.

• Explain how to say goodbye to the child you never had.

• List two things to consider before deciding to stay in fertility treatment while trying to adopt.

• List two ways to find a mental health provider specializing in infertility.

To register: Creating a Family - CTIGBYFA

Using Positive Childhood Experiences to Help Our Children Heal - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

In this course we will cover how to use positive childhood experiences to help lessen the lifelong effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and build resilience.

The instructor will be Dr. Robert Sege, the founder and director of the HOPE National Resource Center at Tufts Medical Center. He holds a MD degree from Harvard Medical School and a PhD degree in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This course covers the following learning objectives:

• List the four building blocks for positive childhood experiences.

• List two examples for each PCE building block.

• Explain the ages when children are most receptive to the impact of positive childhood experiences.

To register: Creating a Family - PCEHOCH

Navigating Conversations About Body Image With Your Teen - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

In this course we will cover body image and weight for today's teens.

The instructor will be Dr. Charlotte Markey, a professor of psychology and chair of the Health Sciences Department at Rutgers University, and a research scientist who has published over 100 scholarly articles and chapters about mental health issues. She has been conducting research on eating behavior and body image for over 25 years. Dr. Markey is the author of The Body Image Book for Girls, Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys, and most recently, Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life.

This course covers the following learning objectives:

• Identify 3 risk factors for teens that may develop an eating disorder.

• Explain how different genders struggle with body image.

• List 3 protective factors parents can add to a child's life that they see struggling with body image.

• Understand the impact of social media and mainstream media on body image and identity development.

To register: Creating a Family - NCBIWYT

Maintaining Connection with an Angry Kid - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

In this course we will cover a trauma informed approach to anger managment.

The instructor will be Jessica Sinarski, a certified adoption therapist and author of the picture books, Riley the Brave, and the Your Magic Backpack series. She serves on the editorial board for The Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and on the board of directors at Cardinal McCloskey Community Services, the largest Head Start provider in the Bronx, NY. 

This course covers the following learning objectives:

• Understand how trauma impacts a child's ability to regulate their emotions.

• List 4 steps to manage natural feelings of anger.

• Describe 3 proactive ways parents and caregivers can help teach their children to regulate their emotions and deal with anger.

To register: Creating a Family - MCAK

How to Avoid Triggering and Being Triggered by Our Kids - Creating a Family Adoption and Foster Care Education

This course will cover why triggers happen and how to respond to them.

Do your child's reactions seem bigger than they should be to everyday events? Are your reactions sometimes a bit too big? What causes us to get triggered by our kids or to trigger them? In this course, talk with Dr. Tripp Ake, a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience in the field of child trauma treatment. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and the program director for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

This course covers the following learning objectives:

•       Identify the cause of triggering as the result of trauma.

•       Explain the difference between being triggered and being annoyed.

•       Give an example of how a child's behavior can trigger a trauma response in the child.

•       List two universal tips for improving a child's behavior.

To register: Creating a Family - HATBTOK

Counselling on Access to Lethal Means – Zero Suicide

Learn how to reduce access to methods that people use to die by suicide.

Reducing access to lethal means, such as firearms and medication, can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies.

This course is about how to reduce access to the methods people use to kill themselves. It covers who needs lethal means counseling and how to work with people at risk for suicide—and their families—to reduce access.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain that reducing access to lethal means is an evidence-based strategy for suicide prevention.

• Explain how reducing access to lethal means can prevent suicide.

• Identify clients for whom lethal means counseling is appropriate.

• Describe strategies for raising the topic of lethal means, and feel more comfortable and competent applying these strategies with clients.

• Advise clients on specific off-site and in-home secure storage options for firearms and strategies to limit access to dangerous medications.

• Work with your clients and their families to develop a specific plan to reduce access to lethal means and follow up on the plan over time.

Audience: While this course is primarily designed for mental health professionals, others who work with people at risk for suicide, such as health care providers and social service professionals, may also benefit.

To register: Zero Suicide

Curanderismo: Traditional Healing Using Plants – University of New Mexico

Learn about how plants are used in traditional Hispanic/Latino healing medicine.

As one of four courses on Curanderismo, the art of Hispanic/Latino traditional medicine, this course focuses specifically on the use of plants in traditional healing. As an educational and cultural platform, this course will share the history, influences, and contributions of traditional medicine. Trained traditional healers will share their knowledge of the healing properties of plants commonly found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico through practical applications that can still be used today. Learners will not become certified traditional healers at the completion of this course but will be able apply basic principles or traditional medicine to approach health and illnesses. They will become familiar specifically with the use of plants for the digestive and nervous systems; how to prepare tinctures and microdosis for healing; how to use juice therapy and geotherapy (clay combined with plants) for treatments; and the use of herbal oils and herbal smoke for healing.

To register: Coursera – UNM – C:THUP

Curanderismo: Traditional Healing of the Mind, Energy & Spirit – University of New Mexico

Learn ways to support your mind, energy, and spirit, through Hispanic/Latino traditional medicine.

As the third of four courses on Curanderismo, the art of Hispanic/Latino traditional medicine, this course focuses specifically on traditional healing of mind, energy and spirit. As an educational and cultural platform, this course will share a number of traditional body therapies. Trained traditional healers will share their knowledge of cleansings from different cultures such as spiritual, energetic and Tonalli Cleansing.

Learners will not become certified traditional healers at the completion of this course but will be able apply basic principles or traditional medicine for health and illnesses. They will become familiar specifically with the traditional therapy of the sweat lodge temazcal, laugh therapy risaterapia and they will learn about the creation of sacred spaces and healing grief through Día de los Muertos.

To register: Coursera – UNM – C:ThMES

Psychological First Aid – Johns Hopkins University

Learn to provide psychological first aid to people in an emergency by employing the RAPID model: Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition.

Utilizing the RAPID model (Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition), this specialized course provides perspectives on injuries and trauma that are beyond those physical in nature. The RAPID model is readily applicable to public health settings, the workplace, the military, faith-based organizations, mass disaster venues, and even the demands of more commonplace critical events, e.g., dealing with the psychological aftermath of accidents, robberies, suicide, homicide, or community violence. In addition, the RAPID model has been found effective in promoting personal and community resilience. Participants will increase their abilities to: - Discuss key concepts related to PFA - Listen reflectively - Differentiate benign, non-incapacitating psychological/ behavioral crisis reactions from more severe, potentially incapacitating, crisis reactions - Prioritize (triage) psychological/ behavioral crisis reactions - Mitigate acute distress and dysfunction, as appropriate - Recognize when to facilitate access to further mental health support - Practice self-care

To register: Coursera – JHU – PFA

The Science of Well-Being for Teens – Yale

A course for youth on how to be happy, less stressed, and thrive during their youth and into adulthood.

A recent survey found that 37% of teens say they have poor mental health. This 6-week course aims to curb this mental health crisis by bringing together the best insights from Dr. Laurie Santos’ popular Yale course Psychology and the Good Life. In this course, you will explore what the field of psychology teaches us about how to be happier, how to feel less stressed, and how to thrive in high school and beyond. The lessons along with short weekly ‘happiness homework’ assignments will ultimately prepare you to put these scientific findings into practice. The ultimate goal is for you to feel better and build healthier habits. Parents, teachers, and other professionals supporting teenagers may also find the course beneficial.

To register: Coursera – Yale TSWBT

Mindfulness and Well-being Specialization – RICE University

A 3 course series on the benefits of mindfulness to educate and provide moments for practice and self-reflection.

The goal of the specialization is to showcase the ways in which the practice of mindfulness is an effective means of enhancing and maintaining optimal health and overall well-being that can be implemented in every aspect of daily living. The intention of the Specialization is to supply learners with practical tools to support thriving in life. Each course will feature mindfulness practices, directions for implementation and application, experiential exercises and reflection opportunities.

Applied Learning Project

Each week, there will be lectures to watch, discussions to contribute to, and short quizzes to assess your learning. You will also have the opportunity to practice mindfulness yourself, and you will find different ways to try it out when you complete the weekly challenges/experiences.

To register: Coursera – RICE - MWBS

Music for Wellness – Berklee College of Music

Learn how music can be a valuable tool in supporting your well-being.

You love music. You listen to music all the time. Maybe you sing, play an instrument, or compose music. You don’t need to have musical talent to use music to enhance your well being, and even your health.

Learn simple techniques to enrich your mind, body, and spirit through music. The methods can be applied in your daily life, particularly when you are feeling down or stressed out. Developed by a board-certified music therapist and a vocalist/pianist/composer/recording artist specializing in Indian music, these strategies combine science with the wisdom of Eastern philosophy. In the course, discover how to unlock your creativity. You will learn not only how to listen to music in a new way, but also how to listen to the impact that music has on you. You will find out how to care for yourself by practicing coping techniques that are supported by music that is special to you.

To register: Coursera – Berklee MW