As healthcare professionals, we support the mental and physical aspects of care with our clients and patients. WE observe the damaging effects of their stress on a daily basis. Stress is a fact of life and it’s not all detrimental. Unfortunately, many cope with stress in ways that compound the problem. There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress which require change in feeling, thinking and behaving. Through developing emotional resiliency individuals can bounce back to their normal emotional states regardless of stressful events and pressure. This workshop will teach resiliency techniques to enhance the wellness of our clients/patients.

The most common mental illnesses older adult patient/client populations experience include depression, anxiety, dementia, delirium and substance abuse.  Clinicians need to know the signs, symptoms, interventions and treatment strategies to improve care outcomes.  This program will also provide caregiver interventions to support those who are providing non-medical care.

Communicating assertively can increase patient satisfaction, can strengthen decision-making skills, can improve self-esteem, and can result in more satisfying, respectful relationships. Participants will be able to identify factors that prohibit clear and direct communication in patient care settings. Evaluate the dos and don’ts of different communication approaches, and assess the effectiveness of your current communication style. Discover the language, structure, and tone of assertive communication, and its potential to positively impact your patient care experiences and others in your life.

Have you ever had a client/patient who seemed more interested in focusing on their problems instead of solutions? How do you help someone who gets stuck in a perpetual rut? Encouraging clients to be solution focused means helping them focus on what’s going right, determining what has been helpful in the past, and challenging them about what they can do today to create change. Find out how to help clients acknowledge and break negative patterns, ask empowering questions, and replace excuses with positive action.

Is your client’s glass half empty or half full? Optimism has little to do with circumstances and luck and more to do with choices, problem solving and explanatory styles. Long-term pessimism can lead to depression and learned helplessness. But, the goal is not to try and be “happy” all the time. Realistic optimism presents a narrative that includes adversity and challenges in addition to life satisfaction. Learn practical strategies to replace negative thinking with a more positive (and accurate) view.
Objectives:
1) Determine controllable factors to set reasonable expectations.
2) Demonstrate optimistic and pessimistic explanatory styles.
3) Integrate problem-solving strategies to improve client engagement.

The personal environment clients create often is a physical manifestation of how they are feeling on the inside.  When they feel overwhelmed or frazzled, there’s a good chance that all, or some, of their living space appears the same way.  Clutter has emotional roots.  What’s the source of their accumulation:  Guilt?  Fear? Grief? Anger?  Any of these underlying emotions can result in avoidance, indecision, and lack of motivation.
Learn how to help clients organize their space by getting to the heart of the matter.
This course will provide the student with the following objectives:
1. Evaluate underlying emotions and situations that can manifest in physical clutter.
2. Distinguish differences between temporary disorganization and hoarding behavior.
3. Employ interventions to help clients manage uncomfortable feelings to purge clutter and organize the environment.

Whether the goal is to manage or enhance patient/client care or to maximize
communication in patient care settings, it’s important to identify and understand different communication preferences, styles, and needs. Through the use of Myers Briggs and other assessments, participants will gain more awareness of themselves and others and learn what it takes to create supportive environments that encourage the best possible outcomes and care for those that they provide care for.

The disease of addiction has historically been a controversial topic for professionals and consumers alike. Recent scientific advances have revolutionized the understanding of drug abuse and addiction. Addiction is now widely recognized as a chronic, relapsing brain disease. Additionally, the epidemic of opiate addiction requires professionals and consumers proactively understand and monitor medication use that can introduce adolescents through geriatric populations to dependence and addiction. This program will provide a comprehensive overview of addiction, the disease process and the resources available to prevent and treat substance abuse and addiction.

Difficult people can be disruptive in our lives. When difficult and high maintenance people emerge in patient/client care settings, challenges to caring can be significant. This workshop identifies common characteristics of difficult people and identifies the importance high maintenance people can have in our clinical settings. Participants will gain insight into the cause of difficult and high maintenance people and how to develop skillful strategies and techniques for effective coping and management. Workshop participants will feel more confident and self-assured when dealing with difficult patients/clients.

1) Define boundaries and explain how they differ within various relationships; personal, professional & client/patient-centered.
2) Identify the contributing factors to boundary development; both healthy and unhealthy.
3) Explain how to establish healthy boundaries within all relationships. Patient/client examples will be explored with the emphasis on how professional behaviors can impact their healthcare experience.