The Kern County Chapter of the American Red Cross presents:
Red Cross Certification Course in Fundamentals of
Disaster Mental Health (6.5 CE)
When: February 27, 2010
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(lunch on your own from 12:30-1:30 p.m.)
Where: American Red Cross -- Kern Chapter
5035 Gilmore Ave
P.O. Box 1226
Bakersfield, CA 93308
Office: (661) 324-6427
24 Hour: 1-800-951-5600
Mobile: (661) 340-5067
Fax: (661) 321-0744
REGISTRATION WILL BE LIMITED, SO CALL NOW!
There is no Fee for this Workshop.
COURSE PURPOSE:
This one-day Red Cross course provides an overview of Disaster Services and
mental health fieldwork, and places mental health services in the context of
modern disaster operations. The purpose of the course is to prepare licensed
mental health professionals to provide for and respond to the psychological
needs of people across the continuum of disaster preparedness, response, and
recovery. Topics covered include:
 The Red Cross Response (examines the Red Cross Mission and the role of
the DMH in disaster mental health settings);
 Working with Adult Disaster Clients (examines common disaster reactions,
Rapid Triage, and identification of mental health resources);
 Meeting the Needs of Children & Families (examines developmental
perspectives of disaster response and mental health strategies);
 Supporting the Red Cross Staff (examines guidelines for DAT support);
 Organizational Stress Management (examines DRO stress);
 Professional, Ethical, and Legal Issues (examines HIPAA, Red Cross Code
of Conduct, Confidentiality, and other issues under the Red Cross
umbrella);
 Becoming Involved (examines local chapter and National assignments);
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
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Identify the American Red Cross Fundamental Principles and mission, the
disaster services structure and the disaster settings in which mental health
professionals’ work.
Describe the collaborative relationships the Red Cross has with federal,
state and county agencies, national and state mental health associations
and other voluntary agencies.
Describe the mental health role in Red Cross disaster response and
recovery and the context within which disaster services are provided.
Recognize the psychological impact of disasters on adults, children,
families and communities.
Apply the interventions used by Red Cross mental health workers with
clients, including adults, children, families, responders and disaster
workers.
Describe the legal and ethical implications of disaster mental health work,
including licensing, HIPAA regulations, confidentiality and professional
ethics.
Identify opportunities for becoming involved with American Red Cross
Disaster Mental Health through their local chapters and the Disaster
Services Human Resources (DSHR) System.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
This course supersedes a previous two-day course, Disaster Mental Health I, and
provides important updates on developments in disaster mental health practice.
Those who completed the previous course must be re-certified by taking this
course in order to now be eligible to work with Red Cross in a disaster mental
health capacity.
This course is open only to mental health professionals holding a currently valid
license to independently practice a mental health specialty (license issued by
California State) which include: Marriage and Family Therapists, Psychiatrists,
Psychologists, Licensed Social Workers, and Registered Nurses (RN) with
psychiatric nursing experience and course beyond the normal rotation required
for a RN.
Prerequisite: Completion online of the very brief Red Cross course, "Introduction
to Disasters", which can be viewed at: www.redcross.org/flash/course01_v01/
It will be assumed that participants have viewed this brief course prior to the
scheduled course, using the honor system. Please bring print-out of last page of
course to workshop.
Bring with you a photocopy of both your mental health license to practice, and a
government-issued photo ID. Unless you request otherwise, this will be retained
by Red Cross and kept on file in order to facilitate any deployment, which you
may agree to participate in with Red Cross. If you wish to be kept on a
deployment list, you will need to mail future renewals of your license to Red
Cross as issued. Retired mental health professionals are welcome in Red Cross,
but must maintain their state license to practice.
Presenter: Shelia Clark, Ph.D.
Shelia Clark, Ph.D., is dual-licensed, as a California State Licensed Psychologist
and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has near 30 years of clinical
experience. She was a member of the Los Angeles Chapter Disaster Mental
Health Team for about ten years, following its initial formation about two
decades ago. She was a member of the first National training class (1996) for
Red Cross Airline Disaster assistance. Currently, Dr. Clark is a practicing
psychotherapist, who has many years of experience in trauma treatment,
including being on mental health assignment at the Northridge earthquake FEMA
disaster center. She is a Founding Director of the California Family Counseling
Network, Inc., (CFCN) a charitable non-profit which specializes in mental health
education. Currently, CFCN is the fiscal sponsor for an up-coming fundraiser for
Kern County Red Cross, called the Center of the World Festival, an amateur
playwright competition for peaceful conflict resolution 10-minute plays.
The Fundamentals of Disaster Mental Health course meets the qualifications for
6.5 hours of continuing education credit.
For MFTs, LCSWs and R.N.s, CEUs are available through the Pine Mountain
Institute; by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Provider #2309 and by
the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider #13577. For further
information, contact the Pine Mountain Institute, 2624 Teakwood Court, Box
6775, Pine Mountain Club, CA 93222 (661) 242-2624;
www.PineMountainInstitute.com
For Licensed Psychologists, CEU is available through the American Psychological
Association Disaster Response Network, Practice Directorate, 750 First Street,
NE, Washington, DC 20002; 800-374-2723; www.apa.org/practice/programs/drn;
click right menu for: 1) APA CE Course Evaluation Form; and 2) APA CE
Attendance Form
Certificates will be available on-site the day of workshop.