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GC 686 Family Divorce Therapy Syllabus

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Printable Copy of The ExamAccess Online ExamCourse Evaluation Form

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to the online CE course; GC 686 – Family Divorce Therapy

Upon successful completion of this course, students are awarded 30 contact hours of continuing education creditsCourse Code: GC 686.

This course is designed as a resource for the study of divorce and it’s impact on families, focusing a great deal on children.  For professionals who counsels clients before, during and after a divorce it provides solid information, specific suggestions and an overall view of the entire process of divorce as it impacts all involved.  Due to the fact that almost 50% of all marriages end in divorce, this course provides much needed current information on a wide range of subjects, including the grief and loss experienced by the parties involved, especially the children..

It is an invaluable guide for therapists, counselors, lawyers and mediators.

Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here

Single or divorced woman alone missing a boyfriend while swinging on the beach at sunset

This Course is Board approved. The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is an Approved Provider for Continuing Education by the South Carolina Professional Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists and Psycho-Educational Specialists licensing board, Provider # 4637.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is a licensed Continuing Education Provider in the State of California, Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CEP 15595. Access Info

Instructor/Course Author: Kim Phillips Cumiskey, MS, GC-C

Email: elmira905@aol.com

This is a guided, independent study CE Course. You are to study and progress at your own rate. There are no written assignments. It is recommended that you follow this process for completion of the course :

1. Order your textbook for the course. Information and a link to order the book online are presented below.

2. Review the course objectives.

3. You are required to read/review all chapters in the assigned textbook, unless otherwise indicated by your instructor in this syllabus. As you read/review each chapter, you may want to stop and identify the corresponding questions on the exam related to the material of that chapter, and answer the questions on your printed out copy of the examination. You can obtain a printed copy of your examination simply by clicking on the link at the top of this syllabus “Printable Copy of The Exam.” This will allow you to work with your exam as you study the text book (s) and progress through your course. Then, when you have completed your examination using the printable copy, you will be ready to transfer your responses into the computer based examination program for final submission and grading. You can proceed doing this with each chapter, until you have completed your study of the textbook. Please read/review each chapter in sequence. Do not “skip” ahead, as each chapter builds upon the materials in the previous chapter.

4. Once you have completed all of the chapters in the textbook, you can proceed to your final online examination by clicking the “Access Online Exam” link below the course banner at the top of this syllabus. You can also download the exam as a PDF file by clicking on the “Printable Copy of The Exam” link next to Access Online Exam. If you wish you can print this file out as a printed off copy of your examination. Once you access the online exam you will see a screen that will ask you to input your Name, E-mail address, and your student ID/AH Number (AH####). Please fill out all of the requested information accurately. If you do not, we will not be able to identify who took the exam and your answers will be lost. The following slide will welcome you to your exam and present the introduction slide with further instructions on how to take the exam. Answer the questions to the best of your ability. There is only ONE correct response for each question.

5. When you have answered the final question, it will ask you to submit your answers. It will then show you your grade for the exam, and if you passed the exam it will allow you to review your answers. If you passed, the close button in the bottom right hand corner will take you to the course evaluation form. At which time, please fill out an evaluation so your grade can be processed. Once received, we will send you an e-mailed copy of your exam with the correct and incorrect answers.

5a. If you did not pass your examination, you will receive a notification stating failed. You will not receive any feedback on your answers. Please press the close button on the bottom right hand corner to exit your exam. At which point, contact the Assistant Executive Director @ Mark@aihcp.org,  for a chance to retake the exam. If you fail on your second attempt, you will fail the course and have to pay to retake it.

6. If you have successfully completed the examination with a passing score, we will process your CE Certificate, which will include the course title, the awarded contact hours of continuing education, and the date of completion. Your CE certificate will be e-mailed to you as a PDF file. You can expect to receive your certificate (via e-mailed PDF file) within 2-3 business days upon receipt of the completed evaluation form. No CE Course Certificate will be processed without a completed course evaluation. If you missed the course evaluation link after the exam, you can alternatively click the “Course Evaluation Form” at the top of this syllabus. Please note that the Organizations and the licensing Boards that provide our CE approvals all require that a course evaluation be completed by the course participant before a CE Course Certificate may be awarded; as such there are no exceptions. A course evaluation must be completed in order to receive your CE Course Certificate.

TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.

TEXTBOOKS: There are two (2) required textbooks for this course.

Healthy Children of Divorce in 10 Simple Steps Shannon Rios Paulsen, MS, LMFT 

Amazon Link

Family Divorce Therapy 101, Transitions Resources, LLC – 108pp.

Amazon Link

GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 30 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by AIHCP and will be permitted one more attempt to retake the online examination.

FINAL EXAMINATION: It is recommended that you click on the “Printable Copy of Exam” near the top of the syllabus. It will download as a PDF file. Below are detailed instructions on how to take your exam.

1). When ready to start your final examination for the course, please click on the “Access Online Exam” link near the top of the syllabus.

2). You will be prompted to input your Name, E-mail Address, and Student ID # (AH####). You must fill this out, the exam will not allow you to proceed if you do not. It is very important that you use your full name, your valid e-mail address and your student ID/AH Number. If you do not input your correct information, we will have no way of identifying your exam and it will be deleted! All unidentifiable exams are deleted!

3). Next you will be taken to the introduction screen for your exam. There will be detailed instructions on how to take the online exam. Please review them and when ready click the “Continue” button on the bottom right hand side of the screen to begin your exam.

4). When you have answered all of the questions and are happy with your answers, the exam will prompt you to either “SUBMIT ALL” or “RETURN TO EXAM”. If you are ready press “SUBMIT ALL”.

5). If you received a passing score, you will receive a “Congratulations, you passed” screen with a green check mark. You will have a chance to review your questions and answers. A copy of your exam will be e-mailed to you within 1-2 business days.

5a). If you failed the exam, you will receive a “You did not pass” with a red X. You will have no chance to review your questions and answers. At this point, please contact Administration, Mark D. Moran, Assistant Executive Director for instructions on re-taking the online examination. You may retake the online examination one time. You will receive full instructions regarding the re-take of the examination.

6). After receiving a passing score, click the “CLOSE” button in the bottom right hand corner to close out of the exam and be redirected to the course evaluation form. You must fill out the course evaluation form in order for your grade to be processed and for you to receive an CE certification.

Note: all of our Examinations are Copy Written

COURSE EVALUATION: upon submitting your responses to the examination questions, you are required to complete the online Course Evaluation Form.  This will take you directly to the online evaluation form. Complete the evaluation and be sure to click the “submit” button. CE certificates will not be sent unless a course evaluation is completed.

COMMUNICATION: this is a self-directed, independent study course. However, you may certainly submit to us questions or comments regarding the course materials. We will be sure to forward any questions you may have to the author of the course. You will then receive a follow-up response from the author. All of our course authors are fully educated and credentialed in the practice of Grief Counseling. You may email any questions to: info@aihcp.org. Please be sure to include the full title of the course you are in, as well as the course code (provided above). If you have any questions at all or need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT CENTER: Our Technical Support Center is open Monday-Friday; 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST).  You may e-mail technical support at: admn@aihcp.org   You may also phone us at: 330-652-7776. If you leave an e-mail after normal business hours, the Support Center will respond to you as soon as they open up the next business day.

INTERACTIVE STUDENT FACEBOOK GROUP
Please join the Interactive Facebook Group for Grief Counseling!

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We host a private (students only) Facebook page for Grief Counseling. This page is dedicated for private use by all students in our grief counseling courses. We highly encourage all of our students to “join” this private group. The group is used for:

  • Providing interactions between all students in the grief counseling education program.
  • All members may post on the page as well as download documents and photos.
  • Interactions between students and faculty.
  • Meeting new colleagues/friends who have the same interests in grief counseling.
  • Providing a medium for Chat sessions among members of the group.
  • Providing new information to all student on an ongoing basis via posts in the room.
  • Stimulating discussions related to grief counseling and other professional issues/topics.
  • Sharing articles, links to recommended websites, links to videos as well as links to events and other education resources.
  • Our staff provides up to date articles for your review. Articles are added almost on a daily basis. Reviewing the information is voluntary but highly recommended.

Joining the private Facebook group is voluntary. We do highly encourage you to join and participate. Your participation will enhance your learning and provide a platform for networking with your colleagues. Join the group today! You must ask for permission to join this group. Our staff will receive your permission notice and will verify your student status and then authorize your membership to the group page.

Important Information: You must have a Facebook account to join this group. If you have a Facebook account, just click on the link below and you will be taken to the Facebook sign in page. You would then log into your account. You will be on the Grief Counseling private group page. Once you have clicked on the link, a notice will be sent to our administrative office and you will be authorized to the page. On your Facebook page, the group page will be listed on the left hand side of your page. You can click it at any time and enter the private page. If you do not have a Facebook account, it is easy to open one. The link below will take you to the sign in page and you can click on the link to open an account. Facebook accounts are free.

Click here to access the Grief Counseling Private Facebook page

Click here to Join the American Academy of Grief Counseling Public Face Book Page

AIHCP BLOG: Please visit our interactive web blog. Students and certified members are encouraged to visit our blog frequently. You will find useful articles, news, posts and much more related to the specialty area of Certification you are pursuing. Click the link above to access the blog. Then, click on the link on the right hand side that corresponds to the subject area you are studying. Feel free to posts replies, comments and news. Register to become active on the blog and contribute your own unique information for all to see and share. Sharing and interacting with your peers is an excellent learning process. By sharing you contribute to the ever growing body of knowledge in your specialty area.

STUDENT RESOURCE CENTER: Please access our student resource center. The Resource Center contains all of our current policies, as well as important information regarding classroom and examination accesses. Also included are trouble-shooting tips when a student has any difficulties with classroom or examination accesses. The Resource Center also provides other information regarding our continuing education and certification programs. Access to online libraries is also provided. To Access the Student Resource Center: click here.

Discussion Boards:  Please access the Discussion Boards by clicking on the Tab on the left side of your computer screen. The Discussion Boards are provided for our students as means to communicate with others taking courses in our Grief Counseling Courses and Programs.  You have full access to the Discussion Boards throughout the time you are enrolled in a course. They are a great means to meet others who are studying grief counseling, exchange ideas, post questions and ideas, provide responses to other’s questions, provide links to outside resources and more.  Once you access the Discussion Boards, simply follow the instructions to create your own account and start reading and posting.

E-Learning Library: Please access our E-Learning Library by clicking on the Tab on the left side of your computer screen. The E-Learning Library is a free service for all of our students. It is an ever-growing library of FREE E-Books that you may access at any time. The books are produced by us professionally on a wide array of health care related topics. You may read and or download them for later references. We frequently add new E-Books to the library on an on-going basis. The E-Books are not related to this course and so are not required readings for this course.

Malpractice Insurance: Many are interested in seeking out companies that provide health care professional malpractice insurance. We have compiled a list of companies that you may contact directly regarding this. Most companies will provide you with a quote online. For information, click here.

Submit a Testimonial: Students and certified members may submit a testimonial to our public Testimonials Page. Visitors to our website, especially those considering our certification programs, are keenly interested in hearing about the experiences of health care professionals who are enrolled in our programs. To submit a Testimonial, simply access the online Form: Access Here. You may also preview our current Testimonials Page Here.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Assumptions and expectations dealing with the courts, lawyers, spouse and therapist are explored and either confirmed or debunked.
  •  Understanding the necessary preparations one needs to make before beginning the divorce process.
  • Discusses the differences between using litigation or the courts, and the pros and cons of each
  • How to recognize and deal with all forms of abuse and manipulation during the divorce process
  • How parents can relieve stressors for children.  The stages of grief  experienced by children before, during and after divorce.  Learning how each age group most likely will respond to what is happening.
  • A general example of what a good parenting plan might include.
  •  Recognizing and trying to minimize the risks for your children.  Learning to co-parent effectively.
  •  What control you actually have regarding your future and how to implement those goals.
  •  Conflicts between co-parents and how to minimize them for the sake of the children.
  • Explains in detail why and how children of divorce do better in the long run  if they have two parents supporting them.
  • Where you might be in the grief process and what steps you need to take to heal.
  • Explains the cycle of grief in divorce, and how the adults involved have the responsibility to move forward, if for nothing else, for the sake of the children.
  • Dating is a big risk factor for your child.  Learn how to do it  responsibly.
  • Ways to ensure that you are as healthy as possible, both mentally and physically, is something you owe your child and yourself.
  • Explains how, when and where to tell your child about the upcoming divorce.
  • Focuses on setting healthy boundaries with your co-parent and your child.
  • Suggestions for listening to and connecting with your child.
  •  “Parents Promise” a document created by children of divorce for children of divorce.

 

COURSE CONTENT:

“Family Divorce Therapy 101”

Chapter 1.  Average timeline of the Divorce Process in Most States

Chapter 2.  Minimizing Adult Wounding of Divorce (Re-aligning Expectations)

Chapter 3.  Empowering Divorcing Clients with Education/Resources

Chapter 4.  The Long-term Family Value of Mediation versus Litigation

Chapter 5.  Preparing Clients for Abusive Tactics in Divorcing Couples

Chapter 6.  The Importance of Minimizing Child Wounding of Divorce

Chapter 7.  Sample Parenting Plan

Chapter 8.  Guiding Your Clients on Healthy Co-Parenting Skills

Chapter 9.  Contributor and Workshop Presenters Biographies

Chapter 10.  Helpful Books and Articles

 

“Healthy Children of Divorce in 10 Simple Steps: Minimize Effects of Divorce on Your Children”

Introduction: Why Read and Complete This Workbook

Chapter 1.  Focus on the Future

Chapter 2.  Establish Healthy Communications

Chapter 3.  Your Child’s Birthright – Allowing Your Child to Love Both of You

Chapter 4.  Letting Go – Moving on With Your Life

Chapter 5.  Be responsible: We All Create Our Life

Chapter 6.  Proceed With Caution:  Your Children Are at Risk!

Chapter 7.  Take Care  of You and Love Yourself: It Takes A Healthy Parent to Raise a Healthy Child

Chapter 8.  Telling Your Children You Are Divorcing and Navigating Parenting Time Schedules

Chapter 9.  Set Healthy Boundaries – With Your Child and Your Co-Parenting

Chapter 10.  Connection With Your Child

Chapter 11.  Embracing the Future: You Can Do This!