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MED 300 SM 550 Relaxation Strategies Syllabus

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Printable Copy of The ExamAccess Online ExamCourse Evaluation Form

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to the online CE course; “Relaxation Strategies.” This online continuing education course for mental health professionals is a foundational course in relaxation theories, methods and strategies. It is provided at the intermediate level of complexity for mental health professionals who are acquiring knowledge and skills to work with and teach clients therapeutic modalities in the behavioral sciences and practices of meditation as well as stress management and guided imagery.  This course provides mental health professionals a comprehensive overview of breath work, concentration and their physiological effects on the central nervous system. Professional mental health practitioners will study anatomy and physiology related to breath work as well as physiology and anatomy of the nervous system.  They will examine various types of breath work, the use of mantras and the elicitation of the relaxation response, with an emphasis on teaching clients to use these therapeutic modalities as therapeutic behavioral treatment interventions in acute settings and over the long-term.  Research outcomes related to meditation and relaxation techniques and their positive effects on mental as well as physical and spiritual wellness are examined. Guided imagery is examined in detail and mental health professionals will learn various methods of its use in clinical practice in-order to work with clients to achieve greater quality outcomes in behavioral health care. The effective use of guided imagery in everyday stress management is also examined.  This course provides a solid intermediary foundation of knowledge for mental health professionals seeking knowledge and skills to become proficient in relaxation modalities with which to expand their professional practices to offer more comprehensive and highly effective, evidence-based interventions to their clients. This course is also particularly designed for mental health professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers who are interested in achieving certifications as a Meditation Instructor and/or a Stress Management Consultant with the AIHCP.

Upon successful completion of this course, students are awarded 35 contact hours of continuing education creditsCourse Code: MED 300/SM 550.

Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here

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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: Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D, MBA,RN-BC, ANP-BC, GC-C
Link to Resume: access here

Email: info@aihcp.org

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 (3) required textbook for this course and one (1) audio.

The Relaxation Response. By, Herbert Benson. New York: Avon Books.1975 ISBN #: 0380006766

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

Beyond the Relaxation Response. By, Herbert Benson. New York: Berkley Books.1984. ISBN #: 0425081834

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing. (Available in Several Audio Formats.) by Dr. Andrew Weil. Boulder: Sounds True. 1999. ISBN #: 1564557308

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

The Worry Solution: Using Your Healing Mind to Turn Stress and Anxiety into Better Health and Happiness. By: Martin Rossman, M.D. New York: Harmony Books; 2010. :ISBN-10: 0307718247 ISBN-13: 978-0307718242

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

How to Proceed in the Course:

Please read/study the materials in the following order:

  1. The Relaxation Response. By, Herbert Benson. New York:Avon Books.1975 ISBN #: 038000676
  2. Beyond the Relaxation Response. By, Herbert Benson. New York:Berkley Books.1984. ISBN #: 0425081834
  3. Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing. Audio cassette by Dr. Andrew Weil. Boulder:Sounds True. 1999. ISBN #: 1564557308
  4. The Worry Solution: Using Your Healing Mind to Turn Stress and Anxiety into Better Health and Happiness. By: Martin Rossman, M.D. New York: Harmony Books; 2010. : ISBN-10: 0307718247 ISBN-13: 978-0307718242

As you are reading/studying the materials, it best to first print out the printable copy of the course examination and follow it and respond to the questions as your progress. The printable copy of the examination is easily found at the top of this Syllabus page, just above the “Course Overview.”

Additional Assignment:

VIDEO REVIEWS

You are to click on the following links and watch these Videos on You Tube. These are supplemental learning videos for this course.

  1. The Relaxation Response: By Dr. Herbert Benson: Access here
  2. The Relaxation Revolution: Enhancing Health Through Mind Body Healing: By Dr. Herbert Benson: Access here 
  3. Breathwork Exercises: By:Angela Buttimer, LPC: Access here 
  4. Responding to stress | Processing the Environment | MCAT | Khan Academy, By: Ryan Scott Patton: Access here
  5. Guided Meditation for Beginners with Deepak Chopra: Access here 
  6. Debunking the 5 Most Common Meditation Myths: By: Light Watkins: Access here

GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 75% to complete this course and receive the 35 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 75% 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 Meditation and Stress Management. 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 Meditation and Stress Management!

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We host a private (students only) Facebook page for Meditation. This page is dedicated for private use by all students in our Meditation, Stress Management and Crisis Intervention 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 meditation 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 Meditation and Stress Management.
  • 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 Stress Management 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 Meditation 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 Meditation Instruction Public Facebook page

Click here to access the Meditation Instruction Private Facebook page

Click here to access the Stress Management Private Facebook page

Click here to Join the AIHCP 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 meditation and stress management 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 Meditation and stress management, 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:

  1. Discuss common diseases/conditions that are related to stress and be able to incorporate this knowledge in your overall assessment skills when evaluating clients in clinical mental health practices.
  1. Discuss the “flight-fight” response in the body and how to assess its presence from a physical and psychological perspective when assessing a client in clinical practice.
  2. Describe the anatomy/physiology of the brain and nervous system related to the “flight-fight” response.
  3. Explain how to best describe the “flight-fight” response to clients you are working with to enhance their understanding of this physiological response to their stress
  4. Discuss the physiology of neurotransmitters and the role they play in modulating stress and anxiety.
  1. Discuss the physiology of the parasympathetic nervous system and how you can teach clients to use the relaxation response to active this part of the parasympathetic nervous system to induce a physiological relaxation.
  2. Describe the elicitation of the relaxation response and how mental health professionals can teach their clients to correctly elicit this response as a therapeutic modality.
  3. Describe what is meant by hypertension and define its pathological effects on the body.
  4. Describe the condition of chronic arousal of the flight-fight response and how mental health professionals can educate their clients on the signs and symptoms of this chronic arousal and counter it with proper application of the relaxation response and appropriate breath work.
  1. Explain how biofeedback works to reduce stress in working with clients in a mental health practice and learn to discuss with clients the benefits to them of working with biofeedback.
  2. Compare the various levels of brain waves and their effect on consciousness and relation to stress, relaxation and meditation.
  3. Explain the concept and practice of meditation and its evidence-based quality outcomes for clients seeking mental health care.
  4. Discuss the physiological effects of meditation on the body, mind, and spirit and teach clients these physiological outcomes to enhance their understanding of the overall and holistic benefits of meditation.
  1. Discuss how meditation leads to relaxation and stress reduction, and prepare mental health care professionals to in turn teach their clients these important principles when teaching meditation methods.
  2. Compare the differences between meditation, hypnosis and the relaxation response.
  3. Discuss the potential for altered states of consciousness that occur in meditation practice, and instruct mental health professionals how to instruct their clients to deal effectively, safely and therapeutically with altered states and brain wave pattern changes.
  4. Discuss the central factors that lead to elicitation of the relaxation response and instruct clients in the various methods that can be used to elicit the response.
  5. Critique research studies related to the relaxation response and its effect on blood pressure.
  6. Discuss potential difficulties for elicitation of the relaxation response and how mental health professionals can instruct their clients to properly overcome such difficulties.
  1. Discuss the use of mantras in meditation practice and how to teach clients to use them in their ongoing meditation and relaxation modalities and stress reduction practices.
  2. Explain how practices of meditation relate to various world religions and prepare mental health professionals to respond to client’s questions regarding meditation practices, religion and spirituality.
  1. Discuss the “faith factor,” and how it may influence a client’s response to the process and outcomes of undertaking relaxation strategies including meditation practices and other related processes.
  2. Explain placebo and how it has been used in studies related to meditation and other related and similar relaxation modalities.
  1. Discuss issues of “trust” and “belief” and how they impact provider/patient relationships and assess their impact on your own relationships with your clients as you work with them in teaching relaxation strategy applications and modalities.
  2. Critique outcome studies related to mental states and emotions in disease states, and prepare to share these outcomes to peers and clients as a meditation instructor or stress management consultant.
  3. Discuss how one can have more conscious control over elicitation of relaxation and be able to teach clients techniques to use their conscious control for more effective elicitation of the relaxation response.
  1. Explain”prana” and what it means in relation to meditation and teach clients its meaning to enhance their understanding of breath work and the overall dynamics of relaxation strategies on the body/mind/spirit.
  2. Discuss and demonstrate proper breath from a physical standpoint and prepare the mental health professional to in turn teach their clients how to perform effective breath work from a physical/mechanical perspective.
  3. Explain outcomes related to breath work and spirituality and be prepared to review these with clients in the clinical setting.
  4. Discuss possible dangers and pitfalls of excessive use of breathing strategies and prepare the mental health professional in teaching and assisting their clients in having a solid understanding of the need to avoid excessive use of these strategies.
  1. Describe the manifestations of an over-active sympathetic nervous system and be able to instruct clients as to the manifestation and how to rapidly take control over this phenomenon.
  2. Explain “bellows breath” and how it is used/elicited and prepare the mental health professional to teach clients to use this breath technique as a therapeutic modality.
  3. Compare and discuss worry, stress and anxiety and prepare to identify in clinical practice which one or ones the client is dealing with.
  4. Discuss how worry, anxiety and stress effect brain and body physiology and be able to identify outward manifestations in client behaviors and presentations.
  1. Discuss how worry, anxiety and stress effect our thinking and behavior and be able to incorporate such findings in the clinical assessment of clients.
  2. Discuss guided imagery, how it works and why it works, and how it is used as a therapeutic modality in professional behavioral health care.
  3. Explain and discuss positive worry and how to use it when working with clients in clinical practice.
  4. Discuss the Worry Solution Model and how it is applied in clinical practice.
  1. Utilize guided imagery techniques for mastering worry and stress and prepare to use them as a highly therapeutic behavioral health care intervention in clinical practice.
  2. Plan how to incorporate guided imagery into meditation practices with clients and teach clients to use self- guided imagery in their own on-going meditation and stress management, relaxation strategies programs.

COURSE CONTENT:

A brief abstract of content:

1. Anatomy/physiology related to stress responses on the central nervous system.
2. Neurotransmitters and hormones that influence flight-fight reactions.
3. The relaxation response and how to teach clients to elicit it
4. Disease states linked to chronic stress and how mental health professionals can incorporate it into their assessments
5. Bodily response measurements in flight-fight reactions for client assessments
6. Elements for eliciting the relaxation response for teaching clients
7. Cellular physiology related to stress and the relaxation response
8. Hypertension and its pathologic consequences
9. Organs of the body targeted and effected by stress for client assessment
10. Types/classifications of hypertension
11. Anatomy/physiology of the brain related to flight-fight response
12. Chronic stress and disease as related to client assessments and health prevention
13. Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and assessment of symptoms and presentations by clients
14. Biofeedback as a therapeutic intervention in stress reduction management
15. Brain wave activity and measurements for client assessment and evaluation of relaxation strategies
16. Physiological responses to meditation as outcomes evaluators in clinical practice
17. Hypnosis and trance states
19. Autogenic training modalities for use in clinical practice
20. Research studies related to meditation and disease states
21. Effects of meditation on drug users and implications in client therapies
22. Meditation and states of consciousness and their use in clinical practices
23. Mantras and their therapeutic use in clinical practice with clients
24. Feelings/emotions elicited by meditation practices
25. Meditation and religious practices as a holistic model of relaxation therapies
26. The “faith factor” and its effects on disease states
27. Body testing during meditation as an evaluation tool for outcomes evaluations
28. Psychogenic epidemics
29. The “faith factor” and its effects on terminal illnesses
30. The placebo effect as an evaluation tool in clinical practice
31. Bellows breath as an effective therapeutic modality in relaxation therapies
32. Effective breathing strategies that are evidence-based for use in practice
33. Autonomic nervous system control and how to teach clients conscious control
34. Meditation and spiritual awareness
35. Aggravating factors of various disease states and health prevention with relaxation strategies
36. Prana and energy health care
37. Overuse of breath work strategies and how to avoid this phenomenon
38. Breath work and physiologic changes for client assessments/evaluations
39. Evaluation of breath work strategies
40. Comparisons of worry, stress and anxiety for client assessments
41. Physiological responses to worry, stress and anxiety for client assessments and evaluations of therapeutic interventions
42. Behavioral responses to worry, stress and anxiety
43. Neurophysiology and anatomy related to stress, worry and anxiety
44. Guided imagery techniques and models to be used in client practices as evidence-based therapeutic modalities with clients
45. The Worry Solution Model for meditation and stress management and how to use it with clients
46. Guided Imagery in clinical practice and how to effectively utilize it with clients in clinical practice