Mental Health Technician Specialist Program

Our Mental Health Technician Specialist Program focuses on providing a solid background in working with mentally, developmentally, or emotionally impaired individuals. The Mental Health Technician Specialist Program will also focus on abnormal behavior in order to understand abnormal patterns of functioning to better assist professionals with the individual's daily needs.

Mental Health Technician

This Mental Health Technician course provides a solid background in mental health so you can work comfortably with clients who exhibit both effective and maladaptive behaviors. Nurses, case managers, psychiatric technicians, direct care providers, and other health care professionals will increase their awareness and understanding of a holistic view of mental health care with this comprehensive online training program. A variety of therapies and treatments are explored to assist in dealing with psychological or psychosocial problems, such as substance use conditions, medical illnesses, developmental delays and disabilities, and social stressors such as poverty, domestic violence, and homelessness.

Prerequisite(s): None

Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology is a complex and highly interesting field of study. It is also one of the most recognizable and intriguing subfields of study in psychology. Our course will introduce you to the dynamics and prevention of abnormal behavior, including neuroses, psychoses, character disorders, psychosomatic reactions, schizophrenia and other abnormal personality patterns. By taking this course, you will discover the many faces of abnormal psychology and will be challenged to define what is normal and abnormal.

Prerequisite(s): None

Mental Health Technician

Mental Health Technician Module 1

Mental Health Care: Past and Present

• History of Mental Healthcare
• Defining Mental Health
• Community Mental Health Care
• Current Mental Health Care
• Inpatient vs. Outpatient Care
• High-risk Populations
• Ethical and Legal Issues
• Values, Rights, and Ethics
• Legal Liability
• Sociocultural Issues
• Culture, Ethnicity, and Religion
• Cultural Assessment
• Theories and Therapies
• Psychoanalytic Therapies
• Cognitive Theory
• Psychobiology

Mental Health Technician Module 2
Therapeutic Skills

• Complementary and Alternative Therapies
• Whole Medical Systems
• Integrative Medicine
• Psychotherapeutic Drug Therapy
• Antianxiety Agents
• Medication Education
• Skills and Principles of Mental Health Care
• Components of Behavior
• Setting Limits
• Mental Health Assessment Skills
• Mental Health Treatment Plan
• Holistic Nursing Assessment
• Therapeutic Communication
• Theories and Types of Communication
• Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
• Therapeutic Relationship
• Therapeutic Use of Self
• Therapeutic Environment

Mental Health Technician Module 3
Problems Through the Life Cycle

• Problems of Childhood
• ADHD
• Conduct Disorders
• Problems of Adolescence
• Behavioral Disorders
• Chemical Dependency
• Problems of Adulthood
• Personal Identity
• Developing Coping Skills
• Problems of Late Adulthood
• Finances
• Drug Abuse
• Geriatric Nursing Care
• Cognitive Impairment
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Confusion
• Delirium
• Dementia

Mental Health Technician Module 4
Anxiety and Depression

• Managing Anxiety
• Normal Anxiety
• Phobic Behaviors
• Obsessive-compulsivity
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Illness
• Hospitalization
• Denial During Illness
• Discharge Planning
• Loss and Grief
• Good Death
• Unresolved Grief
• Stages of Grieving Process
• Depression
• Depressive Episode vs. Disorder
• Seasonal Effective Disorder
• Therapeutic Interventions
• Mood Disorders

Mental Health Technician Module 5
Eating, Sleeping and Aggression Disorders

• Physical Problems, Psychological Sources
• Physiological Stress Response
• Conversion Disorders vs. Somatization Disorders
• Hypochondria
• Eating Disorders
• Sleeping Disorders
• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia
• Functions of Sleep
• Dissociative Disorders
• Self-concept
• Multiple Personality Disorder
• Anger
• Aggression
• Stages of the Assault Cycle
• Coping with Anger
• Aggression Theories

Mental Health Technician Module 6
Outward and Inward-Focused Emotions

• Outward-focused Emotions
• Dysfunctional Family
• Abuse During Pregnancy
• Rape-trauma Syndrome
• Special Assessments for Suspected Victims
• Developing Self-awareness
• Violence
• Inward-focused Emotions
• Suicidal Behaviors
• Self-protective Behavioral Response
• Suicide Through Each Life Cycle
• Substance-related Disorders
• Chemical Dependency in Different Age Groups
• Abused Substances
• Consequences of Abuse
• Addiction
• Relapse
• Inhalants
• Sexual Disorders
• Psychosexual Problems
• Modes of Sexual Expression
• Sexual Addiction
• HIV/AIDS

Mental Health Technician Module 7
Personality Disorders and Schizophrenia

• Personality Disorders
• Continuum of Social Responses
• Dual Diagnosis
• Schizophrenia
• Subtypes of Schizophrenia
• Continuum of Neurobiological Responses
• Antipsychotic Medications
• Psychoses
• Chronic Mental Health Disorders
• Effect of Deinstitutionalization
• Basic Interventions for Disorders
• HIV/AIDS and Mental Illness
• Challenges for the Future
• Old vs. New Homeless Person
• Right of Self-Determination
• Coping with Information Overload
• Americans with Disabilities Act

**Outlines are subject to change, as courses and materials are updated.**

Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology Module 1
Introduction to Abnormal Psychology

• How Do We Define Abnormal Behavior
• The Statistical Frequency Perspective
• The Social Norms Perspective
• Ancient Times
• Biological Models Views of Mental Illness
• Early Psychologists
• The Evolution of DSM
• Axis 1 and 2

Abnormal Psychology Module 2
Stress, Traumas, and Related Disorders

• Stress: Origins, Definitions, and Theories
• Psychosomatic Medicine
• Sources of Stress
• Important Life Events
• Direct Physiological Effects of Stress
• Illness of the Mind or the Body: A Dubious Distinction
• Factors That Modify the Effects of Stress
• Helping People Cope

Abnormal Psychology Module 3
Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

• The Anxiety Spectrum
• Etiology of Phobias
• Therapeutic Treatment for Specific and Social Phobias
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder With and Without Agoraphobia
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Other Stress Disorders

Abnormal Psychology Module 4
Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

• Psychoactive Substances Are Ubiquitous
• Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, and Cannabis
• Why are Psychoactive Substances So Popular?
• Potential Problems of Sustained Substance Use
• Chronic Use of Substances
• Overcoming Substance Dependence
• Prevention of Substance-Related Disorders
• Preventing Unhealthy Habits

Abnormal Psychology Module 5
Dissociative, Somatoform, and Related Disorders

• Dissociative Disorders
• Amnesia and Fugue
• Depersonalization Disorder
• Somatoform Disorders
• Conversion Disorder
• Factitious Disorders
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Munchausen Syndrome

Abnormal Psychology Module 6
Depressive, Bipolar, and Related Disorders

• Emotions: Normal and Pathological
• Grieving
• Depressive Disorders
• Depressive Episodes
• Bipolar Disorders
• Etiology of Mood Disorders
• Treatment of Mood Disorders
• Suicide

Abnormal Psychology Module 7
Sleep-Wake, Feeding, and Eating Disorders

• Sleep Disorders
• Dyssomnias
• Parasomnias
• Etiologies of Sleep Disorders
• Eating Disorders
• Binge-Eating Disorder
• Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa
• Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

Abnormal Psychology Module 8
Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

• The Genesis of Schizophrenia
• Diagnosis
• Types and Phases of Schizophrenia
• Heredity
• Etiology of Schizophrenia: Genetics
• Etiology of Schizophrenia: Nongenetic Risk Factors
• Other Psychotic Disorders
• Treatment

Abnormal Psychology Module 9
Personality Disorders

• Categories Versus Dimensions
• Diagnosing Personality Disorders
• The Multiaxial Diagnostic System and Co-morbidity
• Evolution of a Personality Disorder
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Cluster A: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality Disorders
• Cluster B: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic Personality Disorders
• Cluster C: Avoidant, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Dependent Personality Disorders

Abnormal Psychology Module 10
Neurocognitive Disorders

• Diagnosing Dementia
• Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DAT)
• Other Types of Dementia
• Delirium
• Amnestic Disorders
• Treatment of Cognitive Disorders
• Prevention of Cognitive Disorders
• Psychological Interventions

Abnormal Psychology Module 11
Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Understanding Developmental Psychopathology
• Temperament and Behavior
• Elimination Disorders
• Conduct Disorder
• Tourette's
• Separation Anxiety Disorder
• Pervasive Developmental Disorders
• Feeding and Eating Disorders

Abnormal Psychology Module 12
Sexual Dysfunctions, Paraphilic Disorders, and Gender Dysphoria Disorders

• Paraphilias
• Exhibitionism
• Fetishism
• Frotteurism
• Etiology, Treatment, and Prevention of Paraphilias
• Sexual Dysfunctions
• Human Sexual Response
• Gender Identity Disorder

**Outlines are subject to change, as courses and materials are updated.**