Paul Brasler, Professor
6 hours and 14 minutes.
Audio and video formats are available.
18th of April, 2018
Description

Crises are seldom planned, convenient, or simple. But they do happen, and you will have to deal with them. Clients in crisis frequently arrive with so many symptoms and difficulties that it’s difficult to know where to begin. Many doctors, unsure of how to continue, frequently overlook or avoid asking the crucial questions that might allow them to properly intervene and keep clients (and themselves) safe.

Have you ever felt as a clinician:

Worried about your customers’ safety, even fearing for their life, yet feeling unprepared to tackle the situation?
Feeling unsafe in the clinical setting, or unclear how to handle circumstances in which someone close to your client may be in danger?
Are you caught off guard when you finish up a session and a client confesses suicide thoughts?
Unsure whether a client was taking drugs and unsure how to recognize the signs and symptoms of drug abuse?
Concerned that, despite your best intentions, you’re doing more harm than help to traumatized clients?

Paul Brasler, LCSW, guides you through five of the most difficult circumstances in mental health today in this audio. Paul will reveal the precise tactics he’s used over the last two decades to safely and successfully assist in the demanding, urgent, and often terrifying circumstances that mental health professionals confront through real-life examples and live role plays. This video will show you how to make crisis circumstances more bearable, conquer your fears, and enhance your preparation to address mental health problems connected to suicide, violence, substance misuse, trauma, and medical concerns. It is packed with practical skills and advice.

Even better, training in professional liability management approaches, documentation advice, and precise repeatable assessment forms will leave you feeling secure that you can focus on doing what is best for your clients without fear of lawsuit. And, regardless of your context or clinical experience, Paul’s advice is appropriate to your job.

You’ll feel prepared to aid your most vulnerable clients with real-life skills and information that graduate school doesn’t teach!

Handouts

Manual (4.8 MB) (4.8 MB)

Outline 79 Pages Available After Purchase
Client Evaluation: Ask the Right Questions

Conduct thorough evaluations
Mini mental health examination
Suicide and homicide lethality assessments
Evaluation of Substance Abuse
Trauma evaluation
Tips and tactics for obtaining the necessary information
More Than 13 Reasons for a Suicidal Client

Who are the most vulnerable populations?
Suicidal ideation and purpose, both implicit and explicit
Suicidal ideation and self-harming behavior
Suicide evaluation and interviews: Ideation, planning, methods, and intention
What should I do now? —Preparation and safety planning
Why “No-Harm Contracts” are Negative
Client confidentiality breach
When in doubt, what should you do?
The hospitalization procedure
Following the ER: When consumers are refused admission
Case studies include:
Michelle—Teenagers with suicidal thoughts
William—The relationship between drug abuse, mental disease, and suicidality
Manage Dangerous Situations with the Violent Client

Managing our anxieties: Clinicians’ safety concerns
When the clinician is the intended recipient
When the objective is someone else
Techniques for de-escalation
Preventative measures
Keeping good boundaries in the office
Prior to a crisis, the police are called in.
Planning for safety
When Should You Call 911?
The hospitalization procedure
The obligation to warn
Case studies include:
Handle a violent client, George.
Dale—Do Your Duty to Warn
What Every Clinician Should Know About Addicts

How misdiagnosis causes harm to clients
Intoxication symptoms
Immediate danger: Overdose signs and symptoms
Recognize withdrawal syndromes
Correct diagnosis and therapy selection
Clinicians should be familiar with the following drug fundamentals:
The opioid epidemic and opioids (heroin, fentanyl and emerging drugs)
Stimulants (including cocaine, “bath salts,” and methamphetamine)
Cannabinoids (e.g., “shatter,” “spice”)
Other substances (DXM, “Special K,” and Ayahuasca)
When and how should a higher level of care be referred to?
Case studies include:
Percy—An opioid overdose in the waiting room
Bipolar Disorder, Cathy? Consider again.
Helping the Traumatized Client Without Hurting Them

Recognize client trauma
The possibility of misdiagnosis
The Risks of Improper Treatment
Trauma-informed care strategies
Most importantly: Security both inside and outside the clinic
The Importance of Mindfulness
Go slowly…but go!
Understand the Different Levels of Safety
Triune Trauma and the Brain Model
Bereavement: Not all trauma
The confluence of trauma, mental health, drug misuse, and medical issues
Case studies include:
Brian—Trauma was overlooked
“How deep can I bury this?” says Mick.
Medical vs. Psychiatric Issues: How to Avoid Harm

“What Could Be the Patient’s First Death?”
Collaboration with primary care physician
Medical emergency accompanied with psychological symptoms
Symptoms and signs: Recognize a medical emergency to limit client damage.
Disorders Caused by Medication
TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) (TBI)
Disorders of Neurocognition
Other Neurological Disorders
Case studies include:
Steven and the Zombies—Organic imbalances
“Granny suffers from schizophrenia!”
Clinicians at High Risk: Following the Crisis

Keep your license safe and control your liabilities.
What You Should Know About Documentation
Debriefing and oversight
Trauma inflicted on others
Managing Compassion Fatigue
Dave and I as an example
Potential Risks and Limitations
Controlled studies are few.
When necessary, seek supervision.
Faculty should weigh the risks of acting vs not intervening.

MA, LCSW Paul Brasler 10 related lectures and goods

Paul Brasler, MA, LCSW, has been in the profession of social work for 22 years. He is the behavioral health director at Daily Planet Health Services, a Federally Qualified Health Center that offers comprehensive and integrated healthcare and mental health services (including medication-assisted opioid treatment). Paul is also the president of Providence Consulting & Education L.L.C., a company that offers clinical supervision and professional education.

Paul has a wealth of expertise working with people who have drug use issues. Paul proceeded to work at an adolescent residential treatment facility after graduating school, where he designed a treatment track for teenagers with drug use disorders. He began working as a senior clinician in the Chesterfield County Juvenile Drug Court in 2003, where he delivered solo, family, teen group, and multifamily group therapy. Paul left the drug court after seven years to provide mental and substance abuse examinations in emergency rooms around the Greater Richmond, Virginia region. Paul has also worked as adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University’s department of social work, where he designed a graduate course in substance misuse therapy.

Since 2016, Paul has been a PESI presenter, and he has given seminars on mental health crises and high-risk clients all around the nation. High-Risk Clients: Evidence-Based Assessment & Clinical Tools to Recognize and Effectively Respond to Mental Health Crises is his debut book (PESI Publishing 2019).

Disclosures for Speakers:

Paul Brasler is a financial advisor in private practice. PESI, Inc. pays him a speaking honorarium.

Paul Brasler does not have any relevant non-financial relationships to declare.