by Brianna Coffey, Student Public Relations Writer
Change may be the one constant of American society. But are we choosing change, or has change chosen us?
Cedarville University’s Department of Psychology will host two professional Continuing Education workshops on April 9 that address “When Change Chooses You: Helping Clients Manage and Adapt to Unanticipated Life Changes” and “Psychological Approaches to Managing Chronic Pain.”
The first session starts at 8:30 a.m., and the second topic begins at 1 p.m. Both sessions will be held in the Stevens Student Center event rooms 240 and 241. The event will also be simulcast via Zoom. The cost for both sessions is $79 and a single session is $42.
Professionals will earn three continuing education (CEU) credits per workshop. Instructions will be provided upon registration and professionals will be issued a certificate of completion after attending the workshop. They will then submit the documents to their respective professional boards for final approval and credits toward their licensing requirements. The registration deadline is Friday, April 2. Dr. Amanda Burger, a licensed health psychologist from Cleveland, Ohio, will be the keynote speaker. Burger is a former Cedarville faculty member who now works full-time as a health psychologist at MetroHealth Medical System in Cleveland and is a frequent national conference speaker.
Cedarville’s COVID-19 protocols will be in place for in-person attendance, which includes wearing masks and social distancing.
“The morning workshop can provide anyone an edge in their personal and professional development because they will gain some applicable information for handling difficult situations in life,” noted Dr. Luke Tse, chair and professor of psychology at Cedarville University. “Of course, over the past year, everyone has experienced unanticipated changes due to the pandemic and, sadly for many, the unexpected suffering and death that resulted.”
“According to the CDC, about 20% of adults experienced chronic pain in 2019 and this number increases significantly when patients have psychiatric diagnoses,” Burger said regarding the afternoon program. “This means that having the skill set to understand and treat psychological components of chronic pain would meet an essential need for a large majority of clients.”
For many years, medications like opioids were used to treat chronic pain. During the opioid crisis, the importance of treating pain through alternative methods became crucial and opioid prescriptions have significantly decreased in recent years.
Unfortunately, the stressors and lack of perceived resources brought by the pandemic contributed to increased opioid drug overdoses this past year. “There has never been a better time than now for mental health professionals to take a leading role to provide cognitive, behavioral, and emotional skills to clients to help them cope with pain and stress,” said Burger.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,550 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.