[abatson]

Here is the requested syllabus for the year. I don’t see an upload function, so I’m just copying and pasting…
OVID Dx Certification Course 2023

The course begins the second Wednesday of every month, starting January 11, 2023 from 12-2pm CST, Jan. – Dec.

Program Overview

Clients and patients often present with chronic symptoms for which there is no clear medical explanation. These syndromes include chronic pain, anxiety, depression, fatigue and insomnia. High rates of lifetime trauma and unresolved emotional experiences often underlie these conditions. New research and clinical practices have been shown to be effective for these individuals. This training offers the clinician the opportunity to gain advanced knowledge and skills that will be immediately applicable to their practices. The program is delivered via a year-long workshop series of 12 live, virtual 2-hour monthly training sessions lead by Drs. Howard Schubiner and Alicia Batson.

CME/CE Offered:
2 credits per 2 hour LIVE-only workshop (up to 24 credits for LIVE-only certification course) for physicians, nurses, psychologists and social workers

Program Objectives

Attendees will be able to:
Describe the role of the brain in neural circuit disorders
Describe which disorders are clearly caused by neural circuit disorders
Determine which patients have neural circuit disorders and which have structural disorders
Perform neural circuit testing in the assessment of neural circuit disorders
Explain neural circuit disorders in a clear and compassionate manner
Refer patients to appropriate resources in the treatment of neural circuit disorders
Initiate treatment using pain reprocessing therapy and emotional awareness and expression therapy

The curriculum will consist of the following exercises:

12 sessions which consist of the following components:

1. Didactic material as described below for each month (45 minutes)
2. Case presentations demonstrating how to use the mind-body approach with
individual clients (30 minutes)
3. Presentation of new research findings from the literature (15 minutes)
4. Question and answer component (30 minutes)

Course Content:

Workshop I: Common mind-body conditions
Participants will describe which conditions are almost always mind-body
conditions
Participants will describe which conditions are rarely mind-body conditions
Participants will describe which conditions are typically hybrid conditions with
elements of both structural and mind-body conditions

Workshop II: Predictive coding/how the brain works
Participants will describe predictive coding
Participants will give examples of predictive coding
Participants will describe how predictive coding affects one’s experience of somatic, cognitive and sensory experiences.

WORKSHOP III: ALL PAIN IS REAL – VALIDATION AND OFFERING HOPE
Participants will describe how pain develops and what makes pain become.
chronic
Participants will describe what reinforces chronic pain
All pain is real/validation/offering hope
Participants will describe three myths about chronic pain (injuries heal, scars
don’t hurt, MRIs are always abnormal)
Participants will be able to communicate to clients that all pain is real and that it
comes from brain neural circuitry

Part IV: Assessments Part One—body map, ROS, ACEs, fear, personality traits
Participants will be able to use these instruments to assess clients for mind-body
conditions
Participants will be able to use these instruments to predict likelihood of mind-
body conditions

Part V: Assessment Part Two—FIT criteria and Evidence Sheet
Participants will be able to use these instruments to assess clients for mind-body
conditions
Participants will be able to use these instruments to educate clients about mind-
body conditions

Part VI: Assessment Part Three—Provocative testing
Participants will be able to use these instruments to assess clients for mind-body
conditions
Participants will be able to use these instruments to educate clients about mind-
body conditions

Part VII: Putting it all together and beginning the program
Participants will be able to confidently make a diagnosis of a mind-body
condition when appropriate
Participants will be explain their reasoning to the client and assess client’s
readiness to engage in a mind-body treatment program
Participants will be able to use a simple quiz as a bridge between assessment and
treatment
Participants will be able to describe the correct attitudes for treatment, including
puppy training, scared and fallen child analogies and avoiding the six Fs

Part VIII: Affirmations, during the day exercise, somatic tracking (with IFS) and other techniques
Participants will be able to help clients use affirmations for recovery
Participants will be able to use the during the day exercise for recovery  
Participants will be able to use somatic tracking, with IFS components for
recovery
Participants will be able to use the bring it on method to help clients in recovery
Participants will be able to use positive affect to help clients in recovery
Participants will be able to use compassion and self-compassion techniques to
help clients in recovery

Part IX: Expressive writing exercises
Participants will be able to use the 25-minute jog writing technique to help clients
in recovery
Participants will be able to use the unsent letters writing technique to help clients
in recovery
Participants will be able to use the dialogue writing technique to help clients in
recovery
Participants will be able to use the barriers to recovery writing technique to help
clients in recovery
Participants will be able to use the gratitude and forgiveness writing techniques to
help clients in recovery
Participants will be able to use the “new you” writing technique to help clients in
recovery

Part X: Emotional processing work–Emotional awarenEss and expression therapy (EAET), Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Participants will be able to describe the elements of EAET and IFS therapies 
Participants will be able to initiate treatments using EAET and IFS components of
therapy to help clients in recovery
Participants will be able to use the Time Traveler visualization techniques to help
clients in recovery

Part XI: Personality traits
Participants will be able to describe the key personality traits that are present in
clients with mind-body conditions
Participants will be able to help clients recognize and modify these personality
traits

Part XII: Life changes, meaning and purpose, and the “external journey”
Participants will be able to describe the importance of the “external journey” in
recovery from mind-body conditions
Participants will be able to help clients address these issues to help them recove

[abatson]

Sure! Grace will be posting the 2023 syllabus very soon.
Alicia

[abatson]

Hi Karin,
So glad you are on the forum now.
While we are waiting for Howard’s response, I will post mine based on my experience. Regarding how long it takes for a mind-body condition to develop, I think it can take a minute to decades. The reason for this is that these syndromes are driven by whether or not the brain perceives danger, either internal danger (inside the body) or external danger (outside the body). We all have different protective factors/resiliency vs. vulnerabilities combined with the different types of factors that trigger or maintain the danger signal (childhood trauma, adult trauma and stress, personality traits, conditioned responses and repressed emotions). All of these variables will play a role in the onset of the symptom(s). Oftentimes, someone might have small symptoms over time that do not play a large role in their life and are more easily ignored, and then they “blossom” into a larger, multi-symptom, multi-system syndrome or set of symptoms after a final trigger that tips one over the edge, creating more interference in one’s ability to function normally. When I say it could also take a minute, I’m referring to the power of a medical professional (or the 24 hour news cycle or social media) to scare someone into thinking they are damaged or irreversibly ill – it just takes one little comment to terrify a vulnerable person, thus keeping them in trapped in the pain-fear-attention-pain cycle.
Regarding how long it takes to heal, it seems to vary widely – from one visit, to years with most falling into several months I think. It is directly linked to how quickly you can turn off your danger signal – since this is directly related to your belief, on a conscious and subconscious level, of safety and wellness, it depends on the time to firmly establish that belief in your brain. I’ve see patients who have been sick for decades, in a wheelchair, walk-in pain-free by the second visit. Most patients can’t turn off their danger signal that quickly, but it is important to remember that this is like a light switch, or more like a dimmer switch – a little bit on, a little bit off, completely off. There is no physical thing to heal, so the time to heal (or have symptoms stop) is variable. It is a psychological/emotional healing, not a physical healing. There are instances where the persistent state of symptoms can create physiologic changes in the body, but that is probably for another forum topic.
Let’s see how Howard answers the question.

[Author]

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