Level 1 Certification (Resilience Builder Program)

Co-sponsored by Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC and Resilience Across Borders, Inc. (PDF)

• Target Audience: clinicians, health professionals, graduate students in master or doctoral mental health programs
• Certified Level 1 Program (Modules 1-4) (6 CE) can be taken as home study. Recordings are available and will require passing a quiz to earn CEs. All parts are required prior to becoming Certified in Level 1 of the RBP.
• Certified Level 2 in the Resilience Builder Program® requires Training Modules 1 & 2 (described below) as well as 5 live small group consultations which will be announced at a later date.
• Resilience Builder Program® is the registered trademark of Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC. Participants who are certified in the RBP, may use the registered mark on their website and cite the curriculum (Alvord, Zucker & Grados, 2011).

Registration:

• Certified Level 1 in the Resilience Builder Program® requires participation in Training Module 1 (Resilience: The Foundation) as well as Training Modules 2, 3 and 4 (RBP Structure and Implementation) (6 CE). 4 modules Fee: $285. Please contact Mary Alvord, PhD at Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC for more information.

Resilience:

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from and adapt well to hardships, difficulties, and challenges. Risk and protective factors can be external such as trauma, family function, and educational opportunities, or internal, such as temperament, biological predispositions, learning disabilities, and self-control. This presentation will describe the protective factors identified in longitudinal studies that promote resilience. Using these protective factors as a framework, the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP) addresses each factor with interactive sessions, using cognitive behavioral strategies. This six-hour training will be divided into four modules: Module 1 is 60 minutes; Module 2 and 3, each are 90 minutes, and Module 4 will be 2 hours. Overall, these sessions will outline the structural components of the RBP, describe the session content, and provide in-depth illustrations of sessions with case examples. Strategies for generalizing change outside the sessions will be discussed including the role of school personnel for reinforcement of skills throughout the school day. Finally, due to the pandemic, we have been running RBP online since mid-March and we will incorporate discussion of adaptations to run virtual groups.

Participants will need to purchase a copy of the Resilience Builder Program by Alvord, Zucker, and Grados (2011) https://www.researchpress.com/books/682/resilience-builder-program-children-and-adolescents. PDFs of all group letters, handouts, and Resilience Builder Assignments are located on the Research Press website.

Objectives at the conclusion of Module 1:

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain two definitions of resilience.
2. List six protective factors of resilience.
3. Describe resilience interventions implemented with children and teens.
4. Describe the fundamental cognitive and behavioral components included in the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP).

Objectives at the conclusion of Module 2:

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify how six protective factors of resilience are integrated into the RBP.
2. Demonstrate three topics outlined in the RBP.
3. Describe the structure of the RBP within a clinic or school setting.
4. Explain two research findings of the RBP.

Objectives at the conclusion of Module 3:

Participants will be able to:

1. Apply techniques to enhance generalization and maintenance of change of the RBP.
2. Demonstrate two behavioral management strategies for using the RBP in the clinic or school setting.
3. Identify two self-regulation strategies for use during RBP.

Objectives at the conclusion of Module 4:

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify two ways you would adapt the RBP for use via telehealth.
2. Describe two ways to adapt the RBP for a specific diagnostic group.
3. Develop a treatment plan using protective factors to guide treatment objectives and strategies.

Presenters

• Dr. Mary Alvord is a psychologist and director of Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC. She treats children, adolescents, and adults with anxiety disorders, and children and teens with problems of emotional and behavioral regulation through individual and group therapy. Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, she supervises Psychiatry Fellows in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Co-author of Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents (book), Relaxation and Self-Regulation for Children and Teens and Relaxation and Wellness (for Adults) (audio CDs, MP3’s and i-tunes), and Conquer Negative Thinking for Teens;, she has contributed to the American Psychological Association's public education guides on resilience, stress and healthy families. Dr. Alvord received the award for “Promoting Evidence-Based Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents” by the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
• Dr. Colleen Cummings is a licensed psychologist and Director of Research at Alvord, Baker and Associates. Her clinical approach emphasizes evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood problems including anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sleep difficulties, depression, and behavioral issues. Dr. Cummings also provides individual, evidence-based CBT for anxiety and depressive disorders in adults. Dr. Cummings earned specialty training in youth anxiety disorders during her postdoctoral fellowship at Temple University. Dr. Cummings is the Director of Research at Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC and has a strong interest in early intervention and prevention efforts, as well as the dissemination of effective treatments to the community, and has published journal articles and book chapters on these topics.
• Dr. Nina Shiffrin is a licensed psychologist and the Associate Director of Research at Alvord Baker & Associates. Dr. Shiffrin has provided evidence-based treatments for children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of settings. She earned her B.S. with honors and distinction in Human Development from Cornell University. She served as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Shiffrin completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Temple University Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorder Clinic and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Yale University. She is certified in Kazdin Parent Management Training and Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Child version. She is actively involved in research on cognitive-behavioral interventions for youth and has published journal articles and book chapters regarding CBT as well as anxiety disorders.

More Information

Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC is authorized by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners as a sponsor of Continuing Education. A certificate for Category 1 credits will be awarded at the completion of each workshop.

Please contact Mary Alvord, PhD at Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC