National Psychology Training Consortium

Course Description and Target Audience

40% of patients in primary care suffer from chronic pain or other symptoms with no organ disease or structural abnormality that accounts for it. Instead the symptoms are generated by altered nerve pathways in the brain associated with one or more types of psychosocial stress. The latter include current life issues, poor self-care skills, trauma, repressed emotions, somatic presentations of mental health disorders and the prolonged impact of adverse childhood experiences. With a systematic diagnostic approach and innovative psychotherapeutic techniques these issues can be diagnosed and treated successfully resulting in alleviation of the physical illness. These diagnostic and therapeutic techniques will be covered in detail and provide a new source of insight into clients' struggles.

The techniques to be presented have been developed based on experience with thousands of patients and on published studies. At the most sophisticated level the best outcomes for clients depend on empathy skills that take time and experience to develop but the presentation will at least introduce these.

There are no known risks to this presentation.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will be able to describe the clinical characteristics and prevalence of Psychophysiologic Disorders (PPD).
• Participants will be able to describe a systematic diagnostic approach to PPD.
• Participants will be able to explain the new innovative psychotherapeutic techniques for alleviating PPD and how they differ from CBT.
• Participants will be able to describe the many connections between Adverse Childhood Experiences and PPD.
• Participants will be able to demonstrate empathy skills in recognizing unspoken issues in a typical patient with PPD.

Presenter Information

David D. Clarke, MD is President of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association. He is also Assistant Director at the Center for Ethics and Clinical Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology Emeritus both at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine and practiced Gastroenterology in Portland from 1984 to 2009. During that time, he successfully treated over 7000 patients whose pain or other symptoms were not explained by diagnostic tests. The ideas are described in his book They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!, which was praised by a president of the American Psychosomatic Society as “truly remarkable” and named by Brit & Co to be one of the five best mind-body books ever written. He is also the lead editor for the professional textbook Psychophysiologic Disorders. He lectures about Psychophysiologic Disorders to health care professionals and the public across North America and in Europe and has appeared on over 100 television and radio broadcasts. The PPD Association website is EndChronicPain.org.

Video Homestudy Format

CE’s for this homestudy training will be earned through completing the following tasks:

• Watch the presentation video and review all provided documents in their entirety.
• Pass the post-test questionnaire with at least 80% correct.

A program evaluation form will be provided to all who registered following the training. Please be sure to complete this form since your feedback helps direct future CE programming from our organization.

Registration Cost

This cost includes video links, materials, and tests required to obtain CE’s. Your CE certificate will be made available to you upon successful completion of the training (80% or higher on exam).

National Psychology Training Consortium (NPTC) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. NPTC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.