Description and Schedule

This course is a live, interactive webinar held on Friday, July 28, from 1-2:30pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Registration closes at midnight (EDT) the day before the event

Behavioral addictions such as gaming, gambling, sex, pornography, social media, and food affect a substantial number of clients, yet many counselors have not received formal training on how to treat behavioral addictions. In this presentation, attendees will learn how to recognize and respond to behavioral addictions in clinical practice. Specifically, the presenter will describe how to conceptualize behavioral addictions, the neuroscience of behavioral addictions, criteria of behavioral addictions, and several treatment considerations. Given that behavioral addictions affect individuals across the lifespan, this course is ideal for mental health professionals in all settings including schools, colleges, community agencies, hospitals, and private practice.

Behavioral addictions are rewarding behaviors that become compulsive, out of control, continue despite negative consequences, and induce cravings or mental preoccupation. Like drugs of abuse, potentially addictive behaviors activate reward circuitry in the brain and are both positively and negatively reinforcing. Recent changes to diagnostic and disease classification manuals, in addition to growing concerns regarding the addictive nature of online activities, necessitate that all clinicians are able to recognize behavioral addictions in their clinical work. In addition, all mental health professionals must be equipped to respond ethically and effectively to behavioral addictions with a clear conceptualization guided by the most recent neuroscience. Attendees of this course can expect a robust overview of the criteria of behavioral addiction, the application of a public health model for conceptualizing addictive behaviors, individual risk factors for the development of behavioral addictions, and appropriate treatment approaches.

Schedule: (listed in Eastern Daylight Time)

• 1-1:35 pm presentation
• 1:35-1:45 pm Q&A
• 1:45-2:20 pm presentation
• 2:20-2:30 pm Q&A

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, professionals will be able to do the following:

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the evolving definition of addiction and conceptualize behavioral addictions using a public health model.
• Explain the criteria for behavioral addictions and how to differentiate between high involvement in a behavior and a behavioral addiction. 
• Synthesize current research and relevant neuroscience related to the prevalence and nature of behavioral addictions.

Instructor

Amanda L. Giordano, PhD, LPC

Amanda L. Giordano, PhD, LPC is an associate professor at the University of Georgia who specializes in addictions counseling. She is the sole author of a clinical reference book titled, A Clinical Guide to Treating Behavioral Addictions, co-author of a textbook titled, Addiction Counseling: A Practical Approach, and developer of an online course, Working with Behavioral Addictions, with Mental Health Academy. Dr. Giordano works to advance the counseling field with rigorous research and has published over 55 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has conducted over 120 presentations. In 2018, Dr. Giordano received the Addictions/Offender Educator of Excellence Award from the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC) and in 2022 she was awarded the Russell H. Yeany Jr., Research Award from her college. Dr. Giordano collaborates with domestic and international organizations to provide trainings to increase awareness related to behavioral addictions. She maintains a blog called Understanding Addiction for Psychology Today and has been a guest on several podcast.

CE Hours

1.5 CE hours

Counselors: Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No, 6693. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. This course qualifies for 1.5 contact hours.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0048. Approval renewal date: 1/31/2026

Marriage and Family Therapists: Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations. You can check with your board to determine if this course would be accepted by your licensing board.

Social Workers: Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2021 – 05/02/2024. Social workers completing this course receive 1.5 clinical continuing education credits.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0435. Approval renewal date: 2/28/2026

Psychologists: Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0128. Effective 8/31/2021 – 8/31/2024

Art Therapists: Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists #CAT-0093. 7/21/2021 – 7/31/2024

Other Professionals: This activity qualifies for 90 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations.  Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

Participants may request a printed version of their certificate of completion to be delivered by mail. A shipping/handling fee of $6.95 will be charged per request. Shipping internationally may require an additional charge.

How to Attend

Register on the website before midnight the day of the event. So that we can provide you these CEs, you are required to:

1. login and access the direct link to the webinar through your account
2. your attendance is marked automatically when you use the direct link and attend fully
3. complete a post-test with a passing score of 80% or higher (which can be retaken until passed), and complete a course evaluation
4. collect your certificate of completion on your account after steps 1-3 are completed

Recordings are not provided to webinar registrants. No refunds are offered to those who do not attend.

Directions for completing a course and collecting CEs can be found here

Enroll in the webinar by adding it to the cart and proceeding through the check out process. Create an account (or login to yours) during the checkout process.

Prepare: Download Zoom software. Participants must use a device that is connected to adequate internet speed with a camera, microphone and speakers (or headset).

Attend: At least 15 minutes before the designated start time, login to your account on the website. Go to "My Courses", click on the title of the webinar. The link for the webinar will be listed in the course content.

Attendance is recorded automatically when you use the direct link and attend the full event.

Agreement

By registering for this event you are agreeing to the following:

24 hour notice is required if you are not able to make it to a live event. A 10% processing fee is required for all refunds. Recordings are not provided to webinar registrants.

Test using Zoom.us/test before the event to ensure you are ready for the event.

Since this is a live interactive event, it means that your interaction during the event is expected.

Attendance is recorded when you use the direct link provided on the course page located under My Courses. An evaluation must be completed within one week of the event. Continuing Education credit(s) cannot be issued unless attendance is recorded and the evaluation is submitted.

Partial CE credits are not possible; therefore you are required to be present throughout the event in order to receive CE credits.

Respect all other participants during the event as though you would if you were sitting with the other attendees at a conference table:

• Dress appropriately
• Be in a private location void of distractions
• Do not multitask
• Remain on mute unless you are sharing with the group

Closed Captions

Closed captioning is offered for all live webinar participants.

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.

Teaching Methods

This is a live, interactive webinar

Course Policies

Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities

Click here to view our Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities.

This course includes closed captioning.

Cancellation Policy

Refunds are offered within the first 30 days for courses which have not been completed.  There is a 10% service fee for refunds.

Grievance Policy

Click here to view our Grievance Policy.