2008 Workshops (see our Home Page for registration forms)

Basic Mediation:    

Feb. 8-9, May 2-3, Sept. 12-13

12 CEUs:  Ohio counselors, nurses, social workers

12 CLEs:  attorneys

Advanced Elder Mediation: 

Mar. 14, June 20, Oct. 17

6 CEUs:  Ohio counselors, nurses, social workers. 

                BENHA approval # 91-L-08 for Ohio 

                Licensed Nursing Home Administrators

Ethics for Therapists: 

J une 18, Oct. 10

3 CEUs:  Ohio counselors, nurses, social workers

Marketing your Private Mediation Practice:

May 23, Oct. 3 (No CEUs)

Continuing Education and Staff In-services
NCS educators offer a wide variety of topics and formats from which to choose.   Presenters include:

Rebecca Allgeier, LISW

Janet Asche, LISW

John Bertschler, PhD
Patricia Bertschler, MA, PCC
Debra Day, MS (Atlanta, GA)
Norma Delp, MA, MS

Susan Fee, PC
Santiago Feliciano, Jr., JD

Kim Langley, M.Ed.

Mark Newton, JD, M.Ed.

Presentation List
Adolescent Depression/Suicide/ Creating Classroom Community
Topics related to adolescent development include recognizing signs and symptoms of adolescent depression and suicide, identifying goals of misbehavior and discouragement in children/teens, recognizing influencers on adolescent behavior, and applying practical techniques in the classroom related to effective teacher behavior. This workshop can be tailored to include one section or more depending on audience needs. (1-6 hrs.)

Angry People, Angry Conversations: Practical Interventions
Anger and aggression are common problems social service professionals encounter when trying to assist clients or caregivers. Unmanaged anger can quickly escalate into aggressive both at the giving and receiving end of the upset. This workshop will demonstrate how to assist clients in developing skills to reduce and manage anger that will stop "automatic" aggressive responses long enough to consider constructive alternatives. (1-6 hrs.)

Becoming a Director of Positive First Impressions: Making an impact w/ client/families

A strong correlation exists between customer service/ patient care and patient satisfaction scores (Press-Ganey findings, 1999). Review differences between standard and superb levels of service, the impact of non-verbals, impressions made on the phone and in person, and differences between poor and active listening. (1 hour)

Bereavement: The Mourning After
Dealing with loss-whether by death, move to a nursing home, change of occupation or other-elicits a number of emotions such as anger, hopelessness, sadness, or despair that must be dealt with. This workshop examines the nature of bereavement & offers activities/exercises that can help those dealing with loss of many kinds. (1-3 hrs.)

Chemical Dependency in Older Adults

With an aging population comes a problem few are addressing:  Chemical Dependency and Poly-substance Abuse among older adults.  This workshop addresses the scope of the prolem, signs, symptoms, and interventions.

Communicating with Residents Suffering from Dementia

Communication is often problematic both for the sufferer of dementia who struggles to get his/her point across       and for the staff who often misread cues, assume what the resident needs, and at times mistakes                 miscommunication  for  misbehavior.    Learn practical techniques for speaking to, guiding, redirecting, and    listening—sometimes with the heart—to what dementia sufferers are truly trying to say.  (1-2 hours)

Compassionate Candor: The Art of Assertiveness
Identify differences among the assertive, aggressive, and passive-aggressive styles, learn practical approaches to assertiveness at home and in the work place, leadership styles, effective listening and other forms of communication (1-6 hrs.)

Bullying (adapted for school bullying and workplace bullying)
The phenomenon of bullying deserves special scrutiny by parents, educators, and students concerned with violence prevention. Seriously underestimated by students and adults in terms of prevalence and harmful effects, it is critical to raise awareness between the link between bullying and long term violent behavioral. Interventions with bullies differ from mediation and other behavioral interventions with non-bullying types. This seminar overviews the background and psychological construct of bullying, offers a model for intervention on both broad and focused levels, and offers insight from the point of view of the victim. (1-5 hrs.)

Conflict in the Workplace/Change
Interpersonal relationships, stress, productivity, morale, creativity, absenteeism, financial growth, overall health, willingness to change and more, have a high correlation with conflict. This seminar looks at matters such as effective communication, listening skills, leadership development, willingness to adapt to change, and teaching participants to problem-solve using conflict resolution skills. (1-3 hrs.)

Domestic Violence Grown Old: When Elders Abuse
This workshop covers causes of D.V. in seniors, perpetrators and those at risk especially elder women, indicators of DV for which to look in professional or home settings, and steps to take. (1-3 hrs.)

Effects of Divorce on Children
When asked what is the single most difficult experience of a child's life, even adults will say in retrospect it was the divorce of their parents. With as high as 2 out of 3 marriages ending in divorce, the effect on children is devastating when exposed to ongoing parental conflict and/or poor parenting skills. This seminar explores effects
on children as to gender differences, parenting approaches, step-parenting, and other relative issues. (1-3 hrs.)

Elder Mediation I & II: Resolving Conflict among Families, Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, Hospitals
"They're trying to take my car keys away." "My family wants to put me in a nursing home, but I'm not going anywhere!" These and other matters related to the aging process often place families in turmoil with caregiversassuming a "parental role" trying to make decisions as seniors resist tooth and nail. This seminar explores the into conflict resolution strategies that engage the non-dementia senior in the decision-making process. (1-3 hrs.)

Elders Abusing Elders: Part I Overview of Dynamics
Of growing alarm is the frightening and dangerous trend among elders with dementia or agitations to aggress toward each other in residential care facilities. In a Washington D.C. report to the Senate panel in 2004, experts reported almost 700,000 of our nation's 4 million seniors with dementia become violent. This introductory workshop overviews causes of abuse relative to the resident and to the delivery system, and makes general recommendations for improvement. A short video from the perspective of a wife/victim is shown. (1 hr.)

Elders Abusing Elders: Part II Resident Aggression toward Other Residents and Staff
Dealing with the increasing numbers of elders with dementia or agitation who aggress toward family, staff, or other residents is of growing concern in residential care facilities. Frightening situations, serious injuries, and occasionally even homicides must be dealt with to lower risk of serious harm. As the population ages, staffs must learn to grapple with this trend now and give priority to trainings that addresses these challenging and dangerous behaviors. This workshop gives specific interventions for professional staffs and informal caregivers who interact with aggressive elders. (1-2 hrs.)

Entitlement:  Dealing with Aging Parents' After-All-I've-Done-for-You Syndrome

“Mother expects me to drop everything and come visit her in the nursing home whenever she calls.  She just doesn’t get that I have a family and a job that I’m responsible for, too.” This dilemma is not uncommon among caregivers who, despite their best efforts, often find themselves conflicted over their personal needs and their elder’s sense of entitlement.  Learn how to help identify older adult issues, reframe guilt, and create better balance in caring for loved ones. (1-2 hours)

Ethics for Mental Health Professionals. Beyond the duty “not to harm,” professional mental health clinicians bear responsibility at every level to practice ethically.  We focus on the underlying “intimate” relationship, common ethical issues, internet counseling, disclosure matters and creating a professional will. (3 hrs.)

Geriatric Depression / Managing Difficult Behaviors (2 separate workshops)
This seminar overviews signs and symptoms of late life depression, managing challenging behaviors in residentialfacilities, caregiver burnout, domestic violence in the geriatric population, community referral sources , and a variety of treatment approaches. (1-3 hrs.)

Harried With Children: Another Look at Misbehavior
Tips for parents of pre-school and school-aged children in dealing with misbehavior. Influences on personality development, goals of behavior, and strategies for encouraging positive behavior are discussed. (1-3 hrs.)

Managing Family Dynamics concerning End-of-Life Decisions Part I & II
Families in the midst of conflict often hold up care of hospital patients or residents in retirement facilities. Learn practical communication techniques in working with angry family members and a 7-step mediation method whichhelps cut through conflict impasse. (1-2 hrs.)

Moving your Marriage from Ordinary to Extraordinary
(Certified by Michele Weiner-Davis, author of Divorce Busting).  Presenter:  Kim Langley, M.Ed.
This interactive video seminar focuses on mastering skills needed to make relationships more loving or to help clients do the same. The workshop is for clinicians, couples, and anyone interested in improving loving communication. This seminar is for you if: you want to make the marriage a priority, you keep arguing about the same old subjects, you feel angry, resentful, misunderstood or hurt much of the time, you feel hopeless and are considering divorce, you want to learn practical communication skills, you and your partner want to grow in your relationship together. We also include a strong emphasis on the spirituality of the marriage covenant and domestic church.  (Special reduced pricing for churches) 10 hours with options for scheduling. 

Mediation Training General, Business Mediation, Healthcare Mediation. Call (440) 262-3000 for information and training dates. Click here to download program.

Self Esteem Development in Children: Tips for Parents
Participants will learn four components of developing self esteem in children, active listening skills, when to give or withhold compliments, and how to encourage the child who seems to give up too easily. (1-3 hrs.)

Senior Suicide: When Life is No Longer an Option (Dr. Laurette Cocklin)
Of growing alarm is the staggering percentage of seniors who suicide when they believe they are out of viableoptions. This workshop investigates reasons why and preventive measures to offer hope to the hopeless and helpless. (1-3 hrs.)

Sexuality and Dementia Residents:  Managing Inappropriate Behavior

Inappropriate sexual behavior among residents with dementia often causes confusion, consternation, embarrassment and other sentiments both among residents and professional staff.  This workshop explores the nature of the problem as well as practical interventions for addressing these behaviors.  (1 - 2 hours).

Spirituality of Caregiving
Many talks on Stress and Burnout approach Caregiving from a negative frame and fail to include the joy, commitment, and incredibly strong spirituality of the Caregiver. This talk recognizes, encourages, and motivates the Caregiver for a spirit of sacrifice, generous, loving heart, and connectedness to God by virtue of the decision to give of oneself. (1 hr)

Stress Management and Burnout
Slowing Down in a Revved-up World Signs/symptoms of burnout, practical approaches to managing stress at home, at work, in relationships. (1-6 hrs.)

Team Cohesiveness in Times of Critical Care Decisions
This workshop looks at team dynamics, assertiveness techniques, and steps in mediating family or staff disputes

Treatment Strategies for Low-Grade Trauma
Long past a tragic event, many people carry with them emotional baggage and symptoms that spill over into their personal and professional lives. This workshop explores symptom levels, variables affecting treatment choices, and 8 models applicable to a wide variety of people in our private practices, agencies, parishes, EAP work, or places of business. (6 hrs.)

Wellness in Transition: Models for Clients and Helping Professionals
Examines major aspects of one's life patterns as related to physical, spiritual, social, mental, emotional and financial well-being; offers practical approaches to achieving balance as we face the inevitable transitions in life whethe

through aging, children "leaving the nest," divorce, loss of job, change in career plans, etc. (1-3 hrs.)

Other topics inlcude:

The Science of Optimism

Case Review and Best Practices (Private clinical practices only)

Grief and Dementia from the Caregiver's Perspective

Grief in the Workplace:  Understanding How to Help

Holiday Stress Management

Prayer and the Elderly

Re-establishing Trust when it has been Broken

Alzheimer's and Dementia 101

Caregiving for Persons with Alzheimer's and Dementia

Caregiver Burnout and Managing Stress