Certificate Program in Italy offered by UB School of Social Work

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo plans a new international certificate program that gives graduates in mental health fields an opportunity to learn valuable skills in first-response psychology, earn a master's certificate from two acclaimed universities and spend their summer in beautiful and historical Rome, Italy.

The new program, "Master's in Psychological First Aid, Stress Management Techniques and Trauma Intervention," will be presented by UB's School of Social Work in conjunction with SCUPSIS -- Scuola di Psicoterapia Strategica Integrata Seraphicum, a school of psychotherapy in Rome, where classes will be held.

The six-week program will be held Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning May 28 at SCUPSIS in Rome, with classes from Friday afternoons to Sunday mornings. The course fee is $2,779 (2,050 Euros).

The program is intended for students with a bachelor's degree in a human services discipline and one year's experience with direct client contact. Upon completion, participants will receive a joint certificate issued by UB and SCUPSIS.

"The program builds vital partnerships for the School of Social on an issue -- trauma -- that is of high importance to people all over the world, especially now in the wake of the recent earthquakes," says Nancy J. Smyth, dean of UB's School of Social Work. "We are excited about building on the school's strengths, our trauma-informed human rights curriculum and our trauma counseling certificate program. We also are pleased to extend our continuing education partnerships to such respected international partners."

Recent research suggests that psychological trauma significantly contributes to many mental health issues, according to Smyth. If untreated, traumatic experiences can cause a variety of problems, including addiction, psychiatric and personality disorders, violent behavior and suicide. Participants in the program will learn techniques for psychological first aid and stress management, and will be better prepared to effectively treat trauma victims before such disorders arise.

Co-director for the program is Roger Solomon, PhD, an affiliate clinical professor with the UB School of Social Work and a clinical psychologist who specializes in treatment of trauma and grief. Those interested in the certificate program should Solomon at rogersol@buffalo.edu for further information.

Solomon is particularly experienced with eye motion desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is an information processing therapy based on the belief that increased lateral eye movement engages both hemispheres of the brain, allowing a patient to reprocess the memory of a traumatic event. Patients troubled by such an event can then discard negative sensations and irrational thoughts associated with the memory and replace them with more appropriate emotional and intellectual responses. This allows them to reclaim the capacity to guide their future actions. Solomon is on the senior faculty of the EMDR Institute and provides EMDR training internationally.

Formerly a police psychologist with Colorado Springs Police Department and Washington State Patrol, Solomon currently consults with NASA, the U.S. Senate, South Carolina Department of Public Safety and Polizia di Stato (Italy). He has provided services following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Oklahoma City bombing and Hurricane Katrina, as well as numerous traumatic events involving law enforcement and armed forces personnel. Solomon has authored 31 articles and book chapters on topics of trauma, grief, stress and EMDR.

Italian language skills are recommended, but not required for the program. While some classes will only be available in Italian, Solomon and other American teachers plan to teach their lectures in English with accompanying Italian translation.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.